I tried this restaurant in the Celeste Hotel Friday at lunch. It is on Alafaya Trail in between the front entrance and the theater entrance. They have valet parking, but, you can self park. Get a pass for the window. I think they said they have been open for a year. Light gray walls. Plates with primitive symbols on the wall. Maple tables. Purple-ish and lavender seats. Cloth napkins. The hostess desk was mostly unmanned. There for a short time when no one was present. Not there when they were. I had to chase down employees to get a table. I think they rotate the lobby and bar hotel staff. Only two on the wait staff. Rectangular floor plan. One big private room on the right side. Some two seater booth aside it. The rest are four seaters against the window. The menu was a bit dull and overpriced. I had a grilled chicken sandwich with bibb lettuce, tomato and avocado. The chicken was ok. A tad dry. Good bun. Fresh veg. Like a Chick Fil-a sandwich. However this cost $16. Came with ok fries. It was the cheapest thing. I recall a burger, two salads, an app with burrata and a sliced filet sandwich with goat cheese. I expected it to be a bit more engaging. Just the usual hotel restaurant fare. Service was good. It was mostly empty except for the private room.
*Travel Notes - Alabama/Indiana/Ohio/West Virginia/Virginia/North Carolina/South Carolina/Florida: I rented a car from Budget for two weeks. $507 with tax. This trip was just a filler to avoid flying. I was going to go to Texas. But, it was too hot. Many, if not most of the things, I wanted to do did not get done. Mostly because things were closed on the days I was driving through them or teams were elsewhere. I drove the first day through Atlanta to 20 to Oxford Alabama. I was trying to get past Atlanta without traffic. And I had never driven that stretch of highway. I stayed at a Sleep Inn for $109 (rack rate). Watched the Wimbledon final. I then drove to Birmingham for lunch at Niki's West on 378 (on Bizarre Foods). It sucked. Overpriced cafeteria slop. I then drove north through Tennessee and Kentucky. Forgot about Fort Knox. Some distilleries were too far off the highway. I was intending to hit Memphis and St Louis, but, things wouldn't have been open and weather reports were bad. Diverted route northward. Got stuck in traffic for hours north of Nashville (downed cable). Had to sleep in Seymour Indiana because most hotels in between had jacked up prices or were booked due to kids' baseball tournaments and a Beyonce concert in Louisville. Found a Quality Inn for $106. I bypassed Hamilton Indiana because destinations (breweries) didn't open until 4pm and some had shuttered. Went through Cincinnati. Ate at White Castle (burgers) and Skyline Chili (coneys) in Sharonville. On through Columbus via 70. To Cambridge Ohio because I have this 2015 copy of Food Traveler (with Adam Richman on the cover) sitting on top of my toilet and they put an ad in there that I have been re-reading for eight years. It's on the SE border. It sucked. Like a more neglected Scranton PA. None of charm promised in the ad. I stayed at a Microtel for $85. Had a bad brownie and Swedish tea pastry at Kennedy's Bakery. Good blackberry pie at Theo's. Horrible (probably packaged and nuked) sopapilla at Mr Lee's. Beer from McKenna's Market. The next day bought ok peanut butter cup and chocolate covered graham crackers and chocolate covered rice crispy treat at Nothing But Chocolate. All these were in the ad. Drove south an exit to Lake Seneca. Had ok fried cod with mac and a baked potato at Dockside in Senecaville. Drove some backroads to see the northern edge of the lake. Through Wheeling West Virginia on 470 to 250S. I wanted a new route. Back on 79 to 19S. Stayed the night at a SureStay in Summerville WV for $101. Went white water rafting from 2pm to 5pm on the New River with ACE Adventure in Oak Hill WV (like 20 miles south) for $132. By far the highlight of the trip. Had a chicken salad biscuit and a blt biscuit at a chain called Tudor's Biscuit World. Kept seeing their stores. Drove over to Charlottesville Virginia via 64E through Staunton. That was a longer drive than I thought. Slept two nights at a noisy Super 8 on 29 just north of 250 loop for $98 a night. This area is gentrifying. Waited a half hour for a shitty chicken burrito at Torchy's. And they put it in a bowl. Not a tortilla. Tried wineries in the NE and NW quadrants over the next two days. Sampled wine from these: Barboursville Vineyards, The Barn at 678, Reynard Florence Vineyards, Stinson Vineyards, Grace Estate Winery, Glass House Winery and Hark Vineyards. Visited but rejected (mostly over pricing): Merrie Mill Farm & Vineyard, Keswick Vineyards, Horton Cellars, Well Hung Vineyard and Knight's Gambit Vineyard. Some of these idiots wanted $25+ for a flight (4). $17 for a glass. Most of the places I went were under half that. Good quality. Especially the reds. I ate a late lunch the first day at the Blue Ridge Cafe on 33 and 29 because I kept missing the places I wanted to eat at and ended up here by chance. Had liver and onions and mp and a baked potato. The red wine was talking. Got a pulled pork sandwich at BBQ Exchange in Gordonsville because I passed by it. The next day I ate a good pizza from the Crustworthy food truck at Hark Vineyards. I should say that I lucked out on the wineries I went to. Didn't review any of them before hand. Nice people and locations too. Beautiful drives through the country. This has to be the most livable city in America. Stayed night three at a Red Roof Inn closer to 250 loop for $98 because I extended the stay and didn't love the Super 8. Drove 64E through Richmond to 295 to 95. Had a spicy fried chicken biscuit with honey at Biscuitville in Roanoke Rapids NC. Stayed the night at a Comfort Inn in Lumberton North Carolina for $93 because I overestimated the time (and traffic) to Charleston. Ate good fried chicken at Smithfield's Chicken 'N Bar-B-Q. Drove 95S to 26S to Charleston South Carolina. Ate fancy hard boiled eggs and pickled shrimp on toast at Baba's on Meeting (HSR). The following restaurants were either from How She Rolls on PBS or a Travel and Leisure article. HSR and TL from now on. Had beer at Baker & Brewer. Met the beer guy there and he told me to go to their other brewery (Holy City) in North Charleston. It is in an area near the Naval Yards called Park Circle. A new hip area. I did after some fried chicken to go from Leon's (HSR). Then over Rittenberg Blvd to Frothy Beard Brewing (TL). Then on to 17 to West Ashley and a Sleep Inn. Stayed there for two nights at $112 a night. Dinner of bad chili cheese fries and pulled pork at Hugh Baby's. It was new. Hockey puck burger the next day at Little Jack's Tavern (HSR). Near Leon's. King and Race. Back to Park Circle to Wind & Waves Brewing. Coneys at Park Circle Coney Island and fried cod at the Codfather. Both surprisingly good and cheap. Visited the Naval Yards. The place that houses this old sub (Hunley) was closed. Went to Riverfront Park. Cute area with nice houses. Back to Spruill St (that Meeting St turns into) to Firefly Distillery. Willie Nelson is playing there in late October. Did a tasting for $13. Over to Coast Brewing Company. They weren't open, but, this guy inside just gave me a four pack for free. Over to Common House Ale Works. I should say that some of these places are really visually impressive. Back to West Ashley. Bento with enormous portion (like 4x) of teriyaki chicken at Konnichiwa. Maybe because I scolded them for $12 two piece nigiri that I still think must be a typo. Breakfast of chicken salad from East Bay Deli. On to Vilano Beach Florida. That brewer told me about it. It is north of St Augustine Beach channel. More pristine. I'm glad I learned of it. Will go there from now on. You take 16 off 95. You can see the fort and downtown from the channel side of the beach. I stayed at the too dog friendly Magic Beach Motel for $110 a night. There are new hotels (ie Hampton Inn, Hyatt Place, BW) there too. My hotel was almost on the beach. They have a Publix too. A few restaurants. Beach road connects to South Ponta Vedra in the north. Bought some rum the first night and drank rum and coke on the lifeguard stand at dusk. Had iffy sauteed mahi and wild rice (awful pairing) and ok veg at The Reef the next day. Good ahi tacos with bean and chick pea salad and cole slaw at grubby looking 180 Vilano Grill for dinner. It rained that afternoon/night. I guess it was an ok trip. More booze and food and less sights and adventures than I would have liked. But, the next trip should make up for it. Where could it be? They gave me a new SUV instead of a gas friendly compact, so, I tried to compensate with low priced hotels. Gas is actually more expensive here then anywhere I traveled to. The weather also effected where I ended up. Dodging heat, hail and tornados. Thankfully, the car had satelitte radio. How conflicted am I that I like to listen to Larry the Cable Guy's talk show and Tom Popa and Fortune Feemster's too?
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