Grub Crawl - Winter Springs : B2 Cafe (Closed), Hokkaido, China Wok

I went to these restaurants on Monday.

B2 Cafe - This place answers the question - What if Quiznos and Einstein's had a baby? I think they are shooting for a finer reputation, but, it looks and acts like a fast food joint. They serve sandwiches and breakfast. I had a TBCC for $7. It's turkey, spinach cream cheese, provolone with a side of "jus". The spinach cc must take the place of a spinach and artichoke spread. It was a good complement to the turkey. The serving was Quiznos size not delicatessen size. The "jus" was a terrible idea. It overpowered everything else. Maybe on the RBCC. All in all, probably better than the two places I likened them to. But, not enough to go out of your way for. They are in the strip mall at the intersection of Tuskawilla and Red Bug Lake (on the Thai Basil side).

Hokkaido - They have five hibachi grills and a small sushi bar in the back plus one smallish dining room. It's new. I had a salmon roll for $4.50 and a yellowtail roll for $5 to go. Both were great. They were nori wrapped and cut large and thin. Lots of fish. The rice was perfect. They are in the newish Wal-mart (lower profile version) strip mall on Red Bug Lake near Tuskawilla.

China Wok - A take out Chinese next to Hokkaido. What you would expect. I had a pint of shrimp fried rice for $4.50 to go. Kind of soggy rice. A fair amount (9) shrimp stuffed at the top of the box. Not many veggie pieces. They say they do New York Style. That can't be possible for two reasons. 1 - I saw no Mexicans working in the kitchen. 2 - New York is moving away from the Americanized chinese food they are speaking of for authentic chinese dishes. If they were serving those, they would say they serve X style chinese food.

Laramie Project, SSC

I saw the first matinee of this production on Sunday ($10). It runs through this weekend. I found the material as artificial and agenda driven as I did when I saw it ten years ago. It is and was a cynical attempt to win an award by dramatizing (what could have been seen as a simple robbery, battery and possible man slaughter case if there was no felony battery statute) an event that the media and special interest groups conflated into a hate crime once they heard the victim was gay. One can make this statement if you look at the percentage of the dialogue that is allotted to both sides of the argument. One side has about 95% of the words and the other does not. It's akin to the real life beat down the victim suffered. One defensive blow for every twenty received. The fact that they declined to investigate the protagonists' motives is also a clue. They told them (and America) what those motives had to be. It was the same with the media coverage if you were alive when the crime was reported. These kids got caught in the political correctness machine and were used as sacrificial lambs to scare potential perpetrators of hate crimes (although they did get life sentences without hate crime legislation). Not to say they didn't commit a reprehensible act. They did. Just not the one these authors wanted to write about. Or wanted to stop writing about when the evidence pointed a different way. Most of the evidence suggest that gay bashing was not the motivating factor behind the crime. It was money. The battery could have been explained as a self defense to sexual assault on the part of the victim. A much better play would have been a critique on how the media and interest groups exploit and repurpose an event to convey a message they wish to champion and how the legal and political systems disfunction under said pressue. That is an interesting, multi-faceted proposition. This is just a one dimensional effort in didacticism. They should have at least included material from the accused (ala Capote's In Cold Blood). The language (supposedly taken from transcripts) is also too clean to have been authentic. I wonder how they slanted the very words in the material in addition to using the power of parsing and selective inclusion to bend the story. Well, now that you have my views on the source material, let's get to the production. The set design is good. The acting was acceptable. The actors were prepared. Maybe next time they will get material worthy of their effort. Not just some poor excuse that doesn't really convey the anti-bullying or pro gay rights message they were looking to send.

For the record I am for the protection of every class of people. My issue is with the quality of the argument they stand behind. They deserve better than this. We all deserve better than this. This is not an issue that needs sophistry or self interested rhetoric. It can survive examination of all the points of view.

Big Daddy's, Sanford - Closed

I had lunch at this Drive In restaurant near the 46a intersection on 17-92 on Friday. It used to be the Rib Shack and was something else in between. It has been open for a week. I had a 1/4 fried chicken that came with fries, cole slaw and rice for $4.75 and a BBQ pork sandwich to go for $3.45. The chicken was juicy with a thin crust. It was freshly fried (20 minute wait time). It was a breast and a wing. The fries were crisp. The cole slaw was a bit sweet for me. They cut the cabbage in tiny squares. The rice was flavored with a lot or butter or butter substitute, dill and probably chicken stock. The pork was good. It had a touch of bbq sauce. The place expands its smallish (40 seats) dining room by serving people who park their cars in their lot. It's an old time car hop. The service (4) was attentive and no waitress is dedicated to only one section. They have fried seafood, ice cream, burgers, sandwiches, wings, and even chicken livers. The interior is decked out in 50's memorabilia. The structure is worn, but, it makes it feel like a "real' joint. It was about half full. The prices are low and the value is good. There's not much choice in the area, so hopefully they will succeed where others have failed. They only take cash.

Good Eats Diner, Deltona

I had lunch at this diner on Deltona Boulevard on Wednesday. I had the Eggs Benedict Special for $6. It came with home fries (other choices included hashbrowns or grits). It was very good. The eggs were poached perfectly. The canadian bacon had a lot of flavor. The hollandaise sauce was fresh. The one flaw was that they kind of drowned the plate in hollandaise. I'm sure some believe that more is always better, but, sauce can be like salt. Too much can ruin a meal. Fortunately for me, I could clear away their generosity with my knife. The place is in a strip mall near a Wells Fargo. It's an old structure. It looks like most small town southern diners. Sort of grandma-esque. It has white walls that have red wainscoting (is it wainscoting if there is no wood involved?). There is a central, square counter with tables around the periphery. Not much decoration. It seats about 35. It was mostly full. The service was quick and polite. They serve mostly breakfast with some burgers and sandwiches. The craziest they get is liver and onions. I doubt you'll be in the area, but if you are, you could do worse.

Club/Grub Crawl - Downtown : Sonoma (Closed), The Abbey, Frank and Steins, The Attic, Que Rico Food Truck, Whitewood

Last Friday

10-10:30pm: Sonoma - Had a drink at this beer-centric bar/restaurant in TP. They totally re-did this previously Miami-ish club space to make it look like a lodge. How this and the beer evokes Sonoma is anybody's guess. It was surprisingly full. Some customers said it was more crowded than usual. It is a pretty big space. Unsurprisingly (this will be a theme), it was mostly dudes. Even some dudes that dig dudes. No Cover.

10:30-10:31pm: The Abbey - Tried to get a drink at this bar/theater around the corner from Sonoma. It was being rented for a benefit. Looks cool though. No Cover.

10:45-11pm: Frank and Steins - Tried an awful sparkling sake drink at this pub/sports bar. All dudes. Seemed busier than I expected from a place that is hidden away a block east of Church and Orange. They have some food, but, it's an afterthought (the franks in their name). No Cover.

11pm-1am: The Attic - A large helping of dudes, but, some outrageously hot co-eds. Granted they dress and act like they come from UCF, but, at least there is gold to polish. The crowd felt like a fraternity's little sister pre-rush party. The music was good. The crowd was young. People were f upped. It was interesting. The one downer was that it became a pain to get served. No Cover.

1am-1:10am: Que Rico Food Truck - I had a Columbian BLT (La Perra) for $4. It's bacon, potato sticks, lettuce, a spicy tomato based and mayo sauce, pineapple, cilantro and pimento. There was a lot of bacon and i believe it wasn't baco-bits. maybe too much sauce. But, I liked it even if it sat in my fridge until lunch and had to be nuked. There are on Pine and Orange.

1:10am-1:20am: - Whitewood - I got their sampler platter and a lentil soup to go. The guy charged me $5, but, I think that was a late night/grand opening teaser rate. The sampler had hummus, babaganoush, a salad of parsley or mint, cous cous and tomatos and pita. All were respectable. I asked for a Fattoush salad, but, since I just looked it up and it's some bread salad I seemed to have been thrown a curveball. The hummus was a little bland, but, that may mean it had less calories. I have no use for baba so I threw it in with some dry packed chicken soup (hang over remedy) and it worked well as a thickener. I also tossed in the salad that remains nameless after eating half of it. I'm sure it was good whatever it's called, but, it tasted like pico de gallo and bitter herbs to me. Not on my must have list. The lentil soup was very thick with lentils. A little bland. The guys seem cool. It's good that that location on Orange (used to be a tattoo parlor) is in use again. The name is derived from the look of the burnt wood under the cooking surface. It's Syrian/Lebanese.

Prickly Pear, Thornton Park - Closed

I had dinner at this Southwestern Style restaurant near Lake Eola last Friday. I had their Apache Skirt Steak for $19. It came with a half a plate of fries sprinkled with a truffle "essence" and a fist full of crisp, thin haricot vert (perfectly cooked). The steak (diaphragm muscle) was cooked as requested (medium rare). It was a big piece, folded over on itself to fit on the plate. It could probably use an accent of any kind. I tried some of the butter from the bread basket and it helped. The plating was non-descript. The service was excellent. The place seats about 80. They have a bar area (which isn't really closed off enough to be considered a bar area), and a main dining strip on the window side. They have different seating plans, arrangements and levels. A reservation wasn't required. It was about half full at 9 pm. The crowd was mostly white and professional. It used to be some chi chi southern style restaurant that some quasi-famous local black female chef was supposed to rescue towards the end (see my old posts). It didn't work out. The space had been vacant for about a year. The people from Funky Monkey have taken this and a restaurant next door (Italian) over. Hopefully, that means stability (but you never can tell if the emperor really has any clothes in this industry). The whole block is revitalized again (see next post). The decor is hip-ish. They left most of the previous lay out and added some western touches. It's clean and urbane. The menu is more Colorado than New Mexico. There are only a few Mexican style options. They prefer things like elk and bison burgers, iron skillet chicken, duck, and the like. They have a similar (good) wine list to the other Monkey restaurants. They also serve a decent amount of beer. The bar has flat screens. Parking can be a pain. Not sure what else I can tell you about it. I enjoyed all phases of the experience and I encourage you to give it a try.

Grub Crawl - Downtown : Pine 22 (Closed), Downtown Market and Cafe (Closed), Kalbi Hau5 Food Truck

I went to all of these locations this Wednesday afternoon. None were worthy of their own post.

Pine 22 - One of these "create your own burger" places (ie Metro Burger). You basically pay more for food that is "supposed" to be better than fast food but never is. I had a swiss cheeseburger with approximately 20 really thin carrot slivers, two silver dollar sized lettuce leaves, 3 bean sprouts, and possibly some similarly minute slivers of cucumber (I didn't want to pick through to confirm that they were in there somewhere) for $7. The burger had little to no flavor. It was well done when I asked for medium rare. It was bone dry (ie frozen or man handled). The english muffin was the high lite. Or maybe the "to go" bag. I couldn't eat there once I saw what kind of restaurant it was. The place still retains the ambiance that the former restaurant established. It was a higher end full service restaurant back then. It seats about 100. It was mostly full. It is possible that this type of restaurant is the "sweet spot" for downtown. Mid-tier (think TGIF, Tijuana Flats) quality food at slightly lower prices because they 86 the staff. Personally, I had a better burger at a better price at the local sports bar on Monday night. And it came with a half a plate of waffle fries. I believe the menu was created by the woman behind Urban Flats (with some relation to Rusty Spoon). It's (the options) intriguing in theory, but, below standard in execution. The ingredients are poorly sourced and poorly managed once the come in. It is the Kim Kardashian of restaurants. Flashy, cheap and ultimately disappointing. They serve alcohol and some other food items. They must have cornered the market on wine splits. Pass.

Downtown Market and Cafe - I had a Waldorf sandwich for $7. Another loser. There wasn't much salad (chicken) on the sandwich and fewer grapes and walnuts in it. I don't recall tasting any apple. It rested on one sad, browning lettuce leaf. The place is cute. The only reason I stopped in. But, the food doesn't equal the setting. I bet it was developed for a gourmet coffee place (black wood and mirrors). The decorations (50's bric a brac) don't compliment the design. They leave out personal items (laptops and speaker boxes) among the tables. That and hand made signs on areas like the rest room door show that they have no eye for detail or taste. They have an interesting menu, but, I bet they don't deliver on the promise. If you have to go, stick to the meat-centric sandwiches. That way they can only mess up by having the wrong supplier or in the amount they offer you. It seats about 12. It's probably the farthest north of all the eating possibilities on Orange. They need a better name, signage and a clear view from the sidewalk into the cafe. Pass.

Kalbi Hau5 Food Truck - I had a quesadilla with kim chi and roast pork for $7 (the sign said $5 + 1 for meat). I have wanted to try this kim chi and Mexican fusion since I first heard about them doing it in LA. It's a disaster. The kim chi brings out the burntness on the quesadilla. The cheese clashes with the kim chi. The sogginess of the kim chi is a poor contrast with the dense pork. The pork was overcooked. A salsa topping was flavorless. Even the kim chi wasn't very good. Just a disaster. I now know Mexican food needs the contrast of fresh vegetables in texture, temperature and taste. I should have guessed as much since I hate the cooked onions and peppers they serve with some dishes. It makes it a gloopy mess. On the plus side, it took them over fifteen minutes to grill it and the truck looks dirty. They say they are at this location on Pine and Orange for 6 months. Lucky for us they seem to be out of most of their items when you try and order them. Pass.

Panchos, Orlando

I sampled a few treats at this Cuban Bakery and Deli on 436 on my way home from the airport last Thursday. I had an empanada with ham, turkey slivers and cheese for $3 and change. It was tasty and came in a shell that was more popover than empanada. I also had some kind of Baba au Rhum (a soaked cupcake). I can't recall what they call it. It was cold and tasted like diluted syrup water. Not very appealing. I also had a pastry filled with cream cheese. Also can not recall the name. It was a bit rich. I believe it may have been coated with powdered sugar. Jet lag. I finished off with what I think was called a Torrejas. I've been searching online for these items, but, can't track them down. It was basically a fried strip of French Toast twisted and covered with cinnamon and sugar. It was tasty. All pastries were under $1. The place has seating (30). It's more clean than I was expecting. It doesn't appear that you will get jacked or harassed by a cholo if you pop in. It has a decent assortment of snacks and meals. Try it if you are in the area.