Grub Crawl - Disney Springs: STK, Frontera Cocina and Sprinkles

I ate at these restaurants yesterday at lunch time.

STK - I only went here because I'm running out of places and I didn't really want to waste my time sampling them in another state. I had a 6oz filet mignon that ended up costing $45 all told ($36 on its own). Now I ask you - is that worth it? It wasn't even a good cut. From the tail end of the loin. Their idea of medium rare is half medium/well done and half rare. The beef had no taste. The peppercorn sauce it came with tasted of bad cognac (or some inferior alcohol) and needed more peppercorn. The plating was an after thought. A white ramekin with the sauce on a white plate. Now look, I hate steak places so maybe this is standard treatment and pricing. I forget. I'm sure $125 for a tomahawk cut is pretty standard. No? I can't hear you. However, I'll tell you where you can get a better piece of meat (for a tenth - yes tenth - of the price) in about a minute. I wouldn't have minded as much (maybe a half of one percent) if they served you in the main room and not the front "bar" area. I was paying a dinner price right? You don't charge even more at dinner do you? The rest of the menu is composed of different cuts, burgers and the usual steakhouse twaddle. It's a small menu. The wine menu is predictable. Single pours run as high as $20. I didn't even dare order a soda. The place looks luxe. It is mainly white accents on black. The decorations on the black wall are referred to as "horns" and the beams on the ceiling are "ribs". The front (more "casual" room) seats around fifty. Same with the "formal" room. They have a deck out back. No dress code or reservations needed at lunch. Not sure about dinner. There were six others there at lunch. Most people looked at the menu prices and kept on rolling. Exactly the rip off I was expecting. My waiter was the only bright spot.

Frontera Cocina - I stopped at their taco window for a real lunch. And here is the answer to who beat STK in a steak off. For $3.50 I had a brilliant short rib soft taco in a corn tortilla. I would wager that it had close to 6oz in it. Plus I got some cotija cheese on top. Plus the tender meat was bursting with flavor. The achiote pork taco with pickled red onions wasn't as good, but, that is just because the short rib was so perfect. I also didn't like the habanero sauce that went with it. It overpowered everything. really hot. It is served on the side though. The only other thing the serve is guac and chips at $7. I thought I read something about burritos, but, I guess not. The main restaurant looks nice. They have a big ceramic tile mural facing you as you enter. There is some dining up front and then a bar and then some more dining and then a patio. I can't speak for the "dine in" experience (because I didn't dine in) or the menu (because I didn't look at it), but, I have eaten at his (Rick Bayless) place in Chicago and everything is good. I suspect the same is true here. Based on the take out window.

Sprinkles - They are across from Frontera. It is a chain (30) out of Beverley Hills. I had a Smore cupcake. It was really messy and I would have preferred that they held the cupcake. It had a graham cracker bottom crust that fell off and a melted marshmallow top that needed a cracker (or anything) top to keep the ultra sticky goo from getting all over everything.. I figure they didn't add one because it would ruin the aesthetics. I think aesthetics/kitsch are important here. The cupcake had a chocolate center. The whole thing was so sweet, that if you wash it down with a Coke, the Coke MITIGATES the sugar rush. The cake cost $5. They had around twelve others. Ice cream seemed to be of equal or greater importance. They have a cute cupcake ATM. The place is very white (paint not race).

This is it for a while, so, saver it like a 6oz filet.

Urban Brick, Deland

I grabbed a pizzetta to go at this fairly new (six months) Italian place of N Woodland Blvd in the center of the old town. I had the daily special. It was called Blueberry Pie. It cost $16. I mainly tried it because it came with guanciale (pork cheek). It also was so bizarre. They put blueberries, maple syrup and pistachios on it. It was ok. They made the same mistake of "over crusting" it that they did at Pizza Bruno. They promised to "stretch" the dough more. If they did, then I can't imagine how wide the normal crust is. In addition, I could not see or taste whatever cheese was on it. Garlic also overpowered the other ingredients. They were frugal with the very salty guanciale. Less so with the pistachios. It was about twelve inches wide. I applaud the imagination of the cook. The menu (mostly pizzas starting at $9) is also on the inventive side. They have a "slice" of pizza (with soda at lunch at $6) that is round. It's a cute little flippy flyer. They also do sandwiches (3), wings, pasta (2), and salads. It looks brand new because it is, It seats about thirty in a rectangular space. The have a mural of Broadway on the wall separating the kitchen and the rear seats. The people I interacted with were friendly. I chose this place because the places around it (that I hadn't tried) seemed more suited for a sit in meal and I just wanted to get home with a dinner at that point in the day. I'm glad I found this spot. It fit the bill. I want to try a more traditional pizza and maybe the "slice" in the future. I may always dislike the crust situation, but, I like the mentality of the place in the aggregate. If I lived nearby, I would give their whole menu a once over.

Las Palmas, Mount Dora

I ate lunch at this Cuban restaurant in the center of town (Donnelly St) yesterday. It is oddly one of two Cuban plays on the same block. I had the lunch size Picadillo (ground beef) platter for $10. Mostly because I think I have tried most of the other Cuban dishes on the menu over the years. I may even have had this at some point. It's just a bowl of ground beef stewed with olives, potato and black raisins. It's funny that if they went through the bother of forming this into balls then maybe they could charge the extra $2 that they would at Pizza Bruno's. Bruno would have to kick in more beef though. The beef was made more palatable (and a cheat for the sandwich they have with ground beef) with the delivery of some free pressed bread. It helped balance the richness of the beef eaten solo. The beef did come with a choice of two sides. They also helped balance the meal. I chose red beans and arroz con gandules. The red beans were good. They were stewed with sliced sausage. The rice had pigeon peas, chicken and pork added to it. It was yellow in color. Over cooked like every Latin/Island rice I've ever had. Good enough though. Served in a form. It was hard to finish all this. The menu is large and has what you'd expect a Cuban restaurant that serves lunch and dinner to have. Quite a few platters have lunch prices. Oh! I forgot. The rice was included. I had a salad as my second side. It was a boring lettuce and tomato salad, but, it made it feel like I ordered an app. Service was good. The place looks pretty nice. I remember that they painted the pressed pattern tin ceiling black. I forget what the walls were. It seats about sixty. The room has windows along the sides of the room. There is a little bar room. It's well run and a value. However, it's still Cuban food at the end of the day. I haven't ever been knocked off my feet by it. This is a respectable representation of what it can be.

The Juicy Crab, Winter Park - Moved to I Drive

This place just replaced that disaster of a sushi bar on the corner of 436 and Aloma/Fairbanks. And to report that they are slightly better is a testament to how bad that place was. It is now a place that boils most of the things that the last place hibachi-ed or served raw. I had a combo that let me pair (or maybe I "curated" it) two half pound items. I chose crawfish and the cheapest thing (sausage) because I just didn't trust that the freshness of their menu and blue crab is out of season. Don't ask me why I would have trusted them on crab. I tried to reason with myself, but, I wouldn't have it. I really don't understand myself sometimes. The crawfish cost $5. The sausage cost $4. I would bet that the crawfish (9) had been frozen at some point. Very tough with no flavor. Then again it could have been the asinine practice of boiling instead of steaming seafood that most of America seems to enjoy. The sausage was fine. The meal also came with a red potato the size of a monkey fist and the requisite quarter cob of corn that they boil so long that the kernels flatten out. They serve the usual cheap fried crap and boil shrimp, crabs, mussels and clams. Everything is about $10. They also list lobster or stone crab. I'm not sure I'd trust them to provide any of that. I mean not just them. Any place like this. I just don't trust that the stuff going into the pot is fresh. FYI - check if their shrimp have black spots on the shells. I just learned that this is a sign that they were frozen (not that almost every shrimp isn't). They did very little to the decor and what they did clashes. I'm not sure if you know James from the last two seasons of Big Brother. He's an Asian redneck from South Carolina. This spot is an Asian redneck too. They left the Bangkok nightclub elements of the old place and nailed up some wood boards to make it look like a beach/shit shack. They also walled of the hibachi area. They said it was a "private room", but,  it looks like they just removed the grills and left it at that. Service was polite. They are part of a small chain from Georgia. I can't recommend anyplace that destroys seafood by boiling it. If you don't have enough sense to know that this strips them of all their natural flavor and texture then you shouldn't be allowed to buy it let alone serve it. Throw in the embarrassing decor and all you have left is that it may appeal to a very undiscerning segment of the population.

11/17/2019  - I popped into the new location and they claimed they had no affiliation (not even the franchise) with this one. The story sounded the same to me though. These franchisees may not even be aware this place once existed. In any case, I won't be trying out the new one based on this experience and the vibe I got from the new location. Another location is opening soon too.

Earl's Kitchen + Bar, Mall at Millenia

I ate lunch here on Sunday. I had intended on favoring an undeserving tapas place around Sand Lake (only because I won't trust them to enough to waste a dinner on them), but, they think they have a buffet that merits $40. I would already have to be drunk on mimosas made with five dollar a bottle sparkling wine to believe that. Like the two customers in the place who obviously disagreed with me. This place is a chain from Canada. I think I may have liked it better had I not been informed of that before I went. Aside from the boring name (not associated with Robert Earl of Planet Hollywood as far as I can tell) and 50% too greedy menu pricing, I kind of liked it. I especially liked the attractive waitresses (many who moved here from Canada) and the interior design. The space is expansive. The front of house is a bar area with mass transit like wood benches and other regular high top tables. The ceiling rises two floors. The outside wall is all glass. There are different columns/support structures exposed in that area. The rear area is the more "formal" area. It starts with a barrier of booths and ends with another bar, The open kitchen is on the right that is separated from the room by a half wall with a row of connected seating on the "wall" side. Regular tables form the rest of room. The color scheme is mostly white, black assorted Autumnal colors and wood and granite. They have interesting lighting fixtures in the air and art and murals on the walls. The rear room alone must seat 100. Half that up front. There is also an outside patio up front. It was pretty crowded with an attractive/well dressed clientele. I would wager that a fair number were from Toronto and Montreal. I guess it is smart to open a Canadian chain where half the country vacations. You don't even really need the locals to buy in. I found the menu a little boring. Not much for the twelve bodies I counted on the line to do. They have four stabs at "ethnic" dishes like curry (or all of two sushi rolls), but, it's mainly sandwiches, burgers and steaks. All but three of the starters are really mains. In concept and price. They had a brunch menu on Sunday, so, I thought I'd be the least bored or fleeced in this area (should they suck). I had the steak and eggs so I could sort of sample the quality of steak (for you people) since it is a highlight. The dish was set on a slice of sour dough toast covered with bacon jam, avocado, steak and fried eggs. The eggs were overdone. My waitress noticed it right away and offered to have it sent back. Since I was mostly interested in acquiring intel on the steak, I asked her to let it slide. The meal was good. The steak was good. Medium rare. It also came with some nicely executed fried potatoes. It cost $14. Of course they hose you on soda. Nearly $4 for one skinny, ice filled glass full. If they could be as creative with the menu as they are with interior design then I could really recommend them. Chain status not withstanding. That or drop the prices to reflect the tedium. As it is, I would only come back to people watch and star gaze at the interior design. Most of CF should love it though. It's very Canadian in the sense that they play it safe. I think they have only been open for a month or so. It is in the old Blue martini space in the front right side of the mall. Anyone else noticing that "&" is no longer cool? It's now "+". Service was polite and professional. They are all dressed in black.

Brewstillery, Winter Park

I stopped in last night to see if they had started pouring their own brew yet. They had (as of late November). The Park Ave Pale Ale I had was very good. Hoppy. Slightly sweet finish. I don't know if I should call this place The Brewstillery of Bear and Peacock. My receipt says Brewstillery. For more info on the place see my review of Bear and Peacock from earlier this year. They started with five types of beer.

Swirlery Wine Bar, Orlando

I stopped here last night after Bruno's. It's diagonally across from that age old burger joint (forget the name) on Michigan. They were hosting a party later in the night, so, I just had one drink and left. Plus no tvs to watch the game. They serve wine and beer. It looks pretty nice. The have done some interesting interior work behind the bar. The bar is composed of a thick slice of a tree. I suspect it is a fake though. Possibly a mold made to look like wood. The selection of libations is pretty good. It's pricey. A glass of cheap German Riesling is what a bottle of that goes for at the market. I thought they were new, but, they said they have been in business for 18 months. Service was polite.

Pizza Bruno, Curry Ford Rd

I finally tried this gourmet pizza place last night after four tries when they weren't open for varying reasons. I had an order of meatballs (3) for $12 and a regular pizza for $10. The way they do pizza is not my preferred way. They use the right ingredients and probably meet the standards set by Italian law, but, it's just to crusty and the cheese was tasteless. Imagine a fort surrounded by wide ramparts. That is what the pizza looks like. It's almost half crust. And while it is soft and fluffy because it just popped out of the brick oven, I don't want breadsticks and pizza. I want pizza. Hopefully, they aren't doing this because they are too lazy to spread out the dough or they are trying to minimize topping costs. If either of those is the reason then there is a problem. The cheese was glossy. It looked like the top of a lasagna.  It wasn't deposited evenly. The sauce was just a plain tomato sauce. It was heavy in spots and light in others. The dough was slightly underdone in the crust. The meatballs were better. They were light. They came in a tomato sauce with golden raisins, a shmear of lemon ricotta and a toasted slice of bread. It is really a meal in itself. The menu is small. Aside from the various pizza combinations, they only offer two salads, garlic knots, a caprese, an antipasto plate, and a cauliflower app. It seats about thirty (including the bar). There was a thirty minute wait for a table. They do get the food out fast though. My waiter/barman was very attentive. The decor is minimal. Oldish building. I felt a bit cheated because I believe my neighbors at the bar received free meatballs and I paid full freight. I guess I should be happy for them. A tiny bottle of soda was $3. You know how I love that. They say the pizza is styled on the pizzas of Naples. Alot of Americans say this. But, isn't that pizza oval? I like that they are committed to quality. I just wish I liked breadstick pizza so I could really give it a good rating. Alas, it will rank a little lower because of that. That and the fact that the location is so equally removed from most of our neighborhoods and there are alot of gourmet pizza choices out there. Almost as many as pregnant local newswomen. They are only open for lunch on Sa and Sn and they are closed on Tuesday.

Grub Crawl - New Smyrna Beach: Cafe Verde, Beachside Candy Co, Donna's Canal Creamery, and Golden Biscuit

I tried these places around lunch time on Thursday. The first two are on Flagler at the beach and the last two are in the town on the land side of the bridge.on Canal St.

Cafe Verde - This spot is behind the Mexican place (Clancy's) about midway up the street. It almost looks as if it may be part of that restaurant. To its detriment. I had a really great avocado and shrimp salad for $10. It was full of fresh shrimp, almost a whole avocado and a mix of field greens and romaine and watermelon. The green mix produced a good combination of crunchy bites with leafy bites. There was a very subtle dressing applied to it. They call it rocoto. Whatever that is. The watermelon takes the usual place of tomatoes. I wasn't in love with the pairing, but, it was a change. The serving was huge. The place seats around twenty inside and thirty on the patio out back. The decor is minimal. I'd categorize it as a nouveau foodie play. They also do tacos, tortas, rice bowls, gyros, ceviche, mussels and some other salads along with some more dinner type meals ranging from roasted lamb to orecchiette alfredo. They describe themselves "food without borders". Service was efficient and cordial. The meal came out quickly. You can watch the two chefs at work behind the counter. A nice surprise.

Beachside Candy Co - It's a little closer to the bridge. I just sampled a bag of chocolate covered pretzels (2) for $2 so I could include it. They were good. Fresh. They also offer ice cream and other sweets.

Donna's Canal Creamery - They said this place has been there forever and under Donna for two years. It's about half way down the street. I had a slice of banana bread so I could include them. It cost $2. It was good. They also serve some small lunch items, coffee, ice cream and other pastries.

Golden Biscuit - This place is also about half way up the street. The entrance is on the parking lot side behind the street. They have been there since 1986. I grabbed a BLT so I could include them. It was a BLT. Good bacon. Fresh veg. Came with chips and pickles. It cost $5. It's your typical cafe/diner menu. The eggs and sausage I saw coming out of the kitchen looked good. Big links. The most expensive thing was $9. Plus they are open a little longer than a lot of breakfast/lunch places. They close at 2pm. The place looks like it could be a rail car. Nice value.

Grub Crawl - Florida Mall: Fat One's (Closed), Carvera (Closed) and Memories of Peru

I started out the new year by trying these places in or around the Florida Mall. The first is inside the food court near the entrance, The second is right outside the food court entrance. The last is in a strip mall on the OBT entrance to the mall. I think used to house a sushi place (Sushi House?).

Fat One's - I swear I was the first to realize that the ex-N'Syncers name broke down to this. I'm glad he has a sense of humor about it. They opened in the spring and I wasn't going to haul my ass all the way down here for a hot dog. Luckily, there has been a fair amount of turnover and new construction around the mall and here we go. It wasn't that bad. Now I think I ordered the only dog combo that is close to justifying the $5 base price, but, it's better than what the Wahlberg family offers up. I had the Cuban dog for $5. It was a dog split down the middle with Swiss cheese and pickles and mustard. They press it like a Cuban sandwich. The dog reminded me of the dogs they served at the snack bar at the beach club I worked at as a teen. I think they used Sabrett's. Possibly Nathan's. It's a beef dog with a touch of salt and maybe garlic. It was good. The bun wasn't all oiled up too. They also have $5 dogs with sriracha or sauerkraut or make your own, The $6 dogs have chili or pepperoni or corned beef or guac. There is a $12 dog that piles on ALL of their toppings. They also had Italian ices ($2-$4). Not the train wreck I expected. Better than most of the food court. And they go to battle with a wiener.

Carvera - They are the first US branch of a Puerto Rican chain (different name) of an Argentinian grill that is apparently very popular down there. They also opened in the spring. It's a fast casual place up here. Read the bio on the wall to understand the Argentinian - Puerto Rican connection. I had the Chicken Milanesa platter for $8.49. It was 85 cents less after they offered me a 10% discount for no apparent reason (maybe you have to say you shopped at the mall). It came with two sides. I chose a baked potato and potato salad. The chicken was huge. It was fresh. Crispy. The potato salad was very good. They put some garlic in it. Otherwise it was your typical recipe. The portion was ridiculous. 2+ giant scoops. I haven't tried the baked potato yet. too stuffed. I ate this for dinner. The place looks posh. I wasn't prepared for fast casual. The main elements are wood. There is a backless "cabinet" on the left that is decorated with cute metal objects from the early part of last century. The place seats about sixty. Service was very friendly. They also sell salchicha, churrasco, burgers, sandwiches, grilled chicken, salads, warps, turnovers (empanadas), soup, chorizo, pimento, desserts and alot of sides. I'm glad it took the chance. Great value.

Taste of Peru - I think the just opened very recently. I had the lunch special for $9. It was a steal and why I continue to laud Peruvian cuisine as the best in South America. Value and variety and verve. That's a good combination. I chose Aguadito de Pollo (from among three choices) for the first course and Tallarin Saltado de Pollo (from among five choices) for the main. They also thrown in a soda (with refills). The first course is a chicken soup the last is a form of lo mein (noodles). The soup was huge. I was full after this. It had carrots, celery, hominy, peas and maybe quinoa (or some starch, like rice, to thicken it), All but the peas appeared to be fresh and most chefs suggest using frozen peas anyway. The chicken it it was very tender. It took a tiny while for it to come out, so, I wouldn't be surprised if they cook it to order and that there is only one person in charge in the kitchen. The Tallarin is something I have avoided in the past because I don't really want the "Chinese" dishes that they love so much as my indoctrination into Peruvian cuisine. Still to much to learn. Plus I can get Chinese at a Chinese place if I am so inclined. But, I caved because I had already tried all the other choices. It was ok. The noodles were thin fettuccine noodles. I believe lo mein uses round noodles. Not that I like lo mein enough to care about the noodles. They were covered with a dark soy sauce and mixed with chicken sauteed in that sauce and tomato, red pepper, scallion and a ton of onions. It was a huge portion. The place is a little shabby. There are wires all over the ceiling. They should remove some window "posters" that hide the view and make the place darker. The color scheme is white, red and black. The white is on the bottom of the walls and the furniture. There is a "best of Peru" mural on the back wall. They have seven booths (small), two four tables, two two tables and one eight table. Service was great. The dishes did seem to come out one person and table at a time. Once again, good because you aren't getting warmed up slop, but, bad because you may be starving. On that front they prep the table with a bowl of fried maiz. I won't say corn nuts because they are softer. The menu has all the usual suspects. It's rather large. The place was almost at capacity. Most, if not all, Peruvian. It's always a good sign when the home town fans show up. All in all it was a great value. I would need to order a few more things to see how they stack up against the other Peruvian options. But, that just means the others are that good. They even threw me a 10% of card as I left. AFTER offering a to go soda. Should I end with my memory of Memories of Peru? That would be a little hacky I think. But you can noodle something out for me.