Matcha Cafe Maiko - The last word tells you that it's Japanese. Not much more than those insipid beverages that are seemingly everywhere and ice cream. They said they may add food sometime in the future. I grabbed a cold Hojicha tea for $3. It was one of the cheaper off ramps and I don't think I've ever had one before. They toast the tea. It tasted like nori (seaweed). Open for one year. One of a half dozen or so within a half mile...
Moge Tee - Speak of the devil. Right across the street is a Hong Kong (they said) chain of cold beverages. Also open for a year. This one just had drinks. They said they also have a location in Sand Lake. I tried a Red Bean Tofu Pudding tea for $6. Had to find out what tofu pudding was like. It was like free form boba (with red beans). Not bad. You really had to keep breaking up the tofu (settled on the bottom) with every sip. Interesting. I preferred it to boba.
Great Greek - This place had been on the list for a while. I never tried it because of the lack of parking. I found some free space near the Trinity Church on Livingston and Ruth. One block back towards the east (lake). You have to past the new hotel (Home 2/Hilton) and make a right and circle back to Ruth (one way). There are around eight free spots at the end of the street on the right. They have been also open for one year. Typical Greek options. They said they have a location in Winter Garden. I tried a daily special for $9. It was pulled lamb in a pita. I've had shavings and cubes and chunks. Don't recall pulled. It was ok. Too salty. It does have potential though. Came with onion, tomato and tzatziki. Pita was good. It has a fast food type feel. New. Clean. Bright. It was pretty crowded.
Bagel World - Seems to be a chain from Jacksonville area. They said they have a place in New Smyrna. I believe I've been there. This one looks much different. New. I just grabbed a bagel with cc for $3. It was ok. Dunkin Donuts quality. No chew. They may put oil in the dough. Open 7am-2pm. Small menu. Mostly breakfast (egg) sandwiches and a few lunch ones. They said they get the bagels delivered daily from Jacksonville. Not sure if I was supposed to say "wow" or "I'm sorry".
*Travel Notes - Las Vegas: The trip was mostly skiing in Utah. I flew into Vegas because it was cheaper (flight and rental car). I'll break this up into two posts. Flight cost $130 on Frontier. Hertz was $370/wk for a small SUV that ended up being an Equinox. Gas to and from was around $130. Stayed night one at The Linq for $27+$42 RF. It was a high end room too. Parking was listed as free. They reneged. Cost $15. Will dispute it with cc company. Dinner at 11pm was a double double at In & Out. Had breakfast at Siegel's Bagelmania near the Strat. It told you about it in last Vegas post. It wasn't as huge as I expected. Just really a diner/bakery. Grabbed a corned beef sandwich and potato salad for $17. It was just ok. On the way back, I had terrible all you can eat sushi at Umiya on 4465 Flamingo near Arville. I searched dim sum and sushi on Yelp and this came out as number 5 rated. Avoid. I also did the search with just sushi and it wasn't listed in top ten. Who knows what is going on at Yelp? I stayed at the Golden Nugget Downtown on MLK day for $44 plus $41 RF. It was a manager's special room. They gave me a pretty good one on a high floor. Wouldn't let you in until after 3pm though. Free parking. I had dinner at Pop Up Pizza at the Plaza. Two pep slice combo for $13. Signs said they were Best of Vegas. Pizza was pretty good. Soft crust. Plus they had a mural of the Beastie Boys eating pizza. So...you know. I had lunch at a fairly new plaza on Spring Valley Rd. Shanghai Plaza. I tried a few places. I bought a Hokkaido tart and a milk pudding pastry at 85 (degrees) Bakery. $4 in total. I grabbed a classic onigiri at O.Onigiri. It was spam and egg. It cost $6. They sell Okinawan food. I grabbed a squid ink hot dog at CrunCheese. It cost $4. It was a Korean hot dog spot. This one had black squid ink in the batter. They stuffed it with half a hot dog on the bottom (cut the tip into little squid tentacles) and mozzarella up top. Fried it. They also served it with sauces. I chose ketchup and cheese mustard. I think they gave me honey mustard. If not, cheese mustard doesn't taste of cheese. I ended the day with dinner at Ping Ping Pong at the Gold Coast Hotel on 4000 Flamingo and Valley View. It came up as number 9 on that Yelp search. First of the Dim Sum places. It was ok. Dinner dim sum menu was basic. I settled for two har kow, ribs in some sauce and two Chinese sausage bao. It cost about $30 with tax and tip and tea. The menu was whacky. They had bursted blood vessel as a dish! I rented a room at the Orleans on Tropicana for the hours before my red eye. It cost $40 plus $40 RF. They have a big arena there. The minor league hockey team plays there. If you aren't aware. I choose my hotels based on if I haven't tried them before and then price. They are putting up a new hotel near the Sahara. Hard Rock is now Virgin. You had to mask inside most places. It didn't seem very busy.
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