Monday, June 13, 2022

Grub Crawl - Florida Mall Area and SoDo: Maguro, Daana Pani, Frenchy's and So Dough

I tried these places on Thursday night. The first is around the mall on the Sand Lake Rd side. The second is on Doss Ave and OBT in the Lakshmi Market. The third is at Gatlin Hall on South Orange. The fourth is on Michigan aside Tin & Taco.

Maguro Latin Fusion - Closed on Tuesday. Open after 3pm. Owner/chef is Puerto Rican. Fusion sushi menu. I tried some tapas as I was on a run. I tried two pieces of tuna for $4 ($5 on menu). OK. Rice was good. Tuna tasted a little bitter. As if it had a a bath to preserve it. I had a ropa vieja egg roll for $5.50. It was ok. Also had sweet plantain in it. Pretty stuffed. A mayo dipping sauce. Maybe it could have used an acid or heat element to cut through the savory. And three chicken gyozo (out of the duck) for $6. Probably not purchased in a store. Steamed and one side fried. OK. Soy sauce dipping sauce. Smallish menu. Bowls, tapas, 4 types of sushi/sahimi (out of the salmon). Black, gray and wood interior. Open kitchen and sushi area behind four seats at a bar. Sixteen four person tables. There was another room of about six tables on the side. It was gated off. Loungy vibe. It was ok. Open for a year or so. I thought it would be a bit ritzier.

Danna Pani - It means rice and water. In the rear of the building. I just grabbed some potato and pea Punjabi samosas for $6. I was just looking to finally knock them off the list and it's all vegetarian and they were out of the falafel. Ok. More baked than fried. Big menu with these categories: apps, sandwiches, pav bhaji, chaat, paav, thali, indo-Chinese, curries, and pulati. I can't read my notes on the last one. Blue and yellow interior. Three rooms. A banquet room, the regular one and a market? Closed Tuesday. Lunch and dinner. Prices in the teens mostly. One dish at $20. North Indian style. They said Punjab and one other area that I didn't get.

Frenchy's Wood Fired Pizza - I had tried to bring this to you many times over the past few months. Always too early or late or they had something going on. Had a private party this day. However, they snuck in a Margherita for me. And didn't charge the $14. It was good. Good chew and char. Oily and moist and spongy dough. A bit too salty. They also offer 4 other pies and wings and meatballs and garlic sticks. Just a stall. Open from 5pm to 10pm. This will be on the Favorite's list. The free part didn't hurt their cause.

So Dough - They said their hard opening will be on July 26th. I tried the one with their cheese blend, etc for $12. It was very good. Crisp, oily crust. Light yet substantial. Soft. Four slices. Square. Detroit style. Garlic-y tomato sauce. Basil was more like a pesto. Order at a kiosk. They make a limited amount each day. They open at 4pm or 5pm. Busy. One guy told me they always sell out. "Open" for a month or so. This will be on the Favorite's list. Best thing on this grub crawl. And I don't prefer book looking pizza. 12 or so styles of pies. Or make your own.

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