Grub Crawl - Winter Park: Git N Messy BBQ (Moved), Twisted Root Burger Co and Light on the Sugar Bakery Cafe *LV Travel Notes

I went to these three establishments (all close to each other on opposite sides off Aloma and Hall Rd) on Friday at lunch. I sat at the middle one and grabbed stuff to go from the others. I'd like to interject some thoughts on Orlando that I had while driving around and back from the airport. The greater CF area is depressing. Between the heat and the I-4 debacle and the shuttered stores, it reminded me of the days after a hurricane hits. We should be glad fewer people are seeing us in our dishabille. I also wondered, how masks work when I still have to be six feet away from people, the case rate didn't decline at all in the two weeks (or weeks before when counties started mandating them) I was away and how can 80 to 90 percent of tests be negative. Do you mean we are wasting 80 to 90 percent of our tests on hypochondriacs who don't have it? Is this how scared we've made people? And if they don't have it, what do they have? And how many positive tests are from the same person? If I test positive and then go back for more tests until I get two negatives, is each one of my positive tests added to the total like I'm a different person?

Git-N-Messy BBQ - Last weeks' Orlando Weekly stole my thunder and has a good article on the guy who runs this place so I won't give you his bio. Coincidentally, I knew something about him (before I learned he ran this) as well. I met him at Vera Asian in Lake Mary last year. This place is in a gas station. You see an old black smoker in the corner of the lot near Aloma. The counter is inside in the front. He serves: oversized pork sandwich, rib sandwich, Nashville hot chicken sandwich, brisket sandwich, Alabama white chicken sandwich, St Louis Style ribs, poutine, brisket dinner, 2 meat platter and sides and dessert. I tried the 2 meat platter (with two sides) for $18. The ribs (3) weren't divided into baby backs and the nubs. The whole McGillicuddy (we may all have to learn Biden-speak). They were a tad firm, but, most good. Probably just salt and pepper (and something zesty) in the rub. The other article says he's not into "fall of the bone" texture. Unfortunately, I am. He says the ribs go in for four hours. The brisket is in the sauna for sixteen hours. They (3 think, long slices) were also a little tougher than I like. I'd probably trim more of the fat cap off. Hardly any of it melted into the meat. Still good. Nice bark. Nice smoke. I have to confess that I ate some luke warm and some cold and some nuked for thirty seconds. They were best nuked. Fat and juices were present. Eating them timely could make your experience more representative (and pleasant). Still, he does a bang up job. Better than most in the area. I'd say better than 4 Rivers, but, that's hardly a compliment any more. I chose the mac n cheese and bbq beans as the sides. The mac was not a cheese bomb. I like it that way. This may have been a little too nakedly dressed. The beans were fine. Not a huge bean guy. The sauce was tangy. Nice sized servings of both. Couldn't be eaten in the first sitting. In fact, this platter broke down into three meals or supplements. I'll be back. The perfect type place for pandemic dining. Near Trinity Prep. Not sure of the hours. I think they opened three months ago.

Twisted Root Burger Co - I learned that they have a few locations in Texas. They had Guy Fieri's poster on the wall. One of those locations must have been on the show. That aside. I liked it a lot. Although an assembly line ordering process, it isn't assembly line quality. They offer regular burgers and a host (not all in season) of wild game meat. I think they were down to bison and venison. The toppings also delineate the types. I just tried the Freshman 15 because it had (what was supposed to be smashed fries of some sort) an interesting topping on it plus bacon, cheddar and a fried egg. Maybe the folks at Brick & Spoon should come here to see how to prepare an egg? The toppings were top notch. The cat's pajamas. Ooh Slappy Joe, we're on a roll now. The temp on the burger was as I asked. The bun was fresh and good. The egg had hard whites and a runny yolk. It came out lickety split. The only (minor) disappointments were the sparse amount of average fries and the molded geometry of the burger. A sloppy, hand molded one always seems more expensive (and fresher) and crafted to me. The meat had a beefy (aged) flavor that I hope is intentional. It cost under $10. The place looks nice. Gastro-pubby. Gray tones. Big picnic tables and booths. *I just typed picicnic with an I in the middle and it was spell checked. What was up with the guys who invented Yogi Bear? Why would he purposely mislead children? A "real" bar area. There were around four tables seated. Some at the bar. A very decent value. I didn't love the weirdo craft sodas they offer. I believe they have been open for six months. Across Aloma from Git N Messy. In the center of a strip mall. Behind a bank?

Light on the Sugar Bakery Café - How's this for full circle? The guy from Git N Messy arrived at Twisted Root while I was there and told me to try this place. It is a few stores to the right of Root. It was worth it. They are dishing out chouxs like Al Bundy. Yeezy? More current? I could do a Biden joke reference about Buster Brown or bare feet. I had a cream filled one. Not sure exactly which one. Lost the receipt. They all are cream filled. Mine was pretty basic. Vanilla cream. It cost $5 with tax. Very good. Nice cream. Maybe too much. Big choux. Softball sized. Good choux. Fresh. I forget what else they offered. I think some sandwiches and drinks and obviously other pastries. I think they said they opened three months ago. I didn't have time to write down my observations on any of these when I got home and then I let it lay there. Worth a try. In fact, I would repeat what I did and have you lunch and dinner and dessert in one felt swoop.

*Travel Notes - Las Vegas: Like this isn't long enough already. But, I promised some news on Las Vegas. I'll be quick. Like a ... oh we can't say that Joe any more. All these get pretty high marks on Yelp. etc. It's not just me saying this. Paina. A Hawaiin place on Spring Mountain Rd. Good tuna poke (no rice). Good spam musubi. The real draw is a mocha donut that looks like a teething ring. I had a yam iced one. Two places in the same strip mall on Spring Mountain and Decatur that I have been trying to get into for three years and finally could because of dirty bat eating troglodytes: Kabuto and Raku. Kabuto is just a fancy, small sushi place. I grabbed a to go box. Just fresh assorted fish. Raku was crazier. An izakaya type place. Ate raw Kobe beef liver sashimi with sliced garlic, steamed foie gras egg custard and some yakitori (Kurobuta pig ear, cheek and duck). At the Cosmopolitan Hotel (around $100 a night now) I tried Jose Andres' China Poblano to go. Had Ants Climbing a Tree (glass noodles, bok choy, pea shoots and chicken) and swallow a cloud soup (shrimp and pork wonton soup) and a carnitas taco. I also tried a porchetta sandwich at Lardo. Both places were good. At The Palazzo, I tried Buddy Valastro's Carlo's Bakery with a chocolate fudge cake. It sucked. So sweet. Has he had fudge? Like a Hostess cupcake. I also tried two meh places on Spring Mountain road. Some chain (one in Miami) called The Taco Shop and a poke place with the great name of Poke Man. And the piece de resistance  is a Mexican joint in a strip mall just after the Encore on the strip called Tacos el Gordo. I was staying at the Wynn this night (also just over $100 now) and I could walk to it. The greatest al pastor (rotating on a spit with pineapple on top) pork tacos that they term "adobada". I think they rub the meat with it. I had two in tacos and one in a Vampiro. That turned out to be two tostadas jammed together with cheese. The meat was sooo good. Tortillas. Sooo good. They also had something called a Mula that I think they said was like a sincronizada. But, they could just have been yessing me along. They also served (this is a first for me and I didn't try because of my pending flight) beef EYES! Also, cabeza, buche (maw), suadero (shoulder), tripa and two types of beef that I didn't learn about because it was served in a different queue (masiza and molleja). They also had lengua and sesos (beef brain). It was rated the best Mexican on Yelp. So correct! I add these little addendums because I hope you can see that you can get out there (and to give local cooks some ideas). There are some great bargains if you do. Although, it was 110 the day I left Vegas and you have to wear THE RIBBON! I mean mask.

Grub Crawl - Maitland: Brick & Spoon and 7 Mango *NV/UT/NM/WY/CO/AZ Travel Notes

I tried these places over two weeks ago at lunch. They are near the Copper Rocket. The first is on the corner of the condo complex on the road into Eatonville. The second is in the deep corner of the parking lot across the street that is in front of Copper Rocket or that Med fast food photomart.

Brick & Spoon - A bougie breakfast and lunch place that asks the question - "can you gentrify yourself". It's an offshoot of two Alabama places owned by an ex-Brewer. I forget his name. They have been open for three months. I had a traditional eggs benedict to go because it was packed. I thought it would come out quicker. No concerns about the lack of social distancing. I don't really care. It didn't make a difference. Took thirty minutes plus. This was on the day before Independence Day. A Friday. I was surprised by the turn out. If the people had jobs, then why weren't they at them? If they did not, how were they taking the whole family out in the middle of an economic crisis? The menu wasn't cheap. Then I realized. They have government jobs. We pay them NOT to work while we are furloughed or not allowed to work by the same government bureaucrats.

The benedict was pretty bad. The muffin wasn't toasted. The eggs were well done. The Canadian bacon was mediocre. The sauce was thankfully sparse. What there was of it was sour and broken. This was a bit after the riots. I guess the cooks were fresh out of jizz from banging all the co-eds after the rallies, so, they couldn't "sauce" the eggs properly. It cost $12. It came with some ok "hash browns". More like fried potato rectangles. This or the drink I had at the next place gave me stomach distress.

They had five other poached egg dishes. Some with seafood. They also had breakfast tacos, pancakes, French toast, omelets, biscuits, salads, burgers, shrimp and grits, seafood and other things. The place looks nice. Modern. High ceilings. I'm not sure if I'd give it a second try. Too pricey for execution probability.

7 Mango Ice Cream and Tea - They have been open for one year. I had a mango fruit tea for $5. It was terrible. Bath water. I'm not sure if the mango was supposed to be green and hard, but, it was. Probably poisoned me. They also do that Thai style of ice cream where they freeze it on a board and they scrape it into a roll.

*Travel Notes - NV/UT/NM/WY/CO/AZ: I have been on a two week road trip to the Southwest. Most of the good food finds were in Las Vegas. I will tell you about them in the next post. I will start by detailing air travel. No lines at the airport. Wearing a mask while waiting for the plane and then on the plane blows. They pretend to take your temperature while boarding. The flight is 100% full. They won't give you anything to eat or drink. Taxiing out to the runway and taking off is quicker. Not much new to eat. I had chorizo instead of CB on eggs benedict in Moab UT (Jailhouse Café). It was bad. My hotel in Blanding UT (Stone Lizard Lodge) made me savory pockets (eggs, green Hatch chile, ham, cheese and tomato in puff pastry), whole wheat Cinnamon rolls (not good) and a nice chia pudding (chia seed soaked in coconut milk). I had a honey and sea salt rubbed cheddar from Beehive Cheese at a market (Harmon's) in Salt Lake City. Ok. I bought baby back ribs potato chips by Flavor Mill at a gas station in Blanding. Bad. Just bbq chips. They sold a lot of weird flavors. That's all that stood out. Ate at a lot of favorite west coast fast food spots. Vegas was a different story.