Reel Fish, Winter Park

I had lunch at this Ravenous Pig replacement yesterday. I suspect you understood (by the name) that it is a seafood restaurant. It has been open for over a month. I had a chilled peel and eat shrimp app for $10 and the ceviche of the day for $11. The shrimp (9) were iffy. They looked nice and fresh, but, they were soft and sticky and mouldering. All signs of age. I suspect that they cooked them on Friday. They were closed on Monday, so, Sunday would have been the closest day that they were prepped. If not, then they have some uncomfortable conversations ahead with their monger. Now realize that I didn't get ill from them. I just played Russian roulette and suffered through some pasty shrimp. The ceviche (of all things) was fresher. It was a mix of grouper and hogfish (snapper). They marinated (cooked) it with three juices (orange, lemon and lime). The orange tempered some of the bitterness. The portion size was generous. They added some onion, tomato and avocado. But, it was mostly fish. Plus the tomato was sweet (a necessary but almost ignored touch) and they cut the avocado into similar size pieces (another thing people are often too lazy to do). I don't like ceviche as a cooking method even when done properly. It's a primordial method of thinking and coping. Just serve it raw if you are going to go down this path. The result is always too bitter and the fish gets tough. And if they are too cheap to use fresh juice (or juice at all)! Forget about it. I've had it many times seared with vinegar! However, this is about as good as it is going to get. The rest of the menu (and why I ordered these prone to disappoint dishes) is pretty dull. The one interesting thing (a burger with fried oysters on top) was a special and cost $18. The rest of the menu (at least at lunch - I forgot to look at the dinner menu) consisted of fried calamari, fried fish (cod) sandwich, fish soup, salads (mostly non-seafood), chicken sandwich, fish dip and a few more "immemorables". The special was a fried hogfish. Now I never understood why someone wanted to open a seafood restaurant here with Winter Park Seafood down the street and Mitchell's, Lombardi's, and the one on Park Ave already established. And those were just off the top of my head and I don't live there. Plus that doesn't take into account the places that have some seafood on their menu or sushi restaurants. Seafood isn't priced for it to be an every day affair. It's an indulgence for most people (even in WP). And who would eat it every day anyway? Even Arthur Bach believed that "fish must awfully tired of seafood". Is there room for them? I heard them pitching the fried angle. If so, then you spent too much on the remodel (and likely the rent). Are you high end or low end? You look (and price) on the high end. I'm not saying that I didn't like you or that I didn't even prefer you. I didn't get a big enough sample size to tell. I just wonder who your market research guy was. This is a packed field.

The place is broken into three rooms. The bar. The main (middle) room. The raw bar/casual room. The ceiling is composed of those gilded/etched tiles that mimic a more glamorous era. The color scheme is white and black with touches of blue. The decor is a hodge podge. The overall look is appealing. Service was polite, knowledgeable and efficient. The china was new, white and modern. It was pretty empty at 1pm. Parking may be a problem.

It was what I expected. No better than its competitors in any discernible way. They need a hook to avoid becoming the Lorde of the bunch.

T Baar, Lake Mary - Closed

I had a honeydew melon milk tea at this Asian beverage outpost on Monday. It cost $3.50. It was fine. I'm not into milkshakes masquerading as health food like some of you perpetual pre-adolescents. This place (open three days) must be a chain I am unaware of. Everything seemed too honed. They took over the spot next to Cavallari's that been the demise of so many dreams in the past. Maybe they can stem the tide. The last Asian style dessert/beverage place in recent memory was Beard Papa's on 46. So, there is no competition in this sub-genre. They also serve smoothies, lemonade and non-milk tea. You can add in boba, etc. A new one on me were these jell-o like cubes they called jelly. They also listed (but did not display) a pastry.

The District, Sanford

I had dinner at this new American restaurant on 2nd St this Friday. I had tried to do lunch when it first opened, but, I was misled by an employee. They hadn't opened for lunch yet. The waitress said they are open now. You can still sense some of that new venture confusion. They opened about six weeks ago. The first thing that I was told was that it was a "scratch" kitchen and that things are cooked to order. Translation - the kitchen doesn't have it's act together yet. Didn't matter to me. I wasn't in a rush or hungry. Surprisingly, my meal was unaffected. I had the pork rib eye for $22. It was a plump, bone in "chop" with a berry (forget which) compote, Boursin flavored mashed potatoes and broccoli rabe. I don't love fruit with my meat (I remember being confused when Peter Brady asked for pork chops and apple sauce), I prefer vegetables. They also may want to reconsider the less is more maxim. However, can you really get overly mad at generosity? The potatoes were very good. They seemed to reverse gears here. The Boursin wasn't very noticeable. I wasn't longing for it anyway, so, it didn't change my opinion of the execution. The rabe (the odd reason I ordered the dish) was fine. Plain. Maybe some oil. Side note - rabe and a hoppy IPA is a toxic combo. The plating was more aesthetic than utilitarian. They piled the chop on the potatoes. You needed to rearrange things to cut the meat. The menu was smallish. Four apps and five mains. The apps were a deviled egg thing, tuna tacos, and two I've already forgotten. The main were shrimp and grits, filet mignon, a pasta (I think) and another dish so blase that I've forgotten it a mere three days later. And that is my main criticism. It's just so "normal". There isn't a real draw. Now, I know that bodes well for any new establishment around here. Not many suffer as much from gastronomic (and the regular kind) ennui as I do. Not many grave distraction. A nice, normal place has a place in downtown Sanford. The real competition in this genre is Smiling Bison and they aren't open for lunch and their experimental ethos (maybe it isn't anymore - I haven't been there in a while) and menu choices may scare people. Perhaps this the way to go. The Honda Accord isn't the best selling car because it's cutting edge. And the room was full when I was there. Speaking of the room. There is a bar room on the right. It has seats at the counter, a communal table in the center and two or three four tops at the window. The room on the right had a bunch of four seaters on the left wall, two two seaters and a group table in the center and a few two or four seaters on the right wall. The decor is cute. Uncluttered. The color scheme is mostly light blue and white with black tossed in. They are emulating that shabby chic/ farmhouse chic style that all the gastro pubs and modern southern places love. Like I said, I wasn't blown away. I didn't see one thing on the menu (an ingredient, a flavoring, a technique) that I hadn't seen (many times) before. The shrimp in the shrimp and grits I saw a few tables eating seemed tiny. The menu would be small for lunch let alone dinner. The bar had craft beer, but, most places do now. Sanford, alone, has two (about to be three) breweries and a few beer-centric bars. The place looked nice and the service was excellent. But, there are few places I return to because of my desire to see (eat) it all. I don't think District made a strong enough impression to lure me back, but, it's good to know it's there the next time I come to try out a new restaurant in Sanford that Yelp and Google say is open but really isn't. An entree will run you anywhere from $16 to $28. It's a pretty fair value.

*FYI - La Sirena Gordita is closed and Celery City took over the spot. They are also going to refurb their old space one door down. The new brewery isn't open yet.

Grub Crawl - Downtown: Taco 68 and Ruby's

I ate this places downtown on Sunday afternoon. Did you know that the parking (at meters) is free on Sunday?

Taco 68 - The Basement on Pine opened this around a year ago and they are down to two days (T for dinner and Sn after noon). I had the Court Avenue which was listed as steak for $9. It was brisket. The meat was plentiful, but, bland. They give you two soft tacos. They dress them with raw jalapeno slices, onions, cilantro and an avocado cream. They also serve it with a side of salsa and chips. That puts it past the penny pinchers at Chipotle. They also do a chicken, shrimp and a few pulled pork tacos. The apps are nachos, salsa, wings and waffle fries.

Ruby's - This place on Orange and Central was Whitewood or Fire or something then Baba's and now (four months) this. Still a Middle Eastern menu throughout. I grabbed an arayes with beef because I think I had never had one. It was ground beef on a pita. It was supposed to come with tzatziki, but, it was forgotten about. That hurt. It was ok. No real flavor. It cost $7. Nothing life changing going on here. At least they don't serve pre-formed gyro patties.

The only new things downtown were some taco restaurants that I will dispatch with soon. I walked to the soccer stadium. It looks hastily built on the outside. Already looks run down and cheap. A shame. I would like to take the opportunity to thank management for dispatching Brek Shea and bringing in some excellent defense men. Now if they can just 86 Poo Poo for some one who exerts himself and doesn't run like a girl with her arm flying left and right instead of up and down. Such a useless pretty boy. I'd rather have Marta.