Chabuca, OIA Area *Maldives Travel Notes

I tried this Peruvian restaurant aside a gas station of 436 before the other edifices that are before the airport last night. It was then Aji something and I never went in because it was aside a gas station. I had the aji de gallina to go for $17. It (like the place) was much better than I was expecting. The shredded chicken was stringy in parts. But, I don't think it was bought in a bag. The garlic cream of chicken like sauce was peppery with a little heat. I didn't see black specks, so, maybe white pepper? Not salty. They tossed in four cubes of some spongy white cheese, two olives and two delicious roasted baby potatoes cut in half. I just took a peak while driving and couldn't stop picking at it. I had to force myself to stop half way through. The only issue was the dry basmati rice that came with it. The menu has most of the things you've come to expect. Around a dozen apps. Four soups ($7+). Cold fish. Around eight chaufas (high teens). Four sandos (ie $17 HB and $14 CH). A dozen+ mains (ie $30 whole chicken). I forget the price on the others like lomo saltado, fish chicharron and the most interesting dish  a cacio e pepe like dish with steak and spaghetti. Booze and wine and beer. Desserts. My only issue is with the roasted chicken. Even a quarter portion was like $12. FF and salad doesn't excuse the price. The place looks plush. Black, gray, white, brown tones. White, wood framed tourism paintings/posters. Some appropriate bric a brac. Mini lights and vases on the tables. White lamp shades. Nine boots. Seven 4s. Five 2s. A bar with four seats. Inoffensive music. L shaped room. Not the same owners. Pleasant waiter. Food came out quickly. Nice packaging. Open for a month. Open for lunch and dinner. I'm pretty sure 7D. Named after some popular singer not a Star Wars character. Possibly this year's first Fav? Wish the rice was better. 

* Travel Notes - Maldives: I flew AA (Miami) and Qatar Air (Doha) to Male for $1132. Nights. About 10,000 miles! Coming back took longer. Doha airport was sick. Cool art. Artificial jungle. Checking in with both airlines (both ways) was a pain in the ass. They made me fill out all this bs and then said sorry can't check you in online. How long has the internet been in existence? They still can't adjust their sites (both slow loading too) for different types of tickets? And why is there even a 24 hr check in rule in the US? I know. So, they can try and double sell seats. I thought that was why I didn't get my third leg from AA. But, Qatar seemed to be able to print it out in Miami so who knows. And no issues getting the whole trip (even AA segment) from Qatar on the way back. Had to do that in person too though. They let you choose seats near the travel date for free. Charged if you did it too early though. I'm giving (and will give) all this advice because I didn't do much. Both stops don't require visas. But, Maldives wants you to fill out a form BEFORE you get there. And it is online. I didn't see any info on that on the internet. And of course the airlines don't help. I wasn't willing to subject my phone to their wifi (and I don't get sim cards), so, some poor kid had to fill the form out for me on his phone. 

I stayed in a little connected island north of Male called Hulhu Male because it looked like it had more beach. It did. Stay here. Male is one of the world's most densely packed cities and ony has a couple hours of "sights". I stayed at the Contento Retreat (Booking 5.6) for $56 a night and then about $21 more in various taxes. $6 you paid directly in dollars. They take dollars and speak English in the Maldives. FYI - Expedia was listing this at $85 before taxes. The hotel was infuriating. No tv reception or hot water. On a busy road (man was this place more noisy/inhabited than I expected). And other issues. When I first checked hotel rates (a week before), there were all these options under $100. Then when I checked the day before I left, this was almost the only thing left. And I didn't want to lose a day changing hotels if I hedged. They did get me in at 9am though. One block from the beach. It was supposed to be their dry time of year. Almost every day had rain and/or was cloudy. 80-89 degrees. Very humid.

The first day I learned that they make MEN wear shirts at the beach! Fat kids dream spot. I ignored this every time I went swimming. So did most Westerners. No one yelled at me, but, I saw the cops scold some women. Most of the local ewoks complied. So, Victorian. The swimable areas were very coral infested and shallow. Clean enough though. Some sand on the shore. East side of island. Oh, I used an ATM (many) at the airport and then took a 70 Rufyaa (exchange rate was 15.46 and the prices are listed at the airport on a sign and are flat rates by zones) taxi (many) because to get to my island by ferry you had to take one to Male (frequent) and then another (infrequent) after that. Ferry booth is to the left near taxi line. As I said, day one was a recon day. I found many bodegas and a few small modern grocery stores. Central Park. Ferry terminal. Got some groceries and started reading Hemingway's short stories. Oh, this was a Friday. That's their Sunday. Things closed from 12p to 2p. The town crier also strangles a cat five times a day starting at 4:30am. I went to bed every night at eight pm. Awoke before dawn.

The next day I walked as far north as possible to see if I could learn the mystery of where all the flying monkeys on scooters (24/7) were coming from. It turns out that there were many high rises there for locals. My end had many buildings, but, they were mostly four or five stories. I also went back to the park to see the Food Festival (pathetic) they were having that week. Back to the ferry for a chicken sandwich at Marry Brown. Saw a few mosques (this place was very Islamic) too. The entirety of this island is like a mile. They had around six mosques and two being built. Locals, Indians, Indonesians. Malays and some of those bearded but moustache-less heeby jeebies that are probably retired Al Qaeda. They loved me and my Rays hat! The women/batmans most of all. You could feel the hate even if you couldn't really see it through their slit. The rest just sported that Captain Jack Sparrow look. Did some reading.

The next day I walked to the north of my section's beach to "skinny dip" away from prying eyes. There was a canal there that I espied the day before. Met a nice local there. He said he had been to all the atolls there (hundreds) because he was a doctors aid. He said that canal was a good snorkeling point (rays, sharks). But it was too rough that day. I then did some reading and lunch at ChicKing (some Middle Eastern chain). A beef pepperoni pizza and tandoori chicken bites. Some time on a swing on the beach and more reading. Found a scuba diving business on the beach. Dinner of these delicious Chinese dumplings the Indians call momos at Momos (behind the hotel). Fried basil chicken and steamed coriander chicken. No pork allowed you know. Or booze. But they looked the other way at smoking. They came with a thai chile dip and an interesting (and delicious) one that was either pureed carrot or sweet potato. 

The next day I walked back to the canal. Still rough. Read. Walked the south part of town. Went scuba diving at 2p. $90 for one dive with Dive Club Maldives. Two dives was $145. They decided that they would only offer one and not to the place they assigned because of weather. They took credit. In US$. It was an ok dive. They had a morning shark dive. One of those in my lifetime was enough. Dinner of fish masala and basmati rice at Cafe 73 (behind the hotel). Chunks of tuna. I hope they weren't from a can. I was hoping for some kind of local fish. More reading.

The next day was a wash out. Re-walked the town. A chicken burger at Marry Brown. Reading. 

The final day I left at 10am. Walked the south and over to the 11:30am ferry to Male. It cost 10R. You can buy bus tickets there too. Same price. Bus driver told me they don't sell tickets on board. You need a card or ticket bought where they sell them. I think they sell them at the airport too. Walked the circumference of Male. Of course, this day, it was bright sun and 90+. Because of that, I just cut it short by 2pm. I saw some big blue building that I think was a mosque and a fairly nice artificial beach on the east side. The south was a marina. Some schools inland. The west was another artificial beach with oil platforms in the sea behind it. The north was one big commercial harbor. A mosque and square there too. Way fewer food choices than I expected. I decided to wait for BK at the airport. Took the 15R ferry to the airport. There will be a new, modern terminal soon it looks like. The food court there was all listed in USD (they took Rufyaa though) and double the price anywhere else on the island. I finally used my remaining funds for two 30R ice cream sandwiches at DQ and three 45R chicken strips at BK. The check in window didn't open until about three hours before the flight. Customs was a cinch.     

I spent 1150R while there. Ate mostly tuna. They had interesting flavored ones (black pepper, hot chili) for 20R. A few yogurt shakes (lychee, mango) from Bulgaria. Butterscotch ice cream. Black pepper cashews. Prices were about the same. No cold sliced meats. I brought my own doritos and wafers and melba toast because I wasn't sure of the market situation. I didn't need to. I saw them eating some discs that I saw labeled in the market as Havaad Huli Nuts and/or Heera Pan Foah. Online search comes back negative. ChicKing had chicken porridge and tandoori fries. The sun orientation seemed off for the time of day. Way too many cars and scooters. The infrastructure is a bit mixed. New and old/crumbly. Most tourists seemed Chinese or Eastern Slav. All the Westerners seemed to take the sea planes to the resort atolls. I was not going to pay those prices and book/research another flight/ferry. Maybe if someone else would book and pay for it and I had somebody to bang all day. But not if I didn't. You must take a bus to another (seaplane) airport too. I think those flights aren't cheap. Some atolls are within ferry or private boat distances. They used cloth for their carry out bags. Non-fast food sit down restaurants may add a 10% service charge and 16% GST. I only sat down once and they did. Every one was on their mobile all the time. No need for bug spray. No dogs. Just cats. I also spent time on the internet when not reading. Many times I wished I was leaving early. This is the farthest east I have been. South of India. I have been west as far as Phuket. Part of the reason to come here was to see Doha without "seeing" Doha. It looked good though. Very Dubai-esque. I doubt the other atolls are that great. There doesn't seem to be any thing here you can't get closer elsewhere. Plus all those cool circular dock like hotels are now being mimicked all over the world. Ramadan may make your time here even less appealing. It starts soon. Why I went now. Ok things I watched on the plane: Reacher S2, Conan O'Brien's Travel Show, some travel You Tubers named like Yes something, Ramesh Raga...something's travel show, SNL movie, Twisters. The Bond with Lazenby wasn't that bad as I remembered. Goldeneye was worse. Joker 2, Selena's cooking show sucks. I'm forgetting a sucky movie that came out recently.

El Coqui Ninja, Curry Ford Rd

I grabbed a snack at this Puerto Rican Asian spot in a strip mall at the intersection with Crystal Lale Rd on Wednesday. I had three Ko-Kee Pastelillos for $8. They were tasteless ground beef, mini empanadas. Braided. Came with ketchup. The menu is mostly Chinese. I'm not sure they know Ninjas are Japanese. Things like fried rice, kung pao chicken, crab rangoons. The mains come with a side. Under $20. They have a mofongo section. Beer and wine. I'm getting a little tired of the PR over exposure. Likewise on local news. It isn't the greatest cuisine. And I haven't seen one example where a fusion dish was made better by its inclusion. If any place could dispute that, it could be here. I'd have to delve deeper into the menu to address that. The place looks good though. They spent some money. A stainless steel kitchen is surrounded by eight 4s and four 2s. A patio of eight 4s. Around the kitchen is a kind of green plastic lego looking wainscotting. Little, old tvs on the tables. Flower print seats. Those colors are mirrored in the paint and curtains. Green, white, red. Pagodo awnings and mural. A gong. Ceramic Chinese take out box bowls and mini grills. Eight in the kichen. Four servers. Open for a month. Seven days. 11-9.  Lots of parking. It should be a hang out spot even if the food doesn't impress. Unsure if I'll be curious enough to ever truly find out. Then again, I may go back in a couple of days. Monitor the post for an addendum.

B-Town, Casselberry

I went to yet another of these burger mexican sushi etc bars in a strip mall across from a Buffalo Wild Wings near the overpass to Red Bug Lake Rd on 436 this Monday at dinner. I had a two topping poke bowl for $15 (or $15.57 if you believe my receipt) to go. Better than I expected. And one of the more reasonably/fairly priced items on the menu. I had many free options. I chose salmon, tuna, avocado, tomato, masago, cucumber, scallions, sweet plantains cream cheese and soy sauce. Cream cheese was a first. I saved it for use later on. You will see later that this is a Latin owned enterprise. Some of their options reflect that. I ate the sweet plantains first. Baby steps. The salmon was pitch white. I thought it was white fish or smoked salmon by mistake. I thought I might get sick. It didn't have much taste, but, no effects yet. Alot of large chunks. Same with the tuna. Better color. AYCE buffet quality. Which I can live with in these portions. The rice was good. All the veg were fresh. Lots of everything. Hopefully, it is not a lack of demand and profusion of (perishable) supply situation and the portions are always like this. A smash burger was $10. Around six types. Up to $18. Ribs were around $26. A seven ounce steak was around $18. Wings were $10 for eight. Maybe came with fries? Mozz sticks were around $8. An eight piece sushi assortment was $26. Rolls started at $11. Chicken and pork sandwiches were around $12. Tacos (3) started at $12? They have birria. They had eight mass market beers. Six wines. A $5 milkshake seemed like a value. I didn't see the size. They had other stuff. The place is a small rectangle. Bar towards the back. Hidden kitchen. Three or four booths of six. Three or four tables of four. Four two seaters. Four bar stools. Khaki and black paint with lightly stained wood wainscotting. TVs. New owners. It opened around a year ago and closed before I could try it. I saw cars outside and an open sign a few weeks ago. The new owners said they have been open for six months though. It was almost empty. Open 11-9. 11-7 on Sn. You could do worse. A fun mash up.

*Don't ever buy Blue Plate Light mayonaise.

Grub Crawl - Maitland: Kappy's and Parea

I tried these spots on N Orlando Ave (17-92) at the Howell Branch (I think) Rd intersection Saturday at dinner. The first is a few blocks north. The second is in the strip mall on the southwest corner. It was Outpost most recently.

Kappy's - It's been there since 1967. I had been before. Pre-blog. They closed and then re-opened (shortly after) a few months ago. I've been trying to refresh my memory (support history) since then. But, the two times I tried, the wait was so long that I left. This time wasn't much better. I went around four pm because I was bored at home, going to the next place anyway and I figured this would be a slow period. It was. But, it didn't matter. They are slow as hell. The line was empty. It still took them ten minutes to take my order. Another twenty to get through the four orders ahead of me. They had four people back there! I had the Super Cheeseburger for $6.50. It came with tomato, pickles and onion. I don't remember lettuce. Mayo and mustard. They cut it in half. It had a large brioche bun. Double the size of the patty. It was ok. Better than I expected. I nuked some ground turkey to make use of the leftover bun. I can't remember what I had on my previous visits. I don't think it was a burger. I also tossed in a corn dog because it was only $2.50 and I had been ages. The usual, purchased as is frozen dog. They sell: five burgers ($6.50-$12), three chicken sandwiches ($9-$10), nugs ($5-$8), eight hot subs ($8-$10), seven cheesesteaks ($9-$15), seven sides ($2-$7), four hot dogs ($2-$7), four deli subs ($8-$12), two breakfasts ($6-$8) and some cookies and shakes. They say beer too. Four picnic tables on either side. Limited parking. A little shack that has ten seats inside. It will probably be another while before I return again.

Parea - It has something to do with family. I guess the root of "parent". Open for a month or so. Kind of affiliated with the Bosphorous people. Greek. Taverna. They try and recreate that atmosphere. White stucco. Blue. A wood roof inside the real roof. Looks like what you imagine a place in Santorini, et al does. Around twenty tables of various sizes plus a ten person bar inside. Some high tops around that in a semi-concealed area. One semi-private room. Two sectioned off areas by the window. Maybe twelve assorted tables on the patio. Uniformed wait staff. Quite a few. Parking is an issue. The menu is divided into: nine cold meze ($7-$10), ten hot meze ($9-$16), three salata ($12-$15), six meats ($21-$40-Mkt), seven sea ($28-$48-Mkt), five classics ($19-$23), six sides ($7-$8) and seven desserts ($8-$9). They offer $40 and $50 per person meals. Cocktails, wine, booze, beer and sangria. They pour the wine in tumblers. A good assortment of Greek items. Nothing on the menu seemed too unexpected. Maybe cast iron moussaka, yemista peparies (stuffed peppers) or fasoulakia (stew). I settled on the $22 Chicken Tata. Also from the Classics. It turned out to be chicken parm with feta and tomato sauced half sized linguine that I believe is usually called flat spaghetti. Good. Very deep fried (crusty) breast of chicken. Large. Not a ton of flavor. Bland tomato sauce. Just coated the pasta. Sprinkled feta on top. I had it to go. It took about fifteen minutes. They had around eight tables accounted for already at the opening. I believe they are open every day. 4pm-. They said they were starting lunch service on Friday. It probably would have had more of an impact had I ordered something else. Nothing wrong with the place, but, nothing extraordinary. Kind of like Bosphorous. So, I am sure it will also be an enormous hit. Although, I kind of think that being on Park Ave is half of Bosphorous' allure.

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. TSA lines were long. 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 $9 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 Fontainebleau 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. Delano is now a W.  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.