Grub Crawl - Universal and SoDo : Agave Azul, Frank's Bistro (Closed), Sweet Potato Pie, Dabeni's

Agave Azul - I had a Chimichanga Couzumel at this Mexican restaurant in the strip mall past the bridge past Universal. It cost $9.95. Make sure you check your bill. They, mistakenly, charged me the dinner price of $12.75. It was more like a burrito. It wasn't very fried. That's fine with me, but, you may expect the old paper sack looking namesake. It was filled with 6 moderately sized shrimp and fried onions (I deleted the green peppers). I mainly ordered it for the side of steamed brocolli and cauliflower. A great substitute (and something more Mexican places should emulate) for the banal beans and rice everyone serves. Unfortunately, steamed seemed to mean boiled. They were extremely wet, soggy and limp. Still better than beans that look like the contents of a baby's diaper. They also had to force the obligatory rice. It had kind of a twist. It had carrot squares. The service was ok. The place looks like a modern lounge/club. Lots of glass, metal, bright colors and water. However, it is showing age. Even my plate was chipped. All in all not a bad spot. You can see that it was created with big aspirations in mind. But, it got Orlando-ed. Now it's on a slow decent until it pays itself off.

Frank's Bistro - I grabbed a chicken sandwich on Turkish flat bread at this multi-ethnic restaurant in the strip mall across from the strip mall previously mentioned (S. Kirkman). I came for the lamb sandwich I saw on the menu before I had lunch 1. It's off the menu until further notice (inflation). It was $6. It came with a healthy portion of grilled chicken cut into strips. It had a tatziki-ish sauce and fresh tomatos and onions. The bread was made on the premises. It was tasty. The place has a full menu of breakfast items as well as lunch and dinner. They have alot of fish and even steak.

Sweet Potato Pie - I grabbed a piece of sweet potato pie at this pie maker on Michigan just East of Orange. It cost $4. Pie pieces ran up to $8 a slice. There were about 5 types. It was a good pie. It tasted a little like marzipan.

Dabeni's - I grabbed a pork and tomato sandwich (I forget its catchy name) at this Latin (PR) restaurant next to Sweet Potato Pie. It cost $5. It was ok. I'd stick with a Cuban. The pork was a little fatty. The tomatos were supposed to be pickled. I didn't see signs of that. The place looks like a little deli. It seats about eight. They have about ten items and specials. The people were nice.

Pub Crawl - Winter Park & Downtown : Shipyard, Bosendofer, Lodge

9-9:30pm - Shipyard Emporium - Basically the same market that was there before, but with a bar. The crowd was about half old and half twenties. A beer crowd not a Red Bull and Vodka crowd. The Light beer was offensive. It tasted like bad beer was watered down with tap water. Florida tap water if you know what I mean. I never see this place attracting a young crowd. Even if they didn't close at 10pm.

10-11pm - Bosendorfer Lounge in the Grand Bohemian - A refined cocktail in a refined environment. Invigorating. Now if they could just get some hot guests (or at least prostitutes).

11pm-12:30an - The Lodge - Same collection of oddities. But, they still get the most normal girls. I'm not saying all the girls are normal or even a majority are. I'm just saying they get the most in this garbage dump of female companionship we call Orlando. Too bad they allow smoking. The 80's music thing is getting stale.

Overall it was a bad night (shocking). Maybe it was the cold? Maybe people were away for break? Most places were empty. Some place even stopped charging covers (gasp).

Boathouse, Winter Park - Closed

I had dinner at this American Restaurant on Fairbanks last Friday. I stuck with appetizers because they seemed more interesting and the entrees seemed a bit overpriced. I had shrimp and grits for $10. It was tasty. The grits were cheesy. The shrimp (4) were a decent size but slightly overcooked. It was covered with a spicy barbeque sauce. A very hearty, helping of comfort food with a kick. I also had wings for $9. They were either smoked and grilled or just grilled (I can't remember). What you need to take away is this - the meat was infused with smoke. The skins were crisp in some area and not oily. They had a dry rub finish (slightly spicy). A nice spin on wings. There were nine to an order. The blue cheese dipping sauce was a little runny. The steal of the night might have been the waffle fries at $2. For the same price as Chick-Fil-A, you get about twice as much. The service was great. They seated me right away. They didn't make a stink about taking up a big table. They checked in regularly (but not too much). They were friendly. All the items had interesting plating designs. It was clean. It seats about 80. It was about half full. It's made up like a fishing lodge. They have a canoe and outboard motors on the wall. The walls are wood. They have one giant screen TV and some other flat screens. The restaurant bar is beneath the giant screen. They cut the old O'Boys space in half. One side is the restaurant and the other side is a bar/music venue called Drake's that has a stage for live music. A 80's cover band was there that night. The parking is as scant as ever. Valet is kind of obligatory. I had heard bad things about the spot before I went. I have to disagree. I thought it was a trouble free meal with distinctive character. I would have no problem describing what they are all about to a friend. That means they have an identity. Something that sets them apart from every other burger and wings joint or Houston's wannabe. They are a fire-wood grill-centric restaurant, bar and live music venue that serves meat and fish with contemporary southern conviction. If you like the taste of a fire-wood grill or southern recipes, then you will like Boathouse. It has an ambitious goal of satisfying three types of clientele (diners, drinkers and rockers). But, I think the way they have laid out the space and the choices they have made on the menu can hook all three. If you don't like the music you can go to the restaurant bar. If you want a snack at the bar you can get that type of food. If you want more than pub food you can get that. Etcetera etcetera. Good thread of the needle.

Pub Crawl - I Drive and Downtown : Ceviche, Stigma, Back Alley, Columbia Burger Truck

8:30-9pm: Brick House Tavern - I Drive - I had a beer at this large bar across from the defunct Mercado space. A nice spot. But, all guys. The bartenders are dressed in little blue jean short shorts and look like they are one bastard away from working at a strip club. Not bad looking. Just a little crazy. The girls in your high school that couldn't even qualify for UCF.

9-10pm: Ceviche - Church Street - I like to go here every once in a while for the ambiance. It was full. However, I think I'm growing bored with it.

10pm-12am: Stigma - Above Ichiban - A great spot. But, of course they are in some kind of zoning dilemma so they can only let in 38 people (which they enforced). It's a tattoo bar with pole dancing shows. And an actual show. Not a prop for nudity (no nudity). The "dancer" was really acrobatic. It was unique. They even had some well produced, entertaining videos of pole shows and in house tattooing. The space is big and open. No smoking. Clean. The crowd is young. Most people had ink and piercings. But, the vibe was inclusive. No cover. Beer and wine and energy drinks. The DJ was great. The noise level wasn't overwhelming. A very promising venue.

12-1am: Back Alley (or whatever that club is called on Pine) - Across from Breakfast Club - Not a bad crowd for that time of night. Good music. No cover.

1am: Colombian Burger Truck - Across from Gringos Locos - A great cheeseburger. They also have arepas and more.

Caio Italia, I Drive

I had dinner at this Italian restaurant on I Drive and Westwood (under 528) last Friday. I had a egg drop and tortellini soup for $5 and spaghetti and meatballs for $15. The soup had a chicken stock. It was WAY over peppered. The tortellini were mushy (cheese filled). The spaghetti was al dente - a big portion. The sauce was a bit bland (at least that meant it was low cal and the tomatoes were fresh). The meatballs were soggy - too much breading. I can place part of the blame on myself. I could have ordered more adventurously. But, I wanted to see how they handled the basics. The place markets itself as a higher end option, but, I would place it with any mid-tier Italian restaurant. If anything separates it from the pack, it is the more esoteric ingredients like wild boar. However, I didn't have any of that. The pastas topped out at $20 (started at $14). The meats started at $15 and ran up to $40 (with spaghetti). The apps were from $6 to the teens. I'm not a big proponent of high end, home style Italian. I find it over priced and simplistic. Ciao Italia exemplifies this proposition. The place is small. Two rooms. Each seats about 50. My side (the no reservation or large party room) was about 3/4 full (with conventioneers). The other side was full. Most people were dressed casually. The decor was predictable (bad wall paper, a few tile frescoes, some old furniture and some mass produced, home store accents). The service was pretty good. Although, I did perceive that the service probably increases or decrease with the size of your tab. You can observe this by seeing how they treat you before you order and after (and if you buy an overpriced bottle of wine or not). Italian restaurants (probably all) aren't very populistic. You can definitely purchase their affection and obsequiousness. Overall I found it a bit disappointing. But, it isn't terrible. I told myself I would use the coupon they place in the Sentinel if they were rude or the meal was terrible. I didn't use the coupon. If you are in the area then, by all means, go and have a respectable meal. But, if you are in another part of town, save the gas. You probably have something comparable in your area.

Grub Crawl - East Winter Park : Famous Phil's Cheesesteaks (Closed), Cheddar Jack's (Closed), Jeremiah's Italian Ice

Famous Phil's Cheesesteaks - On University near Balducci's and Devaney's - I had a medium Philadelphia Wiz Steak Combo (Fries and Coke) for $7.50. It was ok. The fries weren't crisp. They limited re-fills on the soda. They seemed to be pinching pennies. The place looks like it's about to go out of business. The lights and electronics were off. One family was there besides me. The place seats about 40 in booths. They don't take AMEX.

Cheddar Jack's - On Aloma around Goldenrod - I had a Garbage Plate (home fries, mac and cheese, baked beans, garlic bread, hot dog and hamburger sauce) for $6. The fries were under cooked. The mac and cheese had no flavor. The baked beans had flavor. The garlic bread was poor. The hot dog (some renowned dog from the far north of New York) was ok. The hamburger sauce was a chili. It was good. I actually saved the sauce and beans and mixed it with rice the next night. A little better pairing. The place is small. It seats about 50. It looks like a little cafe. Only one other was there at 2pm. They do breakfast and dinner too. The menu was mostly comfort foods. A nice joint. Probably the best place on Earth after a night out. They could use an OPEN sign in the window coming from WP. It's hard to tell if the place is open or in business.

Jeremiah's Italian Ice - Aloma between Goldenrod and 436 - I had a Frog something (mint chocolate chip) ice mixed with vanilla ice cream. It's ok. Mixing ices and ice cream isn't really my thing. It ran $2.75 for a small (which is big). Being young and pretty certainly doesn't seem to be a deal breaker for the guy in charge of hiring servers. The place had a decent size crowd.

New Peking, Casselberry

On Monday I went to this buffet 0n 17-92 off of 436 for lunch. It cost $7. Aside from a few unique items, it was middling at best. The spot is an old western themed buffet (I forget the brand). They left the outside as is and inside they lightened the wood. There are about 12 buffet stations and a sushi and a mongolian wok area. The sushi was pretty bad (mostly rolls). The quesadilla had a weird cheese and was too packed in (it overwhelmed the tortilla taste). The shrimp were small in the buttered and curried shrimp dishes. The Won Ton Soup was fine. The siu mai was actually pretty good. I sampled for the first time an egg roll looking item filled with pork and a rod of fake crab. Also a first was an egg custard in a phyllo like wrapper and shrimp coated with pork (that was labeled as bacon wrapped shrimp). They were more novel more than good. Some things were mismarked. The clean up service was fine. The crowd was outrageously low class. It was a field trip from an RV park. The place seats over 100. I wouldn't make the effort to go here unless you live close by. I'm sure you have a buffet near you that is as good or better. They don't take AMEX.