Grub Crawl - UCF Area: Yummy Taste and Fat Shack *CO Travel Notes

I tried these two dogs on Wednesday at lunch. The first is in a strip mall across from the Waterford Lakes Mall. The second is in that strip mall I last reported from near UCF at University and Alafaya. I'd like to add (before we start) that the fat girl with the big tits on Channel 6 reminds me of the after photo of the younger sister from Sanditon. Do you see it?

Yummy Taste - Failed in all areas. AC wasn't adequate, so, I changed my sit down to a to go. I tried the cumin beef noodles for $12 because the regular was even costlier than that. It was bad. The beef wasn't overcooked, but, the noodles were. Probably reheated. Broke apart when twirled. Clumsily spiced. The rest of the menu was dull. Rabbit and some tiger skin thing were the only intriguing items. Most things were $16 - $22. Decor was bad. Service was slow. One waitress (not great with English) and (I'll wager) one cook. Menu had little description of the dish. I really can't find a reason for you try this place. Opened recently.

Fat Shack - The funny thing is I just was in Fort Collins where they started. A chain that ripped off the R U Hungry food truck from New Brunswick NJ gimmick off putting side dishes into a sandwich. Mark Cuban bought in. They are the first location in Florida. I grabbed a small Fat Bronco for $9. It had one chicken finger and one mozzarella stick and fries in tomato sauce. The fries were beyond soggy. The mozz was tasteless and rubbery. The chicken was inconsequential. As was the bun. A real expensive mess. They sell around a dozen of these and burgers and snacks. I'm not sure what the burgers cost. Their menu (with the prices) wasn't working. The place already looks twenty years aged and they opened a month ago. I don't hate the concept. It just needs to be done at least one quarter assed. And the prices are out of line. You can go to Arbys and get two sandwiches for $6 and mozz sticks for $3 and make yourself TWO better sandwiches. The original was on the Food Network.

*Travel Notes - Colorado: Flight there on Frontier was $206. Hertz was $445. Stayed night one at Baymont near airport for $100. Did recon on day one. Had sausage rarebit with broccoli and beer at Baker's Brewery in Silverthorne. Slept at Quality Inn for $93. Skied Arapahoe Basin for $99 with $52 ski rental. Had tots with pork belly and beer at Cabin Creek Brewery in Georgetown. Slept at Microtel for $115. Nice lake there. Skied at Loveland for $85 and $45 ski rental. Ate Italian sub at Enza's Deli in Silverthorne. Had a good steak and queso empanada at Lazo Empanadas at Bluebird Market. Had terrible tinga and carnitas tacos at Baja Chimayo at same market. Slept at Silver Inn for $105. Ate breakfast at Sunshine Cafe. Good trout and eggs. It started to blizzard, so, I had to change ski plans and head back down stream. Went to Idaho Springs and bathed at Indian Hot Springs for $20 (plus $7 for locker and towel). It was gross. Mainly because of the people. Had a disgusting pizza at Picci's. Had beer at Westbound & Down. Had beer and pastrami sandwich with fries at Tommyknockers. Slept at Columbine Inn (bad) for $106. Idaho Springs main street was cool. Though the charge for parking before 6pm. Drove through Denver north to Fort Collins. Had bad al pastor and carne asada tacos at Vatos. Had good carrot cake ice cream at Old Town Churn. Had interesting cheddar covered Liege style waffle at Waffle Lab. Slept at Armstrong Hotel for $126. Visited New Belgium Brewing. Ate trout and eggs (even better) at Silver Grill Cafe (in Esquire). Drove to Estes Park. Saw elk, etc. Drove through Rocky Mountain NP. Slept at Nicky's Resort for $78. Drove to airport and had bad lasagna at DiCicco's.

 I was going to try other ski areas, but, they were more expensive. Arapahoe had flex pricing. Loveland was constant rate. Both were way better than I expected. The more I go, the more I think you need to tell Vail and Aspen (et al) to go fuck themselves. It was in the 60's to start and then it dropped to the 20s. Crazy. Snowed over a foot after I left. The highway closed down. Fort Collins is cool. So many breweries and cideries and distilleries and restaurants. May be dearer than SLC in my heart now. Estes Park also had a nice lake. Nice drive there. Silverthorne is blowing up. Drove through Keystone (closed for season) too. Nice drive from Loveland to there over Loveland Pass. Found a cheap ski area called Echo near Idaho Springs. It had just closed though. No travel issues. Gas was cheaper there.

Grub Crawl - Mills Ave: Grilled Cheezus and Plantees

I tried the first place not this Monday but last. I tried the other yesterday. The first is in the old Bites and Bubbles location. The other is a little closer to Virginia.

Grilled Cheezus - They said they has a food truck and another location or two. The remodel really makes an already gloomy situation worse. They took out the bar and divided the room with a wall. They say a cookie company is hidden behind that. Now it's a tiny room with the kitchen in between. I ordered the basic grilled cheese because this trend is just stupid and of course it is overpriced stupidity to boot. It cost $9. It was good. Came with a thimble of uninspired too sweet tomato soup that did little to the experience. They press it in a waffle iron. Had to do a three cheese mix for some reason. Dusted it with some superfluous parmesan to make it seem fancy. They sell around ten others. Mostly simple add ins like bacon. Do yourself a favor and buy a waffle iron or a George Foreman grill (do they still exist) and use your allowance for something more deserving. Open for a month.

Plantees - The cultural antithesis of GC. A plant based, vegany, healthy, one item, fast casual option. They sell: a Beyond burger as a single or double, fries with cheese or without and shakes. I grabbed a single with vegan cheese for $10. Already you can tell I'm going to preface any analysis with - it's 2X too expensive. And it is. It was ok. The meat tastes like tv dinner meatloaf. Although, I didn't hate the mouthfeel or flavor. It didn't marry well with the very vinegary relish. The lettuce and tomato were very fresh. And the bun was perfect. Hopefully, they will maintain these freshness standards because that is all that justifies the premium price. If there is a justification. It is the first and only location. Seems ready to multiply. Very clean and modern look. Order at the counter inside with open kitchen. Patio dining area. Nice owners. Opened on Monday. Some off street parking. If you are going to waste your allowance on seemingly healthy (I wonder what the calorie count is) junk food while foolishly thinking you are saving the planet, this could do the trick for you.

*I also tried (for the last time) to try Brad's Pizza on Curry Ford. After many wild goose chases caused by the idiot Google, I tracked him down to a place called Collaborative Kitchen. He wasn't in. Of course. But, it wouldn't have mattered anyway. They force you to order on line through their app. I refuse to use apps unless they can be proven to be innocuous. As in, they don't install tracking software. And they all do. And it just seems like a bad business model. If you get walk-ins, why chase them away? It can't cost any more to type in the order to your POS. And it also seems like these snotty, bigoted little shits rely on deliver companies for most of their sales. That's another example of profit erosion. I'm starting to understand that whole "stupid is as stupid does" expression. I also saw a cool named place almost open on 50 called Mongolorian and Cucina has opened DT. So Dough on Michigan is also supposed to be open. I'll have one more post with some travel notes in a few days.

Grub Crawl - Windermere and Millenia: Dim Dim Sum and Pho 813

I tried these places last night. The first is at the intersection of Conroy and Apopka Vineland. You get off 1-4 by the Mall at Millenia and cross Kirkman and go all the way to Olympia High School. The corner with Hawkers. Far left if coming that way. The second is near the Target on Conroy just off I-4.

Dim Dim Sum - Kind of well named. Not the brightest of dim sum stars. I had shrimp dumplings, chao zhou fun guo dumplings and xiao long bao (that they don't call dumplings but are). They only served three per order. Shrinkflation seems to be how they are reacting to the current economic environment. Shanghai Lane did it to me too last month. The shrimp were good. Whole pieces. No stink or off flavors. They didn't steam them long enough. The exterior was pasty and fell off. A little better with the chao. They were ground and whole pork with chives and peanuts. Some gristly bits. Soft nuts. Maybe there were four to this order? Bigger, longer sized. The soup in the soup dumplings wasn't great. Still not sure why they call them bao. Internet says bao is a steamed bread roll. As I believed. All these plates cost $6.50. Tea was $3.50. All are too costly if you ask me. The menu is small. 39 things. The place has a patio and windows up front. Open kitchen in rear. A few tables. Waterfall on far left. Modern. Red brick walls. Wood trim. Slate floors. Two servers. It was empty. Maybe because a Hawkers outpost is very close. Not worth the effort (even with the dearth of dim sum options). Open for 6 months. Don't see them surviving. 

Pho 813 - Open 2 months. Grabbed a tofu banh mi to go for $9. Never had one before. Never will again. Would have been better without the tofu. Just veg. Roll was unforgivable. Supermarket shit that was old and probably wetted down and nuked. This is the basic component of the dish. If this is how the treat this, I don't trust them to do anything well or trust their standards. It was to come with pate too. Didn't discern any. 813 is Tampa area code. Place is modern. Bar on left rear. dining area on right. Big mural there. White walls. Blues. Blacks. Same old menu. Had shrimp on sugar cane though. 

*I also "tried" a new chain place on 434 in Longwood called So Fresh. Such A Ripoff would be more accurate. Refused to pony up the $8 (to start - basically cheese) plus an extra $4+ for ANY protein. Many other things were extra too. My soda (sucked) cost $3. Nothing looked fresh. The cookies and brownies were even packaged from another company. Their "quesadilla" had mozzarella and two other even less Mexican cheeses in it.  Man I hate these fast casual, veganish ripoff joints. Can anybody stop the madness? THEY WILL NOT MAKE YOU SKINNY....ERR HEALTHY. THEY WILL TAKE YOUR MONEY. Open for a month.

Grub Crawl - Florida Mall: Cantina Catrina, Steak Up and Gotcha Smokehouse BBQ *FL Travel Notes

I tried these places on Tuesday at lunch.

Cantina Catrina - Open for less than a month. Original in Miami. One of these in-authentic Mexican Applebee's that have been proliferating. I had barbacoa tacos because they were "street" and the line at Chipotle was crazy the day before and most things cost more than these. They cost $16 for 5. But, it turned out it was Taco Tuesday and I got them for half off. They were ok. The beef was bland. I wouldn't be shocked if it comes in a bag. The tortillas were a bit raw. The radish and avocado were fresh. Small menu. The decor is very dark (in color and I guess content). They decorate the place in "Day of the Dead" stuff. And pictures and posters of old Mexican movies and movie stars. Three areas. A bar area with patio (view of parking lot). Two areas with views of mall. Service was good. Maybe....maybe go for Taco Tuesday or drinks. At entrance to food court.

Steak Up - Next door to Catrina. Brazilian Fast Casual. Not sure how long they have been there. I tried to order a baked potato with chicken. They rang it up for a buck more than listed and then added a three dollar convenience fee. I asked for a refund. It rubbed me the wrong way. The convenience fee should be discounted if anything if you order to go. Not the other way around.

Gotcha Smokehouse BBQ - They were a little more inside the food court. I think the sign said there have been there since 2007. The items and severs (and eventually the taste) made it seem more Asian/Latin bbq than cracker. I got the chicken bowl (cheapest) for $9. It was some grilled chicken in a sauce that was a bit teryaki tasting. Good. I tried roasted potatoes as the side. Ok. A few undercooked. Small selection. Not more allure.

*Travel Notes - Florida Gulf Coast and Keys: I was going to stop in Lakeland but it was so early in the day to stop then. Did scope out Swan Brewing in DT. It wasn't open yet. Looked up hotels on St Pete Beach. Too expensive ($200+ for garbage). So, I found one in Kenwood (in between St Pete and St Pete Beach). Days Inn at $136. Got an awful gyro to go at Skidder's (AAA magazine) before I left. Ate good Panang mole curry with chicken at Nitally's Thai Mex (Food Paradise) in St Pete the next day. Drove south a bit to Munch's (3D) and grabbed the Cuban special with fries to go. Never been to that part of the city. Slept in Osprey at Casey Key Resort for $150. Lots of fees. Drove along Casey Key. Nice. Stephen King has places there. Looked in on Nokomis Beach. This area is just as good as Sarasota. Less expensive and built up. Ate breakfast (eggs benedict) at the hotel restaurant - Chef Rolf's. Drove south to Matlacha and had a cheeseburger at Bert's. Slept in North Fort Myers and the scary Riverview Inn for $116. Took a tour (Tropic Star) from Bookeelia on Pine Island to Cabbage Key and Cayo Costa SP for $57. All day tour. $42 for just Cayo Costa. Ate shrimp salad at Cabbage Key Inn. They do a dollar bill thing on the ceiling. May have been one of the inspirations for Cheeseburger in Paradise. Ate dinner and had beer in Naples at Bone Hook Brewery. Bad quesadilla and chicken chili. Slept down the street at Fairways Inn for $140. Drove by Baker museum, philharmonic and zoo. Baker wanted vax proof. I told them follow the science. I even pointed the way. Didn't go in to other places either. Ate pimento cheese and chicken sandwich with fries at Lake Park Diner. It's a modern diner. Cute. Ate very good al pastor and chicken tinga tacos at Turco Tacos. Drove on to Clyde Butcher's Photography Studio (at 52388 Tamiami Trail). Was going to buy a photo. But, they were around $7k for the ones displayed. $40 just for a poster! Onto Miccouskee Casino Resort for $235. I screwed myself waiting for prices to drop here or around the Keys. They didn't. Went the other way. I chose them because I've always wanted to see what's up. They gave me the top (executive) floor. Drove down to Key Largo. Had a good tuna melt and fries at Buzzard's Roost. On a canal. Had chilled shrimp and mango tacos at Chef Rolf''s Tuna's in Islamorada. Had seared yellowtail at Snapper's in Key Largo. Good water setting. Grabbed bad bacalao croquettas and worse tamal at Fernando the Bull in Key Largo. They started in Naples. Slept in Florida City at Fairway Inn for $94. Had to make up for the overspends somehow. Grabbed a ham and egg and cheese sandwich and Frito Burger (potato sticks and Med spiced) at Cuban Guys in Palmetto Bay on US 1 on the way home. Rental car (Nissan Rogue) cost $243 with Budget. Spent about $120 in gas. Only had bad weather on one day (Thursday). Good trip. No traffic problems. Even drafted my fantasy team during it. I used some credits on two of the hotels, so, they weren't as expensive as I listed.

Root Canal Tutorial

Although this will still probably be long, I will try and give an abridged version of what I want to impart and focus on the pricing. That is is the hardest to pin down. I needed a root canal (or extraction and replacement) because of crack in the tooth that allowed bacteria to flow through to the rootsin to my interior/blood stream. I should add that I have no insurance and all the prices quoted will be at their "reduced" no insurance rate. Also, almost every visit was like a Nascar pit stop. The crack was likely years in the making.

Symptoms: I first felt a little sinus pressure. Then a few days later some chills with slight pain around the cheek and jaw. Then pain in the teeth area while eating. aspirin helped. Then swelling around the lower jaw. Came and went. Then lymph node (below jaw at neck) swelling. Then "pimples" on the gums around the tooth. Then they burst and gray sludge oozed out. At that point (I was away when this happened) I was home and had to decide between dentist and doctor. I chose dentist. Total time was under two weeks.

Evaluation 1: I went to the last dentist I had a cleaning with (Dentists of Sanford). He was gone. A new guy (Jimmy Huynh) was in his place. They let me have the new patient rate of $59. He didn't mention a crack. Kind of acknowledged the abcess on the xray after I suggested it (did some internet research before). Suggested a $1200+ cleaning and gave me a prescription for Amoxycillin and suggested I may want to see an Endodontist. At least that helped. Free at Publix. That was a bad diagnosis.

Evaluation 2: Approx two weeks later (it was the holidays), I called on Alexsandra Shaykova at Baytree Family Dentists based on a flyer I had collected and the $1 Emergency Rate she offered. Plus she claimed to be able to most dental work and had a slot. She diagnosed a crack and suggested yanking the tooth and replacing it for $5137 in six steps over six months. That floored me.

Evaluation 3: The next day I tried Jessica Du at Smile Design Dentistry. Her teaser rate was $29. She confirmed the crack and said it was beyond her ability (although the flyer claimed she could do this type of work) and I should see an endodontist for a CT scan to be sure that it should be yanked. She recommended one. Her prices (spoiler alert - I come back here) went from $1421 to $1204 to $1087 for a crown. Not sure why. I guess keep asking.

Evaluation 4: I went to Mark Goldberg of Mid Florida Endodontics (another two weeks because of holiday #2) for the scan. It cost $250 ($150 eval and $100 scan). He said crack was too close to gum line and he wouldn't do a root canal. Yank it. Would not recommend anybody. Said not time sensitive if it didn't hurt. It didn't.

Evaluation 5: Did some eval of endodontists and periodontists. Most wouldn't do the whole job or didn't have appts for two months. Crazy. Found one who would and had openings. Kevin Bonn. I paid him $82 and he said I should he thought it could be saved. Sent me too a colleague that day. I should add that he wanted to take a new ct scan for $400ish. Extraction part of replacement would have been $407. Crown $1808. It was hard to pin them down on pricing. That and his refusal to do the crown until I did weeks of some jaw alignment therapy (while not telling me until I stopped by for another issue) made me move on. They also quoted me these prices: CT $406, Extraction $150-$350, Graft $475. Wouldn't quote implant. Total for replaced tooth $3 to $5k.

Evaluation 6: Travis Cassie at Lake Mary Endodontics said he could save it. Would have charged $250 for CT unless I brought my own (get a copy when you get one done). His initial eval was $185. He did the root canal two weeks later (because we were trying to line up schedules with Bonn) for $1330. It didn't hurt much. They put in a soft cap. You need to replace it within a month. Would have been $695 if aborted.

Evaluation 7: Not really an eval. Went back to Jessica Du. Another week or so. See drilled out what Cassie filled in (don't ask me why) and ground some things down and made a mold. Two week later she put the crown from the lab on. Once again that part was $160 for the crown build up and $927 for the crown.

Synopsis: This has been a nightmare. My teeth have shifted. My bite is off. It cost so much more than I expected. And I got off light. It took forever. And I didn't just accept the first offers/advice. Replacing seemed like a nightmare and I didn't want some idiot drilling into my jaw bone. The tooth still may not last. No one in my social circle knew anything about this or could make any good recommendations. That's why I'm posting this. I never have dental issues. Yet, this can happen to any of us. And it sucks.

*Here is an addendum that of docs for didn't make the final cut. I tried to evaluate colleges and work experience. It's hard to find Ivy league level training around here. Just tried to get someone NOT from a school like Nova:

D Whitman of Orlando Oral & Facial Surgery - Wouldn't do fake tooth part if replaced.

Ed Kennedy of Kennedy Periodontics - Had no appts  for months. A consult would have been $150, CT $350, Extraction $325, Graft $475, Blood something $175, Implant $2275 plus $100.

Tim Tiralosi - No appts for too long. $5500 for tooth replacement.

Oreth - $150 exam, $375 extraction, $1000 PTF membrane graft, $2600 implant, $1500 crown.