Grub Crawl - Sanford: Kitchen AF and Parva

 I stumbled upon these two in a strip mall (with a Qdoba) on 17-92 and Lake Mary Blvd about ten days ago at lunch. The first was in an ex- half El Salvadoran place I reviewed back in March of 2014 called Sunny Breeze Cafe. Not sure when they closed the doors. Told you I stumbled upon these. They say they also have a location in Winter Park on Aloma. I forgot to check if I reviewed that. That location only has lunch hours. This one is open all day.

Kitchen AF - Basically an order window. Which is appropriate because the food was fast food quality. I had an Orange Ave Chicken Sandwich for $9. I recently had two McChickens for $3 (for both). They were as good. The funny thing is they served it in a container ala the McDLT. Hot on one side. Cold on the other. This one was a frozen patty probably purchased at Publix. They sprinkled some old diced carrot and field greens on it and dipped it in "Mandarin orange sauce". Poor AF. Plus it took a while to make. I went to the next spot after I ordered and they beat them to the punch. The staff seemed stoned. They also sell burgers, pasta, soup, subs, bowls salads and dinners. I can't say I will be curious enough to find out if they are any better. Open for nine months.

Parva - They saved the day. A Colombian place that has been there for three years. I just ordered a pan con lechon (pulled pork) for $8. Notice the lower price. It was fairly moist (one top piece was a bit dry) and tasty pork. A fair amount. Swiss. Grilled (slightly under cooked) onions. Good roll. The plantain chips were a bit old. Just bought and ate two bags on a bogo, so, I was up on my plantain knowledge. They look like a coffee shop. The decor makes me think they took over one. But, they have a big menu.  Full breakfast. Rice bowls. Samplers. Apps. Finger food. Pastries. Meals. Beverages. Order at a counter. The decor was wood with steel chairs and coffee decorations. Looks new and modern. Video menu. I would go back again. Rushing this review to get back to the draft.

*A propos of nothing - I just viewed a travel show where they showed a Rain Drop Cake. Search it.

Russell's, Lake Ivanhoe

I tried this spot in the old Mesa 28 and Gargi's spot (fyi - the spot across the street is becoming a Gnarley Barley) on Lake Ivanhoe just over a week ago at dinner. It has been open for under a year. I've let it slip down the list because they haven't solved the parking issue that plagues this spot. They have only eight or ten spots. All the ownership groups that have operated in this location feel the solution is valet. After seeing Ferris Bueller's Day Off, I can't trust them. Plus I believe most car insurance doesn't cover them as operators. And I wonder how all the covid hysterics respond to this solution. I parked down the street. First off, I was dumbfounded that these spots were available. Then I was troubled by the contradictory signage. It said that there was no parking after 6pm. The sign was two car lengths away from the start of the block. Then an arrow pointed two car lengths down to the start. Did this mean only those two spots were verbotten? That seemed silly. Then again this is Orlando. I risked a ticket (didn't get one). But, I was distracted all meal long. The people in the restaurant weren't any more clear on the law. I also hadn't been here before because of the dinner only hours. I was going to try and parlay this into an excursion that knocked out two other places close by. They however were closed on Mondays. Oops. Back to the meal. Though the parking quandary was the most interesting part of the night. The place looks good. It never looked bad. Don't know why people insist on redoing perfectly good interior design when so many needy spots are out there. The bar is now directly in front of the entrance. The moved most of the seating towards the windows/lake. Down a level. "Coastal" art. Photos. Wood chairs with blue gray cushions. White noise suppression tiles dominate the ceiling. I think the main color is called taupe. I actually have forgotten what it looked like. Going off poor notes. The staff is dressed up. The menu is modest. The prices are highish. A steak was $44. $25 pork and $24 chicken. $19 burger was the cheapest. I had two apps. I had the crispy pork belly for $12 and the steak tartare for $17. The belly was ok. It had no gloss to it. Either they pat it dry or... I don't know. Leave it sitting all day? Even nuking wouldn't do away with the grease. It tasted alright. It seemed to be fried in a deep fryer. Four pieces. It came in a "sangria" sauce (why I tried it). It was more jam than sangria. Not a success. The steak was worse. Too chunky. Tough. Not a great cut. Poorly dressed. Few additives. Just capers. Not enough toast. No spark. And that was vibe. It was early, but, there was no energy. I'll wager it has filtered into the kitchen. I believe ownership is from the Big Fin group. They started with a supposedly polished chef. Allegedly. Not sure if he is gone. My meal and the other dishes I saw (ie beets and burrata) lacked pizzazz. You have to have sizzle or steak. Style or substance. I didn't feel either. It certainly has the capacity for both. Maybe I just hit it on the wrong night. Service was quick and friendly/flirty. With so much "medicine" being taken, you can never tell who is nice and who is high anymore. Maybe you never could. I'm starting to forget what I thought I knew and when I knew it. It seems like I am "seeing more of the field" than I should be if I was as "aware" as I thought I was back in the day. They say this location used to be a pineapple farm. Don't think I ever knew (and forgot) that. 

* I have at least four posts coming this week ending with an Arizona recap.

Grub Crawl - East Colonial: Japango and Deli Desires *CO Travel Notes

 I tried these places to go on Wednesday at lunch. The first is in the Chewy Boba location on 50 aside the Anthony's Pizza place on Mills. You can get parking in the rear. The second is on Fern Creek (near the Publix) just north of 50 (1 block). I think they call this Colonialtown.

Japango - They "expanded/rebranded" Chewy Boba into a box sushi place. They still have the Chewy Boba stuff. It is more "rear of the store" now. They have a one roll or a two roll box. I got the one roll ($19) "bitch" box. It comes with 5 pieces of pre-chosen nigiri (T/S/YT/E/Albacore), edamame, plantain chips and cucumber salad, a choice of roll and a side (seaweed salad, watermelon ceviche, sashimi ceviche). I tried the Ceviche (spicy tuna topped with yt and avocado) and the sashimi. It was ok. They do the rice properly. Not very big. Fishy quality was mediocre. Sashimi was old tuna. Tuna nigiri was also lifeless and barely pink. Salmon was an odd cut. Yt was ok. Eel was dry. Albacore was more like a flatfish like flounder/fluke. Maybe even a cheaper type. They included two types of soy sauce, ginger, lemon and a ceviche sauce. It sounds like I hated them. Maybe it was because I had been jonesing for sushi for days or maybe it was the gorgeous (fancy chocolates looking) box they give you, but, I kind of recommend them. If they tighten up the quality then we'll have something. They have been open for a month. Around four other groups were there at 1pm. Most still boba-ing it. They have 21 rolls to choose from. Not sure if the menu will always be like this. The 2 roll box is called a boss box. And you thought I was responsible for the "bitch" reference.

Deli Desires - This was the real target. They opened three months ago. It's a slightly hip deli. I tried three things and they were all good. I started with a Corned Beef Big Mac. I didn't even catch on until after I ate it. It did taste like one. Do you watch Fast Foodies? This would be a winner on that show. The corned beef was sliced wafer thin. If you hold it up it looks like a spider web (fat). I ate half the portion by itself. The sesame bun was worth the trip alone. Toppings very like a Big Mac. Pickles were a bit too artisinal. I tried a bialy with regular cream cheese and caramelized onion in the center. Great bialy. A touch of olive oil? So fresh. I also tried their egg salad. I think they use real eggs. Not the greatest though. A little too chunky for me and it seemed to be out of balance with the yolks. Very white dominant. They funkify it with some capers. They concentrate on like ten items (ie whitefish, tuna salad). Adding more desserts soon. The CB was $10. The B was $3. The ES was $5. All very fair prices, right? The places is also way cute for a deli. White with blue accent. Small. Counter in the rear. A few stand at counters on the sides. Parking in front. They have to be the best deli in town. Will be on the favorites list. Odd that they don't do bagels.

*Travel Notes - Colorado: I had ok chicken tamales at The Train Cars in Nederland. Also an ok turkey pesto ciabatta at New Moon Bakery. Good beer at Very Nice Brewing Co. Ok Penang Chicken Curry at Ubon. I was there to ski Eldora. Web site said lift tickets were $99. They said web site is wrong. They were $149. I did a half day in protest at $99. Gear on site was $65. Ouch. I stayed twenty minutes south in a mining tow that is now all new casinos. Weird. Called Black Hawk (aside Central City). A room at the Lady Luck Casino was only $72 a night with fees and taxes. Free parking. I had the most terrible chicken parm at Dostal Alley Brew Pub in CC one night. Beer was better. I moved on to the closing weekend at Steamboat. I stayed at the Rabbit Ears Motel for $110 with tax a night. It wasn't great, but, near town. I skied at Steamboat for $129. Gear in town (Ski Haus) was only $25. Both resorts were good. Perfect weather. I ate at Blue Moon Bakery in Silverthorne on the way up. A turkey, bacon, avocado sandwich. The real treat was an oreo brownie. They had a few mash ups like that. Like a sugar cookie with M&Ms in it. Some cool sandwiches. In Steamboat Springs I ate at Ore House. Had Ruby Red Trout with sides. It was ok. Had a good chicken sandwich at a fast food place they were building this summer called Hypnotic Chicken. I had average beer at Mountain Tap Brewery. I had good beer at Storm Peak Brewing. I had duck noodle soup at Mai Thai. They also had a duck curry. It's hard to get a variety of Thai dishes. Glad I tried this. They also sold some dishes from other countries, so, I was worried this wasn't Thai. I think it is. They also sold "street food" like moo dang, crispy chicken, khao ka moo and Thai chicken katsu. You'll have to research them if interested. I had bad guac, barbacoa and Routt County bison tacos at Salt & Lime. I cooked my own NY strip at 8th Street Steakhouse. I had a wild breakfast at Yampa Valley Kitchen. It was Cubano Eggs Benedict. Buttermilk biscuit, shaved tasso, yuzu pickles, yellow mustard, pickled mustard seeds and a habenero hollandaise. It didn't quite work. But A for effort. They also did a rosti, crepes and some other fun brekkie items. I stayed near the airport coming and going at Element by Westin. $87 with tax both nights. Seemed to be the newest in the area. and that area is new and booming. I ate across the street at Pho 92. A good pork roll banh mi and another first try (beef tumeric noodle soup). They said it was from the south (Saigon/Hanoi). It was good. Basically a pho with big chunks of tender beef shank and a kick of tumeric. I dipped my banh mi in it to create the first Vietnamese french dip. It would probably work better with a beef banh mi. They also had a similar beef stew with French baguette. They also let you make your own summer rolls (self wrap special appetizer). It's also good to get some variety on Vietnamese menus. I'll add that April is the second snowiest month in Colorado. I missed it. weather was great. Prices were dropping. Many resorts were still open. I sat next to a UCF student on spring break on the way there. Our grand airport was a cluster fuck again. Lines down the halls. I love that Bluddy Dyer-ia announcement on the people mover. "Please return...if you didn't see or do everything ". Yeah, scumbag, I didn't. I was stuck in your airport for half the time. I heard some guy at the rental car counter say he had been in line for two hours.

Mason Jar, Thornton Park

I tried this dinner snack spot on East Washington (near the fountain in the road) on Tuesday night. While I was waiting the thirty minutes it took to get my $13 Mason Jar Burger, I had prepared a real ass chewing in my head. Then I tasted the burger. Now, I will say they need to ease up on the seasoning mix they toss on top of the patties, but, otherwise it is one of the better burgers in town. And if that is any indication of how the other items taste, then we have something here. The patties (2) were big. Maybe a third to a half pound. I ate one that night and one two days later (it held up). Very filling. Not ball like. Flat. They gave them a nice crust. Good quality grind. Excellent bun. Nice American cheese. Excellent tasso ham in lieu of bacon. I'd probably deep six the pickles or make them less sweet. It also came with fries. I didn't know that and let them steam in the packaging on the drive home. Wish I saw what they looked like fresh out of the fryer. They were ok looking when limp. I nuked them into potato stick consistency. All you can do once they get cold. They have been open for a year. It was another snacky type place before. I would have tried them earlier (actually did during the day when they opened and found out they aren't open then) if it isn't such a pain to find parking around here. I believe they are next to a bar called Burton's. Most of the wait could be attributed to being their de facto kitchen and what seemed to be call or online orders. They sell around twenty things. Boudin balls, hush puppies, PB & J burger, brisket French dip, 4 piece fried chicken, salads for instance. They also seem to have certain special options on certain days. That night it was pasta. It's a promising place for those who live there (especially patrons of Burton's). The hours and lack of parking (and wait) make it a tiny bit more difficult on the rest of us. Especially if you are looking for a drive by. At least there are no meters here. Did you know meters were invented to keep construction workers from parking in spots near businesses in the old days? Funny how things work. Now they are the things that make me not go to a business. Careful what you wish for.  They are next to a laundromat too. Don't park there.

*I have one more outstanding review (two places) in the queue. Will probably be done on Sunday night or Monday afternoon. I'll tack on a Colorado Travel Notes to it. I should add that I saw that Ootoya opened around the corner. A F&D Cantina will take the spot next to it according to the sign. I also have been notified by this piece of shit service that they are discontinuing the email function in July. Not sure how you will get your updates that a new post is in. 

Castle Church Brewing Community, OIA Area

I finally succeeded in trying this two year old brewery with a food truck this Tuesday night. It is east of 436 on Hoffner. It takes up most of a warehouse complex. I'll start with the beer. It may be the best I can remember in CF and/or anywhere for that matter. I had an Irish red and a regular red and an IPA and a double IPA. All were great. Especially the reds. They sell around twelve types of beer (plus someone else's wine). This flight cost $10. I grabbed a bratwurst (in a bun) from the food truck (theirs). It was fine. Big. Can't really screw up a brat. It cost $8. They also sold a few more food stuffs. It was taco Tuesday. They were selling steak tacos. The place is huge. Opposite of claustrophobia inducing. All the equipment is behind the centralized bar. You pass a lounge area and a conference room on the way in. In back there is another area with a stage and an outside area. There were three groups of two inside and one large table of people outside. The bartender said it was usually busier. She was nice. lots of parking. I believe they open at 11am and stay open until it thins out (or 6pm at the earliest). I believe it is part of a church or integrated into one. I wasn't abducted or evangelized and you hardly realized the connection. I'm sure the most  "tolerant and open minded" of our society will find something about that that triggers their sensibilities. I certainly hope it does. They don't deserve to experience this artistry. 

*I intended to fold in a trip to the Ellipsis brewery. They close at 7pm for some insane reason. I did find it though and will try and hit it again soon. It's a few streets down from 436 (near the airport) on the road that has Rock and Brews. Turn right onto TPC Blvd. A corner spot in a warehouse on the right.

FK Your Diet, Orlando

I tried this breakfast and lunch place on South Orange and Hansel (near Hoffner) last Tuesday at noon. I think this area is called Pine Castle. I always confuse it with the Pine near Altamonte. I think that is Hills. It was some Irish Pub before this. Now it has something to do with funding foster kids. They have branches in Cape Coral and Fort Myers. That's kind of the level of finesse. I had a cordon bleu benny for $16. Had to see if it worked. It didn't. The chicken was the best part. Fried thigh. The hollandaise was way sour. The eggs were overdone. They replaced the muffin with a sweet biscuit that was more of a flapjack. Fail. Too sweet. Too much going on. Conflict. They also added swiss cheese. It detracted. The ham was immemorable. It also came with tons of fried potatoes. The portions were huge. That's really the differentiation here. Lots of food. The also had burgers and pancakes and french toast, etc. Riffs on classics. The place is brightly painted. Greens and oranges, etc. It looks like a pre-school. There were some sketchy people eating there. That colored my experience. Not homeless or anything, but, women who looked like they just got off the "night shift" on OBT (is that still where it goes down?) or just got done cleaning hotel rooms. They had to wait to order until some guys showed up. Didn't seem like they had any money. Kept going back to the car to smoke pot, I assume. There were also some families there that looked like they got the donations, not gave them. And some sloppily dressed folks as well. Just a bit depressing. Reminded me of Maryland. Service was attentive. Lots of mediocre, fattening food is ok every once in a while. I just think that they think that it's higher end than you will. Their tag line is "the simple of gourmet cooking". If so, that "t" is pronounced as a hard t. I can't recommend a purposeful trip, but, if you are in the neighborhood. I think they close at 3pm. I believe they opened up this year.

*I will be posting every two days to get the ones in the hopper in by next week.

Fig's Prime, Altamonte Springs

I tried this spot that refers to itself as a steakhouse tonight.. It is almost on 434 on the road that becomes Markham Woods north of 434. It's in some sort of office complex. Easy to miss. Why I've missed it for what appears to be three years. Drove by a few months ago. It was early and Easter was yesterday and the whole covid thing, but, it was rather ordinary. I had a lump crab and avocado stack for $16 and Chicken Rebosado for $19. This seems to mean overflowing. Not sure how that is relevant. It just had capers. The salad was on the high end of app pricing. The chicken on the low end. Both items seemed to be carelessly assembled. The arugula in the stack wasn't dressed. Nothing was. This can't be how it is supposed to be prepared. The crab was dry. Like they opened a tin and let it dry in the fridge. The avocado was a bit brown and abused. The cherry tomatoes were flavorless. Even the olive oil (only "dressing") on the plate had a weird taste. They did serve up alot of crab though. Why do you always get more when you'd prefer less. Those things can be fixed. I just wonder if lethargy has set in. The chicken was dipped in an egg wash and served in a lemon, wine and caper sauce. The wine wasn't burned off. The coating didn't really adhere to the chicken. It was one breast cut length wise into two. It was a little crumbly. It came with bad mashed potatoes in a scoop shape. The were real, but, they weren't mixed with cream or butter. They tasted like when you just scoop potatoes out of the skin. Grainy too. I thought it was supposed to come with asparagus. maybe I misread. It came with sauteed (in greasy oil) zucchini, carrots and green beans. They were on the raw side. Still the best component. All in all, it was like a room service meal. The apps listed things like beef carpaccio, ahi tuna, bisque, cheap $7 salads (Caesar, wedge), calamari, etc. The mains had veal marsala, steak, fish, pork, a pasta, etc. I think they topped out at $30. It seats about 100. Bar in the center. Square lay out. Kitchen in rear. Glass windows. View of highway. Earth tones. Iron chandeliers. High ceilings. Odd mix of mood music. Country to emo. There were six others dining. Service was rushed. No refill. Seemed more interested (probably insincerely) in how I was experiencing the food. They are open from 5-9ish. It has or had potential. The prices are not that out of line. If somebody kicks their asses into gear, they could be something.

*I'll add a post Easter Easter egg. I saw that the Minnesota United were staying at the Hyatt place in Lake Mary. Not sure if they are doing a full spring training or are here just for a game. No I won't say match.

**I also forgot to tell you that I stopped at a Buc-ees near the golf hall of fame on I-95 (Palm Coast). It wasn't worthy of the hype. It's just a gas station with souvenirs, fudge and some eats. It was jammed. I think it just opened. I tried to try the one in Daytona. It wasn't open on my way north. It was on my way south.

Ramen Takagi, Oviedo *NC/SC Travel Notes

I tried this mostly Ramen shop in a strip mall near the intersection of Tuskawilla and Aloma two Thursdays ago at dinner. Watch out because they close at 8pm. And no Wednesday. It's also small. Four tables and a counter. Urban build. Modern. Simple. White. Open kitchen at right rear. Takes up almost half the space. Two cooks. One waitress/host. 3 apps (gyooza, karaage and salad) under $7. Four onigiri (rice pyramids) under $3. Five entrees. Four are ramen. One is basically ramen without the broth (mazesoba). I'll never understand why they don't break Japanese words apart when they Anglicize them. You should watch sumo and try and guess where the stresses will be in a four syllable name. I had the tonkotsu ramen. It's supposed to (according to the waitress) translate into pork (ton) bone (kotsu). Though the internet says bone is hone and kotsu is tips. So, who the hell knows. I guess the bone is always removed. Or they do that. Not sure if you ever get a whole chop or if this is the usual way and it is just used in the broth development. Which leads to the question of whether other pork based broths don't get boned. The pork here is three thin slices of very tender and tasty pork. Belly I'm guessing. The noodles were very thin. They seemed hand made. Not sure by who's hands. They also seemed to have residual flour on them. I'd say that would be another sign of freshness. Though, I wonder why it didn't boil off like it does with pasta. The soup also came with a beautifully done egg and pickled ginger, dried seaweed (nori), wood ear mushrooms (kikurage) and scallions. It cost $13. It was good. In the best way, the broth tasted like a Campbell's cream based soup. You know I'm not the ramen whisperer, but, it seems to be the place according to the cognoscenti. I see nothing wrong with that assessment. Plus they have a few other items to round out the meal. Name means tall tree (if waitress isn't wrong here too). It's just a last name in this case.

* I saw that Git N Messy BBQ down the street wasn't there any more. Internet says they are on 434 in Winter Springs now. In the Red Eye Sports Tavern.

**Travel Notes - NC/SC: I had a bad Mid East Special at Groucho's Deli in Spartanburg SC because it mixed pastrami and bologna and salami and provolone and I've never seen that mix. The meats were of the worst supermarket choice of the worst processed meats. It may work with real ingredients. Spartanburg turned out to be the home of Denny's and a little college called Wofford. A web site said a place called Wade's was popular. It looked like one of those hick diners. But, it had a huge line. Why I ended up elsewhere. I skied in Maggie Valley NC (near Asheville) at a place called Cataloochee. It cost $30 for a daily ski gear package and $40 for a four hour lift ticket. Barely any snow left. I ate at Bear Waters Brewing Company. Good beer. Two (pork and roasted cauliflower) decent tacos. On a creek. I also had terrible pulled pork and worse mac at Butt's on the Creek. I had ok fried chicken, baked potato, corn bread, biscuit and bad fries at Country Vittles. I had good moonshine and vodka at Elevated Mountain Distillery. Covid created a supply issue with bottles for the whiskey. I had a weird pizza at Cafe Italiano. It tasted of soap. Maybe they f'ed with it. Maybe they don't dry their hands. The area was cute. Although, I think it is best described as a place that looks like it has a lot of raccoons. Cheap, numerous, motel quality hotels. BW was $70. I visited the Oskar Blues Brewery in Brevard NC. I had a nice time in Greenville SC. Nice downtown with a beautiful park with a river and waterfall (Reedy River Falls) in the center. It really is what downtown Orlando could use to tie the area together (maybe join the lakes with fake rivers?). Plus the baseball stadium in close. They have landscaped it very well. It looks new. Lots of condos on the river. A big suspension bridge. An events center. I ate at a little collection of food stalls created from cargo containers (Gather GVL). It was full on a week day. Families plus. I had ok sushi at Saki Saki and Eggs in a Basket (two eggs in a donut basket with fried chicken and bacon and a jalapeno maple syrup) at Hen Dough. I also had beer at GVL Beer Exchange. Two cheapest hotels (many) were Hyatt Place and Hilton Home 2 or something. Just over $100. I'd encourage you to visit. Little traffic. Lots of charm. Especially at these temps. A lot of tourists seemed to be meandering around. Lastly, I tried a Travel and Leisure Top Ten Hotel in Aiken SC. I paid $235 on a week night at The Willcox Inn. It is over rated. Just a house. On the train track, too! I ate ok shrimp and raw grits at Palmetto. I had great wings and beer at Aiken Brewing Company. Ok little town. They get Masters/Augusta overflow. I'll warn you that I-95 through Georgia and SC was bad on Saturday. Especially going south. Miles of bumper to bumper. I bypassed it for 301 through Georgia on the way back. Not that that is a short cut, but, I couldn't chance getting caught up in it. Maybe it is ok during the week, but, this is the second time I've seen trouble on Saturday recently. I also passed by Presbyterian College, Furman and Georgia Southern on this trip. Plus saw where the Swamp Rabbits skate. Funny where these places are. I just read an EL Doctorow book on the Civil War called The March. It took place near some of these areas. Weird how timing works out. Book isn't that great. BTW. More interesting subject matter (Sherman's march through the South). Ohh. BTW. Can you believe that I don't have antibodies. Gave blood. Got results. No covid after all this traveling. You draw your own conclusions.