Oviedo Brewing Company, Oviedo

 I had dinner at this two year old establishment at the backside of the Oviedo Mall two Friday's ago. You can take Red Bug Lake Rd to get there. I went for the beer, but, it was so late I just ate there when I found out they serve food. I probably (I hope for their sake) ordered the worst thing. Fish and chips. It cost an outrageous $13. Literally, it is a tiny frozen piece of fish from the supermarket. The kind the sell in large plastic bags. A Filet-o-Fish spits on them. And it wasn't even cooked right. I'd wager they microwaved it. Beyond lazy and impertinent. It came with fries. They ruined those too. They were the cool cuts that I think I wrote of in my Utah travel notes. The perfect sized ones. In between chips, shoestrings and home fries. These numb skulls battered them. They also served some burgers and other snacks. The beer was better. Flights are shots at $2.50 per. Big servings. The place looks nice. Big. Two levels. Beer equipment in view. TVs. Wood theme. Heavy chairs. There was a quasi-farmer's market going on outside. It looked like this is the only thing open in the mall. At least at night. The girls (patrons) there looked prettier than the slags in my town. It was pretty full. Though distancing makes everything look at capacity. Go for the beer.

Thai Halal Grill, Longwood

 I was inspired by the selective, self-serving, sanctimonious bigotry of a local food critic to prove my purity (and solidarity with the Asian community) by patronizing another Asian establishment. It seems this is the best way to offset anecdotal pandemics of hate that are in no way an effort to distract the public from real issues. I know. You are saying "haven't you devoted a statistically imbalanced amount of attention on them recently?". And I can only respond that equity doesn't mean equitable. Duh! We all have alot more lo mein to buy if we are going to heal this country. 

To proceed on a serious note, I tried this stall in the Apna Market (this seems to be a chain) on 434 (between I-4 and Ronald Reagan) last Friday at lunch. I grabbed Tum Yum Soup and Red Curry Chicken to go. The soup cost $6. It had four large and better than average shrimp in it. Plus tomato, onion, mushrooms, lemon grass and a bay leaf. The broth seemed darker than I remember. It was good. The curry tasted sweeter than usual. I'm not sure if this is a northeast Thailand (where the menu is based) thing or just how the do it here or just a one off incident. And there seemed to be an essence of something Middle Eastern like cumin in it. It was good. Lots of rice. Chicken was a tad less thin than usual. It cost $11. They also sell eight (according to the takeout menu, but, it looked like less on the board in the stall) other dishes like fried rice and massaman curry. Plus a banh mi type Thai sandwich that I haven't seen offered before. They are open 12-7:30pm Wed-Sn. I'm not sure if it is a husband and wife team or what. The cook was Thai. The man at the register was named Khan. I think that is Pakistani or Afghani. He came off as the owner. Worth a try. The have some seating. They opened semi-recently. I forgot to write it down and it seems like four months was the term, but, everything seems to be four months and I could be confusing them. Dementia is the the new clarity.

*I have two more that I will space out over the next week. The last will have NC/SC trip notes. I went skiing in NC finally.

Grub Crawl - West Colonial: Shanghai Lane (Closed), Tokyo Ramen, Izziban Katsu and Joen *TX Travel Notes

I tried these places a week ago (W) at lunch. The first two are in Chinatown (Westside Crossings). The second are the last of the stalls in the Lotte Supermarket. Both on West Colonial. 

Shanghai Lane - They just opened four months ago. I thought it would be more of a sit down, full menu place. It has some seats, but, it has more of a modern fast casual feel. They serve around a dozen dishes. Some interesting ones were made with soy milk. I also remember a boiled chicken (kind of Hainese looking), wonton soup, fried rice, bao and hot noodle dishes. I had the Nanxiang (they said an area north of Shanghai, but, Google says a town in the Jiading district of Shanghai. Maybe the same diff?) Soup Dumplings (6) for $7. I'm not sure if I've had these regular sized suckers. I've had the softball sized one. These were ok. The problem was the "wrapper". It wasn't "delicate". Tough. And it leaked easily. Not great when filled with liquid. The "meat" inside also wasn't anything to write home about. Soup was bland. So, I guess, with time to think about it, they weren't that great or worth a buck plus a piece. They came with a vinegar sauce that I have to put in the category of "why exactly is this necessary?". It has its own sauce. That said, I shorted them when I realized I could do a quick snack here and save a trip back here by lunching at the next place in the review. I'll give them a second chance someday. Especially now that I know that easy take out is also an option. I'll take the opportunity here to tell you of a dish I saw on tv. Fried milk. Google says it's from Shunde in the Guangdong province. I've got to find some place that makes it. Even though it's probably gross.

*4/28/2021 - Returned and tried salt soy milk soup ($5) and Shanghai pan fried pork buns ($6). Soup was bad. Had some vegetable like spinach in it. They put old bread in it. Didn't help. They said put vinegar in it. Didn't help. Pork buns were outrageous. Not really buns. Similar to dumplings. I usually prefer steamed dumplings. The way they do these has the race at least even. Better in this case. Better than their steamed dumplings. So good. Crispy. Pork juice. Moist. 

Tokyo Ramen Poke Tea - I think I was informed that they took over the spot where people say the first real ramen restaurant came to Orlando. I can't remember the name. Though my notes say something about old Mr Wong's. Maybe I've got them and Da Sun mixed up? I thought it was just ramen and that is what I ordered. They serve more than that. They sell: poke, teppan yaki, noodles, fried rice, donburi and a variety of apps. They also refer to themselves as Japanese Fusion. That explains the twelve types of ramen I had to choose from. I settled an one of the odder ones. I guess it is Filipino inspired. It is called Menudo Ramen. It is slow braised beef in a beef (or something brown) broth. It cost $12. It was ok. Much better than their neighbor Da Sun Ramen. The noodles were perfect. Don't see the need for fish cake in a beef soup. The beef was plentiful. Big hunks. A little tough. Here are some of the weirder ramen: shin kimchee, pork chop, hot and sour, spicy chicken and a chasu (pork belly) that must be somewhat off called Paitan. The place also looks ten times better than Da Sun. Much bigger, cleaner and better decorated. Nice murals on both walls. Mustard trim. Black hard plastic tables and chairs. The only flaws were a buffet area and a big plastic curtain they think stops air born viruses. They also take your temp (another waste of time). Service (1) was fine. Food came out at a reasonable speed. Way better than I expected. Open for a year. Closed Monday. 

Izziban Katsu - A weird, disjointed menu of around twenty things. I think it is Koreans selling Japanese food. They had a Korean fish cake on a skewer special called Odeng for instance. I grabbed two chicken yakitori skewers to go because nothing else was calling my name and all the things seemed too pricey for a food stall in a supermarket. They cost $8. They were average. They seemed to be topped with Gochujang sauce. a Korean thing. They didn't even sell much katsu. The one interesting dish was a special Nagasaki fish soup. But, that is just because where it comes from.

Joen - They sell the usual Korean dishes. I saw a bibimbap in a stone pot that looked good. I tried (to go) a special pork backbone soup because it sounded weird. It was ok. 3 vertebrae. Not much meat on them. Kind of like ox tail. Good flavor. Tender. Two potato pieces. Kimchi. Red broth. Rice on the side. Three average bonchon (kimchi, spicy radish, spicy zucchini). It cost $12. 

*Travel Notes - Texas: I had pretty decent beef tacos with charro beans and a loaded potato at Marisela's Tamales in Beaumont. I had a Jazz Martini (shrimp and crab and hearts of palm and avocado) and shrimp and blue cheese grits at some 100 year old institution in Galveston called Gaido's. Galveston was more interesting than I expected. Many old Victorian homes. They said it was the biggest city until some hurricane early in the 1900's. I had bad lean and marble brisket sandwiches at Smokin R BBQ in West Columbia. I had an ok burger at some small chain called Billy Bob's Hamburgers. This one was in Hondo. West of San Antonio. I had pretty good brisket and a gamey barbacoa taco at David's Old Fashioned Pit BBQ in Fredericksburg. So many wineries now. A new bubbly maker called Heath Sparking Wines opened a beautiful tasting room. I'll also point out a brewery called Altstadt. I had a chocolate tasting in Stonewall at Chocolates El Rey. It's just past F'burg. They claim to be world gold medal winners in white chocolate. It was good. They make the stuff in Venezuela. I also bought a toffee and chocolate and pecan thing called Holy Moly. Mostly toffee. So, disappointing. Some of their other offerings (chocolate covered) are: white discs, dark discs, coated almonds, covered pecans, cherry bark, pistachio bark, citrus cashew bark, chili crumble, fruitful bark, kitchen sink bark, peppermint bark and mango cayenne. In Austin I had a three chili sampler of venison and beans, beef and white pork with hatch chilis at Texas Chili Parlor near the capitol building. One the other side of the river, I had an interesting tortilla soup with achiote chicken, avocado, cheese, kale and pickled cauliflower and a shrimp taco with kale at Fresa's on South First. Did you know kale, spinach and strawberries have the most pesticides in them of all things? Think on that the next time you order a smoothie. For breakfast I had a gingerbread pancake and an egg dish with chicken, beans, salsa and sour cream on a corn pancake at Magnolia Cafe. Real good. Real big, I also grabbed a Migas (egg) taco from Torchy's Tacos on the way out. I had the best barbeque of the trip in some little joint (Smitty's Smokehouse) in a little town called Jasper. I had a half smoked chicken and a quarter pound of brisket. Very tender. Chicken was great too. And that is that. I'll say that Texas (and I like it) is truly an ugly piece of property. It's funny that it is so populated. Just flat, brown and dusty. Even the trees looked like they were in a forest fire. FYI. I'm sure you have heard. The Governor just lifted their mask mandate. 

Grub Crawl - Audubon Park and Mills: The Salty and Matcha House *LA Travel Notes

I tried these two snack places on Wednesday before lunch. I was going to add the mochi place at the East End Market, but, they aren't open M-W. I separated these from where I went after based on location. They will be in the next review. I just had to get these off the list somehow.

The Salty - A new donut place at the intersection of Corrine and whatever that street is with the 7-11. It's a huge white space. It was (or they made it look like) a garage. A little pergola type structure outside. I grabbed a traditional frosted donut for $3. It was good. Huge. They have funky donuts. Strawberry shortcake, fruity pebbles, etc. They were a little costlier. Nice packaging. Order from a counter place.

Matcha House Tea and Creamery- They opened in June. They sell hot matcha, cold teas with boba and best of all (and should be mandatory) ice cream. I had black sesame in a large, dark black, sugar cone. It was probably water based ice cream. But, I liked it. Never had black sesame ice cream before. Don't recall seeing it. It cost $5. The place is across from a school (Lake Highland Prep pre-highschool?) on Mills. Next to Standard and that Korean fried chicken place. It has a modern look. Order from a counter type place.

*I saw a new pizza place on Mills - Pops. They look open, but, only sell pizza after 4pm. Pre-designed pies and few other things. I think they said they opened in June.

**Travel Notes - Louisiana (really just one day in New Orleans): I walked from my hotel on St Charles in the Garden District (Prytania Park $105 on a Saturday with free parking) to Nola Brewing Co. It was cool. The beer was good. They also have a pizzeria and a guy was boiling crawfish outside. Band too. I had a flight of spirits at Lula Distillery (next to hotel). They were good. I begged a reservation at Hot Tin at the Ponchartain Hotel on St Charles and Josephine. It was Saturday and I was lucky. They turned away alot of others after me. I had three appetizers. They are serving the same menu as the main restaurant in the hotel - Jack Rose. I noticed (while waiting) that even the skinny girls in New Orleans are fat. The apps were: oyster and artichoke fritto misto, crispy pork cheeks in roasted garlic grits with pan gravy and crawfish and cornflakes with corn nuts, cherry tomatoes and lime vinaigrette. All were great. They also had some interesting things like: crawfish cracked potatoes, brussel sprouts in harissa and honey and french hermit oysters. Those were all apps. The mains were boring. It's a great spot on the roof. I think I read about them in a magazine. I stopped at Apolline off Magazine and Bordeaux for breakfast on Sunday. I had a benedict-y type of dish called Eggs Apolline (poached eggs with crawfish and andouille and some kind of pink hollandaise over a biscuit). They were good. Cute place. Thank god I got there early. A line started at 12. I also saw (while driving around) that there is a zoo and a golf course down that way (south of Tulane). 

***BTW - How have the Magic not fired their coach and why haven't they traded for Austin Rivers or another superfluous Knick PG all season? Not that it would make a difference, but, they could try and fool us.

Kombu, Winter Park *AL/MS Travel Notes

I stumbled upon this Japanese restaurant on Aloma (east of 436) this Tuesday night. I was attempting to knock Takashi Ramen off my list. It is evidently closed on Tuesday. This place replaces some kind of Hawaiian sandwich place if I'm remembering right. They did an ok job on the remodel. Now it is more modern. Light gray and black hues. Small. Seats around thirty. I had an assortment of sushi items to suss out the quality. I had yt sashimi (3 pieces) and the following nigiri (2 piece) : tuna, salmon, yt, conch and an avocado roll. The avocado roll had fresh avocado. It cost $4.50. Rice (in general) was a bit crunchy. Undercooked versus old. I think. Tuna ($6) looked red. One piece was tasty. One had funk. Weird. The salmon ($5) looked good. Was a little pasty. The conch (5) was so so. Not so crunchy. The yt ($5.50) was good. Cut too thin as sashimi. They cut the fish long and thin. A little cheap on the portion size. Plating was nice. For a tiny place, they seem to have a big ambitions (menu). They also sell ramen, buns,takoyaki  karaage, donburi, katsu, teriyaki, many rolls and mochi. The lunch specials start at $10 and lunch boxes at $12. Some weird things they offer are: white meat (izumidai), salmon tempura, kombu special dressing, coconut shrimp tempura rolls, kabayaki sauce, umami sauce. They have 27 classic rolls and 30 special rolls. I hope they can handle all the options. They opened last month. I was the only one dining in around 8 pm (one to go ramen customer). They closed after I left. Seemed like a three person crew. One sushi maker, one waitress, one person in the kitchen. They are on the cusp. I think they want to be high end. If they improve a little bit, they may be something to talk about. Could go the other direction. Big menus scare me. Hard to pull off. Hard to buy (fresh)  for. Odd that for such a common Japanese word (kelp), I don't recall seeing a restaurant called it before.

* FYI. Most wasabi is colored horseradish.

**Travel Notes - Alabama/Mississippi: In Mobile I tried for a place called Southern Standard (a diversity James Beard Award Semi Finalist, I think). Only (maybe) open on Friday and Saturday for dinner presently. It was closed. I grabbed a chocolate pecan bar and a praline at Three Georges Candy Store. On the way back I stayed at cute hotel called Malaga Inn ($74). I stayed in Ocean Springs MS at a dump called Gulf Hills ($83). Pictures lie. I had pretty good barbecue in town at Murky Waters. They had two higher end places called Vestige ($65 prix fixe with triple tail fish (an actual fish I never have heard of and just googled and got a result for), beef cheeks, etc) and Charred ($30 meals of scallop and pork belly, duck, oysters, etc). I had an interesting breakfast chard biscuit with some kind of fluff (spread) on top at Greenhouse on Porter. I read about it in some magazine. I had lunch in Bay of St Louis at Blind Tiger (another magazine). West on 90. 3 lbs of crawfish (season started at end of Feb) for $18. Real good. Place is named after some kind of prohibition joints. I grabbed a sausage on a stick and boudin and pimento cheese inside a fried wrap/pastry at some tiny bbq place down the street called Jo's. There were a few nice looking restaurants (200 North Beach, Trapani's, Don B's, Hinge, Thorny Oyster) and a new hotel (Pearl $130-230) just after the bridge into town. First time there. I was impressed. Nice beaches just down the street too. Thought it was a dirty refinery area. Nope. On the way back I stopped at The Shed at exit 57 in MS again. I tried for crawfish on the way through. It wasn't the season yet by one day. Was on the way back. $6 a pound. Not as fresh or large as last Spring. Place was packed. Governor had lifted mask mandate the day before. I was going to try some 3D places in Daphne or Fairhope Alabama (east side of bridge to Mobile). They were: Marci, Gumbo Shack, Panini Pete and Sunset Point at Fly Creek Marina. They were off the main road plus it was too early for lunch. Next time. I ended up at some place they show on billboards on I-10. Lambert's Cafe. They throw rolls. It was bad. Had bad chicken salad, potato salad and instant mashed potatoes. They have place in Missouri, I guess. It was packed. So was the way to the beaches I intended to drive through. I reversed course. Next time. Becoming a bigger fan of this area. Hopefully not too many typos. Can't be bothered to proof. Louisiana and Texas up next.

Grub Crawl - Deland: Bake Chop and Neighbors *FL Travel Notes

 I tried these places in that alley (Artisan Alley) off the main road thru town around two weeks ago on a Thursday (at lunch). The first is in the spot that was previously Dally (sp?) in the Alley. The second is a food truck across from it. I think I have two places in Deland left to review for you.

Bake Chop Artisan Kitchen- I had the chicken bleu sandwich with fries for $15. It was good. A plump piece of chicken. I can't really remember more. I think the ham and gruyere were on top. The fries were crisp. They try for the seasonal/local vibe. It still has the exposed brick interior. Seats inside and out. Not an overwhelming menu. service was good. It was full. You may be lucky and find free parking down the street across from Hyderhead Brewery. In business for four years.

Neighbors Artisan Taqueria - I grabbed a Hipster taco (soft) to go. Just to give them pub. They said they just tweaked the menu. The taco was a mushroom one. Shitake, cremini, and button. Actually quite good. And not in the British way where that means it isn't. They had around ten types. This one cost $4. I would ask for them to hold the cum sauce. Or just get a tiny bit. It overpowered the mushrooms. And added a ton of calories. 

*I noticed one new place - The Table. Sit down with shop above. On the Main St. 

**Travel Notes - FL: I also just completed a five state trip. I'll give you Florida today. I'll spread out the rest going forward. I have three more posts to do after this one. I tried these places in Tallahassee: Bumpa's Local #349, Canopy Road Cafe, Andrew's, Midtown Caboose and Governor's Inn. Bumpa's was an audible after I got lost. It was ok. I had a cobb salad with chicken. I had breakfast at Canopy Road (several locations). I had an ok Mutt's Club. It was bacon, sausage, ham and eggs in toast. I stayed at Governor's Inn on the way back after I found out it was right by the Capitol and only $85 pre tax (remember I get Expedia gold price). Plus the guys at Canopy told me it was a gem. It was cute and right across from Andrew's (the reason I was staying downtown). Andrew's was ok. I was warned by the same people that it was so so. I had grouper etouffe (crawfish, crab and sausage) in jalapeno havarti grits with spinach. The fish was a little pasty. Like they floured it. It then was put under soggy things. The grits were really good. It was a politico place. They were in session. I saw the Gov coming out of a private club next door. I had lunch on the way out at Caboose. There was a sign across the street that said the Marquis de Lafayette was granted that land after the Revolution. Who knew? I bet he never set foot on it. I had a Triple Play. It was ham, turkey and roast beef with provolone and a black pepper mayo. It came with tots. Tots were well fried. A little cheap on the meats. They said they are known for their burgers. I read about these (and Lofty Pursuits) in the magazine AAA sends me. I predict that with all the out of staters moving in that people who live here already will start moving north. Tallahassee, Pensacola and Jacksonville will become major cities with major airports. The proximity to the beach makes it logical. If you see the way they are modernizing I-10, you would be surprised. It used to be so desolate for much of the way west. I also checked some hotel prices and they were already sky high. Same in Alabama. Everyone is on spring break. I also stopped at a little historical spot in Gainesville (Hallie's Homestead at Kanapaha Plantation). They said it was open. It wasn't. Only on weekends. It seems like it is a tribute to slaves. Not sure if it was their housing or the plantation they worked. It's like five miles west on FL-24/Archer Rd. That's the second exit going north. The one with most of the hotels. I was going to try and try Joe Patti's Seafood Market and Alex McPhail's Iron in Pensacola. Got lost. Passed right by. Patti's was on the water front near the minor league baseball stadium. Iron was on the main street (Palafox). Next time. You can take 110 from 10 right downtown. It may be my imagination, but, it seemed like they really cleaned that place up. I saw three art museums for example. will have to stay overnight next time. I also got lost trying a short cut on the way back and drove thru Fort McCoy. Funny because I had meant to see what it was like after taking with some lady on the plane. All the roads up north are filled with bikers. Forgot it was bike week.