Mumbai Flavors, Longwood *UT/NV Travel Notes

I tried this vegetarian North Indian spot I told you about weeks ago in a strip mall on Ronald Reagan near Lake Mary HS today. Glad I persisted. It doesn't really have a set menu. It is more of a catering enterprise. I trusted the owner to order for me. She gave me a small Malai Kofta Curry (potato croquettes stuffed with paneer in an onion and tomato cashew sauce) for $11.50 to go. Loved it! Very tasty. Heat can be adjusted. This was just right to hot. Four croquettes. Golf ball size. I used some ground turkey I had in the fridge (and made my own rice) with the excess curry. They ran out of rice, so, she gave me garlic naan. And tossed in a sample of Pav Bhuji (potato, cauliflower, green pepper puree) with a buttered hamburger bun. Also, very good. Creeping heat. She said the first dish is from Delhi. So, not just Mumbai flavors. The naan wasn't the best I've ever had. They opened a month ago. There are no seats. It's bare bones. White. Four chairs. The open sign is rarely turned on. Still has the real estate agent key lock box on the door. I think they are closed on Monday. It took a while. Two in the kitchen. She said she DID want people other than her catering clients to come in for meals. It seems to be a kind of seat of your pants type effort so far. But, I liked it alot. And the pop up feel of it gives it allure in my demented head. 

*Travel Notes - Utah and Nevada: I flew Frontier to Las Vegas (late pm/red eye) for $178. I rented a car for a week from Hertz (boycotting Budget/Avis) for $312. No issues. I ate White Trevally (a first and excellent) sushi, stir fried Waygu liver (a first and good), fried oysters and grilled stingray fin (chewy and bland) at Izakaya Go on Spring Mountain Rd. I had received a tip (I think from a concierge) about them during Covid. Finally got there. I stayed in downtown at Main Street Station (Expedia 8.6) for $48 plus $34 RF because parking was free and I'm trying to stay at EVERY hotel. Plus I was in so late. It was recently renovated. Noise from highway though. Watched LA wild fires.

The next day I bugged out early because I had forgotten the CES show was that week. I drove to Salt Lake City. I stayed again at the Plaza (now owned by Best Western) because it was the cheapest and near the Delta Center. It's an Expedia 8.4. It cost $103 plus $10 for parking. I saw the Utah Hockey Club play the Florida Panthers for $35. I finagled a physical ticket with effort. I had deep dish Little Caesar's and a souvenir soda at the arena. It was the "best" value. The next day I had lunch at Greek Souvlaki. A sloppy gyro. It was just some place I had always been curious about. I then grabbed "dinner" at some new Mexican place (Piko) a few blocks away that I saw. I had three (mushroom and cactus, steak and shrimp tacos with beans and rice. They were ok. I drove north to Ogden. I stayed at the Comfort Suites (Expedia 8.8) on 15 for $210 for two nights. It was good. Less noisy and expensive than the Hampton Inn in town that I stayed at last time. I just did recon that day because I had decided to ski both resorts the next day. I found an in town ski rental place (Level 9) and made sure my online purchase went through at Nordic Valley. I just ate my Piko because I got tired and wanted to watch ND and Penn State. 

The next day I had a lame (meatloafy) bacon cheeseburger at Dylan's/Warren's. I rented skis and boots and poles for $30. I skied Nordic Valley (small) for $59. It had two areas. That f'ing dynamic pricing had this bitch at $89 if you bought day of. I then drove a few miles to Powder Mountain. It was $79 just a few years ago. Someone told me that Reed Hastings (Netflix) has purchased it. It now is $259! But, the night skiing (4pm-) is only $19!. Plus I didn't have to rent skis for two days. Had it not turned cloudy, I would have had plenty of time to ski. Sun was still out. The only downside was that you can only ski one area of the resort. It was still was good. And great (sunset) views (Great Salt Lake, etc). Parking was free at both. And now (I believe) I have conquered every resort in Utah. I also had a good slice of pizza there at Lucky Slice Pizza. I returned the skis and had local beer, whiskey and an Angry Goat Bacon Burger with french fries at the Angry Goat Pub & Kitchen in downtown. It was recommended the last time I was here. I went back to watch the rest of Texas v OSU and Bettlejuice Beetlejuice (sucked). 

The next day (snowing) I drove to Cedar City (still too $ in LV) because it is around half way back and you gain an hour which brings you into Vegas too early the next day if proceed further. I had a double double and fries at In & Out in Centerville. I stayed at a Ramada Inn (Expedia 8.2) for $72. It was a two story motel. I was tired and just had a $5 McD's Meal Deal and watched the playoffs. 

The next day I drove to Las Vegas. I had AYCE at 888 Korean BBQ in Chinatown on Spring Mountain Rd. I think it was top ten on Yelp when I checked at some point years ago. It was worth the $26. Many free apps too. Avoid the seafood. I was only here and not at the brunch at Giada's because I couldn't find the free parking at Planet Hollywood that I was looking for. I stayed at the Suncoast off Charleston in Summerlin (Expedia 9.0) for $58 plus $41 RF. I had a great view of a golf course, so, I bought some wine at Total Wine and cheese remnants, a baguette and jalapeno hummus (only $3!) at Whole Foods.

The next day I had lunch (Benedict with chorizo on an arepa with a side salad) at Chica by Lorena Garcia at The Venetian. It was expensive and disappointing (salty, over-citrused greens with scant chorizo and undercooked arepa). I had seen her on Top Chef re-runs. Almost went the last time I stayed there. I parked across the street (searched online for the free spots) at Treasure Island. I then walked up to the Cosmopolitan to eat at their burger place. It is now a Mexican place. I passed. I then walked through the Bellagio to see the Chinese New Year decorations. And then back to TI through Caesar's. A few spots in the food court there changed over. The Mirage is being knocked down to form a Hard Rock. Adios white tigers and ligers. I drove to Decataur and over to near Charleston to the Arizona Charlie's Decataur. It was $41 for two days plus $60 RF. I did this because it was the cheapest and I was only staying until 9pm the second day. It's a bitch to be homeless waiting for the red eye. It was terrible. Junky weed and cig smoke all over. Even in the non-smoking areas. Plus just basic to begin with. I then drove down Desert Inn Rd to the 15 to Area 15. I only saw the outside last time. It was cool. I saw it on Samantha Brown's Places to Love. They have taken this warehouse space and put lots of art and food and booze and adventures (ie lazer tag) inside. Some things are pricy. But, you can just walk around. They had John Wick's car, etc. The main room is a fake supermarket called Mega Mart. I believe it costs $60. Parking was free. I went back to Spring Mountain Rd and the Shan Tau Square. I had a less than generous serving of mushy lobster (half a small tail) and lemongrass Yum Takrai at Lamaii. Rice was extra. It cost $27. Place looks cute. I was still hungry, so, I walked across the parking lot to Silver Lake Ramen. It turned out that they are ranked as the top ramen in LA by some publications like Zagat. I had a nicely valued shoyu ramen with pork and gyoza for $20. Back to the hotel.

The next day I had breakfast at some diner near the hotel on Decataur called Blueberry Hill. Average eggs/hb and toast. The sign said since 1987. They had a few locations. I then drove back to the strip. Up to where they just knocked down the Trop. Back to TI to park. Then walked the Palazzo through Wynn and Encore to Resort's World and the Fashion Square Mall. Couldn't find any appealing snacks. Almost did a Hello Kitty Cafe in the mall. No one was behind the counter. Drove back to Spring Mountain Rd and settled on ShangHai Taste at the Shanghai Plaze because the signs in the window said Jimmy Li 2023 James Beard Semi-Finalist and had plaudits from NYT, Nat Geo, Food & Leisure, etc. I had reasonably priced Xib Angus Beef Xiao Long Bao (8) and a large bowl of wonton soup with many pork and shrimp dumplings. My first non-pork xiao long bao. Not great. Total cost around $30. Back to the hotel. I went back to the Shan Tau Square for dinner. I finally ate at Sparrow + Wolf. It is well regarded. They either big timed me or it used to be pricier the first time I stumbled across it. Years ago. I walked out that time. I had Banh Cuon (small duck summer rolls three ways) for $20. Salty and no taste of duck. I also had Black Ink Octopus Risotto for $24. Great risotto. Mushy octopus. Elephant garlic slivers. Back to the hotel. To the airport.

The weather was dry. One accident on 15 that I manoeuvred around. Knocked almost everything remaining on my to do list in UT and NV. A good time was had by all (again). I tried to stay at Fontainebleu and some place called Ahern Boutique. They kept pulling a bait and switch on Expedia (said rooms were no longer available and wouldn't remove them from displaying over many days), so, I mentally told them to go fuck themselves. There is a new, white colored shopping area across from NY NY called BLVD. I think I accounted for all the changes since last year. I would have tried some other restaurants at the casinos if they weren't such dicks about the parking. Most START at around $20 for an hour or two! I got the list of free parking from a site called www.feelingvegas.com. They were also getting a H Mart. And like here, it was still under development. It seems to have a food court component. Gas was north of $3.35 in LV. Under $3 in UT. There are two restaurants that I took off my list because of price. Yui Sushi is $200-$300 (omikase) it turns out and Partage (French) starts at $100+. Both on Spring Mountain Rd.

Rico Chico, OIA Area

I tried this Puerto Rican Chinese take out spot in the strip mall on 436 that has the Five Guys on Tuesday at dinner. It wasn't plan a. I had the cheapest option of two pieces of fried chicken with fries for $5. They were much better than I anticipated. A big drum and thigh. Perfectly crusted. Moist inside. The fries were also fried well. I don't trust these places to cook Chinese. They haven't so far. It's like what Bad Bunny is to hip hop. A piss poor interpretation. But, this chicken was good. They have a typical menu at a bit above average prices. Most $13 and over. Fried rice is $6. Lo mein, chop suey, teriyaki, curry, etc. They have some confounding family meals. One is $100 for 20 pieces. Can their clientele afford that? That's like a dinner for five. That's a $20 average per family member. The place has six tables. It was full. The employee barely spoke English. Food came out quickly. It is what it is.

*FYI - Views are exploding again. Weird. Shaq's chicken spot still reads Boston Market and hasn't changed at all for all of the last year. Doubt it will come to fruition.

Grub Crawl - Disney Area: Simply Capri, Sofrito and Havana's

I tried these spots on Saturday at lunch. The first is (the way I went) through Disney (Buena Vista past Epcot and Coronado Springs to a right on Western Way and past 429). I think they said the area is called Flamingo something. Somehow this is also Winter Garden. The second is one block up on the left on Palm Parkway (535 at Disney side). The last is across the street in that strip mall that has Kung Fu Dumpling and Susuru. A K Pot is the most visible building.

Simply Capri - The waiter started the meal by asserting that they were the real deal. Not Olive Garden. Ummm? Their (OG) breadsticks may be better. Main couldn't be much worse. I have only been there once though. Ages ago. But, they don't raise the bar that high. Their strips of foccacia were stale. It didn't get any better from there. My main was the $31 Scaloppine di Pollo. One (uncrusted), poorly butchered, probably unpounded shingle of chicken over peppers (three colors). In an overly salty, over reduced sauce of some kind. I can't remember. When I ordered it, I had it in my mind that it was a lemon sauce. It was something different. And that was it. $30 worth of profits. Poorly conceived. It was basically a fresh pepper dish. And I didn't eat any of them because I find them unappetizing and gas inducing. I guess someone enjoys them. I was in the mood for scaloppine only. I have nearly a pound of $4 Sanderson Farms breast fillets in my fridge that I bet I will make a better dinner of tonight. The rest of the lunch menu was a equally boring. Some pizzas ($18+ for a 12"), four dull panini (like cold cuts or mozz or sausage), six or so pastas, a few salads, a few more secondi and desserts. The pizza had a very large crust and didn't look particularily great. The place looks like a Greek place. Blue and white. I don't remember those colors in Capri. Etched scenes on the window. Stenciled advertising. Light colored chandeliers. There are around twenty tables and a ten seat bar inside. Maybe ten tables on a patio. Parking lot views. They had a pizza oven. Service was good. Uniformed. They said the owner used to own a few restaurants at Disney. They are opening an American spot across the street. This opened about a year ago. A bit overpriced and out of the way (for most of us) to bother with. The strip mall there had a few other fast casual places (like Skyline Chili). A bbq/beer place called something Ellie's too.

Sofrito Latin Cafe - It was more fast casual than I was expecting. You order from a kiosk. Maybe six to eight sections of six to eight options. I had a Venezuelan Beef Empanada ($5.50) and a Cuban ($10.50) to go. The empanada was sweet corn. Very fried. Filled with bland pulled beef. Generous portion size. Not too dry. Garlic dip on the side. The Cuban was half-assed. Barely (if at all) pressed. No oil on the roll. No melted cheese. Ham and bland pulled pork. About the same quality as the beef. Mustard. Pickle. Came out too quickly. The menu draws from Latin and South America and the islands. The usual snacky apps. Sandwiches. Two main areas. I think the most expensive thing was the pargo (snapper). Maybe $30? Most under $20. Drinks. Desserts. They bring the food out to you. Maybe sixteen tables inside with a bar. Seats on a patio. Seems to have had a remodel recently. Pretty packed. They have a breakfast menu that stops at 11am. Brown, black, brick, baskets. Open for nine years. It could be more.

Havana's Cafe - I just grabbed a beef empanada to go because I already had enough disappointing food and this cuisine isn't my favorite. It cost $4.68. Braided crust. Barely filled with bland ground beef. They have a big menu. All the way to about to $40+. I think paella was $30. The usual stuff. The main problem here is that they told me that since Covid many of the workers in the area aren't coming to the office. That business dried up. So, they don't open until to 2pm. Even on weekends. The room is a dull square. Dark. Maybe twenty tables. It has been open for 26 years, so, maybe Cuban-ophiles will enjoy it. 

*The drive through Disney was enjoyable. You don't get dead ended onto any toll roads if you don't want to. Nice to see these new areas and the mainstays. On the way back, I took Buena Vista all the way north past Disney Springs) where it ends at 535. I took this a few miles southwest where I passed by The Conrad and some Nature Reserve (something Belton). Never been in this area before. On the way back, I passed the Grand Cypress. Forgot it was there. I took Apopka Vineland a mile or so down to see what was there now. And then back and left onto Palm Parkway to Sand Lake and over to I Drive. North to the outlets and then right onto Oak Ridge. First left to the Mall at Millenia. Nice that this is all connected now. Let's you bypass the log jam at the Conroy exit. Traffic wasn't that bad. Except around the mall.

Rosetta Bakery, Mall at Millenia *Gator Bowl Travel Notes

I tried this Italian Bakery at The Mall at Millenia today at lunch. I had a Prosciutto Schacciata to go for $11. It was ok. I've never heard tell of this terminology. I didn't translate check. I was told it was foccacia. It is on foccacia. Dry. Too old for a place that seems to have an onsite kitchen. Dry. The prosciutto was a bit pasty. Not very aged or fatty. But, way more (like nine slices) than I expected. The arugula was ok. Some (not so great tasting) olive oil. They also do these in turkey and mortadella. I believe the $9 foccacia sandwiches are round. They have like half a dozen types. An interesting one looked like a circle of attached rolls with one in the center. They also did pizzas. I think tey were $9. Many sweets. I'm not huge into Italian pastry. So, I didn't try any. I believe the prices were $3 to $12. Some drinks. It was a smaller, food court looking set up than I expected. It is right where you walk into the mall in the rear. On the right. Some seats. White color scheme. The main reason I'm not that enthused by them is that they hide the prices. Nothing in front of the items. Then you have to turn a corner to the register to see the prices. Add in the weird names they give them and the girls behind the counter who can barely understand your questions and it feels like they purposefully designed a system to rip you off. I believe they are a chain from Philly. Open for about a month. Pretty full. Did you know foccacia means hearth bread and ciabatta means slipper? And god damn it, (I looked it up) schiacciata means crushed/squashed. I also went to three places around Disney. I will do a stand alone report on them on Monday.

*Travel Notes - TaxSlayer Gator Bowl at Everbank Stadium in Jacksonville Florida: I drove up on Thursday. Three hours (accidents) there and an hour and a half back. I left here at 1pm because I was bored. Game was at 7:30pm. I tried to dis-intermediate Ticketmaster (unsure if I did) by calling a day before and booking directly. If you did that, they would print out a ticket an leave it at Will Call. That was a bit of a pain. They closed off the area right in front of Will Call and you had to walk all the way around the stadium to get there. Oddly, I saw guys trying to scalp tickets. not sure how they got their physical tickets. I thought they renovated the stadium since the last time I was there (maybe ten years ago). It still looked like a shit hole. Pathetic crowd. Maybe 4,000 people. My ticket was in Row M in the end zone. It was the cheapest at $50. I moved around after the first quarter. The game was Mississippi (let's now refer to them as Olay Miss) and Duke (let's now refer to them as Douche or Dook). Mississippi crushed them. I only stayed for the first half because it was too cold and I really just went because I'm trying to go to every bowl game. I spent the hours between arrival and the game at Intuition Ale Works. It was near the parking lot I chose (the same that I chose when I went to the minor league baseball game). It (and every other lot) cost $40. And that's all I have to say about that.