Sunday, June 11, 2023

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.

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