Oh My Gyro, Longwood

I had a gyro at this Middle Eastern fast-casual place on 434 yesterday. It replaces around a half dozen other places (mostly Indian) at this location (before Max and Meme or Ali Baba from I-sore). The gyro was excellent. I went because it was listed in a Weekly's list of ten under $10. They were right on. The meat was savory and fresh. The vegetables (T,O,L) were beyond fresh. The tzatziki was nice. The pita was warm and fresh. They give you more taztziki and a lethal hot sauce on the side. If I compare it to the last couple of gyros I've reported back on, it's like crescent moon and day. And it only cost $6.49. You can also chintz on a can of soda for $1.25 or get a fountain drink at $2. You can also make it a special (fries and drink) or make it a platter (rice and salad) for a few bucks more. I think it was just meat or chicken available. But, they also serve steak, kabobs, hamburgers and I think I remember some American things like nuggets (don't quote me). They did next to nothing to the decor. Even the art work is from the last guy. It's a service-less experience. You order. You pick up. You clean up. It seats about sixty and was feeding about sixteen people while I was there. It has been open since October. I'm mad I missed out for so long. I would eat here once a week if I lived closer. I think they charge $10 for a way worse gyro at that place in Lake Mary (Paramount).

*I also grabbed some brisket from 4Rivers on my way back to I-sore. They really aren't very good anymore. This brisket was under cooked. Little flavor or smoke ring. A rush job. I think this is the sixth time in a row that they disappointed me (different meals), so, it isn't an over-reaction. It's a trend. They over-expanded and do too many things. It's obituary time.

Wondermade, Sanford

I tried three marshmallows fror $2 on Saturday at this sweets shop across from Hollerbach's. They said they have been in that location for four years. Hats off to the PR/marketing department. The store is a regular beacon. Impossible to miss.. It is really more of an ice cream shop than a marshmallow shop. They only had the three flavors and two chocolate covered options. There were some ridiculously priced previously packaged gift boxes for sale as well. But, who wants potentially stale marshmallows at a marshmallow store? Most people probably wouldn't know they wanted a marshmallow store to begin with. With a product like marshmallow, it better be good. I will give it up for the marshmallows. They were good. Lavender, caramel something and one more that has already slipped my mind. I'd replace every cupcake place with a marshmallow place if possible. Faint praise.

There was also an "Arts" centric event going on that night. I ate a a truck called Saigon Sizzle and they may have caused my digestive issues the next day (them or a Subway Club). I won't expound because of the uncertainty. I will continue to question why all these roach coachers think they can charge $9+ for fast food. Monotonous, derivative, duplicative fast food.

The Pie, College Park

I popped in here for lunch about a week ago. It's in that strip mall to the right of the condos near Princeton. Parking is in the back. It is an Italian fast casual spot that specialized in Roman style pizza (a cross between Sicilian and Neapolitan). I resisted the slice and soda special at $8 for a Margarita and a Meatlover twin bill (so I could report on more for you people). That made the total (with soda) $10. The slices (taglio) were ok. A "meat lovers" consists of  ham, prosciutto, mortadella, pepperoni, salami, sausage and meatball. I'm not sure I recognized all those flavors. Seeing them in print makes me surprised that I sampled all of those ingredients. I do recall that I wasn't wowed by the quality. Not bad. But, understandably, average. I mention it because I don't want you to think that this is a high end spot because of the sloganeering. And it's not like they add a full serving of all those meats. You just get more variety. Which is why I usually avoid a meat lovers. In general, I guess a slice is worth $4. If a regular slice runs $2 then this is probably two times as big. One slice is enough for most people. A bit odd that a plain slice costs as much as a topped one. Maybe fair if you are looking at it from the "toppings please" side of it. They also do full pies (up to $17), sandwiches, calzones, salads, deserts (2) and a few apps (5). All under $10. They are open for lunch and dinner all week. They even opened a little early for me. The place seats about forty. They have large murals on the wall and the seats and tables are functional. It is fine for a quick bite and they do have the concession on Roman style pizza in CF. They have been open for a month or so and have already changed hands. A Brazilian man owns it now.

Pub Crawl - Sanford: The Stranded Sailor (Closed), Bitters & Brass (Closed) and Sanford Brewing

I tried the first two and re-tried the last on Saturday night. They are on Sanford Ave in downtown. Seems like all the action is around here now. And there actually was some action.

The Stranded Sailor - This is across from Wops Hops. I think they said the have been open for 4 weeks or months. It's an English themed bar. Kinda. Not a cheesy reproduction, but, the beer is mostly from the UK and they have dart boards. I had a $10 beer from New Zealand. They have cheaper options. It was fine. They had a punk/metal (ballsy) band playing later on that night.

Bitters & Brass - This is also new. I ended up spending the most time here because I got into some conversations. I had two tequila based cocktails at $9 a piece. They were good. Showy. This cocktail craze isn't the best thing I've ever lived through, but, these guys weren't that self-impressed and actually were able to get the drinks out at a decent pace. The space is lovely. It's in that old "speakeasy" building that is part of the larger structure that had the soul food and breakfast spots (in between Sailor and Sanford). It has a look and feel that can't be matched. They definitely had the best looking girls too. I think the restaurant next door was also back in business. Looked like a chicken place with a Latin vibe.

Sanford Brewing - I had a terrible lager and "dinner" (disappointing cheese fries) here. The lager was very yeasty and kept me from ordering another beer or more food. I can't remember if I hated the beer the last time. If so, then this will be "the last time". The fries sounded good last time I was here. Bacon dust and other things were promised. They either forgot the bacon dust or it was indiscernible, because - well because I'm complaining about it. The wedge shaped fries were also under cooked and the cheese sauce had me longing for game day nacho cheese. And then they slopped a ton of jalapenos and onions on top of it. Of course a place with these issues (a totally overwhelmed kitchen) was packed with middle aged Sanfordinians. Adding to the horror was the "old man" band that I think I complained about Buster's employing last trip here.

*I'll try the chicken place and a marshmellow place (across from Hollerbach's) for you shortly. Just couldn't eat marshmellows and beer and I was distracted until after having a dinner would have been sensible.

El Molcajete, East Colonial (50)

I tried this new (six weeks) Mexican restaurant near 50 on North Goldenrod on Friday at lunch. I believe this area was full of Vietnamese places not so long ago. Now it is mostly Spanish speaking from University to 50. Ignore any info on their hours that you see online. They correspond to the food truck they run/ran out of Kissimmee. They are open seven days a week from 10 am (I think) until late at night. Their number is 407-845-1628 if I have that wrong and you want to check.

They have an "expanded" Mexican menu that includes things like Vera Cruz Snapper and Huevos Rancheros, however, the real reason to visit is antojitos. Antojitos are corn themed apps/street food that translates into "little cravings". They have ten "classes" of them and I tried four of them for you people. I tried the tacos, pambazo, picadita and gringas. Two I ate there and two I brought home for dinner. I had a cabeza (cow brain) and lengua (cow tongue) taco because you know I'm disgusting. Both were good. The brain is soft and oily and the tongue was lean and tender. They are served in freshly made tortillas in a street food (onion and cilantro) style. They cost $2 a piece. Next I had the $4.50 picadita. It was basically a corn (huarache) cake with green or red (I did green because I always do red) sauce, sour cream, cotija cheese and the menu says cheese (but I don't recall eating any). It was ok. How good can a corn cake get? I'm an omnivore. At home I ate the pamboza. This is a stupid dish that I always avoid because it sounds (and now I know tastes) so lame. It's a roll dipped in red sauce with sour cream, lettuce, and cotija cheese. This one was filled with potatoes and chorizo (I tasted and saw no evidence of chorizo). It was $5.50 down the toilet (but we'll get to that later). The last dinner item was the gringas. It was basically an al pastor (chicken and pineapple) quesadilla. It cost $6. I don't really like al pastor, so, this didn't do anything for me either. That said, I liked the food in general. It's authentic from the Toluca (capitol of the state of Mexico near the big volcano outside of Mexico City) region. I really only have three peeves that may keep it from my "favorites" list. 1. They charge $3 for a soda. 2. They start the tipping options at 18% and you can only tip by percent not real numbers. 3. Something in the mix did give me intestinal issues the next day. The last "peeve" is the most serious. I'll stipulate that it was hot in the car coming home and I didn't ever refrigerate the dinner items.

The plus is in a scary-ish strip mall across from a gas station. some of their windows were cracked and it looked a little trashy outside (inside was better). They have three tables of four in the front and six or seven booths on the left. Two murals are the main decoration. There was nobody else eating there at 1pm. I wonder if the prices are a little high for the neighborhood? A place next door called Willie's Pinchos seemed to be faring alot better. The rest of the antojitos menu was gorditas/sopes, huaraches, tortas, burritos, quesadillas and esquites/elotes. The last two are corn kernels in a cup and corn on the cob. They cost $4. The huaraches were the most expensive at $9. The other tacos come as: al pastor, carnitas, tripa, pollo, buche (stomach), and chorizo. The free chips (colored) were very good and came with a garlic-y chipotle salsa that came in a cute container that I'm not sure is the molca or the jete. In know that isn't what it translates to, I just didn't want to write that it came in a mortar. And from that you can guess that the name means mortar and pestle.

Overall it probably will satisfy a Tex-Mex AND a Mexican (authentic) crowd. You have the Taco Bell/Don Pablo (?) items for the 'fraidy cats and the specialties for the OGs. And if that fails, you'll have to tell me how Willie's was. But, I doubt a fraidy cat would have any better reaction to a pincho. They had parking and took credit cards. I don't love the fact that ingredients seem to have been overlooked/forgotten and that it didn't totally agree with my buche and tripe, but, it was still interesting and they did give me a gigantic soda to go (when I just asked to have the remainder of what they poured me already).