I tried these spots on Sunday at lunch. The first one is near the Citrus Bowl. The second is near the Marriott in the Tech Village. The third is near the Lotte Market on West Colonial. The fourth is in Chinatown. I also saw that Taste of Chengdu opened again. All breweries now done again.
Deadwords Brewing - They opened in January. The place blew away my expectations. It looks great. It seems safe (in Parramore). They spent alot on it. It has ample parking. It is on the city side of OBT between Washington and Central. It has a (I'm probably getting this wrong) purple gray black tone. The inside is loft like. A bar in front of curios. It looks like a steam punk scientists library. The equipment is in a recess on the left. An open kitchen with a pizza oven in between. Everything is brand spanking new. I even think they had a patio. The beer was great too. And not me too (another blow to that movement). I tried a Westphalian lager and a Cascade Ale and some Scandanavian type I've never seen before. The brewer is latterly from Bend OR. He worked at Crux and Deschutes (see my travel notes on them). The owner is a lawyer. The food menu seemed ok too. Open from 4pm on weekdays. 11am on weekends. No Monday. A real surprise. May be my new fav.
Brew Theory - They brew for others. None of their own. Parking was a bitch. No free parking on Sundays like the rest of DT. You make a right on Pittman from the road under I-4. If you miss it, you have to make a big loop. The place is basically a factory outlet store/bar. They also have a Grilled Cheezus branch there. They said the factory has been there for seven years. The bar for one. Parking issue alone makes it a pass for me.
Kang's Kitchen - Turned out to be a chain. 5 locations. I thought they had some interesting back story. Oh well. It was good anyway. More things on the menu than usual (ie Korean Army Stew and beef tartare). I went with the pork bulgogi combo for $17 because I wanted to try the bean paste soup it came with. The pork was tender. Alot. Good rice. The soup was ok. Not sure they gave me the right one. Slightly spicy broth, veg, tofu. This one had lots of tough (over boiled) beef. Good bon chon. Gas grills. $36 all you can eat. Mostly Asian patrons. Open for three months. I tried to try them a while ago, but, not open for lunch during the week. Opens at 4 or 5pm. Open plan interior. Basic. Good service. Worth a spin.
East Garden - I've been waiting on them for over a year. I tried the salt and pepper baked shrimp. Did them half correctly. Still need someone to butterfly and depoop these suckers. 13 biggish shrimp. Ok condition. Menu is ambitious. Dim sum, sea cucumber, etc. They have 10 person dinners for $700. Most things are $20+. Even Kung Pao Chicken is $18. One big ceilinged, open room. A huge, beautiful mural in back. Black, wood, geometric designs on walls. Three columns of tables. Mostly Asian patrons. 2 servers. Worth a second look. Three interesting options side by side there now.
*Travel Notes - New York/Pennsylvania: I drove on 287 to 9N (past West Point) to Newburgh Hudson Valley). Had wine at Benmarl Winery and Stoutridge Vineyard and Distillery in Marlboro. The guy (Stephen Osborn) at Stoutridge was a savant. Learned so much. He's trying to make old school wines with flavors like soy and leather. It was a trip trying "old" vintages and deciding if they were disturbing or not. Or skunked. Still uncertain. He said banks made wineries (in the 80's-90's) sell their old inventories. Young wine trend wasn't caused by fruit bomb lovers. It was Wells Fargo! The liquor portion was even more instructive/impressive. He distills some stuff 30 times! Things like gin and vodka and whiskey. But also, mastic/mastiha, eau de vie, absinthe, pastis, oriole, fernet, bitters, grappa, silvovitz and kirsch. Just crazy. He served me "Swiss" absinthe dripped through a clay sieve. So sweet. He said alcohol is bitter because of acetones or something. It is sweet if they are removed. Most won't. Too costly. Everything I tried was great. He finds recipes from hundreds of years ago. I also bought a mastic with frankincense and myrhh called Three Kings. A real experience. I stayed the night at Crossroads Hotel for $130. I drove through some vineyards in Pine Bush: Brimstone Hill Winery, Baldwin Winery and Magnanini Vineyards. Didn't try them. Too early. Also went through Angry Orchard Cidery. I drove 87 to Scranton. Went to Steamtown NHS. Trains. Forgot to look for Dunder Mifflin stuff. Stayed at Comfort Suites in Moosic for $115. Was there (Moosic) to see Yankees Wilkes Barre minor league team. Didn't end up doing that. Had an ok meatball sub and slice at Gourmet Slice. Not a great town. Drove to Elverson PA to see Hopewell Furnace NHS at French Creek SP. An ironworks. Closed. Went past Yuengling's Brewery. Would have gone if they had signs directing you. Drove to Philadelphia. Saw Thaddeus Kosciusko's (A Pole who fought with us) NM and Edgar Allan Poe NHS. Also went for cheese steak at Woodrow's Sandwich Shop. It was on 3D the night before. It was good. Traveled out of Philly west on 3 (I think) to 30. To Lancaster. Stayed at Soudersburg Motel for $81. This was Amish country. Then drove to VA.
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