I tried these spots on I Drive on Wednesday at lunch. The first is at Pointe Orlando. The second is past Sea World and CF Parkway. The second strip mall on the east side around Westwood. At 11951.
Hampton Social - A chain out of Chicago since 2015. This location has been around for two years. Lunch (early) and dinner. They get some of the Hampton ethos correct. I can see the white and blue color scheme being consistent. They add touches of rope and other components to the look. Not out of place. They name some of the dishes after actual places. There is no true Hampton cuisine (aside from potatoes, sweet corn, pies, duck and maybe seafood), so, the menu doesn't confuse the senses. All in all, I guess it's Hampton-y. The prices really capture the spirit of the more high end or touristy spots. Everything is double what it should be. That is why I settled on the Shelter Island Chicken Sandwich at $19. It was a Chik-fil-a like fried breast (a little bigger to be fair) on a glossy, buttered bun with green apple, slaw and pickles and some cheese (maybe emmanthaler) with a ranch like dressing. The side is chips. They served a fair amount and they were home made. A little stale. Cooking oil could probably use a change too. It was good. You could upgrade to small cup of fries, etc for around $5. Full sides were $19! I shit you not. A burger was also $19. Chowder was $9. Oysters were $5 each! Beer was $8. Most things $20+. And most things more than that bottom line. The worst offender was the $34 lobster roll. It was neither bursting at bun level nor bursting from out of the top of the bun with lobster. The bun hardly stretched itself. And the meat looked like limp, shrunken claw meat. Sad. It was hot and buttery lobster. Connecticut style. Not Hamptons (mayo and cold). Big place. Three rooms. Bar plus main (mostly high tops). Patio. And back room. High ceilings. TVs at the bar. Fairly full. Service was good. Not a bad experience. I parked behind Miller's Alehouse because Point Orlando charges. Forgot to ask if they validate.
Twenty Pho Hours - They opened in January. A modern Vietnamese place. Order up front. A small rectangular room. White with black drawings. Very bright. Seats about thirty. More apps than I was expecting. I tried a spicy tuna summer roll for $7.50. It had the cheap, non-Haas avocado. Spring mix. No vermicelli. Ok. I still am not a fan of rice paper (or noodles). Too chewy. Other apps were: dumplings, edamame, egg rolls, squid on a stick, spring roll, etc. $4 to $6. I also had a trifecta pho for $13. Udon noodles, beef broth with brisket, chicken and shrimp. I liked having the thicker noodle and mix of meats. Three thin slices of beef and three small shrimp. More chicken breast. Scrawny chicken. Not sure how much was home made versus bought. But, it was good. They also offer up 12 other bowls. With things like filet mignon, pork belly, oxtail, lobster tail and a Shanghai Dumpling Soup ($12 to $45). And three noodles dishes. Plus a few desserts and lots of drinks. A very good option at this price point. If you don't do lobster.
*Travel Notes - Greece: I flew through Newark to Athens on UA for $755. Booked a rt flight (and hotel) on Sky Express (right before boarding) to Paros for $107 for right after I landed. It was the cheapest island I had been researching. It was ok. Hotel Pandrossos was $50 (all these numbers are with tax) a night. Oceanside. Bus was less than $2. But, I was too tired to wait (and too anxious on the return day) and wasted $20 each time on a cab. Plus the bus took four times as long. You can take buses to most of the island. Alleys to roam. I ate charcuterie, cheese, wine, dips, etc from the markets most of the trip. I took the bus from the airport ($5.50 each way) to Athens (Syntagma Square) for one night. Took an hour. Last stop. No probs. Stayed at Pan Hotel for $103. I had been getting rates much higher than this on my landing date. Why I went to Paros first. Ate a pork and a chicken and a squid gyro at Hoocut. $3 each. This place was on the Gordon Ramsey show where he and Fred and Gino travel to places. The one on the show (pork) was the only bad one. Stale, hard pita. Squid had a bb in it. This was near the hotel and square. It was drizzily, so, I just re-saw the Acropolis and the Olympic Stadium and Hadrian's Arch and Palace, etc. Grabbed at mushroom pie/pastry at Harry's Kitchen. Then back to airport to Santorini. On Sky Express and Volota (sp?) for $108. Had a spinach pie at Gregory's at the airport. Bus from airport to Fira (main town) was $1.60. Stayed at Hotel Leta for $48 a night. One of the cheaper options. On main road. It was overcast for most of the trip. Walked around the town/crater and to Skaros rock the first day. Ate a pork souvlaki with ff at Why Not. Ate most dinners from markets. Walked 7 miles to Oia the next day (and 7 back). Had a falafel at Yogi Vegetarian Falafel with a Brazilian girl after sunset. Took bus to Black Beach at Perissa (under $2) and to Red Beach at Akrotiri (same) the next day. Had a cb at Anasykthrio (or something like that - Greek letters) snack bar on the way to Red Beach. Drank mastiha and tsikoudia. Flew back to Athens (they almost overbooked me) and onto Rhodes on Sky Express and Aegean for $145. Ate a ham and gouda croissini and a ham and cheese at Everest at the airport. And a chocolate and chestnut (on a) bagel at Koulourades. Very interesting. Bus from airport was $3 each way. Slept first night at a dump called Hotel Savoy for $33. Was where bus stopped and I got in at night. Moved to excellent Cactus Hotel (on the ocean) for $65 a night. Went to Old Town - Palace of the Grand Master, old fortified City, Street of the Knights (Rhodes was a Crusades port), location of the Colossus of Rhodes, etc. Very cool town. Went swimming in the ocean. Ate a sausage (hd) roll at Il Borgo. Next day did much of the same. Ate a tuna sandwich and sausage and tomato and cheese pie at the Eatery. Got up at dawn and back to airport to Athens and then Naxos for $136 on Sky Express. It was the cheapest flight of the remaining possibilities (and I had done some research on it). Ok island. Kite surfing, etc. Shared a cab for $5 ($15 total). Hotel was supposed to pick up for free. Stayed at Venetian Suites for $35 a night. Saw Temple of Apollo and two beaches. Walked the alleys. Back to Athens (this time I got the free transport) and into town. Stayed at Kimon Hotel for $60. Walked around acropolis. Saw oldest house in Athens. Retook some pics from the drizzly day. Bus back to airport. Salmon and cc sandwich at Gregory's.
Except for freak "storm" from northeast in the middle, weather was perfect. Water was a bit chilly. No real issues flying. Tried alot of Greek wine. Ate some cheeses called Graviera and Manouri. Some Armenian blood sausage. Time well spent. Rhodes and Santorini were much better islands.
No comments:
Post a Comment