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.
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