Grub Crawl - Downtown: Motorworks Brewing and Pokeworks *NY/NE Travel Notes

I tried these spots on Orange Ave at lunch on Friday. The first is in the old Mini Cooper/Orlando Brewing location. The second is next to Morgan and Morgan. Hey, it was a double "works" Friday!

Motorworks Brewing - Their main hub is in Bradenton. I guess they operate food services too. I had a Gronkzilla (just had to) Red Ale and an Intellectual Property IPA. 4 ozers for around $3 each. They had different prices. Odd. They were good. Just trying to knock this one of the list and not let the meter expire this time. They had a menu of flat breads, sandwiches, burgers, apps, etc. Place looks nice. I think they have been there for over a year.

Pokeworks - A chain. Not sure if I've ever had the pleasure. Don't recall. This one was better than most. Fresh ahi. Rice done properly. Had a small for $9. You choose from a few bases and proteins and toppings. Can also be had as handhelds and no rice, etc. The seaweed leeched green coloring. Dye? Modern look. Order at a counter. Been there a few weeks.

*Travel Notes - New York and New England: I flew into Albany because it had the cheapest car rental rates (and cheap, non-stop flights) in the country. Such a pleasure to navigate a next to empty airport after OIA. Although, lines not that bad this time. Ate dinner at Wicked Awesome BBQ in White River Junction VT. Had a spice rub to it. Not bad. They won't sell "sandwich" brisket in a platter. I expect that is the lean. Never heard that before. Good policy. I wonder how many places do that? Wasn't expecting to eat bbq. Not many choices around there. Had root beer basted pork and maple rubbed chicken. Slept at a Hampton Inn for $127. Went to Dartmouth in Hanover NH the next day. Slept at North Conway Mountain Inn in North Conway NH (Gateway to Mt Washington Valley) for $97. Ate dinner at Luchador Tacos. Bad burrito. Good Mexican (spice) Whoopie Pie supplied by Il Cakes. Had breakfast at Peachs (not a typo). Eggs with Guinness bratwurst. They had a lot of crazy dishes like eggs benedict crepes, apple butterscotch pancakes, banana coconut (inside) pancakes, a wrap with baked apples, cranberries, walnuts and chicken, etc. Drove on to NW Maine through Berlin (saw a moose and turkeys) and drove up Route 201 to Canada. Lovely scenery. Million Dollar Bird House Wall, lakes and Kennebec River. Then back past Plymouth State University and onto Squam Lake (On Golden Pond) and Lake Winnipesaukee (Grown Ups) and on to the coast and Rockport. Slept at the Starlight Lodge for $107. Staff from Longwood gave me a discount. Landed at Rockland Cafe for lunch after most Yelp places only took cash or were taking their sweet ass time. I had an under cooked (the inside had black sludge) one pounder masquerading as a pound and a half for $24. Still good. The internet says that sludge is eggs that haven't been cooked and a female lobster is a hen. It has been forever since I've seen that and some of the roe was cooked, so, I don't know if that is true. It came with lousy slaw and fries. I passed a sign that said (fish shop) lobster was $8 a pound. The other places were selling rolls for $22. I also saw cooked lobsters for much less elsewhere (ie some place in Winsooket across from the famous Red's had a pound a halfer for $17. They must rip off tourists (when not demanding cash to cook the books and avoid the tax man) in that area of the state. Drove a few miles south to Port Clyde and the lighthouse from Forrest Gump (Marshall Point). I ate dinner at the Maine Diner in Wells. It was on 3D. Had the Clam-o-rama for around $24. Fried bellies, strips, cake and  chowder, corn muffin, baked potato, slaw. Pretty good. Not a huge fried seafood guy. Realized these places are so cheap that they don't cut off the "tail/trunk" of a steamer that you hold and discard when eating them steamed. Had dessert (whoopie pie ice cream and peanut butter pie ice cream) at Skins Scoop in Ogunquit. Slept at Mariner Resort Motel in Ogunquit for $107. Drove back north a few miles to Kennebunkport for lunch at Mabel's Lobster Claw (on Food Paradise). Had a lobster roll for around $24. Piled on a closed bun. Either lazy or purposeful to make it seem like a big portion. Was ok. Fries were better. Saw the Bush compound again. Back south through Portsmouth NH to New Castle Island and onto Hampton NH. Drank at Smuttynose Brewing Company. Had dinner at Shane's Authentically Austin BBQ. Another unexpected meal that was better than you'd think. Slept at Lamie's Inn for $124. Went west through Exeter NH (Phillips Exeter Academy) back through NH and VT to MA and Jiminy Peak (skied there a long time ago) and slept in Lenox MA at Wagon Wheel Inn for $61. Bought good sushi, pizza and Vermont cheeses at Guido's Fresh Marketplace. Drove through Pittsfield to see my pre-teen summer camp and onward west past Hancock Shaker Village to NY and Martin Van Buren NHS and up to Latham (near airport). Slept at a Baymont for $73. Had lunch at Latham 76 Diner. Challah French Toast and eggs and link sausage. Love that real diner link sausage. Had to finally try a diner. Accomplished everything except two islands. Ferries either not running that day or too early for my taste. Going back in a month. Maybe then? For places (especially Maine) that were so strict with Covid, no one was masking, etc now. Crowds already too. And the Governor of NY is full of it once more. No vaccination shot area at Albany airport. Asked a few people (ie TSA) and they said they haven't seen it. Ever! Our news (and maybe national) said Albany was an airport that would be doing it. Then again, just saying it (or tweeting it) seems to count for action in today's world. Enjoy this. Last one for a bit. And remember, the emailed advisory is going away soon.

Grub Crawl - NoDo: Maki Hibachi and The Tavern

These two places are about a block from each other near the 7-11 gas station near I-4 and Colonial. One a half a block past (east) of the 7-11 on the other side of the street in a new building on the corner. That is Maki. Tavern is half a block west of the 7-11 on the same side of the street. Next to a tattoo parlor. It was last some Latin place with lazy hours. I went to Maki last night and Tavern today at lunch.

Maki Hibachi - Their first foray was/is in Lake Nona. This spot had been under way for two months. It looks good. A bit familiar. Kind of last century Park Ave or Beverley Hills looking. A poor man's Four Seasons feel. The tones shift from dark gray to light gray to tan. That color scheme is echoed in the fabric. Slate floor. Blue chairs. Tasteful. Art Nouveau-ish. A rectangular floor plan. Mostly booths. The cooking area is behind glass on the right side of the room. I think most of the appeal to hibachi is the "show". Maybe you can see it from other seat locations. I would have had to have made an effort if I wanted to see it. The cooks are Vietnamese, so, maybe there wasn't a Wade Wilson whirlwind going on at all. I had the Land And Sea dinner ($24) and two pieces of yellow tail nigiri ($6). I wanted the "old school" Benihana experience. It has been forever since I've done hibachi. It was good. The sirloin was supposed to be medium rare. It was well done. Still. a good piece of meat. No fat or gristle. The shrimp were good too. Firm. Would have loved some old fashioned butterflying. Good, fresh zucchini, mushrooms, onions and carrots. A mountain of fried rice. Acceptably greasy. I didn't arrive until almost ten pm and they let me sneak in before they closed. They started turning off the lights and so on, so, I was shoveling the stuff in a gave up and packed up the rest of the meal. That hurts the experience a bit. The meal also came with a light miso soup and a nice salad. The cutlery and plates were funky. The yellow tail was very fresh and cut long and thin-ish. It hung over the rice on both ends. The rice was also properly made and formed. Toothy. Room temp. Service was pleasant and professional. They also offer poke bowls, hot and cold apps, bentos, other entrees, sushi, sashimi, makimono, desserts and other hibachi combos. They have a kid portion hibachi. An app that has an entree price is the $29 Fire Stone Beef. At least the offer it. Maybe worth the trip. Not a lot of places offer that. They also serve wine, beer, 'tinis, and around sixteen sakes. Parking is mostly around back. Not sure how that is. At ten pm I had all of spots (3) in front to myself. I'd give them a try. Not much to complain about. They are also open for lunch. Prices cheaper then too. 

The Tavern - I went back so I could add it to this post. I wasn't expecting much and they were starting to disappoint. I was ready to walk out. It was taking forever to make two tacos and the Diet Coke was tasteless and flat. Plus they were blasting (even after it was turned down) mumble rap from a speaker two feet from my table. Remember it wasn't even noon yet. The place was earning it's "bar" designation. And that isn't a compliment. The tacos finally came and it took my annoyance level out of the red. The tacos were ok. Mostly tasteless (except for the cotija), but, they were something and fun. I guess this style (birria) is a fad that I hadn't run across yet. The internet says that a 2019 Super Bowl taco truck ad made these things a thing. I guess they are real big in Chicago. The real "birria" is a stew from Jalisco. These bad boys are a mix of quesadilla and tacos. These had shredded beef in them. 2 for $6. Smallish. I saw a chicken taco and it was much larger. It comes with a cup of dipping liquid/broth. That also was mostly tasteless. Anyway, it was fun to learn. Their menu is sandwiches ($11) and Mexican fare. It's not a barrio place if that is how this is reading. The tvs were tuned to sports. No MS 13 tats in view. The place is unkempt and small. It is really a bar first. Only two booths and a few high tops. I'm not sure why anyone wants to open in this space. It's hard to find. A little parking out back that the tattoo studio next door competes for. Maybe the foot traffic from the new buildings will be enough. I can't really advise you to sample it, but, find those tacos. They opened March 8. 

*I have one more post in the queue. Probably Sunday night. It will have my NY and NE Travel Notes from my latest trip. I noticed driving around last night that they really fuck with I-4 at night and that Bubbles place on Mills is moving down the street to that failure spot that has been Segofreddo, etc. Orlando Meats on Virginia was closed. I think they moved elsewhere. Cork & Fork on Hoffner closed. Now an El Potro. Eden Market re-opened near downtown. Neon Beach opened near Motorworks downtown. Great Greek opened (actually a while ago) near the courthouse. Hangry Pants on South Orange seems to have rebranded as Hungry Pants. Maybe I always had that wrong? Tori Tori on Mills was packed. That Conrad's bar on Mills was actually open. Something new going up near it.

Grub Crawl - New Smyrna Beach: Baracoa, Ocean Breeze and Tayton O'Brian's

I feel bad demoting that wonderful Florida Gulf Coast Travel Note in the last post so soon, but, it seems (by the statistical tool supplied by this site) that everyone who reads these posts does so right after they are posted. The inevitable result when you are shadow banned. Doesn't portend well for when they disable the email announcements later this month. Here we go anyway. Oh one more thing before that! Try and find a documentary about Cambodian donut shops in California. I believe it is called Donut King. 

I tried these spots on Flagler Ave (the main street) today at or just after lunch. I expected big crowds at the beach and in town. It was deserted. I believe two spots on the other side of the Intercoastal have closed or changed hands. The Oyster place had a new name. Will have to pop in and see. The Thai place seemed to have closed. Glad I waited (or was thwarted). As Forrest Gump would say, "one less thing". On Flagler, The Beacon was closed and requesting donations to reopen. A new "fancy" (according to a local) place is being built across from the gas station. In the Publix strip mall on the beach side, the steakhouse is turning into a Colt (I forget the rest of the name) bbq. Colt's something Stand. Pig? They raised the area just after the bridge. It had a crappy seafood place. There is a new Starbucks just beyond that.

Baracoa - A town in Cuba. Not the best option at Chipotle. I had (what else?) the baracoa for $10. It's a Cuban on sweet bread with baracoa (paprika) sauce. It was good. Plantain chips made by some local guy. They sell around 9 sandwiches, empanadas, soup, tacos, Sloppy Joe's, sides, desserts, wine, beer, coffee and "rafts". Those seem to be maduros (sweet bananas) under lettuce, rice (coconut, yellow with peas or white), under meat and topped with veggies of some kind (the slaw of cabbage, coconut and pineapple) seemed interesting. They have patio seating and a small counter. They market themselves as "to go" though. It's the only Cuban I can think of in town. A nice, casual play. Closed Sn and M. 11:30am - 6pm. In a courtyard on the north side of the street around the gas station in the middle of the road. I really thought I'd remember the name. Open for two years.

Ocean Breeze Bar and Grill - They are at the beach parking lot. Up some stairs. Good views. I sat at the bar. My idea. Still could see the ocean. An open environment (no windows) that looks like a tiki bar. High ceilings. I had the sesame encrusted ahi tuna app for $16. This was after the beach. It was damn good. A whole tuna steak. An inch thick. Fresh. Sliced into strips. Not that much "floss". A real surprise. Came with seaweed salad and avocado. Not bad for a plastic menu tiki bar. They also had burgers, fish, quesadillas, tacos, salads, sammies, grouper cheeks, etc. Big bar up front. Lots of seats on the patio (beachside) and along the exterior. Fast service. TVs. Way better than I expected. Forgot to ask how long they have been there. I think it has been a while. 

Tayton O'Brian's Irish Pub - An Irish pub at the beach. What could be more natural? That is why it is one of the last to be tried. It also looks dingy from the outside. I expected a smoke stenched shit hole. It was really nice inside. Cool. Clean. No odors. They sell the usually junk food and Irish staples. They claim some awards won long ago. I had some chicken strips called Lucky Toes wrapped up to go (for $9) because I already had my fill and they were low risk. They were ok. Probably just thawed from a bag. However, I wouldn't be put off by my order. I'd wager they can deliver a competent (nice to see I still can't spell this word) meal. The inside has dollar bills all over the ceiling, a live music area in the corner, booths, etc. They said there is an outside area out back. Open for ten years. 

*I also checked into what I think was the first place I every went to in NSB. Right on the beach on Flagler. The Breakers. Pre-blog. It is kind of skanky. They serve lunch and dinner. A dull menu. More of a bar. A bar in the middle of a rectangular floor plan. One side hangs over the beach. The other is inland. I believe there is A Marriott behind it. Just thought I'd include it even if I probably won't be making a return visit. You can inform me if it needs a second looksee.