Grub Crawl - Downtown and Lee Rd: Dolce (Closed), The Monroe and Cupid's Hot Dogs *OR/WA Travel Notes

I went to the first spot over a week ago at lunch. It is past the Publix on East Central where the buildings end (nearer to TP). Across from Eola Wine Company. The second I went to yesterday at lunch. It is in the Julian in that Technology Center where the Orena used to be. It was the first time I drove through there. It's cool. The last in on Lee Rd near Edgewater. It took over some Mexican spot. I went there after lunch yesterday.

Dolce - Open for three months. It ostensibly has a 20's theme. In reality it is just an ordinary place with a F. Scott Fitzgerald quote (a banal one) and three pictures (of what appears to be a Russian whore) in 20's garb. They may have played 20's music. The yammering of the two Hispanic cooks overwhelmed my memory of the event. I settled on a Chef Salad ($15) more because my body must have wanted vitamins. Even the sparse ones this provided. The menu was a bit basic. Some sandwiches, breakfast items, bowls, salads and a fair sized dessert menu (crafted by some lady on Cupcake Wars that I think they said had a place in WP called Jilly's). The salad was ok. Chicken in it. I would have the liked the chicken not to have been seasoned. Too little dressing. They also only gave me a tiny glass (of un-refilled) soda. The dessert menu had fun things like confetti cake and cheesecake in a waffle cone. That (and maybe breakfast) are probably the draws. They don't even offer martinis. Just wine. The owner ran the Sausage Shack in WP. That was good. The interior is white with some wood under the bar. Old and lazy ID. AC was on way too high. Small patio in front. About four tables (all girls) seated at lunch. Service was slow. The kitchen's fault. One server. 

The Monroe - They seem to be going for some kind of bluesy, Southern vibe. Not sure if Orlando (and they seem to be hinting at that with the decorations) accurately represents that. Oh well, it looks cute and they recreate (or manufacture) locally flavored dishes. I had the St John's River Catfish Sandwich with cucumber salad (or potato wedges) for $14. I was interested in the salmon (they may even have tried to sell this as local). But, not at $26. The fish was fishy. Needed to have been soaked in buttermilk or whatever they usually do. The fry was perfect. The bun was one of the best I've ever had. A glossy, soft, buttery sesame seed bum. Chopped lettuce in mayo and tomatoes were fresh too. Cucumbers had a bland dressing. Too much and maybe cut too thick or too thin. The perfectly wrong size. All in all, better conceptualization than execution. Open for around six months? The guy/group behind Seito Sushi and Osprey in Baldwin Park. Nice decor. Shabby chic. Long front room on the left. Mostly window faced. Kitchen behind in. They have low walls to divide up the space. Bar and lounge area inside a little. Patio behind that. Once again, there were lots of Blues memorabilia and junk (purposeful) scattered around. Some games. I remember grays. Pretty full. People with jobs. The menu had fried chicken, steak frites, steak, biscuits, Philly CS, hamburger, three salads, etc. The entrees were around mid-twenties. The sandwich type things were mid-teens. The lunch menu was only a buck or two cheaper than the dinner. More things (but not a ton) at dinner. I am curious about the pickled shrimp and the jerk seasoned chicken hearts and the liver pate. Not sure why it is called Monroe. We have a Lake Monroe. Don't know it's origin either. I wish I could recommend this or put it on the Favorite's list. But, it has three strikes. 1 - Parking is metered here and to further infuriate me you can only pay with a tracking infested app. I did find free parking a few blocks away. 2 - An iced tea (unfilled) was $4. 3. The execution missteps. Check their hours. I think they close on Sunday and Monday. 

Cupid's Hot Dogs - I maligned them and alas they open as if waiting for my cue. They claim to be a small (5) chain from California. No one I've questioned from there (including myself) has heard of them. I aked the owner. She said San Fernando Valley. A person I told said she looked them up and it said Simi Valley. Oh well. I had a chili dog for $5. They are running a special with fries and soda only $1 more. The dog was ok. Long. Pork? Tasted like a Dodger Dog. Salty. Unseasoned. A bit of a snap. Semi sweet bun. Nothing special. Same with chili. Fries were like In & Out's. Not a compliment from me. They sell about ten things. Has adequate parking. A gimmick play.

*Travel Notes - Oregon and Washington: I wouldn't have overloaded this post if I had another food adventure coming up soon. Plane fare to Portland was $283. Rental car was $463/wk. I spent the first night near the airport at Nordic Inn for $106. Drove on 26 to Government Camp and Timberline Lodge. Hotel from The Shining. On to Bend via 97. Ate lunch at Walt Reilly's. Ate dinner at Lucy's Taco Shop. Good Mex. Slept at Campfire Hotel for $100. Did recon and bought lift ticket ($119 wd - was supposed to be $89 according to internet) to Mt Bachelor and rented skis at Powder House for $45 ($64 at mountain). Skied the next day. Good. Drank beer (don't judge when you read on - just samples sizes) at Cascade Lakes Brewing, Deschutes Brewery, Immersion Brewing, Crux Fermentation Project and Boss Rambler Beer Project. Ate great tacos and tlacoyo (fried masa cakes filled with cheese) at El Sancho Taco Shop. Slept at Days Inn for $74. Drove nw on 26 to John Day Fossil Beds NM. Nice mountain-y drive. Drove on to Day and own 395 to Burns. Slept there at America's Best Value Inn (not bad for them) for $109. Back to Bend via 20. Flatter drive. On nw to Sisters. Ate and drank at Three Creeks Brewery. Slept at Sisters Inn for $125. Everything here was around 25% too much. Further on to Corvallis. Visited OSU. Ate satay and chicken in tumeric cream sauce with noodles at Magenta. Drank at Block 15, Sky High Brewing and Crowbar. Had pizza at American Dream Pizza. Slept at Hotel Corvallis for $106. Drove to Salem on 5. Saw the capitol. On to the coast via 22w. Ate in Tillamook at Blue Heron French Cheese Co. Also bought cheese and cider. Visited Tillamook Cheese Co. Up 101 to Astoria. Visited Lewis and Clark NP. Over bridge to Long Beach Washington. Claims to be longest beach in world. Ate chowder at Chowder Stop. Slept at Coastal Inn for $93. Went up to a town called Oysterville. Nothing there. Back to LB. Ate fried cod at Captain Bob's Chowder. Drove back to Astoria. Found the house in The Goonies on 38th St. Drove back to Portland via 30. I missed some location on 101 for Goonies and Point Break. Better trip than I expected. Gas was around $4.50. Airport was a breeze. Two people ahead at TSA when leaving. Car rental easy too. Good conditioned vehicles. Mine had only 400 miles. Not proof reading this. Marionberries are a thing.

Grub Crawl - Winter Park and Altamonte Springs: Tous les Jours, La Rima, Kumo and Quickly Bistro

I was going to subject you to a root canal tutorial, but, I'll save that for another day because it probably won't be of any interest to anyone anyway. I tried these places tonight. The haphazard way they came about has alot to do with plan a and b going awry. And concerns about rush hour traffic. Ava is only open from Wednesday and Cupid's Hot dogs refuses to open. The first two are on Fairbanks in WP. The second two are in a strip mall with a supermarket near the Maitland overpass on 434.

Tous les Jours - Bakery. Open for three months. Was something like Bread something before. Owner changed franchises to this. He's Asian. They have an Asian feel (kim chi pastry). I grabbed a chestnut pastry for $4 because it looked cool and I've never had one. It was good. Brioche like in some areas. Croissant like in others. Chestnuts were orange-y and soft and sweet. They decorate the top with dough pieces that look like soft pretzel nuggets. Attractive. They sell other handhelds (sweet and savory) and cakes and drinks. Small hallway on the left to eat in. You grab a tray and tongs and go to work. Visible pricing would be nice. Just off the North Orange (17-92) and Fairbanks intersection.

La Rima - Another pointless drinks spot (actually saw another similar one called Kos down the block). Open for a year. By Tin & Taco on the block that starts at Rollins. Had a cold Chrysanthemum. It tasted like black pepper. Saw flecks of black in the cup. Either sabotaged or that's what it should taste like. I mean I was a maskless adult man invading a safe space. The flake of snow would have been within her rights to teach me a lesson. It robbed me of $5.

Kumo Asian - Sushi rolls, ramen, apps and bentos. Had no salmon for the bento so I overpaid for two rolls (s and t). Better than I was expecting, but still around supermarket quality. And I yell at them for charging $8. These cost $11. Rice was ok. Nori wapped. Cigar shaped. Big waste of space entrance area. Can't remember if there was an eat in space beyond. Order at the counter. No frills. Open for three years.

Quickly Bistro - The bag had many countries and a web site listed on it. It may be a chain. Pan Asian. Pad Thai, Pho, bao, fried rice, bento, etc. Something called fried Pho. And drinks. Gotta have drinks or women would just waste their (?) money on shoes and handbags and botox and makeup and nails and jewelry and perfume and clothes and hair and plastic surgery and yoga and chocolate. I was talked into volcano (tempura shrimp, fake crab and mayo) bao. 3 for $9. Pre-fried, mostly shrimpless tempura. Tough. A let down in three acts. Black wall with images of famous landmarks. Open for five years. Adding "neutral Vega" to the mix soon. Ended up being worse than Kumo. 

*I saw that a Ceviche (behind 7-11 on Fairbanks near Rollins) had closed. Being taken over by a Korean spot. And I told you about Kos (closed Monday). Another drink place near the lot behind Ava was also closed today.  I think I'll try downtown tomorrow. Although, I may have alienated half my audience yet again. It's jokes ladies. Just jokes. We kid because we care.

Grub Crawl - Winter Garden: Morthan Cheese, Press'd, AntiquiTeas, NY Bagel (Cosed) and Rosallie *GA/TN/AL Travel Notes

I tried these places on Wednesday at lunch. The first three are in the marketplace. The last two are on Plant Street. I have given you almost all of them. I haven't done a popcorn place in the market. Whole Enchilada and Matthew's remain on Plant. The chocolatier (Torres?) is open again in the market.

Morthan Cheese - I grabbed a roast beef and raclette sandwich to go for $14. It was good. Cheese is their deal. The raclette was good. It's a Swiss staple. Not sure where they get theirs. The roast beef was probably Boar's Head. Four slices. Bun was ok.  Some arugula. Open for four years. They sell around a dozen things. The woman there was a bit cranky.

Press'd - My nightmare. A vegan stall that thinks it is saving the planet by not printing receipts. Just burning coal to charge the move to digital though. You may want to explore where those electric car batteries are being recycled too. Spoiler alert. It's a land fill. Or how we are becoming more of China's (raw earth metal barons) bitch as we drop carbons. But I digress. I grabbed the cheapest thing. A disgusting, rubber like "hot dog". In came in a pretzel bum. $5. Air fried/re-heated. They mostly have drinks. $10 smoothies for example Pre-Bidenflation. Some "puddings". Some "power balls". I think they said they were an original tenant.

AntiquiTeas - Love the name. Just a Harry Potter Magic Shop like stall of teas. I had a cold Ceylon Star for $3.50. It was good. many options. Another tenant from day one. Nice owner operator. Seemed to care. 

NY Bagel - Open for two years. I grabbed a bagel with cc for $3. Good bagel. CC also. They sell sandwiches and pizza and other baked things. Long, narrow lay out.

Rosallie - Across the street. Open for four years. A French sweets and drinks shop that sells some meals. I grabbed an apple turnover to go for $4.60. It was good. The sweets look posh. They offer brunch all day and croissant flatbreads and sandwiches and salads. A little expensive at around $15. Place has charm though. 

*Travel Notes - GA/TN/AL: I slept the first night in Ellijay GA at the Stratford Inn for $115 (rack rate). I drove east about twenty miles to the start of the Appalachian Trail. I came back and drove north to Sweetwater TN. I went to the Lost Sea for $26. It's America's Largest Underground Lake in a cavern. I drove north and west to Lebanon TN. Stayed at the Cedar Valley Inn for $94 (rack rate). I drove into Nashville and ate fried chicken at Hattie B's (on B, B and Que) . Pretty good. Bacon cheddar grits were better. Grabbed a burger to go at Gabby's Burger. On the same show. It was bad. Meatloaf like. Those were on the southern side of Nashville. It looked hip. A reclaimed industrial area with breweries, etc. A mile or so south, there seemed to be a rich area with prep schools, etc. I drove south to Huntsville AL. I saw it on Samantha Brown's Places to Love. They birthed the space program there. Basically responsible for everything until after the moon landing. Was an arms manufacturing point before that. Werner von Braun lived here. Space Camp is here. Saturn V rocket. Who knew? I took the US Space and Rocket Center Tour for $30. I stayed at the Comfort Inn for $115. Even more expensive in dt. I ate chicken fried steak with mac and cheese and mashed potatoes and corn bread at G's Country Kitchen (on the show too). DT was cute. Cute city overall. On the way out, I stopped at Burritt on the Mountain (also on the show). It's an an old timey village thing. Good view of city. Didn't pay the $8. Drove se past some lakes. Made it to Tifton GA. stayed at a La Quinta for $115 (rack rate). Stopped on 75 at Magnolia Plantation. It's a shitty tourist trap with billboards on 75.. Just crap and jams, etc. I learned that "butters" are just jams with caramel. They had many. Some funny named mixes like Frog (Fig, Raspberry, Orange, Ginger). I tried to go to Spurrier's in Gainesville. Only opens at 4pm. I rained alot. Made exploring more difficult. Lost Sea was overrated. Huntsville was worth it. 

Grub Crawl - Winter Park: Asia Kitchen, Jam Hot Chicken and The Imperial

I tried the places last Friday at lunch and dinner. The first is in a strip mall on Lake Howell Rd (one block west of 436). The second is in Hannibal Square. The third is at S. Knowles off Park Ave.

Asia Kitchen - They said they replaced (and updated) a take out spot that had been there for twenty years. Don't remember it. Around three months ago. This isn't much of an improvement. I hope. They just made it look slightly modern. The menu still seems like take out. I was expecting "sit down" quality. The interior is also not conducive to eating in (three tables). I had the sisig pork for $13. I have had this three times since I tried it properly done in the Phillipines. Each time it gets worse. It's supposed to be parts of the head. I've had pork belly, ground pork and now the diced pork they probably use in the pork fried rice. It was tough. Alot of it. That made it hurt more. Not much flavor. Maybe fish and soy sauce and vinegar. Lots of diced onion. Came with rice. They sell bao, rangoon, summer roll, dumplings and soups as apps. General Tso, drunken chicken, lo mein, etc as mains. Bentos. Bobas and smoothies. They have a robot delivery machine for kicks. Waste of money if you ask me. The owner and her family were taking up one of the three available tables. It just is underwhelming. Meals took a while to prepare too. Open 11-9. No Sn. Pass.

Jam Hot Chicken - They sell four takes on hot fried chicken breast (and some odds and ends). A cold one in a wrap. One on bread. One in a bun. One other. In a little shack/kiosk. Open since December. This was the fourth time I tried the, First time - not open yet. Second time - not open on Monday or Tuesday. Third time - forty minute wait. Open 11-8. I had the most expensive sandwich on a bun for $14. It was ok. I asked for mild. It was hot. Slaw was spongy. Chicken too. Bun was glossy. Pickles ok. Ok crust. Fell off a little too easily. Big bird. It is what it is.

The Imperial - I've been to the other two. This one seems a bit more structured for food. I shared shrimp and avocado ceviche ($17) and a baked brie platter ($12). The first was better and fresher. Brie ws bland and bread was worse. Also had fruit. The had a singer singing. Pretty packed. it has been open for over a year. Same decor of furniture as the other places. Service was good. Wine by the glass was $10+. 

*I'll have some travel notes later in the week. Site is acting buggy again. That's why this is so short.

North Italia, Sand Lake Rd *FL Travel Notes

This website has been so buggy lately that I'm going to write this one up even though I just posted something (I actually wrote that a week ago but it wouldn't upload before I left). I tried this franchise (twenty five or so locations) Italian play last Thursday at lunch. It is in a spot in the first strip mall off I-4 where Ocean Prime and American Social are. It was a J Alexanders. Open for three months. It's ok. It looks nice. An L shaped layout. High ceilings. Bar on the left with a semi-enclosed bar area. A private room. Kitchen in the rear. White walled. Blacks. Grays. Light woods and a modern living room (plants, etc) feel. My section alone sat 80. Probably the same in the other section. Maybe forty at the bar. About twenty percent full. Free, fresh bread. I had the Chicken Parmesan Sandwich for $15. Didn't love the value on the menu. They serve it on a round ciabatta. Smallish. The chicken was dry and very thin. It was topped with prosciutto and a spicy aioli. Maybe some cheese? That would make sense. It came with fries. They shredded some fresh cheese over them. Correctly fried. The rest of the menu was predictable. Pizza. Salads. Pasta. Etc. I think they wrote that spaghetti bolognese was a house specialty. Service was slow. When I walked out, I looked into the kitchen. Seemed like one impresario and a few minions. My waiter was good. He comped me what would be an overpriced ice tea ($4). Traffic is ridiculous there.

*Travel Notes - Florida: I drove to Tampa. Stayed at the shitty Quality Inn on 41 near the Fair Grounds for $120. I drove south on 41 to the Big Bend Power Plant to see manatees. Not a one. Then a few miles south to Apollo Beach. Not much beach. Was going to head south, but, prices were ridiculous. $200 to $400 all the way south. For crap. The same on the east coast. I drove to S Dale Mabry Blvd to BJ's Alabama BBQ. Saw it on some show. It was ok. Drove on 275 and then west where it merges with 75 on 54 and then north on 41 to 98. Stayed at a better Quality Inn in Chiefland for $109. It turns out Manatee Springs SP was there. It cost $4 for a single driver. No manatees, but, nice springs and walk to Suwanee River. Ate at Bar BQ Bill's. Damn good chicken. Drove north the next day to Fanning. Fanning Springs SP ($6) and a fort there. Not as nice a spring. No manatees. Ate a decent shrimp wrap at Chomper's Drive Thru Diner. Good marketing concept. Drove to Apalachicola. Stayed at the Apalachicola Bay Inn for $132. Had beers at Oyster City Brewing Co. Ate a very good platter of grouper, shrimp and oysters at Apalachicola Seafood Grill. The next morning I had breakfast at the Franklin Cafe at the Gibson Inn. Kept going west on 98. Drove through Panama City and Rosemary Beach. Had delicious pumpkin ice cream in a glazed donut just west of PC at Thomas'. Slept at a dump of a BW in Destin for $116. Had a chocolate glazed donut and humongous brownie at the Donut Hole at breakfast. Only cost like $3. Had Greek shrimp salad at Destin Ice Seafood Market. They said that they supply every restaurant in town. Drove to Navarre Beach. Stayed at the Days Inn for $99. Drove to Pensacola. Stayed at the Sole Inn again. $130. Ate a fairly lame fried oyster basket with fried green tomatoes and gouda grits at The Fish House at lunch. Had beers at Big Top Brewing Company and 5 Barrel Brewery. Had a great dinner at Iron. Joyce Farm Airline Chicken in a marsala demi with creamy parsnip risotto (it worked) and lion's mane mushrooms (never heard of them) and bruleed cipollini onions. Drove to Fernandina Beach on 10. Stayed at the Surf Beach Motel for $112. Ate a lousy beef and duck meatloaf at Le Clos. It sounded interesting. Grabbed a cheddar cheese covered roll at Bailey's on Ash and an ok breakfast empanada at Hola this morning. Drove down 95 to Crescent Beach. Went to Fort Matanzas NP. Ferry to fort only had room at 2:30pm. Went to the beach instead. Drove down A1A. Ate an ok crab cake benedict at Oceanside at Flagler Beach. I had seen it on the news. Because of erosion from a hurricane and covid.

Upgrading A Cellular Phone Tutorial

This is based on an AT&T phone and service, but, it may apply universally. I haven't wanted to switch phones. I hate the hassle (some times it is a bitch to cancel the original service) and your data never transfers correctly. The last time I did, I switched from another carrier and the people at the AT&T store helped me all the way through buying an older/cheaper model and setting it up. This time, they would not help at all and didn't have any phones for sale. Just for lease. Costly ones. However, my battery barely stayed charged and I had purchased three replacement from Amazon and they all were either dead on arrival or just as bad. I then went to Wal-mart and some kid tried to sell me a new contract too. Best Buy checked my phone number and said my phone plan wasn't transferable to a new phone (unlocked or not). It turned out that they all were liars or wrong and it was fairly simple.

I went back one last time (with some info from the internet) to the AT&T store and I squeezed it from one guy that I could indeed buy a phone (AT&T sponsored) elsewhere and switch the Sim cards. He thought I'd have to update my account online though. I kind of knew that. The internet said I'd have to log into my cell account (I never set it up) and change an IME number. I was hoping I wouldn't have to do that. However, I found the info (in my docs) and created an account to see what I could do online that I couldn't at the store. Similar situation. They had phones for sale, but, you had to switch to a more expensive plan. It was unclear if you could buy the phone alone. I went back to Walmart (cheaper than Target with same two phones) to buy a phone from them and met a shopper that worked for AT&T. She said I could just switch the Sim card and that would be all I had to do. I looked up some how to videos on the internet and it seemed easy. I went back to Walmart and bought a pretty good phone for $50. 

I slipped the Sim card (a little paper looking square resembling a smaller additional memory card) out of the old phone and into the new one. I turned it on and it found the network. That is the key thing. If it finds the network, you are golden. It needed to update the software over wifi. But, that's all I had to do. I was billed as usual and everything works. I test texted and called. Certain things on the phone had changed and it is too big, but, it was fairly painless. So don't fall for their up sell bs. 

I should also mention that I tried a few other AT&T stores and they all had few workers whom were busy with others and/or others were also waiting to talk to them ahead of me. Plus I was going to use them for home wifi, but, they make you sign up for a plan BEFORE they will send someone to see if your infrastucture supports their system or you have to buy their equipment (online) and sign up for the plan and self install BEFORE you know the same. I'm sure it's real easy to untangle that mess if it doesn't work out.