I tried these places on Thursday at lunch. The first replaced Brick & Spoon on the south corner of that condo on S Orlando across from Copper Rocket. The second is a bit north in the south corner of a strip mall that has a Lazy Days in front. The last is on the way to I-4 on Maitland Blvd (414). On the west corner of a new strip mall in a new development called Trelago.
Lim Ros - An upscale Thai offering. Open for a month or less? Unclear on the meaning. The semi-fluent waitress said it had something to do with eating. Like flavor or taste. Unsure on what region the draw from. I had the $15 lunch special. You can choose from about seven things. They include a soup and spring roll and white rice with all seven. I chose the Panang Curry with chicken and Chinese Eggplant. It was good. Not great. The soup was the best. They call it a seaweed soup. Clear broth like you used to (maybe still do) get as the "other" soup at a hibachi place. Tofu. Really clean and tasty. Cool metal spoon. The spring roll was a bit bland. Veg filling. Seemed pre-fried. Needed a dipping sauce or something. Maybe I should have dipped it into the curry. The curry was good. I had it hot. Not too hot. Jalapeno hot. There with slivers of green and red chilis. Panang is usually too sweet for me. This was more refined. The chicken was the usual. A decent amount for a lunch special. Maybe ten pieces. The tiny eggplant was cut into quarters. Basil. The rice was dry. No way around that. I wish I had this dish to go so I could repurpose all the left over curry. Served in three different color ceramic bowls/plate. Some garnish. It came out quick. The menu is a bit pricier than the "bistro/trattoria" level Thai places. They do offer some competitive offramps though (under $20). Some differentiated dishes. 3 noodle soups, 3 fried rices, Pad Ga Prow, 2 noodles and 2 curries from $18-$22. 6 apps from $8-$18. Shrimp donut, chive cake, pork skewer, satay for examples. Tom Yum and Tom Kha Gai Soup that they call Hot Pots. Larb and shredded papaya. Those are $15-$23. 7 Mains from $21-$40. Snapper, duck, NY Strip, char sui pork, pork rib and one called Goong Ob Woonsen and Kanom Jeen Nam Ya Pu that you can look up. Desserts and booze. The place is large with a high ceiling. Beige, black (ceiling) and charcoal colors. Fabric seats. Wood tables. Green leaf mural behind the bar. Windows. The layout isn't the best. Many tables (all the ones facing away from the street like mine) have a straight view to the doors into the kitchen. They have 28 tables. Different heights and occupancies. Large entry area. You enter on the side. Two servers at that time. Black unis. Good. I liked it. Only four others there. All women. Closed on Tuesday. It might squeak in as a Favorite.
Athena Roasted Chicken - I was still hungry, so, I decided to pop in here. I had been many times when I lived in WP. Not in years though. Unreviewed. My father used to love the rotisserie chicken. I ordered a quarter dark of that ($4) because a whole was $11 or so and you can get a quite good whole one at any supermarket nowadays for $7. But, I had to remind myself if it was as good as I remembered. It was. Tiny though. Not any or much better than the supermarket ones. Two triangles of pita as well. What I really wanted was the Cypriana Chicken in a pita with melted provolone. The vegetable sauce turned out to be tomato forward. The cheese added a little texture, binding and flavor. Great (off the bone) chicken. I started with just a taste test (while it was fresh). I ended up Cookie Monstering it. The pita was fresh and fluffy/spongy. Superb. It cost $7.49. I can't muster up the energy to give you the whole menu and prices. Here are their categories as they list them: non-Greek sandwiches, taboule, hummus, tahini, halloumi, dolmades, side dishes, soup and chili, chicken platters and salads and sandwiches, special salads, desserts, beverages, pita wraps and Greek specialties (15). Highest priced thing is the whole chicken. Open since 1988. I doubt it has had a make over. Basic layout. Some Greek posters of sites. Maybe twenty tables. Packed. Order at a counter. Open for L & D every day. Catering. No animal fat usage. Hormone free. Never frozen. May be a Favorite as well.
Mandola's - The 75 year old uncle of the Carrabba's guy (he was involved in that as well). Out of Texas (Austin). A few elsewhere (ie Jacksonville). Sicilian American. A chain. Inauthentic vibe. Order at a counter. They bring it to you. I had a lasagna to go for $17 plus a $1 packaging fee. Large. 4x4x2. Meat sauce, ricotta, mozz, Romano. Traditional. Good. They also sell six other pastas ($15-$17). The most interesting was Lunette Modo Mio. The rest were usuals. Four salads ($11-$15). Six apps (7-$12). One Minestrone soup. Four Mains ($18-$22). Salmon and Parms. I saw some sliced chicken that looked like cafeteria food. Five pizzas ($15-$18). A personal was $12. It looked like shit. Thin. Plate size. A Daily Feature. All around $20. Desserts. Wine and beer. Half portions of pasta. Kids menu ($9-$10). They also have a corner area for $6 small gelatos(i) and coffees. The place is a large square. Open kitchen in the far corner. The staff looked a little suspect. Pizza oven (flames) on the right. Ordering area to the right of that. WCs and soda fountain at the rear. Maybe 28 tables? Large patio are on the left. Another dozen tables? Soccer flags hanging from the ceiling. Coffee bar posters. A Godfather poster (the kiss of death). When I see one, I know the food is going to suck. Yellow, red and white. Really faux marble table tops. About a sixteenth full. They also sell wine. Theirs and others. Open for under a month. I can't recall the one time I patronized Carrabba's (on 434 near Lake Brantley). I suspect it didn't capture my heart. This may be a bit better?
*Travel Notes - Greece: I flew UA there (Athens) and Air Canada back (Newark and Montreal) for $613. A few days before I left, I risked a jinx and bought an Aegean (via Olympic) to Chios (Homer's birthplace) for $150 that left a few hours after I landed. I stayed at the Chios Chandros Hotel (Expedia VIP 9.0) for two nights at $92. Must be the best option available in the area. Only $20 more. I had a view of the port and a balcony. I took a cab there for 9E. Stupid. I walked it on the return and it took me 25 minutes. I tried to haggle, but, the driver said the airport charges them 4E. Could be bs. I didn't do much other than walk the town/port. Too tired. They have a castle, square and Byzantium museum. I also walked up the hills for some pics. I ate from Market On both nights. A hard feta, sheep yogurt (great), dry hummus, cod roe (don't buy this), salami, pork, etc. I just went here because the other islands cost more in airfare.
While there, I bought a ticket on Aegean to Thessaloniki (through Athens) for $190. Stayed three nights at the Amalia Hotel (Booking 7.9) for $60 a night. It was between Palatia Dikastirian and Platia Aristotelous and three blocks from the sea on Emou. Where you want to be. I took the bus from the airport for 1.80E. It took a long time. Full! They didn't call out the stops. It was dark. They barely turn on the street lights, etc. Thank God a local showed me where and when to get off. I bought taramasalta, feta, etc at a market called Masoutis. Drank some wine (did this most every night of the trip) and walked down around the esplanade. So many girls out. Too tired though.
The next day it was a bit cloudy. I walked back up to a Roman Agora and Agios Dimitros and Commander's Mansion and over to the west wall to get my bearings. Then down to the port (film festival going on) and a ship called HS Velos. To the White Tower and all the way down the shore (a few km). Marathon going on. Back to the Museum of Byzantine Culture and Archeological Museum (both free that day). At Palatia Aristotelous, I had strawberry gelato with chocolate at Bufala Gelato and a chicken sandwich at Crats. Wine and the leftover food from the day before. It started to rain. So no nocturnal activity.
The next day, I found some restaurants I saw this summer on some BBC travel show. Cin Cin (bar) and Vanilla Gelato. Had good vanilla, marzipan and pumpkin gelato for free because it was their last day for the season and they were dumping the inventory. On the corner was a Levantine place called Feyrouz. I had a great wine braised rooster pide with some cheese and kraut and walnuts on top. Great! Easily the best pide I've ever had. I also had a bad Salisbury steak like cheeseburger at Goody's. I then walked to Agia Sophia and over to the Convention Center. The modern art museum there was closed. I saw some huge fort/castle on the hill and tried to walk up to it. Through the University. I went one block too far to the right and ended up at some soccer stadium and then up the hill to a church and the zoo and some ampitheater. I should have probably followed a road up there that may have led to the fort. Instead, I went back the same way and over to the cemetery. There I found the proper route (along more old walls) to the Trigonion Tower and the Northern Walls. Then across to the Church of St Paul. Back down and Rotunda and the Arch of Galerius. Pre-sunset on the esplanade. KFC wings and ff (so many) and leftovers and a crazy sunset (clouds) of birds going nuts over the city.
The next day I bought a ticket at a kiosk for the bus. The stop was right on the same street we came in on (Egnatia Odos). Half full bus. In Athens, I took the X95 bus for 5.50E to Syntagma Square. I stayed at the Abov Athens (Expedia 8.8) for $75. Mozz, prosciutto, chips from Bazaar. Wings and ff from KFC again. The next day I took the bus back to airport for Istanbul (Described in the next post).
I had two nights after Istanbul. I took the bus back to Syntagma. Stayed two nights at the Omiros Hotel (Booking 7.7) for $59 a night. The first night was a disaster. The second night they gave me a room on the roof. It was great. The first night I just bought the same things at Bazaar that I bought a few days before. Got in late. Walked the area again a bit. Ate in the room.
The next day I walked to the hill that houses the Chapel of St George on Lykavittos Hill. Past the Facade of Hadrian's Resevoir. Just kept climbing up until I found these stairs to it. Great views! Maybe better than the Acopolis. Do this! Does burn the hammies though. There may be a funicular. Down and over to this statue called The Runner. Across to the National Gallery (closed - Tuesday). Over to the War Museum (6E). Just looked at the stuff on the outside for free. Down the street to the Byzantine Museum (closed). Back past Parliament. Had a good, cheap pepperoni pizza at Oi Meraklhdes Tyropites. Over to the National Historic Museum, Library and University and Academy of Arts. I haven't sorted out yet (all closed). Over to Palaka. This time I went right instead of left. Past Hadrian's Library and to the Agora. Reduced price from 10E to 5E after 11/1. Worth the money. You can walk around it and peek in for free (same with Hadrain's Library). The drizzle started getting stronger and I was a bit spent from the St George trek, so, over to Bazaar for the same goodies and back to the hotel. View of sunset of the Acropolis from the roof deck. Bus to airport the next day.
The exchange rate was 1.08 USD to a Euro. The weather was great (only used a thin sweater twice). Especially in the beginning. Sun didn't burn. I had never been there this late. Still ok. Seemed like less flights nationally and at a higher cost. So, you may save money flying to Athens and lose it if you travel in country. No real issues getting there. Customs was fast every time but one. Flight home was the land of the living dead. Most coughing up a lung. I have decided that if Greek women had to be depicted in a cartoon about animals, it would be a rhinoceros. Wish I could have squeezed in another island. Spent 170E aside from hotels. Check out the thin honey sesame bars. Totally worthwhile two weeks.
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