Bayridge Sushi, Longwood *TN/SC/NC/GA Travel Notes

I grabbed some take out (no sit in until June) for lunch on Wednesday at the new location (one block south and in from the old one) of this Japanese restaurant on 434 near some hospital. Look for a McDonald's. I had the sashimi lunch (12 pieces and a California roll) for $12 and a yellowtail and scallion roll for $5. They gave me rocket propulsion diarrhea (three extended ass heaves that impressed my ding dong by their force and liquidity) and that wasn't the worst part of the meal. Well I guess it was if we are viewing as part of my real fear of patronizing these re-emerging restaurants. I'm not scared of Wu Flu. I'm scared that restaurants will be unwilling to clear out their larders of the food they purchased before the closures. This seemed to be the case here. And this is raw fish. Not frozen chicken fingers. The sashimi was composed of tuna, salmon, escolar and what they call whitefish/tai (probably tilapia). The tuna seemed the freshest (most firm), but, it had no taste at all. The salmon was warm and limp. The escolar (I applaud them for not calling it white tuna) was warm. limp and tasted funky. The tilapia had the worst funk. Antisceptic. Like they sprayed it with bleach. Just deplorable. 3 pieces of each. Decent size. The Cali roll was also bad. The avocado was not ripe. To illustrate, the best piece I had was one that fell into the soy sauce and was saturated in it. They also included a miso soup with dry, hardened miso. That's a first. And an iceberg lettuce leaf salad. The yellowtail came in a cigar shape in nori. The cheap way of serving it. The fish had no taste. The presentation was ok. The place is much bigger (than the old) and very nice looking. Hip even. Black wood. square design. Big Buddha statue in front. It's a shame. I'll never go back because of this gastro-ass-ault. They opened in December. I never realized it, but, the "Bayridge" is for Bayridge Brooklyn. Where they opened their first restaurant. I wonder if they get their fish from under the Verrazzano. It would explain a lot. The old location is going to be a F&D Italian soon. The one that was supposed to be in Sanford I guess.

*Travel Notes - TN/SC/NC/GA: I only have a few finds from last weeks trip to the TN/SC/NC and GA. A bbq place (Smokin Pig) off 95 in Richmond Hill GA (exit 87, I think) served me up a smoked chicken sandwich. I chose a side of collard greens. Not sure if this is already a thing, but, I put them in the sandwich. It worked. I also saw (didn't try) that they had something called funnel fries at Spanky's in Kitty Hawk NC. I forgot to ask if these were just churros. They also had a burger topped with a crab cake. That's kind of original. Was going to go to The Chef and the Farmer in Kinston NC (on TV), but, it was still closed.

Lena's Seafood, Silver Springs * FL/GA/AL/KY/MO/IA/SD/NE/KS/AR/OK/TX/MS Travel Notes

I'm writing about this place (even though it's probably out of range for most of you) on SR 40 on the way to 75 mostly because I'm about to blow this popsicle stand for another week and let you scaredy-crats know there is a big wild world out there that doesn't make you sick. I grabbed some to go food at lunch on the first of the month. Just a cheeseburger and some chicken strips. I was still a little antsy about prepared foods. They were fine. packaged strips of course. The big wing looking ones. The burger was better than the usual fast food drink coasters. The strips cost (side order) $5.65 and the burger cost $5.05. They try and recreate a New England type place. A dozen different fried seafoods (even smelts). Six rolls (ie lobster roll). Subs. Salads. Soups. Land food. A big selection. Not sure if the stuff is fresh. probably frozen. It was pretty popular.

*Travel Notes - 13 States: The real reason for the post. I left on a thirteen state red state road trip two weeks ago. Some states were more open than others. Some asked you to wear masks in certain places (ie big cities in Texas). Traffic was light.  Gas was cheap. Hotels were all clean and cheap and mostly empty. It looks like they tossed out all the old towels and sheets and maybe even pillows and scrubbed down everything. Same with food. It was mostly drive thru fast food in the beginning. But, I didn't get a touch of stomach discomfort like usual. Either they finally cleaned these places or the masks kept their bacteria off of my food. I tried some new things. Loose meat sandwiches in Sioux City Iowa (Tastee Inn & Out). The most famous is in Marshalltown (Taylor's) but it was not on my way. A fast food chain in Fayetteville Tennessee called Jack's. Not Jack in the Box. Smoked corned beef in Kansas. Really good. The Shed on exit 57 on the 10 in Mississippi is also now doing crawfish. It seems to be the season. These were the best and biggest and freshest I've ever had. You could eat the claws. So cheap. $5 for a pound. And I also had a pulled rib meat sandwich. The Q is still great. I also saw some new things on the menus. Fried shrimp on a hot dog in Mitchell South Dakota. Plus a jalapeno and cream cheese filled dog that was breaded and fried and served with raspberry sauce. They (Hungry Dog) also served a Juicy Lucy filled with Dimock Dairy pepperoni and cheddar. In Vidor Texas they had a boil joint (Jingo's) that served Boudain balls and great salt and pepper stuff. The corned beef place in Fort Scott Kansas (Luther's) also served smoked bologna, pork belly, turkey and ham (in addition to the usual items). They called burnt ends "beef flavored marshmallows". Also had pork fritters. I barely tried to seek out these places. They just appeared before me. I still had a lot of fast food. But, it wasn't a total loss. Hopefully, more places will be open on US Road Trip Part Deux. Now get out of you house and accept the fact that you can't baby proof your lives and if you could they wouldn't be worth living. Life involves risk. Calculated risk. I've been on the other side of the door and survived. And you (most likely if you aren't in feeble health already) will too.