I tried these place today at lunch. None of them is truly in an area that can be identified with a pithy nick name, so, I'm going to group them together. They are kind of near each other. The first is on Ferncreek off Michigan. The second is on Curry Ford near the Hourglass District. The third is just off 436 on Lake Underhill. I was just driving around today and kind of had some of these on my mental list.
Aardvark - This was a general store that became a bottle shop that became a restaurant/bar. They said they changed the chef a year ago. I went for a burger and ended up with a riff on a cheese steak (Okeechobee Dip.) I probably should have stuck to the plan. The cs was brisket and leeks and mushrooms. The four strips of medium thick sliced brisket were tough. Too tough to rip with your teeth. It needed knife and fork effort. It tasted like they boiled it after smoking. That or they boiled it first and then smoked it. Or they did some cheating with liquid smoke. The leeks were cut like scallions. They charred them too. Smoke on smoke wasn't double the fun. I'm not exaggerating when I say that I received one quarter of a small mushroom. The bun looked and tasted like a Publix special. Plus it was too voluminous for the already high sandwich. If you didn't need a knife for the meat, you would need it to cut it down to size. Try a new bun or scoop out the middle. Or press it. It came with limp fries and a jus. Not au jus. A jus. Because we all know au jus means - with juice. Both were salted and peppered too much. Other than that, it was a delight. It cost $15. The menu had about a dozen choices. Two were interesting. A grouper Manhattan. Bitters (orange I think) and a cherry something or other. And grilled asparagus (an app). They had bar snacks and chicken and some other meats. A sirloin was like $24. That was the high end. The beer selection was mostly local. Kind of average. Maybe the fridges have more choice. The wine menu was a bit more unusual. Especially the reds. Seemed like a 3X mark up. They also sold kegs. The place is square. Window up front. Bar in rear. Three booths. The rest tables. A patio. Maybe seventy seats in total. Two others were there at 11:30. It opens at 10.
Kathi Rolls - In the spot that was another Indian place for a minute. I believe it was called Forever Naan. There were articles from The Weekly and (probably) The Sentinel on the wall. The OW was dated April. So, it has been open at least that long. I assume they both jizzed on the place. My tikka kathi roll has only been picked at so far. That is because it lost the contest. What I did sample was undercooked and from bad parts of the chicken. Maybe a nuke job tomorrow will firm up the meat. The sauce also seemed more deep red than your standard tikka masala. The paratha bread was ok. It cost $9. Probably worth half that. This appears to be a street food of meat kebab out of Kolkata. I wonder if that was looking at when I tried the Moroccan stall at Apna Bazaar? The stall next to it that ignored me. They also sell different versions of this (ie lamb) and in bowls. A few other Indian snacks. It's a small place. Mostly hallway. Framed amateur phots of India. Four tables up front. Two are hightops. The two floor tables were occupied. A bunch of people were picking up or getting it to go.
Taino's Bakery - I saw this when I went to Meatball Stoppe months ago. I thought it was just sweet treats (which aren't usually very good from Latin countries) plus it was always too late whenever I was driving near here. So, it didn't get did. Glad I forced myself today. It's a huge (and apparently popular) Puerto Rican bakery and eatery. They have a big breakfast and lunch and dinner menu. Cheap too. Some full breakfasts were only $4. I had the Taino Especial for $7. The most expensive one. It was ham, pork, chicken, steak and swiss cheese on a roll with lettuce, tomato, onion and potato sticks. Pressed. French dressing. With a side. I chose tostones. They were good. The steak was so tender. The Aardvark brisket could be the box spring. This would be the mattress. The chicken and pork were pulled. A little hard to make out. But, good. The ham was ham. Cut in small squares.Good bun. Buttered. Huge portion. Like three Kathi rolls or one Kathy Najimi. They also sell: a dozen other sandwiches, snacks, mofongos, jibaritos (green plantain "bread"), salads, cremas, burgers, baked goods and something called a mallorca that seems to be a sweet roll sandwich bread. I think a $14 mofongo is the high end. Most things are a fraction of that. The place takes up three store spaces. They have three counters to order at. Seats inside. White color scheme. They have three other locations. Two in Kissimmee and one on Goldenrod. The original was opened in 2006. Not sure if this is it. probably not. They said this location has been there for over ten years. They said they are open until 6pm. The sign on the door reads 5pm. They open at 6am. Probably a discovery like the Americas and Columbus. Well, I'm claiming it in my name for all Oppressors. Try not to embarrass me when you check it out. Easily the best of the day. And at less than half the price than one of the competitors and around 50% off the other. Needless to say that it (the sandwich) no longer exists in it original form. The internet says taino means a person from the Caribbean. Could just be some persons (non-binary of course) name. Hot staff. Very binary. Turned my zero into a one.
*I forgot one food item I saw in SC. Fried peanuts. In the shell. At a market. In a bag like chips. They fried the whole thing. Didn't try them though. Forgot to go back and pick them up before I skipped town.
**Saw that Wa Sushi was at 436 at Red Bug Lake Rd. Buffalo Wild Wings area. Plus new Mexican opening on 436 just passed the train tracks. Has been various buffet places, etc.
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