Bombay Street Kitchen, Orange Blossom Trail

I tried this Indian restaurant on OBT in between Lancaster and Oak Ridge (across from an Army and Navy store) last night. It is from the Aashirwad/Tamarind people. I guess this is a less formal offering? The menu didn't seem too "street" to me. Most of the usual suspects. I'll have to premise my review with a caveat. I believe I ordered the one thing you shouldn't. I saw a few dishes on other tables and they looked pleasing. I had the tandoori pompano (whole fish with bones) for $20. I like that silvery sucker and I've never ventured that far down the tandoor rabbit hole. It was a box that needed checking. Thought it wouldn't work. I was right. Even if the fish is fresh, I think that kiln would dry out anything that delicate. This was dry, mushy and foul tasting. The rub really overpowered the fish. Very bitter. Not sure if I was supposed to take off the skin. It was slightly better with it off. The fish tasted a bit too fishy. I'll bet it was frozen. And old. A smaller pompano. It came with an afterthought garnish salad and lumpy basmati. Not sure plain basmati is a real match with tandoori fish. Not a great composition. Maybe some vegetables?  I'll take this chance to veer off on a food tangent. I saw a taste test on Cook's Country that American basmati sucks. It has to be aged for at least 9 months. We don't do that. Indian brands like Dawaat do. We now return you to your original broadcast. The menu is broken down into small plates (things you can find under appetizers on most menus), bigger plates (similar and a chicken tikka bao is maybe the one concession to diversity/street food), vegetarian curry, dakshin se (crepes, etc), non-veg curry, tandoor, biryani, bread and Chinese. Is there anything "street" or atypical there? Maybe the Chinese? The place looks nice. A box. High ceilings. Bar. Visible kitchen. Gray, black and orange colors. Cutlery and glassware and serving vessels were cool. Copper serving pots. Tapered, conical glassware (real). Open for five months. It seems to have garnered a reputation. The crowd looked like they drove into the neighborhood. I talked with one table (tourists) and they said that a friend who lives here told them to go there. And Open Table recommended them. I haven't checked the word on the net/street. It was getting fuller. Service was a bit understaffed. Nice though. No refills. Didn't wait long for service. They are open for lunch and dinner. Lunch stops at 3pm. Dinner starts at 5pm. Ample parking. I think you should give it a try. Just don't order the fish (actually use that as a rule of thumb in most non-seafood spots). Try something with the gunpowder spice mix. That is one of the street foody sounding things they do offer.

*Here are some oddities I saw on my last trip (notes to follow on that in next post): A salad creating machine called Sally and microwave pork rinds by Lowrey's Bacon Curls in a supermarket in East Grand Forks, MN. Folios' cheese wraps (like tortillas) and meat sticks by Steve's Smokey Acres in a supermarket in Bemidji, MN. Those sticks looked like skinny hot dog or undried jerky. Jellied Pot Roast Beef Loaf by Elliott's in a supermarket in Two Harbors MN. It was sliced liked bologna. And guacamole mixed with hummus by Holy Land something? Swiss Almond cheese spread in a supermarket in Bayfield WI. They had alot of wacky flavors. Odd restaurant stuff in the next post. In three days or so. Only one grub crawl left in the hopper.

Grub Crawl - Winter Park and Altamonte Springs: The Bridge and Las Lomas

Here are two places I've been apprehensive to try. It seems with good reason. Both are in spots that have seen multiple failures. Which leads one to contemplate whether a location has a Siren's call to "loser birds" (About Last Night reference) or losers just share the same brain. Regardless, we have two new entrants into the "soon to fail" club.

The Bridge - If you've never seen a non-Greek try and emulate a NY diner, this is your chance. There are more of these faux-similes popping up with every new non-Greek immigrant invasion of the Big Apple. Not that diner food is particularly good, but, these places can't even reach that low bar. This one smells of a Russian diner. Maybe it was just my Eastern European waitress, but, the overly formal (gauche) decorations and club music (at noon) brought up Brighton Beach memories. Not that I've had many. Never wanted to end up in a trash bag in a dumpster for mouthing off to the wrong gangster. Mostly things I've seen on tv. But they are white, so, I won't be criticized for lampooning their culture. Anyway. The menu is soooooo perplexing. It doesn't match the vibe. It's cheap diner food. It's equally disjointed. Branzino, mussels, filet mignon or burgers, grilled cheese, wings. Pick a lane! I'd drop the low end. Especially if you are going to overprice everything anyway. My cheeseburger was $17. And it was one of the cheaper things. A pale, machine pressed yawn that I'm not sure would beat a Whopper in a taste test. And I hate Whoppers. The brioche bun was stale and too cloying (they all are). Plus it was much bigger than the patty. L,T,O. Semi fresh. It came with coated fries. Hate those. Low class. And that's the feel. It's tacky. From the burger with gold leaf to the velveteen drapes. It's tacky. The table next to me had some ok looking calamari and tomato soup. Maybe there is some hope? My half a can of soda cost $3.50. No refill. The table next to me got a full can. Not sure if they paid extra for it. An iced tea is $5. I got off cheap. The place seats about forty. The have a bar. Breakfast all day. It's on Morse. Off Park. I think it was a vegan place before this. Opened at the end of February. Probably beyond hope. Maybe they can get a book deal though.

Las Lomas - On 436 near the Sunrail station. I think it was a buffet place last. The less said the better. Open for five weeks. The worst kind of Americanized Mexican. Think big lumps of pre-cooked, shredded chicken and ground beef on a grill and slapped together in seconds. I had the three chicken enchiladas for $6. Raw tortillas. American cheese? Bland sauce. I chose to freeze the beef taco ($2) for later. Not hopeful. The enchiladas made me fell nauseous. Not because they were off (possibly), But, because they tasted so bad. The place is a dark, open square. It seats many. Only three tables of dumb gringos eating. The most interesting thing was the ceramic backing on the seats. Don't infer that the long build resulted in a beautiful interior. Skip this one too.

*Some things I forgot to write about in the last post. La Tizon sold cezo tacos (brain). Had that before. Alambre was grilled beef with bacon. Suadero was brisket. Had that before. Tlayuda translated to "plate". It was like a tostada. Never seen that before. Frank's Famous also had two hot dogs wrapped in bacon and fried. Never seen that exact combo before. Also learned on tv that basmati rice needs to be aged for 9 months to be good. US growers rarely do that. Daawat is a good brand from India. Also that whiskey sent down river and onto the northeast via boat aged in their barrels and got better and more amber as a result. Dumb luck. And Cognac is just brandy from the region of Cognac. White grapes. Don't know why the whole sherry, port, brandy thing throws me. But it does.

Grub Crawl - Deland: The Table, Wrap It Up and Boston Coffee House *CA Travel Notes

Well it seems that most of you found my last post even though the email alert is gone. Don't know what with craft you are employing. Maybe someone could add a comment explaining how for the rest of the flock. Anyway. back to over two weeks ago... I tried these places in Deland at lunch time. All are downtown around New York Ave. Three more to go. Connie's, Abbey and a pho place.

The Table - This was the real draw. I saw them on that trip through a few months ago, Open for a year. There's a coffee/pastry/market at street level. This is down some steps away from the corner of the block in their old banquet space. There is a patio in front. Waterfall. Modern look. The flow inside is a little off. Bar. I had the fried chicken mac and collards for $16. Four pieces of chicken. Moist. It had a rosemary rub that I would lose. They also had an Italian chicken. I wonder if they are trying to do double duty with the chicken. Doesn't work with a Southern type chicken dish. The batter also had a grainy mouth feel. It also had a Thai like three pepper jelly that clashed even more with the rosemary. The mac was overcooked. Needed salt. Collards were bland. Not as sharp as I hoped. The goat cheese grits on the menu looked interesting. They are open for lunch and dinner. It was pretty full. Service was fine.

Wrap It Up - I saw some places I missed walking around. this was one. Decided to get something I could eat before my flight. Grabbed a Chicken Wrap with ranch and blue cheese for $7. It was ok. Thankfully I added a second layer of wrap or it would have oozed all over my clothes. I think they said they aren't that new.

Boston Coffee House - I guess there are five of these around CF. I just grabbed an iced coffee to knock it off the list. It cost $2. They also have a breakfast and lunch menu. Seating. Said they have been there for 26 years.

*Travel Notes CA - Prices were pretty jacked. LAX was a complete zoo. Even at 10pm. Bumper to bumper to the rental car counter. Whole place seemed boarded up. MCO wasn't bad. Left at night. Maybe because no European red eye flights it is slow? Spent first night at a gross Wingate near the airport ($103). Ate in Morro Bay (had to adjust itinerary and get to the coast because of heat) at Taco de Mexico. Chili Colorado and al pastor and carnitas tacos. Pretty good and hefty. Slept at a Rodeway on PCH for $134 (rack rate). Almost every hotel was full. Had a Diggler breakfast burrito at Frank and Lola's Front Street Cafe. Huge. Drove up PCH to SF. Stayed at southwest corner of Golden Gate Park at Ocean Beach. Horrible Rodeway for $143. Ate at Sri Thai. The only choice. Tried Pad Himipan with crispy chicken. The chicken was mostly hides. Not great. Drove across Golden Gate Bridge (I'm withholding what I saw - mostly National Parks - and fast food stops because of time constraints) to Sausilito and had a rancid lox and caper spread on a bagel at Bridgeway Bagel. Passed on many oyster places near Point Reyes NP. Damn. Slept at Budget Inn in Laytonville (cost consideration) for $109. Ate an overdone ahi banh mi at the Loco Fish Co Food Truck in Arcata. Eureka had little to offer. Had a terrible Battery Point Snapper at Sea Quake Brewing in Crescent City. Searched the name. No such thing as that snapper. Probably rock fish because they were offering that up the coast. Beer was good though. Slept at ultra-noisy Redwood Inn. Slept in Hi Lo Motel in Weed the next night for $78. Near Mt Shasta. A traffic accident made me stop in Susanville the next night. Super 8 at $101. Drove through Reno to Mammoth Lakes the next day. Had lunch at Gojira Ramen. Had a poke bowl with yt and salmon that they added spicy tuna and crab to. Grabbed some great deals at a market called Grocery Outlet. Slept at Shilo Inn for $142. Drove through Death Valley to Las Vegas and onto Barstow. Had a bad Barstow Burger at Barstow Burger. Better carne asada taco. Slept at a gross BW for $111. Slept at Western Holiday Lodge in Three Rivers (Sequoia NP) for $122. Onto San Luis Obispo. Slept at Avenue Inn for $129. Ate lunch at Frank's Famous. Had a huge chili dog and fries. Grabbed some gross brown butter cookies at Brown Butter Cookie Co. Had a very good tri tip sandwich at Old SLO BBQ. Also wine and beer from the area. They had those card machines. A so so breakfast of eggs benedict at Breakfast Buzz. Good lengua and al pastor tacos at El Tizon. They said that means ember. Slept in Lompoc. Gross Surestay next to a DMV for $95. I believe they put up illegals here as they get processed. Farm country. But, a friend says every CA DMV is the same. In Santa Barbara (by UCSB) grabbed spam, pork belly and Chinese sausage bao at Lao Wang. In Malibu, had steamed shrimp at Neptune's Net. Had Santa Barbara uni at Broad Street Oyster House. Had a yt sushi burrito at Howdy's. Served on some kind of wrap that I think they said was soy paper. Was thicker than the soy paper I've seen. had specks in it. Quinoa? Some weird stuff I ate: Rodopa Bulgarian White Cheese, strawberry flavored cake, Solely fruit jerky. I also saw pouches of pho beef bone broth by Nona Lim. That's all I can recall. I'll supplement if necessary. Gas was $5 in some areas!

Bashu Hot Pot, West Colonial *OR/NV Travel Notes

I tried this Chinese hot pot place on West Colonial and Kirkman two weeks ago at dinner time. It is in a strip mall that has mostly Asian choices. It opens at 3pm. Closes at 11pm. The owner said he may extend hours. In which direction, I know not where. It's a typical hot pot restaurant. Why don't we know the Chinese would for that (or all the other types)? Google translator says Huoguo Dian. I guess that's why. Doesn't exactly roll off the tongue. It has been open for three months. It's all you can eat for $26. You chose one of six broths. I chose the mushroom based. I added their three sliced meats (lamb shoulder, pork belly and Angus beef). I believe the menu said it was beef stomach or belly or something odd. It was all thinly slice from frozen carcasses. As they do it. All were fine. Beef was a little tough. They bring them to you. Large amounts. I supplemented these with a few selections from a jam packed buffet area. I grabbed quite a few large shrimp, hen of the woods mushrooms, mini sausages, lotus root, and beef balls. I also had some small umbrella shaped mushrooms that I thought were baby something or others. I thought shitake. But, my searches aren't confirming. I did find an interesting one called "parasol" while searching that this was not. They seem to be an "it" thing. The beef balls were stuffed. I enjoyed that. They also had things like: noodles, crab, fish balls, tofu, crab balls, vegetables, etc. Another two areas for sauces. Mostly fresh. And then you cook them in the broth. They have eight booths under a a fake porch ("menlang" according to Google translate) overhang. Ten tables in the center. All with electric heating surfaces. It was about half full. All Asian. Kind of young crowd. Service was a bit thin. Most were eating their dinner at the tables. They also seemed to be babysitting their children with cartoons on the communal tv. It was annoying hearing those infantile songs. I was told that the name is from a region in the Szechuan province. I was expecting a little more. Could be a little cleaner and professional for $26. Sill, it was ok.

*Travel Notes from OR and NV - It was mostly a CA trip, but, I will end the next review with that. Let's see. I passed through southern Oregon and stopped for gas and saw a sign for Rogue Creamery in Central Point (really Medford). I had  their classic grilled cheese (I believe it was mostly cheddar with some of one of their blues). I also grabbed a single serving of a brie that turned out to be not theirs and a chocolate and blue cheese truffle that I also think was somebody else's. In Las Vegas, I stayed at the El Cortez downtown because I got there on the weekend and prices were crazy. Plus I wanted to eat downtown. The hotel room was kind of good for under $100 with fees. and free parking. I couldn't get into my dinner choice (Carson Kitchen). I settled on a lousy chicken flauta at La Comida. I had a few good Viking Beach Parties at Atomic Liquors (LV's oldest bar) and pretty bad $6 pizza slices at Evel Pie. But, it was Evel Knievel's joint! At lunch, I had the best (only out of five or so) by far Cacio e Pepe at Esther's Kitchen in the Art's District. It is in between Downtown and the Strip. You should find this area. Alot of restaurants, breweries, etc. I saw Esther's and Atomic on the Hubert Keller show. They said Esther's has been open for eight years. It still seems to be a hot ticket. I got in at opening time and it wasn't long before they were turning people away. I didn't get into the hidden speakeasy at the Mob Museum. Private party. I came through Death Valley and stopped at a dinosaur dig NP called Tule Springs. It wasn't completed. No VC. Started in 2014. It is only like ten minutes north on 95. Another suburb that is brand new. I also went to the Valley of Fire SP north on 15. It was great. $15 for out of staters. Many movies shot there (Total Recall). You can come back to Lake Mead via 169. I did that and stayed in Boulder City at the El Rancho. A little motel for $94. Saturday price. I ate surprisingly fresh sushi at Momoyama. I had an ok breakfast of eggs and hash browns and banana bread at Southwest Diner.