Grub Crawl - Sanford: Sweet & Salty Island Grindz and Yugari Ramen Project *Guyana Travel Notes

 I tried these stalls at Henry's Depot on Sunday. The first replaces Current. It moved where the burger one was. The second replaced Taglish. I think the pizza place was under a new name. Git n Messy replaced another. Hot dog one?

Sweet & Salty Island Grindz - Hawaiian. I tried a spam and spicy spam musubi. Both $4. Ok. They offer up a typical menu. That one with the egg and burger. Pork. Prices in mid teens. Opened in  Feb.

Yuguri Ramen Project - I tried the chicken karaage for $10. Ok. Some dry. Some stringy. Some ok. Fried to order. Timed. He said these and gyoza, edamame and okonomiyake were not from scratch. Focus on ramen. I think they were vegan. Around four types. $16.  He said he worked at Sushi Pop and Kabooki. Opened here in Nov? I may go back for the ramen.

*Travel Notes - Guyana: I flew AA to Miami to Georgetown for $576. Late into Miami. Flight back was five hours late the day before because crew hourly overage. Only flight of the day. Mine left on time. Miami to Orlando was delayed two hours because late crew and pilots. They left us on tarmac for three hours because it was breezy. Then back to gate because crew was over allowed work time.. Then I rented car and drove home at 9pm because I had another flight the next day. They didn't rebook until 9pm the next night. Total screw ups. Stayed at Brandsville Suites for $235 for three nights. Taxi was $33 each way. Saw Stabroek Market and St George's Cathedral and Court House.  Terrible country. Next to nothing to do. A taste of Africa in SA. They have done nothing for themselves since England left. Now Exxon has found oil and did all the work for them and they are bitching about being exploited. That the money is going for infrastructure. There are some waterfalls and pretty territory in the south. Not utilized. Beaches left as is as well. All I saw them hauling was sand. Glad it is off the list. It has been a while since I was this glad to leave. I was having heart palpitations at the thought of getting stuck here. Barely left the hotel room. Ate canned tuna and cookies and tortillas I brought. Hot and rainy too.

Grub Crawl - Lake Mary, Longwood and Sanford: Bronx House, Red Sea and Dees Brothers Brewery

I tried these spots on Tuesday during the day. The first replaces Papa Joe's at the strip mall on Lake Mary Blvd that has the Target. The second is near the train tracks on 434 in the old Daniel's Bakery spot. The last is on Magnolia in downtown.

Bronx House Pizza - They changed the look and added Detroit style pizza. They kept the pizza oven, so, my two slices were the same (actually less cooked) but now $3. They don't do Detroit slices. The only interesting thing seemed to be the menu pic of lasagna. But, it was $16. The place has higher ceilings now and looks sharp. Too sharp. I think it's a chain. Three came up just in Ormond area alone when I did a quick check. Open for a month.

Red Sea - Jordanian/Lebanese fare. Expensive. $45 for lamb. $35 for shrimp. $25 for chicken cubes. $9 hummus. $11 falafel. The $17 buffet was mostly chicken in different ways, so, I tried a $12 tasteless beef shwarma. Added 50 cents for cc use. Soggy tomato. Too raw onion. Thin wrap. The beef wasn't overcooked, but, charred. Beef was in strips. Didn't really digest well. Open for B, L, D. Seven days. Breakfast buffet for $10 on WE. Four locations. Good redo. Shabby chic Arab. Fifteen tables. Black and green. Entertainment area and tv. Music on WE. They should take down the pennants from the old owners though. Empty. Open for one week. They said OW just came in to review them. They are Middle Eastern, so, of course. I'll bet they rave about the food. Because, of course. It's just a bad value. Especially if the food isn't top notch. And I don't think they can reach that level based on what I experienced. And the atmosphere is even more dubious. I think you can skip it.

Dees Brothers Brewery - Not sure how I hadn't heard that they opened in 2020. I had two 5ozers for $3.50 a pop. Both good. Red Ale and Black IPA. Open most of the day. Big spot. Across from theater. They sell overpriced food too. Some Swedish options. Two, rustic, wood rooms. Ok crowd for happy hour.

Grub Crawl - Longwood and New Smyrna Beach: Little Wekiva Brewery, Bayou and Fuji *VT/NH/ME/MA Travel Notes

I tried the first two on Thursday at night. The third on Friday at lunch. The first two are in a strip mall with a Publix on Wekiva Springs Rd and 434. The first is kind of hidden in the center. The one in NSB is in strip mall off the main road (44) before the bridge.

Little Wekiva Brewery - I believe they opened two months ago. I tried three and had a flight of four. All were very good. A small place. Just beer. Popcorn. TVs. Open Th-Sn. After 4pm. During the day on Sn. 

The Bayou - I was more than surprised at the quality of the jambalya at $18. Usually it is a wet mess. This was elevated. Dryish rice (as in not soaked in sauce). Fresh, firm veg. Two small but firm shrimp. Some sausage and chicken. Not dried out. Nice flavors. Subtle. Some heat. Generous portion size. A side of buttered, toasted roll. And the kicker is that they were closing and the chef whipped this up as a favor. Plus they placed it in a sensible container with vents at the top so it wouldn't get mushy from the steam. Based on this, I'm interested in what else they offer. They had a traditional menu. Even oysters. Manageable. Open for lunch and dinner. The decor was vibrant NO colors with framed photos of the area. Fairly large space in two sections that they don't overload with tables. I believe they opened in April. Was CJ's Italian. A pleasant find. And I don't hunger for traditional LA fare.

Fuji Buffet - A sad $12 buffet. I mainly tried the sushi. I was like old, supermarket sushi. All offerings were rolls with vegetable. Probably better that way. They probably wouldn't be using fresh fish. Typical wok and fried dishes. Hibachi was prepared through a window into the dirty kitchen. Desserts. I only dared to try ok pepper shrimp (small) and one piece of fried sweet and sour chicken and an ok egg roll. Dark interior. Black and red. Faded food mural out front. The place looks closed. I only tried it because it has always been there and I've tried every other place. Avoid.

*Travel Notes - Vermont/New Hampshire/Maine/Massachusetts: I flew into Albany on Jet Blue for $218. New but uncleaned Budget rental for the week was $416. Drove to Brattleboro VT. Stayed at poor Covered Bridge Inn for $110. Had beer at Whetstone Beer Co. Beer and brats with pretzel bites at River Garden Marketplace. Drove north to Greensboro VT. Weekends with Yankee said it was the food center of VT. It better not be. Had beer at Hill Farmstead Brewery. Found nothing of interest at Wilson Farm. Found no one at Jasper Hill Farm/Cellars (cheese). Bought some of their good Hartcourt petit at Wiley's Store (and wine). That and a lake (Caspian) were the end of the possibilities. So, I was done with the day at 3pm and ate the cheese with some items from Buffalo Mountain Food Co-Op by the stream at my hotel. Would have driven on if I hadn't booked at Inn by the River in Hardwick ($98). Bought some terrible Champlain Valley Creamery Truffle Triple Creme (Middlebury VT) the next day at that Co Op. Ate that at dinner. Loose. Salty. I think it was a failed batch. Drove through north NH to Rockland ME. Hobo RR in NH wasn't running. BTW - it was 90 until then. Then it turned rainy and cold. Stayed at cute Claddagh Motel for $96. On a Saturday! Had a $24 lobster roll at Hazel's. Cheaper this year. Grabbed tuna sushi and wine at Hannaford's. Drove to south Maine. Passed on tax evading (cash only), rip off joint called Sprague's for the those reasons. Had a hot dog at Flo's in Cape Neddick ME. Can't remember why I wrote down to go here. It's famous. Had a $20 lobster roll at Shore Road in York ME. Went to Nubble Lighthouse. Drove to Kittery Point ME to Chauncey Creek Lobster Pier. Also not sure why. But, it is also famous. Had fried haddock bites with ff and clam chowder because I was already sick of lobster and their oysters weren't local. They were fine. Overstuffed myself with fried clams and fries at Bob's Clam Hut in Kittery ME because it was on 3D and wouldn't have been open when I left the next day. Stayed at the horrible Coachman Inn for $114. Drove through NH to MA. Saw USS Albacore sub and Ghost Ship in Portsmouth. Drove on to Salem MA. Did House of the Seven Gables again and Salem Maritime NHS. Down to Revere Beach for tender roast beef at Kelly's. This has been on list for like twenty years because of some show on PBS. On to Saugus MA for Saugus Iron Works (oldest) NHS. Through Boston to Quincy MA for a few different things at Adams (John and John Quincy) NHP. South to the Cape at Sandwich (nice). Stayed at cute Spring Garden Inn for $111. Had lunch at Marshland (on Best Thing I Ever Ate). Their stuffed quahog was not. Also, had some eggs and sausage. Better. Too full to try another place on that show - Seafood Sam's. Drove back through Boston to Maine. Stayed at Sunrise Motel on York Beach (nice area) for $103. Had a $19 lobster roll (I should say that other places like Sprague's wanted up to $34) at Marine Lobster Outlet in York ME. Drove to NH. Saw Fort McClary SHS. Saw UNH in Durham NH. Had bad pizza at Durham House of Pizza and tender super roast beef at CJ's Grill (on Man v Food Nation). Drove through Concord NH (saw Statehouse) to Wilmington VT to be near enough to airport. Stayed at horrible Viking Motel for $102. Drove to Bennington VT. Bagel with cc at Benner's Bagels, Pizza 'n What Nosh. CB and FF at Angry Egg 2. Onto Albany. The weather scuttled much of the agenda. Glad I knocked off those sites around Boston without too much traffic and hassle. Gas was mostly under $3.40. No delays at airport. TVs didn't work on JB though. I left out fast food and supermarket visits. You know what is crazy? Rubenstein Law and Morgan & Morgan ran commercials up there. There was even a billboard in Boston of Morgan in a Sox hat that said something like - the best closer.

Grub Crawl - I Drive and Universal Area: Egg-Celente, Volcano Hot Pot, Oodle and Mr Cool

I tried these spots on Wednesday at lunch. I noticed that the strip mall behind what was once (and still might be) Pirates dinner theater is now condos. Roboland (and a place within it mentioned within the year by the OW - Sophie's) has shuttered before I could report on it. Many others on this side of I Drive have closed. They have built up the area close to I-4 near the outlet mall. These places were Plan D. 

Egg-celente - A Latin breakfast joint. Open for six months? Was a boil place. Just south of Kirkman. Open 8am to 3pm (sometimes). Tourist pricing. I can't see it surviving. One table besides myself at noon. Rita's Ices aside. Looks fine. New. Modern. Parking in rear. I had the Smash Burger because at this price point it was that or cold cuts. Ate it for dinner. They slop some onion/pepper gruel atop a 1/4 pounder-ish cheese burger. Bacon. Over cooked. Iffy veg and mayo sauce. Cost $17. Came with bad (starch coated) fries. Small portion. Too put this in perspective, I found similar cbs at the AIRPORT at the "fancy" restaurants at the same price point at T3 at MCO the next day. Their breakfast options were: $15 bennies, $13 waffles or pancakes or 2 egg meals, or a ridiculous $15 egg sandwich. Lunch was $14 wraps or $15 panini assortment.

Volcano - Opens at 1pm. Poor, buffet of junk. I passed when I learned it was $30 for soup or bbq. $35+ for the combo. I've tried to try this place three of four times and have never seen another customer anywhere near it. It must rock at night? Or it is a front. Another Brazilian place name Pau Na something is opening near it. It's on Kirkman and I Drive. 

Oodle - Shockingly this spot (plan d) that I spotted when I tried the Chengdu place across the street a few weeks ago, was the winner of the day. And it is a ramen (soup) place! I had the Tan Tan Ramen for $15. It was a sweet, creamy pork both with ground pork and mushrooms and sprouts. You could actually chew these noodles. Properly timed. Not rubbery rice crap. They offer up 14 small plates like buns, karaage and takoyaki ($6-$10). 5 rice bowls ($12-$18). 9 ramen ($15). Even a dry one (mazemono). 6 desserts. Open 11-10pm (11pm on F/Sa). In the strip mall at Kirkman and Conroy. They said it was a Smash Burger. Opened in January. Black and gray scheme. Modern. Bird shaped lights. L shaped. Bar. 4 tvs above. Anime, news and food network. Bar side room was a 3 x 4 x 4 set up. Thin patio outside a thin inside area of tables. About half full after 1pm. Two servers. Let me remind you that I hate soup places. This was a surprise. 

Mr Cool - I thought I remembered an ice cream spot in the rear of this strip mall (Oodle one) from the last trip here. Turns out I was right. But, it may not have been open then. Opened two months ago. They sell rolled ice cream, bubble tea, waffles and fruit juices. I grabbed a $6 Thai Milk Tea without boba to go. Ok. Their first spot is in Miami. Too expensive. Waffle kebab (5 or less pieces) and ice cream are $8. Full waffle set up is $13. Drinks are $6 for a small. Big, blue room. Closed some of the time. Empty. 

*Can someone explain to me how when I click on 'Statistics" I have hundreds of views for a day (ie when I post a new review) and my dashboard tells me I only have had 6 people view my post? Fuck you Google.