I tried these spots on Tuesday night (got last flight in from Europe) and Saturday afternoon. There was an event of some import in between. The first is in a strip mall by the tracks and Ronald Reagan on 434. I think it was a Puerto Rican place before. The second is in a strip mall at Lake Mary Blvd and Rinehart. I also saw that that Shriraz Market had moved near Rookies at 17-92 and 434. Can you believe the GD H key on my computer broke? This is taking forever.
Daniel's Bakery - A Middle Eastern/Mediterranean menu. Small. Mostly bread/shwarma/desserts. I had a chicken shwarma for $10. Good wrap/pita. Not so stuffed. Almost no veg or spreads. Maybe pickled something? Maybe a touch of something with yougart? I think they were wrapping up for te night. The chicken spinner was off. Took a while to shave the chicken. It had a nice flavor. Nutmeg and Cumin? Not real thighs piled on top of each other. Probably a pre-fab. Seemed to be from Chicago. Unsure if they have/had a place there. Probably. They have a pizza oven too. They offered steak, chicken, falafel, eggs and zingers. Zatar. Open until 8pm. Big, open space. Little decor. They said the opened a year ago, but, refurbed three months ago. Said dishes were from all over the ME. Jordan, Lebanon, etc. I would try them again.
Colombia La Bella - Opened two weeks ago. I tried some apps because the mains were expensive and not to my liking. And I'm always apprehensive about other people's refrigerated stuff after a hurricane and I wanted to get back and watch college football for the first time in two weeks. I had a beef and a chicken empanada for $2 a piece. I had a chorizo and a morcilla (blood sausage) with arepa for $4.50 a piece. The beef in the empanada was good. Soft. Moist. Not old. Probably brisket. The chicken was moist and shredded. Both had mashed potatoes inside. Deep fried. Nice size. Came with hot hot sauce. The arepas were not what I was expecting. Just two large (probably store bought) links aside a small puffy arepa. I thougt they would be on top and cut up and covered with something. I thougt the arepa would be larger and flatter. The morcilla was better than the chorizo. Not as tough. The menu is steak and shrimp heavy. Around $20. The chicken dishes are breasts. They also serve breakfast (it said $14 after 11am). I think that was for the big platter. They had some fun stuff like a $20 fish soup and sugar cane drink with cheese. More than most places. Light gray walls. Hat decorations. "Coffee table" tables. Two rooms. To go/front/cashier on the left. Bar/main on the right. Tables far apart. Open 7 days a week. 9am-10pm most days. Less on Sunday. I'll go back. I also went to Stacked Brownies next door. Still good.
*Travel Notes - France: I was going to take the train from Paris (cheapest ticket to Europe at $595 on VA and AF) to Germany, but, the weather forecast was bad. Took RER train from CDG Terminal 2 (goes from 1 and 3 and 1 is closed down anyway) to Notre Dame station for $10. Euro is just below USD, so, I'll write in dollars. Easily purchased from a kiosk. Walked from there down the Seine to Gare du Lyon area (where trains south depart). Stayed at noisy Paris Hotel Mediteranen for $127 times two nights. Easily the cheapest I could find. I mostly ate hunks of cheese, rose, charcuterie, baguettes and packaged sandwiches most of the time, so, don't look for much restaurant advice. Walked down Seine as far as I could. Verged over to Bois de Vincennes (zoo/park/museums). I think this is the 12th arrondisement. I should say I've already seen all the big stuff. I just go where I haven't been before now. Then back. There was an old viaduct near my hotel that they turned into a "Highline". The train to Lyon had some issue on the track, so, I decided to start with Marseille and work back. Train cost $98. Bought at kiosk. Kiosk printed a bar code. Didn't need smart phone. Stayed at BW Marseille Bourse Vieux Port for $107 times two nights. Not far from station. Marseille was far less sketchy than I've been told (since birth). I should say I've never been to the proceeding cities. The port was down right nice. Lots of Arabs and North Africans (all France is like that now). A little tension. Not alot. Deeper inland is probably dangerous. Walked left side of the port to Fort St Nicolas on the hill (free) and down to the Plage des Catalans to get my first look at the island where Chateau d'If resides. Where the Count of Monte Cristo was held (and Man in the Iron Mask for five years). Came back and walked right side to the end (Muceum). Walked up to Notre Dame de la Garde (big views) the next day and through the Arts district (Vielle Charite). Took the $11 ferry to d'If. And island of Frioul. Took train (kiosk) to Arles the next day for $14. I should note that my plans changed because of train prices and availabilities in areas and weather forecasts. Would have stayed south. Arles is where most of Van Gogh's famous exploits happened. Saw those sights and their famous Roman stadium, Rhone, etc. Stayed at De Mussee for $106. Had an Esquimo (chocolate ice cream bar), Quiche Lorraine and Fig/Apple/Cassis Chaussons (slippers) at Masaki Yamamoto (seemed posh). Train to Nimes for $7. Stayed at Odaly's in front of Roman stadium (bull fighting arena) for $69. Saw cathedral, churches, Roman temple, etc. Didn't see that ticket to Lyon left from Pont du Gard station (new). Had to sort out how to get there. 30 minutes away. They have a $2 bus. Worked out. Damn kiosks that don't filter like you selected! Train cost $39. Lyon was great. Much safer and cleaner than I expected. Known as their culinary and financial city. Anthony Bourdain got me interested in it. Tried to go where he went. One was super fancy. One was out of the city. One (Comptoir Abel) I was never around during their hours. You are supposed to eat cannelles (fish balls) there. I stayed near my station (Part Dieu) at the Appart City for $102 times two nights. By far the cheapest. Walked to the island (twenty minutes) that houses the old town (where everything is). Walked past Rhone and Saone. Walked up 250 stairs and then meandering paths to Notre Dame Place de Fourviere. Then found out there is a $3 funicular. Great views. Back down to Cathedral of Lyon St Jean. Along river (past Abel) to other train station (Perrache) and then north up main drag to Opera House and Hotel de Ville and back to hotel. Next day I stayed on my side and walked up to Parc de la Tete d'Or (zoo and botanical gardens, etc) and then over river back to Hotel de Ville plaza and tried a chicken kebab (shwarma) at some place I read about on a web site (La Broche). Joe Gatto says "on the broche" means "on the arm" ie stolen in Italian. I wonder if this is the same? They put weird stuff like yam in it. Good. I continued to the funicular to see the Roman ampitheatres on the hill (left of the Cathedral). Could have walked this one more easily. And had to walk down because the funicular broke. Oh well. Took train to Strasbourg (my main goal) for $80. Could only stay one night (at Ibis Centre Gare for $90) because trains to Paris a day later were full or expensive as hell and I couldn't risk missing my flight because of this bitch called Ian that was coming to wreck my home. Oh and rain forecast. Strasbourg was (no duh) much more German. An island old town like Bruges or Amsterdam. Cute. Walked through the center. Cathedral, churches, university, the usual. Had a cheese and sauce panzerotti at Mitico. The next day (5pm train) walked around the perimeter and saw more 'hoods and the Palais Rohan (museum) and an area called Ile de France. Ate great eclairs at Donatien Maitre Eclair. He did savory ones and sweet. Had an olive and sun dried tomato with herb creme fraiche one and a pistachio with some sweet creme one. He did one with magret of duck. This is the new "cupcake" craze. If you are smart. I tried their local Alsacien specialities at Woerle (just one of many options - not particularly good). Bretzel (not pretzel!), gauffre (waffle) and Kougelhopf with chocolate. Is this what Seinfeld was talking about? Had a sample of Meule de Tarentaise at Cave d'Affinage de Riquewir. Took train ($63 - a bargain rate) de Gare de L'Est in Paris. Stayed near there at Garden Saint Martin for $131 times two nights. Cheapest by far. Bought a Petit Boyard at La Creamerie. Walked to the Marais via Rue de Temple (once an artsy area - now gentrified beyond belief) to Cirque d'Hiver and Picasso Museum and the Jewish Quarter (more of a street) and churches. Ate a bad (too thin an odd seasoning) corned beef sandwich at Janet by Homer. Walked on past the Pompidou to the Chatelet Les Halles (a stop on the RER) and up Blvd de Sevestapol to the hotel. Found an incredible canal near by. Too tired to follow it far. This is the NE part of Paris. Walked same way the next day. Had iffy dim sum stuff at Le Chinois Gourmet. An ok falafel at Falafel du Liban. $10 RER from Chatelet Les Halles to CDG. Stayed at Ibis at Terminal 3 for $116. Left out of Terminal 2.
Weather reports were shit. Often forecast rain. Barely had any. I wonder if Germany would have been doable? This was great though. Two hour weather delay iat MCO almost made me miss my connection in London. Luckily the connector was late too. Late coming back to London too. London flight was also late (part issue). All the cheese and pate and meats and stress probably weren't great for the ticker. Worth it though. Learned of these items: Ktipti (dip of red pepper, yougart, mint and feta) and Petales (potato crisps shaped like petals). And they punk Putin by spelling it Poutine.
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