I tried these places yesterday. The first is downtown where Dove Cote used to be. Bank of America building. Diagonal from the courthouse. The second is in the old Winter Park Fish Co location on N Orange. The last is on Country Club Rd. The one near their City Hall and the train tracks.
Acropolis - I walked out of this Greek Taverna after thirty minutes past ordering. I had ordered the two minute max prep time falafel plate at $16. It came with hummus and a side salad. It was hard finding a main with a side that you wanted. They must be on a strict FIFO system. Personally, I would have one lane for time hogs and one for slap togethers. They also seemed to have no separate line for to go orders. I saw the gyro gyro. Just pale meatloaf lamb/beef. It didn't seem to be rotating. I bet they shave it and cook it on a grill. The menu had four section: apps, wraps, specialties and salads. About a dozen of the usuals in each. Prices from high single digits to forties. Some of the more ambitious offerings were: lamb lollipops, ouzo mussels, branzino, and red snapper. They use swai as their undescribed fish. They have four locations in Tampa. This is a good room with steel beams and high ceilings. The color scheme is blue and white. Brick wall. Neon sign. Around thirteen tables of four and a bar with ten seats and a semi-private windowless "room". Semi-open kitchen in the corner. Oh and tables on the patio and outside in the lobby. They also do a sandwichy breakfast business from a display case by the entrance. About half full of white collar types. Two waitresses and a bartender. Had the hard stuff and wine. It was a bit "corporate" feeling. I believe they opened around Xmas. You can pass. I'm not going back.
Black Coffee - They also refer to it as Cafe Negro. I guess one of the owners is/was connected to Univision. I don't watch. I went here after I couldn't find any newbies downtown. It was 2pm. I was the only one there for a while. They just opened a few days ago. The space is arced. Windows. A little rectangle with two tables for the drinks/bar. Charcoal, black (fans and lights) and light gray (tiles). Around fifty seats. I guess the style is Puerto Rican. The menu is mostly $20+. Breakfast and brunchy things. I had the chicken and waffles for $23. The breast was huge. Three meals worth. Mostly good. The breading came off a bit too easily and the center was too close too raw. I ate around it. Packed the remainder up and will nuke it with black beans tonight for dinner. They covered it with cheese. I think the menu said it was to have a bechamel sauce? I remebered this afterwards. Sadly, I think that was why I chose it. The round waffle was fine. I saw the owner's meal of the $19 smash burger. Not too thin. A ton of fries. The eggs benedict at $18 could come with salmon. But, no side. The $19 BLT came with seasoned potatoes, but, cheese too. There was an $18 omlette with steak. They also had an avocado toast and maybe six more choices. They gave me a free watermelon drink that was great and a shot of their fresh squeezed OJ (no pulp and watery tart). Parking is good. Up front, wide enough and more in the rear. To me it feels more like it should be a dinner place. I wonder if locals will go often enough to make it work out. It feels like a special occasion play. Do enough people eat a fancy breakfasts during the week? I think they need more lunch-cenric dishes at least. Maybe the drinks will catch on. I didn't catch the pricing. They probably will take too long for the to go crowd. One waitress (uniformed). One drink guru. Service was good. Open 7am-4pm. They seem to have that opening tip off enthusiasm. I was expecting a Black Bean Deli sort of experience. This was higher end. The pricing (and lack of sides on a few dishes) put me off initially. But, you do get alot. Now is that what people want? Or would they like both cut in half? Their POS system overcharged the tax. They said they would look into it.
Queen's Cup - Opened six months ago as an ice cream, etc place. Recently started a limited Thai menu. Around eight usuals. Pad Thai, Tom Yum, Fried Rice, Green and Masaman Curry, Samosas, Green Papaya Salad, Summer Rolls and what I had - Chicken Krapow for $15. Stir fried, pounded white meat with green and yellow peppers, fried egg, basil and onions over rice. The sauce is just a bit of heat with the cooking oil. Nothing special. Smallish portions. Rice was a bit over cooked. Most things cost the same. Some snacks were $5. They also do coconut water (from actual coconuts), ice cream, mango, drinks, etc. Family run. One cook/owner. One order taker. Limited seating (small raised counter, alcove and one table). Long ice cream counter. Green color. Parking in front. The snacks and sweets are probably the draw.
*If Mason's Lobster Rolls is at 2 S Orange, it is far from completion. Same with Nuri. Leiah seems closer. I drove past Mochibae (can we just write this off?) and DZO on East Colonial. DZO still says Mongolorian all over. Didn't see a finished build or a sign for Chapman in Winter Park. But, I may have been distracted (gone too fast). Maybe because they only do dinner.
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