Island Fin Poke, Longwood *PA/NY/MD Travel Notes

I tried this new (one month) poke place on 434 in between 436 and I-4 (a strip mall with a Publix) on Wednesday at lunch. They let you put three scoops of fish/chicken in the bowl. I mixed tuna/salmon/octopus to see as much as possible. They were fresh. Better than most places. Then again, most of these places start out conscientious and then "stretch" the shelf life of the product. Rice was also ok. It cost $12. Hawaiian theme. Yet none of these places knows what a true Hawaiin poke is. You would think someone would google it. They serve them in paper bowls. Phew. I was worried that those billions of third world miscreants (and if you don't believe me actually travel to one and see how environmentally concerned they are) were going to spoil the environment. We got you Mother Earth. No need to exert yourself going here. I'm sure there are one or two in your neighborhood. perhaps one in your house?

*Travel Notes - PA/NY/MD: I got off 95 before Fredricksburg VA because of an accident (two that day and one in GA coming back). Was going to anyway. Just a few exits farther north. Had to take a parallel road (1 to 17W and 66 to Winchester WV and north on 505 (I think) to 68W (I think) through Upper MD to Morgantown (nice lake before town). Then north to Friendship Hill NHS (some early Treasurer). Slept at at Hopwood Motel in Uniontown/Hopwood PA for $65 (rack rate). Went east the next day to Fort Necessity (Washington lost to French there before the Revolution). Then north to Fallingwaters (a Frank Lloyd Wright home). Then through some nice white water rafting areas and east and north to Johnstown Flood NHS (dam break). Then north and east to Allegheny Portage Railroad NHS (had to go over mountains here. Canals no good). Then north and east to College Station (Penn State). Then north and east to Williamsport (Little League World Series stadiums). Then north to Mansfield. Cute college town. Slept at Hampton Inn for $166 (rack rate). The Nascar race race in Watkins Glen purportedly raised the pricing even this far away. Plus in was a Saturday. Ate and had beer at Yorkholo Brewing Co. Had a pulled turkey with barbeque and honey mustard sauces combined. Drove to west and north to Canisteo NY (Cider Creek Hard Cider). Couldn't find it. North to try and find Wild Brute Winery in Arkport. Didn't find that either. It was raining very hard. Went east to Hammondsport NY and finally found something. Finger Lakes Beer Co. Then tried to find Steuben City Brewing. Found a retail bar for Cider Creek. Had some and a horrible chicken Caesar salad. And some Steuben and other NY beer.  South tip of Keuka Lake. Drove up about a mile and turned into first winery I saw. Turned out to be good. Domaine LeSeurre and Weis Vineyards. Prices at LeSeurre were too high. Tasted an ok Pinot Noir. Bought a bottle of Gruner Veltliner at Weis because it was more reasonable. They had a great patio over looking the lake. Had just opened. North and east through Finger Lakes to Seneca Falls (home of Tom Coughlin) and to the Women's Rights NHP. North to Oswego (on Lake Ontario). Slept at the Evergreen Motel for $84. North to 1000 Islands. Really 1864. First stop was Henderson Harbor and a light house. Next to Sackett's Harbor and a War of 1812 fort and cute town. Had a Route 3 (RB with Munster) at Sandwich Bar. There were a few nicer options as well. Then to Watertown. They have river rafting from there that didn't fit in the schedule. North and west to Cape Vincent and the Tibbetts Point Light House at the beginning of the St Lawrence River from Lake Ontario. Then east to Clayton. Bought mozzarella whips (thin pipes), a snack mix of sesame sticks with everything bagel spice (they had many flavors you see on bagels) and corn chips with chia seed baked in and Adirondack sodas at River Rat Cheese . They also sold cheese cut into shapes (and colored) like cookies. Plus alot of snacks. Maybe the cutest town. Slept at Westwind Motel for $93. Next door was St Lawrence Spirits. They claim many awards. Tried a few. Nice deck over the river too. Have a high end restaurant and boutique hotel too (Chateau). Next east on to Alexandria Bay for the Uncle Sam's Boat Tour. That day they just opened up the US plus Canada tour. It was $37. Included Boldt Castle. An island castle by an ex Waldorf Astoria honcho. Had a seafood sub and fries that were called sour cream fries but really just sour cream dusted fries at Jwreck Subs. Made me think why no one has taken all the potato chip seasoning to fries. Slept at Ship Motel (right in town) for $125. Drove east to Schermerhorn Harbor in Hammond to take the tour to Singer Castle (sewing machine people). It cost $35. Then east through Ogdensburg and then south and east back to Watertown. Then south past Syracuse and out of NY. Tried to stop a few times in PA, but, the hotel quotes were insane. Finally made it to Carlisle PA. Lucked into a $95 room at Sleep Inn. Had ok veal parm with spaghetti at Al's Pizza. The next day saw many better choices a few blocks in town. A very cute town. Something to do with Molly Pitcher. A college called Dickinson. Grabbed a Birch Beer Ice Cream at Massey's Frozen Custard. Tasted like vanilla. Drove to Gettysburg (past Appalachian Trail) to find that my restaurant (Gettysburger) wasn't open for lunch that day. Went south to Cacotin Mountain NP (home of Camp David). South to Frederick MD to Monocacy NB. Then south to C&O Canal Trail and Potomac Heritage NST. Nice drives. Short. Then south to Clara Barton NHS. Then I forget if I mentioned Wolf Trap NP and Prince William Forest NP (not in MD).

**I forgot to mention these Korean things at Area 51 in the FL Notes. She called her ramen - ramyeon. I haven't seen a Korean take off on the soup. This was smart. They also sold Makgeolli. They said it was Korea's oldest alcohol drink. Never heard of it. It may be like sake.

Grub Crawl - Sanford: Maggie Dog and The Greenery Creamery *NC/SC/VA Travel Notes

I tried these kiosks in Henry's Depot on First St on Tuesday at dinner. The first just opened two weeks ago. The second is an OG. I also learned, while here. that the space in the middle (now used for seating) will become a Git N Messy BBQ (without the original cook). They also have torn up one side of the outside for more access/parking.

Maggie Dog Specialty Links - A half dozen "fancified" links. I chose a rabbit sausage with bacon on the side for $10. Obviously not worth it. Not a particularly large sausage. Not particularly tasty. Could have been any animal. You can buy a PACK of similar ones in a supermarket for less. Bacon was stale and dry. Sat there for a long time. Cold too. Came with a fruit sauce. I forget which. Charged an extra 40 cents to go. Why exactly? Best element was the tiny cup of pasta salad. Very thin short tubes. Like in boxed mac and cheese. Same owner as the fish place next to them (Current). They need to drop the pricing in half.

The Greenery Creamery - They also have one downtown. I believe I rated them. That is why I think I've ignored this spot. Plus I can live with out ice cream. At least I think they make their own. when I was traveling last week, I kept passing packed ice cream stands. It made me pause. Why are idiots paying for ice cream they can buy in stores. Most of these places just buy the same mass produced ice cream we can all buy and scoop it for us. Ohhhh. We are that stupid and lazy. Well you are. I grabbed a coffee, cream and cookies mix for $4+. I forget the name and receipt just says "solo". It was good. They have about a dozen "gourmet" concoctions. Cones or cups. They said they make the cones here and the ice cream at the other location.

*I saw these oddities on tv. Waterfall cake (stolen from the internet I assume) by Buddy Delastro (sp?) and crumpet sandwiches from a place in Seattle called Queen Bee.

**Travel Notes - NC/SC/VA: These are actually the first and last states I hit. Will save the North for next post. Slept in a Comfort Inn in Wilson NC for $105 (rack rate). Grabbed a chopped pork sandwich with cole slaw at Ralph's Barbeque in Weldon NC (really the Roanoke Rapids main exit). Mushy. On the way back I slept at a Comfort Inn in Ruther Glen VA for $105 (rack rate). Had a pulled turkey sandwich at Boogie's Turkey BBQ in Elm City NC (on 301). It and the next two were on the Chef and the Farmer show. It was ok. Big. The show said turkey is becoming the "it" meat in the black community. I drove to Greenville to see ECU. Nice town. Nice facilities. Then just outside of town to Sam Jones BBQ in Winterville NC. It is an off shoot of the next place. More modern. I had a Jones Family Original Platter of pulled whole hog pork, a side and corn bread. Very good pork. Great potato salad. Interesting corn bread. It was like a dried polenta square. Dense. No sugar. Good. I drove a few miles south to Ayden NC. I had a whole hog pulled pork sandwich at Skylight Inn. I was pretty full and had dinner to go. It was a tad less good than at their sister shop. It also made me wonder how long can meat sit out without being refrigerated? The Inn had pics of Carter, Bush, Reagan, etc. It must have been famous for a long time. I never got the memo. I drove to Kinston NC to eat at The Chef & the Farmer. I've watched her show for a while. On PBS here. It was ok. Gritty swordfish. Watermelon salad on top was better. Ok (voluminous) Boiler Room beef fat fries with Kitchen Sink sauce. Dull menu. Overly pricey. It's right in the middle of the downtown. I slept at a Quality Inn for $107. Drove to Harker's Island to get a ferry to Cape Lookout NC. A NP. Drove back through a spit of land starting in Atlantic Beach that was kind of like New Smyrna. Slept in Jacksonville NC at the Coastal Motel for $88. Not on coast. Next to Camp Lejeune. Drove through Wilmington NC to North Myrtle Beach. Had a brisket sandwich at Bar B Que House. Sign said they were voted best bbq for ten years. It was good. Original location south of Myrtle Beach in Surfside. Never found Coastal Carolina Univ. On to Charleston SC. Had lunch 2 at 5 Church. An old church. Had a good and interesting Salmon vs Eggs (cooked salmon aside poached eggs and spinach on toast). Had dinner at 82 Queen. Was purported to be the originator of she crab soup. Bartender said that was bs. Good thing. It was bad. Bitter. Dry scant crab. Never would have taken off if they created it. Also had bbq shrimp and grits. Better. And tomato pie. Kind of a quiche. I think that was my first. Good. Slept at Days Inn for $112. Plus $20 for parking. Grabbed peach cider, apple and praline pie, popcorn on the cob and fried peanuts at Carolina Cider Company in Gardens Corner SC (on 17). Pie was so good that I ate it before I reached Florida. It was a six incher. I popped the popcorn yesterday. So fun. Came with a bag. Made the usual amount. All microwave popcorn should be like this. Dried on the cob. From Uncle Ozgoods of Kansas. Peanuts were a bit oily inside. From Uncle Bud's in Tennessee. Next post on Wednesday.

Grub Crawl - New Smyrna Beach: Mimi K's, City Market Bistro and Atlantis Bistro *FL Travel Notes

I tried the first place at lunch two weeks ago on my way North. I tried the other two at lunch and dinner yesterday respectively. The first and third are near the center of Flagler Ave (by the beach). The other is in the old Local Pearl Oyster Shoppe spot on the land side of the Intercoastal.

Mimi K's Beachside Cafe - They are in that alley way that has the Cuban place I just reviewed. Breakfast and lunch. I think they close at 2pm. Weekends until 4pm. Also closed on T and W, I think. It seats about a dozen inside. I grabbed a Cajun Benedict because I wanted shrimp. It cost $14. I recall it being ok. Five or more shrimp. Ok egg timing. Can't recall what the bottom was. Probably a muffin. It seemed like there was one waitress, a prep guy and a cook doubling as a waitress too. That slows things down a bit. I actually jumped ahead of other tables and it still took twenty plus minutes. Place was full. Seemed a mix of tourists and locals. The menu had skillets, benedicts, sandwiches, ricotta pancakes, vanilla french toast, etc. Only around a dozen items. Charming enough to go back to.

City Market Bistro - Looks almost the same inside. They dropped all the oysters except IROCs. Owner/Chef had a place in Ormond Beach (or near there) before this. Changed hands in February. Open for lunch and dinner. Closes for two hours between 3 and 5pm. Limited menu. A dozen or so things. Burger, chicken sandwich, shrimp cocktail, mussels and three seafood mains are all that I can recall. I grabbed the grilled ciabatta for $8 to go because it was already 2pm and I wanted to get to the beach. It was different and better than I expected. Three slices of bread topped with dressed cherry tomatoes, black olives and pickled red onions and a creamy spread. Tomatoes were fresh. Alot. I think they can be trusted. 

Atlantis Bistro - They have been in the queue forever. Open at 4pm. Really an Italian spot (one of those Italian bistros) with some seafood items. I call places like this a "to go menu" spots. They don't have "business cards". They print to go menus. The quality is usually lower. No outlier here. Perfectly pedestrian food. I think the owner was also cooking. There was a kitchen help sign in the window and some woman came out all exhausted and the staff treated her like she was in charge. The output wasn't great and it took a while. I surrendered to the Chicken Romano at $16. I didn't get the feeling they could do anything more extreme. And when the waitress told me the green mussels (why not black ones?) were frozen. I knew I dodged a bullet. Plus they wanted up to thirty bucks for the seafood dishes. Dull ones. With dull ingredients. Plus they went silent on the price of every special and when you asked you found out why. The only reason I contemplated the mussels was that they had a pithy name ) Mussels Lemonade. The chicken was to be topped with mozzarella and prosciutto. Terrible quality on both. If I wasn't informed it was mozzarella. I couldn't have guessed. Plus the chicken had no crust/color. Not sure if they dumped the wine in too quickly or what. It was pale and boiled. At least pan fry it if you won't finish it in the oven. It came with steamed broccoli or roasted potatoes. When you read what I've been eating lately, you will see why I chose something healthy. It probably wasn't. Alternately raw and mushy. With some carrots. It wouldn't surprise me if they reheated some old broccoli with the rest. That is what the complimentary bread seemed to have been. Hard as a rock. I'll bet that had been to two or three customers and reheated before me. Plus they served it with most repulsive "pesto" and olive oil. It looked like a loogy/phlegm in oil. Didn't touch it. Service was spotty. Never checked in. No refills. Ambiance is isolated to the ceiling of wine corks. Rest is pure mismatched junk like French wine signs and plastic grapes. Probably all dust covered. Clientele was mostly codgers. Probably from there. Probably from dives up North where this quality of food is the norm. I do not recommend it. Open for 14 years. Apps were all over priced and lame too.

*Updates on the area - The Thai place near 1 is now an Irish pub called The Spot. Was open at lunch. The bowl place (from Winter Park) near the draw bridge (Flagler) is closed. That spot is death. The Greek place (Beacon) near the beach on Flagler re-opened yesterday. A Mexican place opened above Boston's Fish House.

**Travel Notes - Florida: I have a whole East Coast trip that I will divide into three posts. I'll just do Amelia Island/Fernandina Beach on this one because I'm tired. Check back in three days. I grabbed a terrible poke bowl at Timoti's. They used hot basmati rice! I had ok sushi at Akari. I had an interesting brisket and pulled pork egg rolls just to sample at Area 51 BBQ. Was too full to try the good stuff. Plus they have a Korean menu too. Disgusting Oreo flavored cream cheese bagel at Aloha Bagel. Bagel not great either. They had lots of weird cc flavors. Like peanut butter and bacon ranch. Good pulled pork with pimento cheese on wheat bread sandwich at Happy Tomato Cafe. All these are in or around Fernandina. Stayed at Amelia Hotel for $122. By far the cheapest option.

Grub Crawl - Hourglass District and Lake Underhill Rd: Uncommon Eatery and Estrella Latina *SD/ND/MN/WI/IA/MO Travel Notes

I tried these two spots on Wednesday at lunch. The first is in the Winn Dixie shopping mall with Rogue Pub on Curry Ford Rd. The second is near Meatball Stoppe at Goldenrod and Underhill. 

Uncommon Eatery - They are a catering concern that opened up the front of store. They said they opened fifteen months ago. I thought it was less. They have a small space with unwaitered service open to the public. Small menu as well. I settled on one of the three salads. Curry Chicken for $10. I wasn't paying $12 for bao (2 types) or $10 for an empanada (2 types). I also threw in an order of Moroccan Fries for $4. The salad was disappointing. Shredded chicken (I want chunks) atop of a smattering of field greens. Could have been bought from a supermarket. Chicken probably comes in a bag. They threw in some sliced strawberry and nuts and nuts. Some raisins in the salad. I also tasted dry curry powder in the salad. Lazy. It was made worse by the generous portioning. More to suffer through. The fries were limp. Seasoning ok. Topped with parmesan. Also a big portion. They also sell a grilled cheese, pork sandwich, chicken sandwich, poke bowl, crab cakes and soup. All over $10. I expected more. Maybe a different meal would bring different results. The room is decorated in Grandma level tchotchkes and mismatched chairs and tables (4). order at a counter. Open for lunch and dinner.

Estrella Latina - Open from breakfast to 5pm. No frills Latin. I had the roast pork from the buffet (also has a menu). They don't speak much English, so, I thought it would be $6. It was $8. Maybe the quote was for the chicken? Maybe they hosed me? still a deal. Came white half a to go tray of rice and a side. I chose yucca. Good. Buttery rice. Ok yucca. Pork was good too. Atmosphere is lacking. Dirty and bland. Big menu. No need to exert yourself finding them. I'm sure you have something similar near you.

*Travel Notes for SD/ND/MN/WI/IA/MO trip - I canceled a trip to NE because of Hurricane Elsa. Should have risked it. Plane left on time. Booked a $65 ticket to KC in its place. with one week notice. Rental car was just a tad more than NE. Lots of fast food in the beginning. Stayed in Sioux Falls SD at a BW (rack rate) for $130. Pricing was insane. Fried chicken nuggets at Slim Chickens. Drove to a crap NP in Pipestone MN and thru Fargo to Jamestown ND. Stayed at Jamestown Motel for $50. World's largest Buffalo Statue. Drove through Bismarck ND. Had a Neuron sandwich (brisket and mac and cheese) at Erbert's and Gerbert's. Drove to Stanton ND and another waste of a NP (Knife River Indian Villages). Onto Theodore Roosevelt NP and onto MT. Ate bad chili cheese fries and hamburger at Retreat in Glendive MT. Stayed at Baymont for $102. Drove back to ND and Fort Union NHS near Williston ND (home of Phil Jackson). Across ND to Stanley and the Dakota Drug Co where they claim they invented the machine that makes blizzards. Had a brickle and butterscotch whirl whip. Onto Minot ND and Scandinavian Heritage Center. Ate an ok bacon cheeseburger and fries at Burger Time. Slept at Noble In for $73. Onto Geographic Center of NA in Rugby ND and Grand Forks ND (U of ND). Slept across river in East Grand Forks MN (Fairfield Inn) for $96. Ate lunch at Fat Albert's Subs in Grand Forks. Had a "cubed meats" sandwich called the Punisher. They put all the chopped up ends of the sliced meats (like seven kinds) in a sandwich. Up north to this little notch into Canada called Lake of the Woods at Warroad MN. Onto Bemidji MN. First town of Mississippi. Paul Bunyan. Had ok beer at Bemidji Brewing Co. Slept at AmercInn for $130. Minnesota is expensive. Like the socialist enclaves usually are. Drove towards Duluth (east) and up to Two Harbors MN. Had ok beer at Castle Danger Brewery. Ok smoked Alaskan shrimp at Lou's Fish House. Slept at Voyageur Motel for $130. Everything booked. The first 3M hq is here. Drove east to Bayfield WI to take a boat around Apostle Islands NP. Tried last year. It wasn't running. Tour was $50. Ate at Pickled Herring Club. Had whitefish livers and a smoked trout and blue cheese naan. Slept in Washburn WI at Washburn Inn for $201. This was the cheapest thing within twenty miles. Drove south to Minneapolis MN. Slept at LivInn in Fridley for $103. Had Dum Ka Chicken at Hyderabad. #1 on Yelp. It was described as chicken in yougurt. Seemed like dark meat chicken tikka. Went to 3M Open in Blaine. It cost $65. South to Waterloo IA. Home of John Deere and Hostess (before sale) and Wrestling HOF. Ate at Newton's Paradise Cafe. Had a great (and huge) pork tenderloin sandwich (Iowa's thing) with parmesan fries. Slept at HoJo for $78. Went to U of Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls. U of Kurt Warner and David Johnson. Onto Marshalltown and Taylor's Maid Rite. They do loose meat sandwiches. Had two with cheese. I think I saw this place on some documentary about the Lincoln Highway. On through Cedar Rapids (Quaker Oats) to Dyersville IA to see the Field of Dreams movie set. On through Dubuque to Maquoketa and the Econolodge for $77. To Mississippi River and down to Davenport. Through Wapello IA (pit stop for lousy meager brisket sandwich at Cynful Smokehouse) to Eldon IA and the house from the Grant Wood American Gothic house. Onto Ottumwa IA (Radar O'Reilly's home) and Hotel Ottumwa for $75. They had a free breakfast at 2nd Ave Cafe. Eggs. Through Osceola IA to Maid Rite Diner. Had another loose meat with cheese. This time it was goo cheese and bigger. Cost more. Called a mega cheese. Onto KC and Gates Bar BQ. Had a Nooner sandwich. Was to have had brisket and burnt ends. No ends and sliced brisket. Real let down. They are supposed to be great. need brisket pencil thick. Took forever too. Also stopped at LC's Bar BQ. It was on No Reservations. Had a pork and burnt ends platter. Also no ends. Big chunks of pork. They had a fire in the smoker while I was there. Doused it with houses. I think my pork was washed. Also a disappointment. Got lost driving around and found a nice area with their zoo. The area around the gates I went to was also nice. Art museum and U of M KC, etc. Also some nice restaurants, etc. Will have to try KC again. Slept in Independence MO at My Place for $97. Went to downtown to see where Joseph Smith claims the Garden of Eden really was. It's an LDS temple. I had already done the Truman bs. Saw a soda factory for Polly's Pop. Back to near airport (Platte City MO). Stayed at Ramada for $71. I have to report that the KC airport is way better. Each five or so gates has their own TSA. My line had no people. Plus it's in the same hall as the check in. 

**I forgot to add these odd products: birdseed salad (sunflower seed and broccoli) and peanut butter monster (m and m's) cookies. I also saw a show on Austin TX that explained those Migas tacos I told you about. They put crushed tortillas in the eggs.