Boulay, Winter Park

I tried this "build a bow"l franchise (next to Sprouts in the strip mall off Aloma that has Rice & Beans and Melted in it) last Saturday at lunch. I call this area "Winter Poor-k" because it feels more like Casselberry at this point. That reminds me. Who wants to start a bbq place here called "Winter Pork"? Anyway. I tried a small bowl ($8) and didn't eat it all (sampled some) until the next day. It was surprisingly tasty (and that was after steaming in my car and sleeping in the fridge and getting nuked) and a good value. You know my thoughts on these starch or green bowl places. I find them tedious. They remind my of the slog of school room or prison cafeterias. Put that last one in to see if you are paying attention. I don't get the fascination with the trough. And is the "bowl love" a subconscious longing for youth (cereal and ice cream and soup and oatmeal, etc)? A sign of our growing infantilism? Is it a desire to eat like our pets? Is a plate not child proofed enough for us to get to our seats with out spilling?  Back to the tedium of the tedious. They (places like this) usually proffer cheap, bland, spoiled, germy swill at inflated prices. And what is worse, it is often marketed as healthy or dietetic and is often neither. The combo I created here is an EXCEPTION. I tried black rice with some kind of sweet and spicy mojo pork and two hot sides (roasted potatoes and brussel sprouts) and a cold (cherry tomato salad). It also came with a side sauce. I chose pesto. It was good. As you can see it already SOUNDS like more food than the similar type chains I've tried over the last few weeks offer. It is. I couldn't eat a large. The rice was abundant. I'm not that conversant in black rice, but, this was sticky and tasted like honey. A little firmer than white rice. A nice deviation from the norm to start with. The pork was where they started really distancing themselves in my mind. It was fresh and flavorful and cooked properly. I'm not sure if this was the usual portion or if the server liked the cut of my jib, but, it was a huge portion of pork. The potatoes and sprouts were equally fresh, etc. A more sophisticated option than their competitors. The tomatoes were similarly agreeable. I can't really remember the other alternatives, but, I believe the other "mains" were chicken and steak and vegetarian. Extra for the steak. Maybe they had shrimp too? The "bases" were rice or noodles. Maybe quinoa? The other sides? I can't recall. You order at a counter. It seats about forty. It was packed. I remember a lot of light gray wood. It was cute. They also had that giant fan. They even do the eco-friendly bowl thing. I believe they just opened this branch. I saw a few in South Florida this past week. It goes to show you that I'm not inflexible. Keep the price point at $8. Serve decently made food - fresh. Serve enough of it to make me full. Throw in a few novelties. And you get platitudes. All the other franchises are on notice. Mendel's (if you get the reference or not - just substitute Boulay's here) is the best.