Grub Crawl - International Drive Area: Hampton Social and Twenty Pho Hours *Greece Travel Notes

I tried these spots on I Drive on Wednesday at lunch. The first is at Pointe Orlando. The second is past Sea World and CF Parkway. The second strip mall on the east side around Westwood. At 11951.

Hampton Social - A chain out of Chicago since 2015. This location has been around for two years. Lunch (early) and dinner. They get some of the Hampton ethos correct. I can see the white and blue color scheme being consistent. They add touches of rope and other components to the look. Not out of place. They name some of the dishes after actual places. There is no true Hampton cuisine (aside from potatoes, sweet corn, pies, duck and maybe seafood), so, the menu doesn't confuse the senses. All in all, I guess it's Hampton-y. The prices really capture the spirit of the more high end or touristy spots. Everything is double what it should be. That is why I settled on the Shelter Island Chicken Sandwich at $19. It was a Chik-fil-a like fried breast (a little bigger to be fair) on a glossy, buttered bun with green apple, slaw and pickles and some cheese (maybe emmanthaler) with a ranch like dressing. The side is chips. They served a fair amount and they were home made. A little stale. Cooking oil could probably use a change too. It was good. You could upgrade to small cup of fries, etc for around $5. Full sides were $19! I shit you not. A burger was also $19. Chowder was $9. Oysters were $5 each! Beer was $8. Most things $20+. And most things more than that bottom line. The worst offender was the $34 lobster roll. It was neither bursting at bun level nor bursting from out of the top of the bun with lobster. The bun hardly stretched itself. And the meat looked like limp, shrunken claw meat. Sad. It was hot and buttery lobster. Connecticut style. Not Hamptons (mayo and cold). Big place. Three rooms. Bar plus main (mostly high tops). Patio. And back room. High ceilings. TVs at the bar. Fairly full. Service was good. Not a bad experience. I parked behind Miller's Alehouse because Point Orlando charges. Forgot to ask if they validate.

Twenty Pho Hours - They opened in January. A modern Vietnamese place. Order up front. A small rectangular room. White with black drawings. Very bright. Seats about thirty. More apps than I was expecting. I tried a spicy tuna summer roll for $7.50. It had the cheap, non-Haas avocado. Spring mix. No vermicelli. Ok. I still am not a fan of rice paper (or noodles). Too chewy. Other apps were: dumplings, edamame, egg rolls, squid on a stick, spring roll, etc. $4 to $6. I also had a trifecta pho for $13. Udon noodles, beef broth with brisket, chicken and shrimp. I liked having the thicker noodle and mix of meats. Three thin slices of beef and three small shrimp. More chicken breast. Scrawny chicken. Not sure how much was home made versus bought. But, it was good. They also offer up 12 other bowls. With things like filet mignon, pork belly, oxtail, lobster tail and a Shanghai Dumpling Soup ($12 to $45). And three noodles dishes. Plus a few desserts and lots of drinks. A very good option at this price point. If you don't do lobster.

*Travel Notes - Greece: I flew through Newark to Athens on UA for $755. Booked a rt flight (and hotel) on Sky Express (right before boarding) to Paros for $107 for right after I landed. It was the cheapest island I had been researching. It was ok. Hotel Pandrossos was $50 (all these numbers are with tax) a night. Oceanside. Bus was less than $2. But, I was too tired to wait (and too anxious on the return day) and wasted $20 each time on a cab. Plus the bus took four times as long. You can take buses to most of the island. Alleys to roam. I ate charcuterie, cheese, wine, dips, etc from the markets most of the trip. I took the bus from the airport ($5.50 each way) to Athens (Syntagma Square) for one night. Took an hour. Last stop. No probs. Stayed at Pan Hotel for $103. I had been getting rates much higher than this on my landing date. Why I went to Paros first. Ate a pork and a chicken and a squid gyro at Hoocut. $3 each. This place was on the Gordon Ramsey show where he and Fred and Gino travel to places. The one on the show (pork) was the only bad one. Stale, hard pita. Squid had a bb in it. This was near the hotel and square. It was drizzily, so, I just re-saw the Acropolis and the Olympic Stadium and Hadrian's Arch and Palace, etc. Grabbed at mushroom pie/pastry at Harry's Kitchen. Then back to airport to Santorini. On Sky Express and Volota (sp?) for $108. Had a spinach pie at Gregory's at the airport. Bus from airport to Fira (main town) was $1.60. Stayed at Hotel Leta for $48 a night. One of the cheaper options. On main road. It was overcast for most of the trip. Walked around the town/crater and to Skaros rock the first day. Ate a pork souvlaki with ff at Why Not. Ate most dinners from markets. Walked 7 miles to Oia the next day (and 7 back). Had a falafel at Yogi Vegetarian Falafel with a Brazilian girl after sunset. Took bus to Black Beach at Perissa (under $2) and to Red Beach at Akrotiri (same) the next day. Had a cb at Anasykthrio (or something like that - Greek letters) snack bar on the way to Red Beach. Drank mastiha and tsikoudia. Flew back to Athens (they almost overbooked me) and onto Rhodes on Sky Express and Aegean for $145. Ate a ham and gouda croissini and a ham and cheese at Everest at the airport. And a chocolate and chestnut (on a) bagel at Koulourades. Very interesting. Bus from airport was $3 each way. Slept first night at a dump called Hotel Savoy for $33. Was where bus stopped and I got in at night. Moved to excellent Cactus Hotel (on the ocean) for $65 a night. Went to Old Town - Palace of the Grand Master, old fortified City, Street of the Knights (Rhodes was a Crusades port), location of the Colossus of Rhodes, etc. Very cool town. Went swimming in the ocean. Ate a sausage (hd) roll at Il Borgo. Next day did much of the same. Ate a tuna sandwich and sausage and tomato and cheese pie at the Eatery. Got up at dawn and back to airport to Athens and then Naxos for $136 on Sky Express. It was the cheapest flight of the remaining possibilities (and I had done some research on it). Ok island. Kite surfing, etc. Shared a cab for $5 ($15 total). Hotel was supposed to pick up for free. Stayed at Venetian Suites for $35 a night. Saw Temple of Apollo and two beaches. Walked the alleys. Back to Athens (this time I got the free transport) and into town. Stayed at Kimon Hotel for $60. Walked around acropolis. Saw oldest house in Athens. Retook some pics from the drizzly day. Bus back to airport. Salmon and cc sandwich at Gregory's.

 Except for freak "storm" from northeast in the middle, weather was perfect. Water was a bit chilly. No real issues flying. Tried alot of Greek wine. Ate some cheeses called Graviera and Manouri. Some Armenian blood sausage. Time well spent. Rhodes and Santorini were much better islands.

YH Seafood Clubhouse, Sand Lake Rd Area

I tried this spot on Monday at lunch. It is in that strip mall in front of you when you exit Sand Lake from the north. On Turkey Lake Rd. On the far side of the mall. It opened six months ago. They have a more basic place in Altamonte. This is fancy. I had a lunch special of Golden Prawn with veg and rice and sweet and sour soup for $16. Regular menu dishes were almost twice that. The six, small, semi butterflied shrimp and celery and broccoli and snow peas claimed to be in a wine sauce. Rice wine? Not bad. Fresh. Cantonese (Guangzhou) style. Soup was ok. Rice was a little dry. I also had Abalone siu mai dim sum for $8.50. Three big dumplings. With tiny abalone on top. Soft abalone. Large. Not much noodle covering.  All dim sum were over $7. The menu was large and pricy. IE $88 Peking Duck app. Lots of cool things like geoduck clams. Apps start at $15. Soups at $15. 10 four seats, two threes and two family tables in the back room. More up front. Bar in between. Gold tapestry behind screen walls. Gray tile floors. Service was hot and cold. Mix of Asians and guys who look like they do business there. Three year old pop on the radio. I was impressed. Stands for Yummy House. Recommended.

Grub Crawl - Longwood and Lake Mary: Daniel's Bakery and Colombia La Bella *France Travel Notes

 I tried these spots on Tuesday night (got last flight in from Europe) and Saturday afternoon. There was an event of some import in between. The first is in a strip mall by the tracks and Ronald Reagan on 434. I think it was a Puerto Rican place before. The second is in a strip mall at Lake Mary Blvd and Rinehart. I also saw that that Shriraz Market had moved near Rookies at 17-92 and 434. Can you believe the GD H key on my computer broke? This is taking forever.

Daniel's Bakery - A Middle Eastern/Mediterranean menu. Small. Mostly bread/shwarma/desserts. I had a chicken shwarma for $10. Good wrap/pita. Not so stuffed. Almost no veg or spreads. Maybe pickled something? Maybe a touch of something with yougart? I think they were wrapping up for te night. The chicken spinner was off. Took a while to shave the chicken. It had a nice flavor. Nutmeg and Cumin? Not real thighs piled on top of each other. Probably a pre-fab. Seemed to be from Chicago. Unsure if they have/had a place there. Probably. They have a pizza oven too. They offered steak, chicken, falafel, eggs and zingers. Zatar. Open until 8pm. Big, open space. Little decor. They said the opened a year ago, but, refurbed three months ago. Said dishes were from all over the ME. Jordan, Lebanon, etc. I would try them again.

Colombia La Bella - Opened two weeks ago. I tried some apps because the mains were expensive and not to my liking. And I'm always apprehensive about other people's refrigerated stuff after a hurricane and I wanted to get back and watch college football for the first time in two weeks. I had a beef and a chicken empanada for $2 a piece. I had a chorizo and a morcilla (blood sausage) with arepa for $4.50 a piece. The beef in the empanada was good. Soft. Moist. Not old. Probably brisket. The chicken was moist and shredded. Both had mashed potatoes inside. Deep fried. Nice size. Came with hot hot sauce. The arepas were not what I was expecting. Just two large (probably store bought) links aside a small puffy arepa. I thougt they would be on top and cut up and covered with something. I thougt the arepa would be larger and flatter. The morcilla was better than the chorizo. Not as tough. The menu is steak and shrimp heavy. Around $20. The chicken dishes are breasts. They also serve breakfast (it said $14 after 11am). I think that was for the big platter. They had some fun stuff like a $20 fish soup and sugar cane drink with cheese. More than most places. Light gray walls. Hat decorations. "Coffee table" tables. Two rooms. To go/front/cashier on the left. Bar/main on the right. Tables far apart. Open 7 days a week. 9am-10pm most days. Less on Sunday. I'll go back. I also went to Stacked Brownies next door. Still good.

*Travel Notes - France: I was going to take the train from Paris (cheapest ticket to Europe at $595 on VA and AF) to Germany, but, the weather forecast was bad. Took RER train from CDG Terminal 2 (goes from 1 and 3 and 1 is closed down anyway) to Notre Dame station for $10. Euro is just below USD, so, I'll write in dollars. Easily purchased from a kiosk. Walked from there down the Seine to Gare du Lyon area (where trains south depart). Stayed at noisy Paris Hotel Mediteranen for $127 times two nights. Easily the cheapest I could find. I mostly ate hunks of cheese, rose, charcuterie, baguettes and packaged sandwiches most of the time, so, don't look for much restaurant advice. Walked down Seine as far as I could. Verged over to Bois de Vincennes (zoo/park/museums). I think this is the 12th arrondisement. I should say I've already seen all the big stuff. I just go where I haven't been before now. Then back. There was an old viaduct near my hotel that they turned into a "Highline". The train to Lyon had some issue on the track, so, I decided to start with Marseille and work back. Train cost $98. Bought at kiosk. Kiosk printed a bar code. Didn't need smart phone. Stayed at BW Marseille Bourse Vieux Port for $107 times two nights. Not far from station. Marseille was far less sketchy than I've been told (since birth). I should say I've never been to the proceeding cities. The port was down right nice. Lots of Arabs and North Africans (all France is like that now). A little tension. Not alot. Deeper inland is probably dangerous. Walked left side of the port to Fort St Nicolas on the hill (free) and down to the Plage des Catalans to get my first look at the island where Chateau d'If resides. Where the Count of Monte Cristo was held (and Man in the Iron Mask for five years). Came back and walked right side to the end (Muceum). Walked up to Notre Dame de la Garde (big views) the next day and through the Arts district (Vielle Charite). Took the $11 ferry to d'If. And island of Frioul. Took train (kiosk) to Arles the next day for $14. I should note that my plans changed because of train prices and availabilities in areas and weather forecasts. Would have stayed south. Arles is where most of Van Gogh's famous exploits happened. Saw those sights and their famous Roman stadium, Rhone, etc. Stayed at De Mussee for $106. Had an Esquimo (chocolate ice cream bar), Quiche Lorraine and Fig/Apple/Cassis Chaussons (slippers) at Masaki Yamamoto (seemed posh). Train to Nimes for $7. Stayed at Odaly's in front of Roman stadium (bull fighting arena) for $69. Saw cathedral, churches, Roman temple, etc. Didn't see that ticket to Lyon left from Pont du Gard station (new). Had to sort out how to get there. 30 minutes away. They have a $2 bus. Worked out. Damn kiosks that don't filter like you selected! Train cost $39. Lyon was great. Much safer and cleaner than I expected. Known as their culinary and financial city. Anthony Bourdain got me interested in it. Tried to go where he went. One was super fancy. One was out of the city. One (Comptoir Abel) I was never around during their hours. You are supposed to eat cannelles (fish balls) there. I stayed near my station (Part Dieu) at the Appart City for $102 times two nights. By far the cheapest. Walked to the island (twenty minutes) that houses the old town (where everything is). Walked past Rhone and Saone. Walked up 250 stairs and then meandering paths to Notre Dame Place de Fourviere. Then found out there is a $3 funicular. Great views. Back down to Cathedral of Lyon St Jean. Along river (past Abel) to other train station (Perrache) and then north up main drag to Opera House and Hotel de Ville and back to hotel. Next day I stayed on my side and walked up to Parc de la Tete d'Or (zoo and botanical gardens, etc) and then over river back to Hotel de Ville plaza and tried a chicken kebab (shwarma) at some place I read about on a web site (La Broche). Joe Gatto says "on the broche" means "on the arm" ie stolen in Italian. I wonder if this is the same? They put weird stuff like yam in it. Good. I continued to the funicular to see the Roman ampitheatres on the hill (left of the Cathedral). Could have walked this one more easily. And had to walk down because the funicular broke. Oh well. Took train to Strasbourg (my main goal) for $80. Could only stay one night (at Ibis Centre Gare for $90) because trains to Paris a day later were full or expensive as hell and I couldn't risk missing my flight because of this bitch called Ian that was coming to wreck my home. Oh and rain forecast. Strasbourg was (no duh) much more German. An island old town like Bruges or Amsterdam. Cute. Walked through the center. Cathedral, churches, university, the usual. Had a cheese and sauce panzerotti at Mitico. The next day (5pm train) walked around the perimeter and saw more 'hoods and the Palais Rohan (museum) and an area called Ile de France. Ate great eclairs at Donatien Maitre Eclair. He did savory ones and sweet. Had an olive and sun dried tomato with herb creme fraiche one and a pistachio with some sweet creme one. He did one with magret of duck. This is the new "cupcake" craze. If you are smart. I tried their local Alsacien specialities at Woerle (just one of many options - not particularly good). Bretzel (not pretzel!), gauffre (waffle) and Kougelhopf with chocolate. Is this what Seinfeld was talking about? Had a sample of Meule de Tarentaise at Cave d'Affinage de Riquewir. Took train ($63 - a bargain rate) de Gare de L'Est in Paris. Stayed near there at Garden Saint Martin for $131 times two nights. Cheapest by far. Bought a Petit Boyard at La Creamerie. Walked to the Marais via Rue de Temple (once an artsy area - now gentrified beyond belief) to Cirque d'Hiver and Picasso Museum and the Jewish Quarter (more of a street) and churches. Ate a bad (too thin an odd seasoning) corned beef sandwich at Janet by Homer. Walked on past the Pompidou to the Chatelet Les Halles (a stop on the RER) and up Blvd de Sevestapol to the hotel. Found an incredible canal near by. Too tired to follow it far. This is the NE part of Paris. Walked same way the next day. Had iffy dim sum stuff at Le Chinois Gourmet. An ok falafel at Falafel du Liban. $10 RER from Chatelet Les Halles to CDG. Stayed at Ibis at Terminal 3 for $116. Left out of Terminal 2. 

Weather reports were shit. Often forecast rain. Barely had any. I wonder if Germany would have been doable? This was great though. Two hour weather delay iat MCO almost made me miss my connection in London. Luckily the connector was late too. Late coming back to London too. London flight was also late (part issue). All the cheese and pate and meats and stress probably weren't great for the ticker. Worth it though. Learned of these items: Ktipti (dip of red pepper, yougart, mint and feta) and Petales (potato crisps shaped like petals). And they punk Putin by spelling it Poutine.