I tried these places (near or in the Plant Street Market) on Thursday just past lunch. I grabbed everything to go,
Fat Mike's Hot Chicken - Replaced a taco place. In building across from marketplace. Kind of fast casual. They sell half and quarter chickens, tenders, sandwiches, sides and ribs when available (not currently). I had a chicken sandwich for $6.50. It sucked. Freezer burn. Plastic/rubbery chicken. Medium heat was higher than that. Spice rub. Not sauce. Made it drier than it was already. Coating had no flavor of its own. A general disaster. If I hadn't spent the fifteen minutes they quoted as the wait time buying other food, I would have been even more disappointed to receive this dish. Came with horse radish tasting slaw on the side and bun with pickles. I think they have been open for under a year. Open for lunch and dinner. Has indoor and outdoor seating. Looks like a fast food location.
Empanada & Co - Stall. Small supply of glossy empanadas. Had a chicken with some sort of cheese for $4 with tax and tip. Better than expected. May also have location in Mt Dora. Recently opened here.
Sir Benji's Donuts - Stall. I think they said open for two years. Much better than the last donut (Pattie Lou's) I tried. Same squeeze batter into hot oil in front of you. Much better results. These donuts were much larger and fluffy. Almost collapsed into a ball under their own weight and size and syrup. Sold by the dozen. I had one topped with some kind of Orange Blossom honey syrup. Reminded me of a Persian desert I had with rose water. This was also superior to the vulgar toppings offered at the last place. They had around five choices. The dozen cost $6.
Mac'd Out - Stall. Open for three years. Owned by the pizza stall people. I think it was a pasta stall last time I was here. Looks like one. Now does expensive mac and cheese. Adding a topping really only adds 20% to the overall cost. The cheese was way bland and they dull it up further by adding bread crumbs on top. You really need a topping. I tried the Philly Steak for $12. Steak was really the only redeeming part. Aside from the rosemary they season it with. That clashed with the rest. And it had zero salt. I hope that rosemary isn't in the bread crumbs. You can't escape it then. I think they use cavateppi (two solid, thick bands of pasta fused together). Neither google nor duckduckgo wants to return a search query and I know it's misspelled, so, I quit. An odd choice and another reason I think this was once a pasta stall. The shape doesn't lend itself to absorbing much of the cheese and was dense and paste-y. Big portion. They warm up the pasta (why they use a thicker one probably) in water then run in through a broiler. Can add pork belly, chicken, chorizo or bacon. I'd work on the cheese if I were them. Open for three years.
This Little Piggy - Stall. It turns out I went here already (July 2018). I hated it. Good thing I forgot. I tried a half pound of brisket for $8.50. They divide it into fat or lean. I tried fat. Thankfully they seemed to see that half of the cut was fat and seemed to compensate by giving me a bigger portion. They really need to trim the fat cap more before smoking. However, this brisket was much better than last time. Nice flavor. A little bark. Tender. Thick cut. The sauces were also better. A sweet and a tart one. I used the left overs on a shrimp cocktail. I'm surprised that I can't recall some Southern place replacing cocktail sauce with barbeque sauce. It seems like a natural. Have had it in shrimp and grits. They also sell pulled pork, ribs, chicken, pork rinds, cauliflower, sides, loaded fries, salads and desserts. Open for three years. Open until 7-10pm depending on the day.
*Travel Notes: Florida Gulf Coast - I spent one night in Clearwater Beach and one in St Petersburg. And stopped at Weeki Wachee State Park along the way. Clearwater was ok. Not the greatest crowd. Beach has a pier. Ate at two Frenchy's spots. I think I learned of them through the AAA magazine. Dinner at Frenchy's South Beach Cafe. It was near the hotel. Had a Cuban burger. Not sure if that was a first. Topped with ham and pork and pickles and Swiss and mustard. Better than I expected. Lunch at Frenchy's Original Cafe. On other side of circle as you enter town. Had fried grouper bites and a dozen Cedar Keys clams. Clams could be raw or steamed. I went with steamed. Ok. Grouper was basically a shish kabob dipped in batter. Fish was dry. Batter wasn't cooked through. I stayed at the Clearwater Beach Hotel for $126 because it was the cheapest with parking. Ok. Could slip into rats nest with a little negligence. I settled on St Pete because they had a really highly rated hotel at a cheap price and I wiffed on Weeki Wachee on the way down and had to go back that way upon my return and needed to stay kind of close. It was a godsend. I really liked it. Many museums and bars and restaurants. Seemed safe. New pier. Walkable. Maybe my new favorite Florida destination. The hotel was called The Hollander. Cost $121. Free parking. 9.2 on Booking. Cute little boutique hotel with a pool. St Pete's main street is Central Ave. I came in from the west and followed it down from the high 50's streets. Many stores and restaurants and bars all the way in. Baseball stadium is also walkable from downtown. I ate near there at Buya Ramen on 9th and Central. It was on 3D. Good duck confit ramen. Tried two bars featured on other tv shows (ie Drinking Made Easy) according to tvfoodmaps.com. The Mandarin Hide (fancier) and Five Bucks Drinkery. No masks. Lots of people out mid-week. They said a branch of USF close by keeps it lively all the time. Not that it matters one way or the other to me (I only mention it to add info some may find helpful), there seemed to be a discernable gay presence around town. I never knew. I recommend a getaway here asap. Something for everybody. I just scratched the surface. Like a better West Palm Beach. On the way home, I went back up 19 to 50. At that junction is Spring Hill and WWSP. It has some kitschy mermaid show that is supposedly a Florida tradition you need to do to be a true Floridian. It cost $13 to enter. Show was for kids. Little Mermaid. Left half way through. Park is small. The spring is worse than Wekiva, et al. It had capacity limits until a few days ago. why I had to try a second time. Drive across 50 is easy. No crashes. The traffic through downtown on I-4 was stalled due to a crash. I laughed as I made right onto 50 and just had to weave through the West Colonial idiots.
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