Doshi, Winter Park - Closed/Moving

I tried this Korean "do over" in the strip mall at N Orlando and Lee Rd at dinner on Friday. I say "do over" because it started as an omikase Japanese concern. All the better for us, as far as I'm concerned. I found it to hit on all cylinders. An adult effort for adults in a time of kinder care experiences. And it was a relative bargain at their price points. Disregarding the 11 course tasting menu for $150, prices were reasonable. The menu is broken into three categories with one dessert. 8 Banchan Bites ($9-$24). 8 KKochi skewers ($8-$10). 7 Table Dishes ($20-$36). I believe the menu changes frequently. I tried a pork belly kkochi for $12. Six cut pieces of Kurobuta pork off two skewers. A little on the rare side. Could have used a bit more char. Maybe they should kiss it with a blowtorch. I also tried the Godeungeo Jorim for $22 because it was the weirdest thing and I think I've only had it once before. That's a mackerel (four or five hunks) stew. In a red broth with lots of vegetables (barely cooked). And rice. Very filling. They also throw in three banchan. Spicy cauliflower. Sweet boiled peanuts. Pine nut stuffed shishito peppers. All firsts and great. They serve seafood, pork, chicken, beef/waygu and vegetables. Nice plating with nice nice tableware. The room is small. 22 seats. Lots of space between tables. Large open kitchen with six seats in front for the tasting menu. Earth toned. Modern Asian. There is a bar to the right. Service is beyond attentive. Maybe one person for every six people. They aren't dedicated to any one area. Dressed in black uniforms. They engaged. Sincerely. I came in unannounced (with no letters of introduction) and they somehow didn't tell me to hit the bricks. They squeezed me into an available table (tardy party) when they could have easily been difficult. Lucky for both of us that we got me out of there without the party of the first part (or is it the second part?) not having to wait very long. The place was packed. A very diverse clientele. Not much of a dress code. Not snobby. The wine list (and sake and soju and beer) was interesting. I'm truly glad I finally made the move to try this. They are only open for dinner. I forget if they take any days off. Take note. This is how you go about "fancying up" non-traditionally fancy cuisine. I believe they opened in the Fall.

Grub/Pub Crawl - Lake Ivanhoe Area: Token Ramen and Band Box (Closed)

I tried these spots at dinner on Friday. I'll have another (on its own because it was good) review from Friday in a few days. The first is in that shopping complex (with a Whole Foods?) at Mills and Virginia. The second is near White Wolf Cafe. I only ended up here because the Juju wait was too long and I couldn't find Kaya. 

Token Ramen - I wonder if they are run by the same people who do Kung Fu Tea because the receipt calls them out and they serve it there as well. Open for two weeks. Less "sit down" than I expected. More fast casual. You order at a counter. They bring it to you. I veered away from the ramen because I saw the lunch discount and I wanted a less rudimentary ramen after seeing a show about it the night before. I tried the harumaki (spring rolls) for $4.50 and gyoza (3) soup for $4.50. To go. The spring rolls (3) are probably store bought. The inside seemed a tad underdone. Exterior was crispy and not oily. I left the soup in the car for a few hours, so, the gyoza were mushy. I'm blaming myself, but, who knows. The soup was supposed to be a clear soup. Seemed like beef consume to me. Not great. They sell 9 ramens for $15 - $17. Lunch is $10. BTW- "men" means noodles. They sell: 17 apps, 5 fried rice, 2 katsu, 5 yakisoba (noodles), 11 hibachis, and drinks. The place is modern Japanese. No color. Booths, tables and an unused bar. The dishes I saw while waiting looked ok. Not too busy. Here are some ramen notes from a show called Lucky Chow. Noodles can be named for their width (ie 30s mean 30 noodles per 30mm noodle sheet). The first (from China) ramen was shoyu. Soy broth. Only royalty knew of it for centuries. Tokyo. The next type was tonkatsu. In the south. Pork broth. The next (1950 AD) was miso from the north (Sapporo). Wok fried. Then tsuke. Fish (ie bonito flakes). And lastly, maseman. No broth. Thicker noodle. Butter. No broth. This was for laymen. Tare is liquid seasoning. Mame are the toppings. Broth can overcook the noodles. I may have confused some of this. Fact check me.

Band Box - It's about that big. Unless they lied to me about hidden rooms, it seemed to be one small room with two tables. Almost too small to turn a profit. I was going to get a non-alcoholic drink to go (they do this), but, they said it cost as much as an alcoholic one. I could not abide. I never knew hard alcohol came in non-alcoholic form. But, they sell that too. In bottles. The drinks aren't that expensive. The flyer says $10. They have canned cocktails for $7 and $4.50. Ohh, it's meant to be a speakeasy. What there is of it seemed in character. They have a velvet rope. The staff were also in character. Like sad neo-Steam Punks. They trade in mixology. Parking is hard now. The once free lot across the street now is a pay lot. This is why I didn't stay. Open for six months. Nights only.

*I also saw that Moderne (and the ice cream place) on 50 near Mills also opened. Looked cool. Packed. Inadequate parking.

Grub Crawl - Winter Garden: Sweet Dee's Cupcakery, Nosh, Orange Crate Cafe, Mangoni and Dolly Llama *UT/NV Travel Notes

I tried these spots on Thursday at lunch. The first is on Main St. A block in. The second is in the Plant Street Market. The third is right outside it. The fourth is back towards the fountains (and Hangry Bison). The last is in the Winter Garden Village shopping center off 429/Stoneybrook.

Sweet Dee's Cupcakery - On that Edible list. I had been waiting for a Thursday to come here and they go and solve their staffing issues and are only closed on Sunday and Monday now. They sell cupcakes. I grabbed a Wedding Cake for $3.75. Good. Small. Yellow cake. Moist. Sweet. Too much vanilla icing. 

Nosh - They sell $10+ bags of popcorn. I just grabbed a sample of chocolate chip. Caramel corn with a chip beside it. I think they used to have another name. I decided to stop ignoring it. The sample angle helped with that. I was there to try a new oyster place that turned out to be called Oysters by Bruno (Pizza Bruno?) at Barrel Room. It is only open after 5pm (except on WE). Front street side of market. I also noticed that the fancy sushi kiosk (Jodo) is now a Bento Sushi and Norigami Sushi is across from it. OK pricing. Everything else is the same.

Orange Crate Cafe - Was a chicken place before this. Open seven months. A lucky find. I guess you would call it Southern inspired. I went with the shrimp po bay over the catfish. It cost $10. Very good roll. Crunchy. Not stale. They said it was just basic stuff from Cisco distributing. Big, non-chemical tasting shrimp (7). Corn meal breading. That did fall off a bit too easily. Turn up the frying oil. Decently fresh lettuce and tomato. Hot sauce (probably Texas Pete's). Catfish is probably done correctly too. Did you know that the phrase "there is more than one way to skin a cat" was originally about catfish? I guess many people had many ideas of the best way to skin this hard to skin fish. They also offer things like soup and half sandwich, tuna, chicken salad with cranberries, cheesesteaks, fried green tomatoes, tenders, fried pickles, salads, wraps, fish tacos, baked salmon, fried chicken, pork chops, etc. And $1.50 scoops of Blue bell ice cream. Quick and friendly service. Wrap around patio.

Mangoni - They offer pizza, focaccia tartines and salads. A charcuturie board, booze, coffee and some apps too. I had a pepperoni pizza for $13.50 (same price as the cheese). Small. Plate size. But good. They claim to use Italian gourmet flour (0?), olive oil, sea salt, yeast and non-acid or nitrate tainted tomatoes from Italy. Cooked in a spinning wood oven heated to 500 degrees by Florida oak. The pie was good. Thin. Some crust. Mozz was a little bland. Almost tasted like a blend. Pepperoni was good. Sauce was good. Not alot. I liked it. The place looks nice. Marble bar with an antique finished mirror. Rectangular floor plan. You order at one end and then move towards the bar. A few tables. More outside on the wrap around patio. Cute design. Black. They display items in the oven area. Hot honey, cheese, cured Italian meats, etc. The quartered logs are stacked aside the pizza oven. Open for a year. I liked it alot.

Dolly LLama - Let's get this straight. I only went here because I was near and it is a California chain and I love the name (though I don't get what it has to do with the food). They sell Belgian (Liege) and bubble waffles and ice cream. Did you know that the sundae became a thing because you couldn't sell soda water on Sunday (religious nuts). Soda jerks used the soda syrup on ice cream instead. They just were bad spellers too. I grabbed the cheapest waffle. A $6 maple syrup and Speculoos (they said it is a cookie) crumbs. It was fine. I ate it withh two nuked hot dogs for dinner. Other waffles are $10. Square foot print. Some seating. In the middle on the right of the center. Open for two weeks. I took 439 (Maguire) from 50 to Windermere Rd (rt) and left onto Stoneybrook to escape paying the 429 toll. You return by crossing the 429 and making a left onto Stoneybrook. It is aside the toll entrance on the right. Don't get scared. 

*Travel Notes - Utah and Nevada: I flew into Las Vegas on Frontier for $128. 9:30am and 8am NS flights. Usually night flights are the cheaper ones. Checking in was a nightmare. They charged me $25 for a boarding pass. But, I think I know how to beat their new rules (photograph the digital boarding pass) without using their app. They actually let you complete the online check in process now. Instead of taking you to the end and telling you your level of ticket requires in airport check in. And Mayor Booty's FAA computers definetly weren't hacked even though bit coin (their choice of renumeration) has been skyrocketing since this happened and other countries have been violated too. That delayed me a few hours. I rented a car from Hertz for the week at $364. They gave me a ripped up tire with a patch beneath that I had to replace. That is going to be fun fighting them on that. I stayed at the Cromwell (trying to do every hotel in Vegas) for $51. They comped the $52 resort fee after I couldn't use the wifi for some reason. Self Parking was $18. I finally found (next to Blue Ribbon Sushi on the third floor) the "secret" pizzeria at The Cosmopolitan. Had two slices for $15 with tax and tip. Grabbed a corn flake and chocolate chip and marshmellow cookie at Milk Bar on the second floor. Found out that Giada at the Cromwell does a much cheaper brunch on the weekends. Ate crappy chicken tenders at Haute Doggery in between Flamingo and Cromwell. Found a locals place behind the Cromwell called Battista's. Too tired to try it. Had breakfast at Maxie's (in between Flamingo and Cromwell). Eggs benedict box (spinach/bacon/tomates in a hollowed out loaf of bread). $23 with tax and tip. Drove to Utah. Stayed at good Cedar Breaks Lodge at Brian Head for $103. Skied the next day at Brian Head for $95 (was $60 online a week before). Ski package at Brian Head Sports for $33. Stayed in Cedar City at Abbey Inn for $107. Had a hb and a cb at Hermie's Drive In. Drank a flight at Policy Kings Brewery. Grabbed some suprisingly fresh tuna sushi at Lin's Market. Topped that off with some beef taquitos with guac at Rita's Taco Shop. Bailed on skiing in Utah because of snow storms. Went back to Vegas through 56W to Cathedral Gorge SP in Panaca NV. Stayed at a dump near Sam's Town called Arizona Charlie's Boulder for $111 incl RF and parking because hotels in Vegas were ridiculously high. Went to Laughlin because of this. Stayed at Aquarious Casino (was a Hilton) for $75 incl RF and free parking. Went back to Vegas. Stayed at the Palms for $113 incl RF and free parking. Ate at Osaka Sushi (on 3D) on W. Sahara. Expensive ($37 for four items - blue fin, salmon belly, hokkigai (terrible) and scallop) and not great. Supplemented this with a $11 chicken sandwich for Half Bird on Spring Mountain Rd. Ate dinner at Chickpea's on W. Flamingo and Jones. It was just on 3D the night before. Said he came just two months ago. Ok lamb kabob and rice and salad for $21. Stayed the next night at a dump because I was leaving early the next morning and the hotels I wanted were expensive. Silver Sevens for $65 incl RF and free parking. Saw how they barely renovated the Hard Rock to Virgin. Ate AYCE sushi at Jjanga Sushi on Flamingo. Too many to list. Was on Food Paradise. Not very good. Had dinner at Lotus of Siam. On Best Thing I ever Ate with Ming Tsai. He (and I) had Man Prik Ong. Basically ground pork meat sauce with steamed vegetables for $20 with tax and tip. Not sure why he chose this. Curse him! But, the lady has a James Beard award and the menu looked great. Maybe the best Thai one I've seen. Even including Thailand. This (and Jjanga) is also near the Silver Sevens hotel on Flamingo. I also drove through some areas where the old, rich Vegas used to be. Not anymore. Paradise Palms on E Desert Inn. Scotch 80's and Rancho Bel Air on Rancho Dr off Charleston. I went to the free Pinball Hall of Fame (really just an arcade) near the Mandalay Bay. Was going to ski Lee Canyon on Mt Charleston north of Vegas. But, needed chains because of snow. Plus they are too expensive for what they are and even charge for parking and the damn lift ticket card. Saw on tv news from some food convention in town: glitter maple syrup, pickle juice cotton candy and vodka made out of whey. If there is a meal missing, it was supermarket, McD, In and Out or Del Taco.

**This may be the last Travel Notes and maybe review on Blogger. Twitter said they were going to 4000 characters soon. I'll post the account names again when I go. Nothing posted yet. One is @orlandoertravel and the other is @orlandoer8. Now those who hate the travel notes can be freed. Can you believe there were dudes named Orlando Er....who stole my handle. Went with 8 because sounds like "ate". Forgot my psuedonym is Henrry the Ninth.

Grub Crawl - UCF Area and Oviedo: Bacon Bitch, Sushi B and Kung Fu Dumpling

I tried these spots around UCF on Wednesday at dinner. The first two are in front of the strip mall (with shitty access and currently with ripped up roads) on the southeast corner of University and Alafaya Trail near the entrance to UCF. The last is down Alafaya in Oviedo on the outside of a shopping area. I think the intersection is Red Bug Lake. I was going to do Jollibee. However, they did not open (as The Weekly advised) a week ago. That night was their grand opening and every Filipino and their mother was on line. Also, had wrong address for Cruncheese.

Bacon Bitch - Hip Hop Hooters. It reminded me that I haven't been to a strip club in a while. Easy to believe this is another underwhelming Miami import that will probably flounder. I grabbed the only non-breakfast item. A CB with bacon bits and FF for $18 ($24 with tax and tip). Not terrible. Hotel room service quality. Medium rare was medium well. Wide, thinner patty. The veg were limp. Bibb lettuce was something else. Cloying bbq sauce. FF were underfried. The menu has things like pancakes and waffles and eggs. They try and funkify them to charge you more. Smallish selection. Not memorable. Stupid/reductive ...bitch placards on the wall. Sooo empowering. They sell booze. It has twenty booths and four high tops and six regular tables. And a bar. Three sections. Low ceilings. White and black color scheme. They blast club music like it is a club. Breakfast with ear splitting mumble rap. This has become the bizarro world. Open for two months. Hours are 8am to 6pm. It was 100% empty at 5pm. 

Sushi B Hibachi and Grill - Across the parking lot from BB. Same owners. New (two years) casual style. They even have a drive up window. I only went because I was already there and I think I've ignored it forever. Just grabbed a salmon and cc roll for $5 (happy hour price). It was acceptable. Rice was done right. Thin, nori wrapped slices. Scant salmon. 8 pieces. They have a wide selectin Things like: ramen, poke, special rolls, nigiri, bento and many apps. Ok pricing. You order at a counter. They serve it. Looks like an old fast food location. Some attempt at interior design. Probably conducive to college tastes and budgets. 

Kung Fu Dumpling - Was someplace called Hong Kong something before. I think. Turned out to be the winner and a lucky find. They have the aforementioned dumplings. I had the crystal shrimp ones because they came out faster than the soup ones. They (4) cost $6. They were good. Possibly not store bought. Big pieces of shrimp. Not paste. Good pricing. Even the soup dumpling were the same price. They are usually more dear. They have a flight of dumplings. However, it is not just dumplings. A big semi-fusion selection that doesn't seem to devolve into con-fusion. The wife is from Singapore.  I think they said the husband is Chinese. The menu reminded my of what you see in Singapore. A blend. Things like Hainen chicken, Guangzhou fried rice, Singapore noodles, Schezuan dumplings, etc. I really have to go back for a full meal. The people I spoke with loved their experiences. Were returning customers. The place is tiny and grubby. Five tables. One waiter. Fair pricing. Open for two months. They had a place (China Garden?) in Winter Park (the part near Oviedo) before this. Can't remember if I reviewed that. 

Grub Crawl - North OBT and West Orlando: Nick's Family Diner, P & D Soul Food Kitchen and Mr Sub Shop

I tried these places on Tuesday at lunch. The first is north of Lee Rd on OBT (441). About a quarter mile. The last two are in a newish building off W. Gore St at S. Goldwyn Ave. Southwest of the Citrus Bowl. Past John Young. I'm not sure which exit off I-4 you will have to use. I used Gore to get back on it. I came down on OBT because I was already on it. The first two were on that Edible list. The last was something I ran into while there. If you knew how crampy and gassy my insides have been (and how much ass pissing has transpired) since X-mas, you would be very thankful for these musings. I only bring that up to warn you. Today is the first time there seems to be improvement. I ate almost everything on this post with minimal after effects. I usually catch things before most of America. Maybe this is/was the latest Covid strain? No cough or lung trouble though. If not, be prepared for some kind of stomach flu to strike down upon America with great vengeance and furious anger this winter.

Nick's Family Diner - I believe the menu said they opened in 2010. I only grabbed a bagel with cc to go because of the prices. It cost $3. A terrible bagel that they couldn't be bothered to spread the cc on. They just tossed in two tiny containers of some no name cc. With regards to the pricing, I missed that things mostly come with a side. IE egg and cheese sandwich is $8 (hfries, hbrowns or grits), CB is $12 (side and soup), club sandwich (side and soup) was $14, Cuban $12, ham and cheese $10, chef salad $14. I guess that's not outrageous any more. Two eggs with meat and a side is $10. They had a big menu. Some old stuff like liver and onions ($15). Specials. Looks like and old, brown cafe/house. Square layout. Closed on Monday. 8am - 2:30pm. They have a to go window in front. They charge 4% for credit cards. May deserve a second look if I'm ever near there again.

P&D Soul Food Kitchen - No dine in. Small foot print. 11am - 7pm. No Monday. They were pushing the "buffet", so, I'm not sure if they were making the other things on the menu. Mostly fried things. They wrote that that takes 10 or 20 minutes for those. I settled on the cheapest value. The daily special for $7. I chose the quarter baked dark meat chicken with rice and a side and corn bread because it looked safe and was ready to go. Still worried about the tum tum you know. You had a choice of around six vegetables, one other rice and meatloaf and bbq chicken. The chicken was small but tender and tasty. The rice (yellow) was plentiful and tasty. A bit over cooked. They drizzled the juice the chicken was resting in on top of it. I chose rutabaga for the vegetable. Tender. Cooked in vinegar. Good. Not something you see often. Other things waiting in the serving receptacle were: oxtail ($18 for a small), cubed steak ($13), short ribs ($16), etc. They also had things like pigs feet. It was better than I expected. The neighborhood is a little (a little) rough. A few police cars parked on different streets with flashing lights on. Like they do at a ball game. Except - no ball game. Their building and parking area seemed safe. I think you'll return in one piece. They could be just good enough to make you risk it. They took credit cards. They said they had been here for nine years. I believe two years elsewhere before that. 

Mr Sub Shop - On the north corner of the building. They said they took over six months ago. Not sure how long it was in business before that. The owner (or employee) seemed Haitian. I grabbed a fried chicken sandwich to go (because it seemed like the hardest thing to fuck up) for $6. It was better than I expected. Which was not much. A frozen, packaged, hockey puck of chicken. Actually better than most of the non-premium fried chicken sandwich pucks that you get at most fast food places now. I can't guess the brand. The bun was ok. Not stale. The veg (o,l,t) ok. She seemed to be picking through the containers for the freshest ones. Some mayo. They also sold fried rice, egg rolls, sandwiches, burgers, ff, etc. Small foot print. Maybe three tables of two. Not a destination spot.

2022 Favorites List and Travel Notes Index

You can see that 2022 was another step towards snack food nation. Few high end success stories. Most are priced up comfort food places. Off the list were another host of taco, pizza, ramen, hot beverage, tiny sweets, chicken sandwich, empanada, mac and cheese and Impossible burger/vegan reductivity. Alot of sequaciousness. That's a word I learned from George Gissing this year. I guess we are at the stage in art where we start deconstructing and commenting upon it. At least we aren't behind the fashion. Though we be but poor Florida Men (that's gender neutral) to big city wannabes like Seth Myers. 

$$$$ - YH Seafood Clubhouse, Ava

$$$ - The Garlic (New Smyrna Beach), The Pinery, Irish 31

$$ - Alestone Brewing, Alebrije Mexican Grill, Kang's Kitchen, Deadwords Brewing, So Dough, Frenchy's Wood Fired Pizza, Ten Ten Seafood and Grill, Coyoacan Cucina, Queso Loco, Colombia La Bella, Twenty Pho Hours, Seana's Caribbean, Isan Zaap, Kura, Hen and Hog

$ - Stackd Brownies, Tous les Jours, Jeff's Bagel Run, Daniel's Cheesesteak House (Winter Garden), Parlour Ice Cream, Argentinian Bakery Cafe

Travel Notes Index 

January 20 - LV

January 24 - UT

February 14 - FL/AL/MS/LA

February 18 - SC/NC

March 3 - FL

March 14 - GA/TN/AL

March 31 - OR/WA

April 11 - FL GC and Keys

April 30 - CO

May 16 - NY/CT/RI

May 30 - VA/MD/DE/NJ

June 3 - NY/PA

June 7 - SC

June 21 - VT/NH/ME/NY

July 1 - TX

July 9 - LA/MS/AL/FL

August 11 - Dublin

August 18 - Northern Ireland

August 23 - England

August 30 - CA

September 8 - AL/GA

October 3 - France

October 29 - Greece

November 27 - Spain

December 8 - FL Keys

December 26 - SC/GA

Grub Crawl - College Park, Baldwin Park and Winter Springs: New Moon Market, Cafe 906 and Argentinian Bakery

I tried these places on Friday afternoon. They are a collection of outliers that I've had on the list for a while. I went after failing to achieve my primary objectives. The first is College Park just right of Princeton. The second is near the lake on New Broad St. The third is in a renovated strip mall on 434 in between Winter Springs and 17-92.

New Moon Market - Everything I hate. Dippy food and health nonsense at grossly inflated prices. Only went because of that Edible list. Thought I had gone before. Probably just walked out last time. A grabbed the cheapest thing. A $5 tiny cookie. Blueberry. They also sell sandwiches (mid teens), salads, pressed juices ($9), hot drinks ($6 and up) and smoothies ($12). They have been their a while. Small place. A few seats. One employee. Closes at 2pm.

Cafe 906 - Always closed when I tried them before. Also on that Edible list. Looked like they serve a fair French fare. Pastries, sandwiches and crepes mostly. Fair prices. Sweet crepes were $6. Savory a touch more. Sandwiches were only $9. I remember something about their macaroons (their spelling). They didn't look that impressive. I grabbed an apple croissant for $3.50. Seating inside and out. Not fancy. Decent sized crowd.

Argentinian Bakery - Saw them driving by a few months ago. They are never open when I'm around there though. Only Th-Sn. 9am to 3pm on Th and til 5pm on the other days. This was a Puerto Rican place last time. Now a pretty substantial bakery with a side dining area. I grabbed a chicken empanada for $3.50. Very big and stuffed. Light and rich crust. Seems like only onion in there as well. A little bland. It is Argentina after all. They are less "expressive" don't you know. Also had three others. Lots of sweets. Sandwiches. Milanesa (breaded chicken or beef). And other things. The even have a coffee called a Submarino that has milk and a chocolate bar in it. Left side has display case in front of kitchen. You can see the things being made. Right side had about five tables. TV with Argentinian sports/news on. Cafe look. Seemed popular with people who seemed Argentinian. It's not like we have a lot of resources for this cuisine. Said bakery opened 2 years ago. Cafe just 2 months ago. This strip mall is getting better clients. It has an E Bike shop and a craft beer retailer now. Oh hell, I'll put them on the Favorites List prematurely for diversity's sake.

*Drove by Edoboy. Sign in window said no walk ups anymore. So, I guess you'll have to go elsewhere to hear about it. I was barely in to begin with. And I think I saw a new Italian place in CP. Turci Pasta or something. And a untried restaurant on Broad in BP. Blue Jackets? Four Guys Pho in Casselberry changed to Never Phoget or  something.

Grub Crawl - Disney Area and Winter Park: Kura Sushi, Hen & Hog, Bagel Shop and New General Cafe

I tried this revolving sushi bar in a new strip mall behind the outlets near Disney on Thursday at lunch. It is a good one. Made me feel like Decker in Blade Runner. You cross over I-4 at Disney Springs exit to Vineland (first left). Suffer through the traffic snarl caused by one lane infrastructure. Geniuses! It eases up after the outlets. Turn left at the first light (Regency Village Dr). Look for the strip mall on the right. It's in the back at the road where there should be an exit off I-4 so you wouldn't have to do this. 

Kura Sushi - You check in on a machine. You choose a table (45) or counter (30). There is a screen that you interact with after that. Order ala carte items ($6-$15) from the kitchen. Order or pay the bill. It even counts your plates. You send them through a slit in front of you. All items are $3.50. This is good and bad. Most places assign a color to the value of the item. This can force you to take the cheap crap. Here you don't have to worry, but, as a result almost everything is reduced in volume or of questionable quality. I might prefer the hierarchical approach. I tried tuna twice (the second cuts were larger), sockeye salmon, conch and scallop. Only the scallop was fresh. Tough, dry salmon. Bland, pale tuna. Tiny and chewy conch. The rice was acceptable. The seafood wasn't knifed well. Nor were they formed well. A music playing robot brought me my drink. There is also a conveyor belt above you that zips plates from the kitchen past your head. And plastic containers with prizes. I believe you had to down fifteen plates to get one. They promoted alot of items on the conveyor belt that never made an appearance. Otherwise, expect the usual items (plus desserts and salads). Rolls were limited to three or four pieces. They had things like takoyaki and ramen. The soy sauce was in some kind of press and squirt bottle. The wasabi had be asked for. Ginger was there. Chop sticks. Everything was arcade like. It was pretty crowded. The kids (especially) seemed to be amazed. It's still a novelty. They do a good job on the aesthetic/entertainment side. Plus the value. It would be wonderful if they could improve on the quality and execution. Even so, I'll put it on the Favorites list. It's a rare place that can still bring out the child (or Blade Runner) in this old Lesbian (I think I might randomly insert Impractical Joker lines from now on). Open for six month. I believe.

The first two are near Rollins on Fairbanks near Park Ave. The last is aside the parking lot behind Ava (New England Ave).

Hen & Hog - Basically a new Mason Jar. Larger menu. In the old Manzano's Deli location. Rectangular room. Fairly large. Very open. Order at the counter. I tried a PB&J Burger for $14. That's pimento, bacon and jalapenos. On a brioche roll. With shoestring ff. Good burger. Wider than thick. Good temp and grind on the patty. Bacon was more like smoked ham. Soft. Not fatty. Generous. Spicy pimento. I took off the jalapeno's. My tum tum is just recovering. Couldn't chance it. Probably would have been overkill anyway. The box steamed the ff before I unpacked them at home. Were probably crisp at one time. They also offer things like sandwiches, ribs, fried chicken, steak (?), etc. From snacks to full meals. I think they continued their weekly pasta night. Open for lunch and dinner. No Monday. Owner still heavily involved. Will squeeze into the Favorites. 

Bagel Shop - I grabbed a plain bagel with cc for $4. A little undercooked. If they toasted (as requested), it didn't help. CC was generously (and properly) piled on. Not sure what type. Might have been whipped. This is a Boston area chain. They also also sold breakfast bagels (ie egg) and sandwich bagels. $6-$12. No prices are listed. I think they said something about making the bagel with spread yourself costing $2. Looks similar to the place (Kava?) they replaced. Order at counter. A few seats. They said they have been open for five months. Closes at 3p.

New General Cafe - I thought it was just pricy drinks for brats. They have those too, but, the food options were more extensive and looked appealing/professional. For breakfast they have pancakes, crepes, burritos, frittatas, sandwiches, warm cereals from $12 to $16. Lunch of bowls, salads, crepes, panini, wraps from $14-$16. Counter or sit down. Inside or out. It's usually packed. Open for a long time. I grabbed a $4 blueberry muffin because it was the best value and an excuse to write them up finally. It was very good. Fresh. Probably not made there. Closes at 2 or 3p.