Grub Crawl - Winter Park and College Park: Riccup, Kos and Thai Farm (Closed) *VA/MD/DE/NJ Travel Notes

I tried these guys on Saturday at lunch. The first two are in Winter Park. Near the 7-11 at Rollins College. The last is in the old Rusteak location on Edgewater. I also saw that a vegan place is opening (no one home) next to Soseki in the old Wine Barn location on Fairbanks. And Lale and Grato are on Park Ave now. In CP, Honolulu Harry's seemed about open. I'm always going to call in Hannukah Harry's (SNL skit?).

Riccup Korean Kitchen - Behind the 7-11. Open one month. They sell bowls and salads and noodles. Some sit down tables. I grabbed the cheapest - KFC with rice for $10. It was plentiful. Like Gojujang Orange Chicken. 18 Pieces. Thigh meat. Good rice (bap). Came with potato salad and pickled radish salad. They have other bon chon too. Sell bulgogi, Beyond meat, tofu, pork, etc. You could do worse. Parking is limited.

Kos - A coffee place around the corner. Norwegian owned. Grabbed an ice coffee for $5. What can I tell you. It was coffee. Small location. Small menu. Closed early in the week.

Thai Farm Kitchen - Open three months. Inside looks familiar. Maybe they added some gold paint. Better menu than most. Things like duck confit, crab stir fried rice, Thai sausage, laab, salmon,  etc. Menu says their place in NYC got NYT Best Bites in 2019. I had the Som Tum (green papaya salad) for $15. I hope it was papaya. some places use burdock root, etc. Dressing was good. Some field greens underneath. Two lame shrimp on a skewer. I believe it is usually served with beef. Been a while since I've had it. Most Thai places don't offer it any more. Came in a cute white bowl. Soda was only $2. Pretty empty. Big foot print. Private room. Bar area. Good parking in back. Service (3) was good. May be worth a return visit.

*Travel Notes - Virginia/Maryland/Delaware/New Jersey: I'm going to break up this road trip into three posts. I rented a car from Budget for $485 for two weeks. Stayed at bad Red Roof Inn in Fredericksburg VA for $77. Drove to outside DC and went to these national parks : Oxon Cove Farm/Park, Fort Washington Park (down the 202), Piscataway Park, Greenbelt Park (off 495). On to Baltimore and Fort McHenry. Then to Towson and Hampton NHS. Up the 1 to U of Delaware. East to New Castle DE. Stayed at Quality Inn for $120. Went to First State NHP. It's a preserved old town in New Castle. Over the bridge to NJ. On to Great Egg Harbor SRR (a river) at Mays Landing. Up north to Trenton to see the capitol. Through Princeton to Whippany NJ. Stayed at Extended Stay for $120. Rat hole. Down 40 to West Orange. Thomas Edison NHP. Up north to Patterson Falls NHP. I did stuff before and in between the rest. Back to Virginia. Wineries around Charlottesville. Pollack Vineyards. Veritas Vineyards. Good. Also drove by Septenary Winery (closed). Ate salmon and cous cous at Ralph Sampson's American Tap Room. Met him. Didn't seem 7'4". Slept at English Inn for $116. My buddy owns a diner called Villa Diner. Didn't try it. Drove down 15 to NC.

Grub Crawl - Maitland and Downtown: Fredster's, Cucina, Bread & Wine *NY/CT/RI Travel Notes

I went to the first place two weeks ago at lunch. It is off Maitland Blvd near Sam Snead's. You go under the overpass and down two blocks (near a baseball field) on Fennell St. The next two are downtown. The first is on Church St (middle). The second in on N Orange next to Neon Beach. I went to those on Thursday at lunch.

Fredster's - Reminded me of Copper Rocket. Better though. A bar with a big live music stage. The food was better than I expected. They called it a trigger fish banh mi. No baguette though. Kind of important element. Generous portioning of fish (3 pc). It was fresh. L, T, O also. Spicy remoulade sauce. Came with alot of sweet potato fries. I'm not a fan, but, good if you go for that sort of thing. It cost $13. Smallish menu. One pasta, ribs and eggplant roulade were the most distinctive offerings. Beers were $7. Soda more reasonable at $2.50. service was good. I think the owner is English. Three bars and a patio too. Big open room. TVs. Open three months.

Cucina Pizza and Bar - Their fifth outpost. I've dropped alot of coin at the original in Palm Beach. More at the bar than the restaurant. Food here is even worse than there. I tried the gyro for $11. I saw the plastic flowers on the table and my Spidey sense went into action. So, I ordered the cheapest thing to be safe. It was a small portion of frozen, pre-sliced, dry, jerky meat on an ok pita with unripe-ish veg. It said fries cost $2 on the menu. They said they are now including them. That kind of helped the transaction. The menu is huge. Too huge. All the Italian staples plus burgers and salads and other things. All above mid-teens. A slice is $4. You pay for atmosphere and zip code at the original. They don't have that. Nor were there any model like Amazons tending bar. At least not at lunch. And I doubt they get all the scions of old and new monied PB either. Just another spot. The place is earth toned. Metal seats. Wood tables. Bar in rear. Windows. Faces Artisan's Table. Probably a better choice food wise (haven't been there since they moved though). Open for five months. Half full. *Side note - the original location was once Au Bar. Look up William Kennedy Smith to learn one reason why it is infamous.

Bread & Wine - Much fancier than I was expecting. I thought it was a late nite (2am) crap shack. It's a nice restaurant with a decent (small) menu. I settled on the breakfast side. Red Waffles & Chicken for $13. It was good. The waffles especially. Soft. Freshly made. Chocolate taste. The chicken was just Arby's chicken fingers cut up. They also sell coconut pancakes, croissant sandwiches, french toast, av toast, dumplings, wings, fried rice, pasta, salmon and even a $45 steak. It's a long, deep room. Modern chic. Open for a few months. Opens at 8am.

*Travel Notes - New York/Connecticut/Rhode Island: I flew JB to LGA for $185. New terminal is open. Nice. Rental through Hertz for $411. Shuttle to Rental Location at Terminal A. No prob. Slept at a dump in Jericho because the flight had mechanical issue and got in near 11pm. Inn at Jericho for $105. Drove to two VCs (and William Floyd house) at Fire Island NS. Also saw a Flight 800 Memorial near one. Drove on to Montauk. Stayed at the MontauK Manor for $176. Worth it. Ate softshell crab sandwich and oysters at Hooked. Had beer at Montauk Brewing. Had very good wonton soup at Street Eats. Had good sausage and broccoli rabe sandwich at Blade + Salt. Had bad (chicken less) chicken curry wrap at Joni's the next day. Drove to North Shore. Stayed at Shorewood Inn for $130. Dumpy motel. But, it was weekend pricing out there. Had good wine at Coffee Pot Wines and Suhru Wines. Both buy their grapes. Work for other wineries during the day. Had a beer at Greenport Harbor Brewing. Had bad brisket and ok ribs at Meats Meat in Mattituck. It rained. Drove to Weir Farm NHS in Ridgeway CT. Drove to Southbury CT. Stayed at Heritage Hotel for $114. Ate at Bakers Dozen (bagel, donut, ham and cheese on Portuguese roll) in Pomfret. Drove to Pawtucket RI to see part of Blackstone River Valley NHP (Old Slater Mill). Drove back through Hartford. Saw Mark Twain''s House and Harriett Beecher Stowe's House. Drove to Bethel CT. Stayed at Microtel for $104. Ate chicken sandwich and fries at Royal Fish & Chips. Drove through Bedford Hills and Chappaqua. I lived there once. Ate a bolgna hero at Lange's Little Store. Drove to Sleepy Hollow and Tarrytown. Saw Jay Gould's Lyndhurst Mansion and tried to see Washington Irving's Sunnyside (closed). Stayed at Tarrytown House Estate for $156. Drove to Yonkers to see Untermeyer Park and Gardens. Drove to Bronx. Saw NY Botanical Gardens. Didn't really. Drove past. Already been as a kid and parking was $20 and entry was $35. Drove back to Long Island. Stayed at East Norwich Inn for $73. Went to Teddy Roosevelt's Sagamore Hill and Cemetery in Oyster Bay. Ate oysters and bad burger at Wild Honey. Had beer at Oyster Bay Brewing. Had baleadas (crepe like tortilla filled with egg and av and beans), cheese q and chicken tamale at Lourdes. Drove to Vanderbilt mansion in (closed) and Hecksher Museum in Huntington. Had lunch at Teddy's Bully Bar in Oyster Bay. Good chicken and apple panini. Drove to LGA. Gas was in mid to high $4's. Found routes to escape all tolls. Better trip than I expected. Too spent to proof read. Deal with any errors.

Grub/Pub Crawl - Sanford and Longwood: Yardery, Alebrije, Taksim, Nan and Pop's and Alestone

I tried these spots about ten days ago at dinner. The first one is downtown on 4th St (one block in from the action). The second is on 17-92 in a forever desolate strip mall between downtown and Seminole HS. The third is farther down 17-92 (past LM Blvd) in a strip mall that has that PR place I wrote about a while ago (Coqui)The next two are near that Colombian chicken spot I went to a few months ago near the lightrail station.

The Yardery - Food and drink were too expensive, so, I settled on a Twisted Tea for $5. First time. The regular beers were $7.50+. Didn't bother asking about the hard stuff. Small menu. I remember ribs at $26 and $16 burger. I think they were supposed to have some Montreal style bagels. Don't remember seeing that. The place is basically a tiny bar and outdoor area. Open one month. Closed on Monday. Was empty. Not sure what they bring to the table that wasn't already there.

Alebrije Mexican Grill - Better than I expected. They have a bunch of mezcal. Open for two months. A big square place. Nice colorful mural on the wall. They said the name has something to do with animals acting human like. Double check that if you will.  I had the chicken enmolodas (4) for the mole. The word seemed new. Like I've never ordered that before. Then I realized it's just like enchilidas (chilied). They mole it. The mole was mole poblano. Tasted of coffee, chocolate and raisins. Sweet. The chicken was blanched white. Like it came from a processor. In a bag. I'm seeing more of this.It was bland and bad. Tortilla was raw. Menu said $16. Receipt said $18. I also had a beer from Tulum I've never seen before. Menu was slightly adventurous. Many of the tried and true's too. Service was good. Place was empty. Closed on Monday. Bar in the middle of the room. Worth a gamble if you are in the area. They could use a little more in house prep. Chips and salsa were good (fresh).

Taksim Turkish Grill - Have driven by them for a while and yet they opened only five months ago. Building delays. An old 7-11. They did little to it. Typical Turkish menu. I tried the lamb adana wrap (they were out and put it in a pita) for $10. It was good. The place was empty. The two Turkish guys working there were nice. Taksim is an area in Istanbul.

Nan & Pop's Ice Cream Shop - The usual. Their hours are not. 3pm-. Had a cup of Eyes Wide Open for $4. Coffee like. Good.

Alestone Brewing - Just opened that week. The guy from Hourglass. 10 ozers were only $4 (take that Yardery). Tried a stout (six in all). It was good. They have twenty options already. Nice small, square room with patio. Wood. View of equipment. TVs. Sports. Pretty full.  Will go back soon.Open 7 days a week. 11am-close.

*Will have two more post by Tuesday. Last one will have travel notes.