Shadow Ban

Does anyone think Google is shadow banning my site? It seems to be some method they use to hide sites from searches. When I search for my site (or posts), it rarely comes up. Even when I search - orlandoer. I'm the only one. It should be first. Or at least on the first page. It never shows up. Even if I use quotation marks. I think the only people who read this are ones that were on the mailing list pre- shadow ban. Let me know if I'm wrong and you have found this site through a search and if it was a Google search. Or ask them to un-ban the site.

Grub Crawl - West Colonial: Huong Viet, Nam Giao Deli and Zero Degrees (Closed)

I tried these places at lunch today. The are all in that area on West Colonial I call Chinatown. On the western side (more abandoned) side of the complex. I was supposed to try Chef Wang's. But, they are closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Lucky for us. Two were real surprises. And new. This area is becoming a destination.

Huong Viet - This a typical Vietnamese restaurant. I had a rice dish because I was prepared to eat Chinese. It had pork and shrimp cake on it. A small carrot salad as well. It cost $10. The usual. Grisly pork. Slightly mushy rice. The decor, condition and menu are familiar. They have been open for four years.

Nam Giao Deli - I looked in here a few months ago when I reviewed the Korean place. It looked like a bar not a deli. The owner said he has had trouble with the change over and put the deli sign up before he remodeled. Hence the confusion. He opened two weeks ago. It is a great Vietnamese take out spot. All these little "snacks" that I thought was missing from Vietnamese cuisine. It will be a joy to come back and get an education. I sampled a shrimp on sugar cane (tried that before), a palm leaf covered pork roll stuffed with periwinkles (come on!), lemon grass and ginger that was shaped like a Jimmy Dean sausage roll, a flat fried green panko crusted pork roll and fried ball stuffed with a quail egg that was covered with pork roll (three). The cost - $2, $2.50, $2.50 and $4. He also sliced off some samples of his two large pork rolls - fried and steamed. There were also spring rolls, a soy curd noodle type dish, an egg pancake and other snacks ready to go. And I haven't written about the regular dish menu or the bahn mi yet. Everything reasonably priced. Better than Huong Viet. The owner said he is worried about getting things in order before people find out about him. He's ready enough as far as I'm concerned. I'm so glad serendipity maneuvered me here. Can't wait to try my next batch of authentic Vietnamese items. It's named after a region in Vietnam.

Zero Degrees - This place is in between the first two. It opened three weeks ago. I thought it was another dumb boba place. It's more. It has food. Just chicken wings or popcorn, chicharron, fries, street corn (elote) and dessert. It's a chain. They said Western. I've never run into it. The best way I can describe it is that it is a hostel - if a hostel was a restaurant. It could be the snack bar in a hostel. It has that insouciance. The cheese fries have Cheeto dust. The floats have oreo crumbs. The sundaes have kids cereal on them. I had a popcorn chicken with salt and pepper for $5.50 and a cheese fries for $5. Both portions were huge. The chicken wasn't very tasty. Kind of like bad Chinese take out. But, they filled an entire circular tin container for me. It could feed four. The fries were better. Very thin. Big portion. Same container. The cheese was like game day melted goo. They put on too much red spicy Cheeto dust though. They have glass mason jars, milk bottles and travel containers that you can buy for a buck or two. For your liquid refreshments. You can add a swirl - a tornado of mango - to any drink. It's a Me-lennial dream come true. They just need to snap your picture when you enter and stream it to a monitor or straight to Instagram. The place is gray and black with dark wood patches. Pay and order at the counter. It's fun. Why they opened here is a mystery. It's the only non-Asian business. However, it just adds to the roster of choice places in this strip mall.

5th Element, Sanford

I had the lunch buffet at this new (two months) Indian restaurant in the strip mall on Rinehart across from the Mercedes dealership on Friday. It was excellent. Huge choice. Reasonable price ($11). Good quality. I had a goat dish, chicken tikka masala, a chicken kabob dish, garlic chicken, tandoori chicken, chicken jalfrezi, another curry chicken dish, sweet and sour soup, another soup, a flavored biryani (they had three or four), basmati rice, that donut that I forget the name of - that I think is made with chick pea flour, a puffy white roll like thing, naan, a coconut square, rice pudding, a rice and curd thing and probably some other things I can't remember. And I didn't even get to the vegetarian dishes. Almost as many. The regular menu has even more (ie lamb). They kept the trays filled and fresh. The place was almost at capacity. Alot of mechanics from the car dealerships close by. Alot of Indians too. They did a fair job on the remodel. They have tvs in the corners, booths around the perimeter and tables in the center. The other half of the space is the buffet area and bar. Culturally appropriate decor. They have four other locations around the state. They know what they are doing. Even the soda was cheap. The one misstep was that they weren't very attentive to the soda level. I had to ask for a refill. I really was not looking forward to this after the Southern Spice experience. The caloric intake Indian buffets expose me to even makes me apprehensive. However, this was a good learning experience and I will definitely go back. Calories be damned. If you live in the area, you have been blessed. And remember - I'm just reviewing the buffet! First an unsung movie with a naked Mila Jovovich and dog like creatures that look like Common and now this. The 5th Element must be love.

Grub Crawl - Disney Springs: Terralina and Yesake

I stopped by these spots yesterday at lunch. The first is near Boatyard. The second is in the shadow of Planet Hollywood.

Terralina - They said they just opened three weeks ago. I thought it had been open longer. The Olive Garden decor and pricey menu had me sharpening my claws the second I sat down. It didn't help when they asked if I wanted to sit at the bar in an empty restaurant and served me stank water (that I believe is purposely adulterated to force you to order a $4 soda). I tried the water fountains by the bathrooms outside the restaurant and the water there was ten times as potable. I settled on a sausage pizza because it was the cheapest thing at $14. And I didn't trust a place that looks like Olive Garden and sounds like a sandal company to cook anything of value. I may have been wrong. Not about the prices. They are Disney outrageous. $44 rib eye. $25+ pastas. $16+ "lunch special" sandwiches. $10 soups. $15 apps. The pizza was actually quite good. Especially for a "cracker style" pizza. and the dishes I saw other tables receiving looked good as well. My pizza was about ten inches across. Rustic style. They said it was made with mozzarella, but, it seemed like a blend. Little sauce. Plops of freshly ground, savory pork. The real star. Fresh red chilies. The pie was thin. I usually hate ones this thin. But, it was just thick enough and I had been pizza-less in the UK for three weeks, so, maybe I was a soft sale. I would have enjoyed it more if I wasn't dousing the heat with sips of pee water (or not drinking at all). I should mention that they provide the table with a loaf of foccacia bread with a side of jardiniere (cauliflower, etc). It is an odd match. The veggies fall right off the craggy bread. It also made me think that this is Chicago Italian and not the real McCoy. Service was ok. She was a little dim witted. She wanted to know if I wanted red pepper flakes on a pizza loaded with spicy red pepper pieces. All in all, it is too mundane for me to recommend. False ambiance. The food may be good (and that is an assumption), but, you need to click on all cylinders at these price points. It's unmemorable.

Yesake - This is a food stall that is kind of Asian and more. They serve udon, rice and maybe wraps that probably started as Japanese, but, they just decided to add ingredients and sauces until it appealed to any ethnic group. I mixed and matched udon noodles with shrimp, sesame sauce, kale, carrots and onions. The kale ruined it, but, I was struggling to add things. The shrimp were tiny. The noodles were scarce. Thankfully so was the sauce. Not a great meal. It cost $10. I wouldn't try them again. Some how they have survived for 2 and a half years.

*It seems like they have finished construction on this side. A new wine bar is also open.

Mo-Chica, I Drive

I had lunch at this Peruvian restaurant at the intersection of I Drive and Kirkman three weeks ago. It's in a location that most recently had a disappointing pizza place if I remember correctly. The interior is much the same/ They added a few murals. I had their salmon with risotto for $20. I kind of knew it would suck and I wasn't disappointed. The salmon was fishy smelling, dry, old and a small cut. The risotto was (over) flavored with pesto. It was also overcooked. Most seafood options are at this price point or higher. The whole menu is overpriced. Even the lunch "specials" are $10 and don't come with a side or anything. They discontinued the rotisserie chicken. I'm guessing it was too much of a bargain at $8 for a quarter. They think they are high end. They better hire more qualified cooks and ingredient purveyors if that is their ambition. I suspect they will join the long line of failures that have occupied this space. How they have survived for a year is a mystery. Now that I have wasted my time going here, I'm sure the kiss of death is in the air. There were two other tables eating while I was there. They seem to be focusing on seafood. They have ceviche and tiraditos. Some beef and chicken dishes. They are named after some ancient Peruvian peoples. Mo Chica, Mo Problemas.

This Little Piggy, Winter Garden

I went to this bbq stall at the Plant Street Market tonight. I grabbed a half pound of brisket to go because I found the prices out of line. They want $12 for a pulled pork sandwich. $14 if you want sides. And that is the cheapest option. A brisket sandwich (solo) is $15. Pork rinds are $9. The kids menu start at $9!. The brisket cost $9. To add insult to injury, it was half uneatable. Unrendered fat and sinew. The other half was dry. They over salt it as well. I tried their berry hot sauce. The salt activated the areas of my taste buds that react to heat. It made the sauce burn. Bad marriage. I knew I was in trouble when they started to chop the brisket. In my mind this a clear sign of embarrassment. An attempt to hide the inadequacies of the cook into a jumble of junk. They are in the lower tier of local bbq. Not even the best on their block (one competitor). They opened in January. And we could have done without that. Aside from the listed items they really only do ribs as well.

*Three or four new places have opened in WG. Two in a new building aside the market. A taco place (4 Loco?) and a steak place (Mathew's).

Grub Crawl - Sanford: Mr Z's and Boba Babes

I went to these two places on 1st St on Thursday at lunch. The first is in the old Zocalo location. The second is in the old Rabbit Records location farther down the street.

Mr Z's - This is sandwich shop and pizzeria that draws its inspiration from Philadelphia.. I had a roast beef sandwich special ($10) and a slice ($2.50). Regular sandwiches are around $8. This came with fries and a drink that I didn't get now that I think of it. The roast beef was a little dry. I would guess from age rather than overcooking. They said they get it specially done. It had a little too much fat for me as well. Hard fat. Maybe it's better when fresh. The roll was suspect too. The sauce (some kind of creamy Italian) was ineffective. I had to add some blue cheese that I had in the fridge to give it adequate flavor. The pizza was better. Nothing special. The usual Northeastern model. They tout their cheese steaks. The owner has some Philadelphia roots. The interior is mostly the same. Some new decoration. They opened in December.

Boba Babes - A tea and coffee place. I had a boba flavored tea with juice pearls (they didn't have the tapioca ones ready). They didn't exactly vibe with the milky tea, but, they were fun to pop. I had a level two sweetness (one is nothing). That was still very sweet. I think they made the look white. White walls and furniture. Can't remember the old look. The tea cost $6+ for a large (which isn't). They opened in May.