Grub Crawl - Winter Park and East Colonial: Black Phin and Pho 2 To

I tried these spots on Tuesday at lunch. The first is in some flower shop that was previously Lombardi's on 17-92 where they start calling it Mills. The second is at the intersection of Mills and 50. 

Black Phin Coffee - Only Vietnamese coffee. I had one for $6! Too costly. Millenial waste of space. Of course it was packed. Just opened. Not enough parking.

Pho 2 To - The girl said it was southern Viet food, but, all the signage said or was of Hanoi. I wasn't sure if it was just a new sign for one of those existing places on that corner. It wasn't. It occupies two rooms. Fully decorated. Fake outside eaves. Cute. Earth tones and yellow. Lots of dark wood.  One of the bigger selections of options. I had a banh mi for $8. It sucked. Bad bread. No pate. Spongy pork roll. Small. Took too long to make. The one good element was the roast pork that I wouldn't be surprised if it came from Mills Market. The second room had these bins that may some day have pepared items in them. They sold a few dry goods. Parking is terrible. A few people there. Maybe a dozen tables. It deserves a look. Just avoid what I had. Open for two months.

*I was there to try Cowboy Curry. It wasn't open although internet had reviews.

Los Hermanos Taqueria, Curry Ford Rd

I tried this Mexican restaurant/bodega/butcher near 15 in the Hourglass District on Tuesday at lunch. It has been there a while. I never went in because I wasn't sure that it really had food. Poor signage. It has a full menu and arounf fifteen tables. I had a carnitas and a cabeza and a borrego (lamb) taco to go. Double corn flour wrapped. Raw. Mostly good quality meats. The menu isn't correct on costs. Lower than reality. The carnitas was $3. The others $4. Too expensive for what they are. Are Mexicans the worst shoppers? Seems like their own people aren't above ripping them off. Whenever I see manual laborers buying lunch at the supermarket, I wonder how how long they have to work to make up for not brown bagging. The room has scenic art on all the booths and tables. No region in particular. It was more than I expected, but, reductive. You can save your powder.

Grub Crawl - Longwood: Southern Fowl (Moved to Avalon Park) and Euro-Balkan Grocery *SC/GA Travel Notes

I tried these places today at lunch. They are in some perpetually underleased strip mall near 17-92 (I4 side) on 434. They are aside each other. The first just replaced a similar place called Nic & Luc Scratch Kitchen. The second moved across the mall. When? I'm not sure. It has been there for ages.

Southern Fowl - The Se7en Bites couple broke up and one of them has started this. In the kitchen. Opened a week ago. Mostly breakfast, lunch and brunch stuff. I had the "Simple" (two eggs, meat, starch and biscuit) for $10. I was going $14 Benny, but, the eggs aren't poached. It was simple, but, very good. Fresh eggs. Sunny side up not over easy and a bit mucus-y. But, no worries. It seemed like the sausage (or bacon) patty was hand made. Ground? Nice flavor. Not overcooked. The potato discs (or cheddar grits) were excellent. Crisp, yet, still had some fluff inside. The biscuit was large and seemed homemade. A bit salty. But, all in all, enough to warrant my return. The Breakfast menu has: biscuits and gravy, chicken and waffles, burrito, egg sandwich, frittata, hotcakes, loaded potataoes and a bruleed apple concoction called a Ditch Baby. $9-$15. Lunch has: Mac, 2 salads, PBLT, burgers, chicken, wraap and a soup broth dip sucker called Frenchie O'. $10-$15. Sides. Kid's options. Refills on the $3 sodas. I think the menu will adapt. They said they were inquiring into what people want. The place looks similar as before. Uncluttered. High ceilings. Light gray and and brown/red and black paint scheme. Semi-open kitchen. Maybe six tables. Order at a couter. Three on call. Around four other tables had already found them out. Lighter hours on the weekend. I think the are closed one day of the week. Parking is abundant. I thought it was going to be a soul food fried chicken place. It seems to be way beyond that. Lucky us. I just did a bunch of rated Southern boites (see below). So, I wasn't exactly jonesing for or forgetful of this type of cooking. 99% sure it will be a Fav. And a place that I won't only try once. Pricing is fair. Fowl is a hit. Man, that is barely pun-y. But better than Fowl is fair.

Euro-Balkan Grocery & Deli - I grabbed some liver pate and beer (Serb/Bosnian/Macedonian) and baked peanuts at this little market. Almost did Hungarian wine. Good prices. They have all the frozen meats and snacks and sweets and dry goods you expect. I will try something new every time I go to Southern Fowl for a meal.

*Travel Notes - South Carolina and Georgia: I drove my own car to Brunswick. I stopped on 105 (off 295 to Amelia Island) at Palms Fish Camp in Jacksonville. I had a good whole fried yellow tail with slaw and fries and hushpuppies. 105 through AI back to 95. I stayed at the Baymont (Expedia 7.6) for $89. Drove around a bit. Saw College of Coastal Georgia and DT. 

The next day I had a Willie Dog at Willie's Wee-Nee Wagon and a carnitas taco with homemade tortilla at Barrio Tacos next door. Then I crossed over to St Simon's Island and had a Cobb Salad with chicken at Brogen's North. Drove as far NE and NW up the island as you can. Back to 17. Took that a bit north to the crossover to 95. They are building a new exit there (and a Bucee's). Up to Hardeeville (entrance to Hilton Head). I stayed at the noisy and dirty Sleep Inn (Expedia 6.8) for $89. I should say at this point that I chose cities and hotels because of sky high rates at most of the nicer places and these first few days weren't part of the reason for the trip. I just needed to get out of the house. I had ok fried chicken at Chickin Lickin'. 

The next day I drove 95 to 26 to Columbia. Got off on 1 to Bull St and a left around twelve blocks to Segra Park. Bought a ticket ($18 behind home plate) for the Fireflies - River Dogs game that night. Back onto 126 to 26 to Whyte Hardee Blvd to a nice Sleep Inn (Expedia 8.2) on 20 for $86. Gave me a suite. I had a economical feast at Cook Out. A taco in a Dorito's bag, double cb, chili fries, quesadilla, corn dog, soda, etc for the price of a combo at most other places. Back to the ball park. Some historical houses (Woodrow Wilson et al) and gardens and art museum DT. The downtown is very nice except for the parking meters. So their establishments got no love. Nice game. Parking at a lot next door was $8. The ballpark is new and in some new development. 

The next day I took 26S to 77E to Exit 5 (Bluff Rd and Old Bluff Rd) about fifteen miles to Congaree NP. It's free. I went during Covid (btw check out (www.covid.gov) and it was all locked up. This time I just did a short hike and saw the Firefly Trail. Some time of year they have some big firefly celebration. Back on Old Bluff south to St Matthew and Orangeburg and 95. SE to Charleston. I had the Brunch BLT at Virginia's on King (and Hutton). It was from an old Travel & Leisure article. Fried green tomatoes, fried eggs, country bacon, pimento cheese with steak fries. Had to park in a lot. $1 for 20 min. Walked around Marion Square and Wragg Square. Drove to hotel past/around Colonial Lake. Stayed at the La Quinta on Ashley Point (Booking 6.0) again for two nights at $105 per. The parking was supposed to be $15/nt, but, was free. This time they gave me a room in the main unit and that made a huge difference. I drove to Whole Foods on 17. You hipsters will buy anything. Hopped water? On the way back I stopped at Charles Towne Fermentory. The distillery next door is no longer one. A cheese place. Ate and drank to the sunset at the hotel. 

The next day I drove back to downtown. Bypassed a place called Chez Nous because of parking. Ended up at Wentworth (lot) and Meeting for plan b (really a). The Watch at The Restoration Hotel (Travel & Leisure article) off King. It is a roof deck (must be best views) restaurant. Had a good shrimp roll with a side (salad). On the way to the next stop, I saw a sign for Vivian Howard's Handy & Hot at The Lindy Renaissance Hotel. Grabbed a biscuit with jam. Moved on to Hyman's Seafood. I have been slowly learning that this is famous. Signs said top 150 historic restaurants in the nation. I had a really thick (like a dip) bowl of she-crab soup to go. There was a line. But, the place inside was half seated. The food I saw didn't look that great. Like a guy named Hyman would make it. First name Buster? I drove back to 17 and 171 to 700 to Wadmalaw Island to the end and PM King's/Hum Grocery (How She Rolls on PBS) for a terrible turkey and provolone sandwich. Back a mile to the Charleston Tea Garden (America's only tea plantation). Factory tour was free, but, trolley tour was $20. A magnet was $14! Back towards Charleston. There was a winery here that I was talked out of visiting. Stopped at Low Tide Brewing on Johns Island. I liked this area. Had only been to the Kiawah Island cut off. Had a drink at California Dreaming near the hotel. Looks like a fort. Great views across the water to Charleston. Ate and drank to the sunset at the hotel again.

The next day I drove to Hilton Head Island. Saw the RBC Heritage at Harbor Town Golf Links. $25 for Wednesday Pro-Am. Free parking and shuttle. Drove 95 home. Accident at Crescent Beach cost an hour. 

Spent $83 on gas. $473 on hotels. $300 on the rest. $856 total. Weather was great. Lots of traffic going the opposite way. Crashes, etc. 95 in SC on a weekend is hell. Two lanes do not cut it. Cops let trucks do whatever the hell they want. It turned out that things were so expensive because of high school holidays. I thought they would be this week. Didn't do Folly Beach at Charleston because I figured it would be jam packed. No Bill Murray sightings.

Grub Crawl - International Drive: Sports & Social, Kings Point, World Cafe and Mr Burdog

I tried these spots on Wednesday at lunch. The first is on the second level in the middle of Pointe Orlando. The second is on the other side of Sand Lake Rd on the east side in a strip mall near Carrier. The third is a little north of that in a strip mall with the defunct Roboland. The third is farther north yet across Kirkman in a strip mall on the west side near Fun Spot/Hash House A Go Go.

Sports & Social - A huge (two story high ceilings) sports bar with some food. Huge tvs in the center. Maybe thirty assorted sized tables in that room with a DJ booth and bar. You pass another bar area (with beer pong, tvs and bubble hockey) and a second floor balcony like area on the way. There is also a small darts, beer pong and Golden Tee area past that. And an outdoor area farther down a hall. I grabbed a cheese steak with fries for $16 to go. I hadn't intended on eating here. Didn't know it existed. Just checking the look of two newbies around them. The cs was pretty good. With whiz and onions. Beef was tender. Not quite a full hoagie. Roll was good. Fries were pretty good too. Took a bit too long for an empty restaurant. I ended up eating it all in the car after the place I was going to sit down at (something like the Garden Plaza at the Rosen) turned out to be a lame AYCE buffet and the other place with a sign you can see from the road there (Zebra's) was just a bar open at night. At least that long time mystery is solved. The menu had things like burgers, salads and the usuals. Nice look. Mostly black. Could offer a good time. I think it's a year old. Didn't love the facility fee they added.

Kings Point - I think it has been there a while. Kind of like a diner that added some Brazilian items. I just grabbed a chicken and catupiry cheese empanada (they sell nine kinds) to go for $6. It was ok. Shredded chicken. Bland. Large. Half moon shaped. Better warmed. Couldn't get them to admit if they buy them. I was going to have ice cream, but, they had a weird (not bad) way of selling it. By the pound. And they didn't list the cost. Didn't feel like asking. You scoop it (hard kind) and could add some syrups and toppings (like milk powder). Not really conducive for take out. They said it was a Brazilian way. Some menu stand outs are: beef stroganoff, beef parmigiana, mussarela sticks (their spelling), Calabrese sausage, fettucine Alfredo and acai. White, gray and...red. Hah. Not black. Two rooms. Maybe a dozen tables in each. Not fancy. Antiseptic. They thought Kings Point was what that area of town was once called. Better than I assumed it would be.

World Cafe - Open since 2002. Diner like offerings. Small. Maybe eight tables. I finally got my ice cream here (I had already rejected one scoopers of Hershey's brand at the new Candy Cream Cafe for $6 and rolled ones at Mr Cool for $8) after bypassing a couple others on this side of I Drive. Blue Bell ice cream. I had the pistachio and walnuts for $4 in a cup. Good. The place is drab. 

Mr Burdog - They took over from Thunder Burger around nine months ago. Looks the same. Basic. Now Brazilian. 9 Dogs, 5 sandwiches, 3 veg stuff, specialties, 5 kid's menu and 23 burgers (Brazilian, Gourmet and American styles). I grabbed a $8 cheeseburger because it was the same cost as three tenders and they were the cheapest thing. Combos can get to $27! The cheapest dog was $9. It was ok. Flatish patty. Salty. Meatloafy. No toppings at all. Brioche bun. The most interesting part of the menu was written in Portuguese. I asked and some were skewers of meat. All in all a bit to over priced for me. Used to be a food truck. Now I get it. Bur(ger) Dog.

*I may knock out two other Pointe Orlando spots later this month. Maybe some long timers at the other Rosen Hotel too. Sal's at Pointe Orlando is only open at night, so, it will probably be a while (if ever). It's funny. I eschewed Divana Carne because it starts at $40 for AYCE (things like smoked salmon, carpaccio and sushi). I ended up spending $40 on this junk. International Drive is mostly all accounted for now. Also, drove past Epic Universe. It does exist. Still working on all the roads to it. And Sand Lake exit.

The Chapman, Winter Park

I tried this classic American spot on Park Ave (near to Fairbanks) on Sunday at dinner. I had the angus beef brisket cheeseburger for $23. It's among the cheapest things you can get. It was good. The meat had a funk. But, no after-effects, so, I guess it is a feature. Normal American cheese. Possibly hand crafted pickle slices. Some sauteed onion. Four cherry tomatoes that may have been marinated. A possibly whole wheat bun that was a bit crumbly. I'm not sure if that is a characteristic or if it was getting old. A wilted piece of lettuce and some thousand islandy sauce on the bottom bun. Very salted. Ok crust. A tad above medium. I asked for medium rare. It came with four potato spears (aka steak fries). They were very good. Almost a whole baked potato's worth. The outside was just crusty enough. I was pretty full after all of this. Basic plating. Steak knife. Cloth napkin. The rest of the menu is a bit boring. They add some sandwiches to the lunch menu. Some apps like: crab cake, ahi two ways, a lion's mane mushroom that I believe was fried and maybe a soup or two. Some high teen salads. The mains were things in the high twenties+ like: roast chicken, fettucine, rigatoni and steaks that started at $69 and went up to triple digits. Some mid to high teen desserts (5) and sides. Cocktails, etc as well. Pretty big wine list. Up to $500 for champers. Sixteen or so tables on the left side. Three or four on the right not counting the large bar or lounge chairs by the fireplace. Many tables out front. I think I saw a private room in the rear. Excellent interior design. The de rigeur white, black, gray tones with flourishes of gold, steel, glass and mirror. I believe it is a bit more deco than nouveau, but, there is alot of metal. Metal mesh screens separate the bar from the left room and parts of the left room. Glass chandeliers. Velvet drapes. Paintings. Wood tables. Fabric-ed chairs. Mixed earth tone tiled floor. Recessed lighting. Columns. Tons of staff. Mostly female. Brooks Brothers unis. Always smiling. Attentive. The dish didn't come out lickety split, but, maybe they were pacing or had a skeleton crew on Sunday. I liked the ambiance. Nice ambient music. A place for adults. But, there were babies in tow. The inner rooms were about 3/4 full. I didn't have a res or a wait. Dress code is casual. I did kind of feel like it was a bit like a nicer Houston's. But, I haven't been to one in a while and I think the local one is a bit better than the average. I would get a bit more adventurous with the menu. But, I would probably be out of business in a month. I just couldn't give anyone a two word synopsis of what they do. I would probably describe the look. Still, it could be a Fav. Open for a month or so. I think they do a brunch now too. Pretty sure they are open all week. You could make the effort. From the group that does Boca down the street.

*I tried to try Luca Turci. However, they could only bring themselves to operate until 7pm. I wasn't really going to suffer through this anyway. It seems like the exact same Italian menu as their College Park location. And I've already brought those thoughts to you. This spot is small, but, looks nicer. On Morse which is about halfway down Park.

Grub Crawl - Downtown: Evergreen Juice Bar and Nuri's Tavern

I tried these spots on Friday at lunch. The first is across from Publix on Central at Lake Eola. They said it was previously an insurance office. The second is in the old Robinson's location on Pine near Orange. Across from the Thai place and Papi Burgers. It is owned by the Primrose Lanes people and they also has three other concerns (something Mather's Pharmacy that I went to ages ago, a jazz club and something I think they called Aloha) above them. All open at night. I suspect that I won't be back here until it is walking around weather again. Every other announced newbie still doesn't seem to be anywhere near to being open. No one knew of the prospective food hall or where it will be. I thought it was across from the library.

Evergreen Juice Bar - Opened three days ago. Juices and toasts. I had a small fruity tooty something smoothie for $8. It was ok. Seven in total. Half with peanut butter. The toasts looked ok. $11 and up. Seven also. Some with salmon and tuna and avocado, etc. I don't recall juices. They said coffee was coming. Modern look. Mostly white with black accents. Order at a counter. Right side. Tiny room. A couple of tables on the right. I wasn't keen on this going in. If it wasn't hot, I would have just bought one of their (probably outsourced) cookies to escape with the least harm.

Nuri's Tavern - Opened around a month ago. Finally doing lunch every day. Dinner too. Pretty late. Closed on Monday. Disappointing. I had wings (6) in buf-a-que sauce. Ok. The sauce was too berry tasting to mix with blue cheese. The blue cheese seemed to have a ranch base. Only three, thin, limp pieces of celery too. The cost $16! Almost $3 a wing. I chose those because the pizzas looked pathetic. Cracker thin squares of twelve inches at $16 to $19. Five with sauce. Four "whites". I hope they didn't decide on this style because of cooking time. I may have seen circular ones coming out of the kitchen. The menu didn't read that way. Only six apps such as meatballs, salad (2) and beef 'roni cups. $9-$14. An odd melange. They also have a few beers, wines, cocktails and soft serve ice cream. The place look nice. Robinson's was pretty nice. Two sides. Bar in back. Lots of elbow room. White and light wood. A few ornaments. Phone booth. Tvs with sports. It's the best thing about it. Then I'll say the execution (not including the type of pizza they have chosen to make). The prices are the third worst thing about it and finally the menu. Weird selection and too tiny for a full blown restaurant. Maybe for a food truck. Two servers. Food isn't as good as Primrose Lanes and no bowling gimmick. Needs a rethink if they aren't trying to be the "Waffle House" to their connected booze bars. Robinson's was better.

*I have some emails if you wish to lobby NSB to return some free parking. mayor@nsb.com, yperrine@nsb.com, lmartin@nsb.com, jmcguirk@nsb.com and bashley@nsb.com. 

**I noticed that Publix is now cheaper in many items than Winn Dixie. A WD chicken is now $10 at WD. Still $8 at P. Eggs were just above $5 at P. Sodas and water are cheaper there. Even those $1.69 toasts in packaging were less. WD also plays games with alcohol. Overcharges and then discounts. Luv ya Aldi!

Grub Crawl - Universal Area and Winter Park: Surah and Taco's Lab

I tried these spots yesterday at lunch. The first is in a strip mall down Dr Phillips as far away from Sand Lake as possible. I think that is Conroy. The second is on Fairbanks towards Rollins in the old King Bao location on the left. I was just checking if they indeed were open and just decided to get it out of the way.

Surah - Korean. Means dishes made for royalty (Joseon Dynasty). A little uneven. They took over for some other Korean place recently. I had the lunch special ($2 lower) beef bulgogi with rice for $18. It was the mirror image of how it usually is. The beef had a nice subtle (not cloyingly sweet) flavor and was tender. The rice was a mushy mess. Some onions on top. Took way to long to come out. Only a table of four there at the time and they were already in the process of dining. The bon chon (6) were: fish cake, kim chi (too salty), spicy burdock cubes, diced pickled burdock, a simple salad and sweet peanuts. The last two were firsts. One server. Twelve tables and an offset room. A few with burners. Wait for it...white, gray, black decor with dark stained wood accents. Brown tile floors. Sticky. The pen to sign the check was also sticky. Metal water glass. Weird, plastic panda water bottle that I hope they didn't take from the table next to mine and refilled. AC was too low. Small menu. Some bbq meats that I think started at $26 (to +$40). Fried chicken and pork cutlets. Bibimbap and a couple others. That's it. The place is like one of those old hotels that they try and funkify. It just doesn't feel right/new. Cleanliness is also appears to be suspect. No reason to exert yourself to get here. I think they close up between 3:30pm and 4:30pm.  

Taco's Lab - They think they can differentiate by being a "lab". The only "experiments" are in name only. I can't see one thing on the menu that is original. Maybe the sauces? But, they aren't described. Two $6 tacos. Three at $5. Three at $4.50. Things like breaded fish, shrimp, mushrooms, birria and chicken. I had a Camal Tradition with chicharron (that is also labeled as pork belly) and one with carnitas. $5 a piece. Both with onions and cilantro on a corn tortilla. Ok. Bigish. That type also comes in chorizo or suadero. They also do $13 to $16 fusion bowls (some of the same stuff with rice and beans) and $9 to $14 quesadillas. Elote, guac and cheese dip are the apps at $9 to $10. Three desserts from $8 to $9. Only four tables. Order at a counter. One cook and the owner. White. Parking for eight behind. Sadly (for them), the other two taco places near them (one on the other side of I4) are better. They do seem to want to please though. Second week.

*I also went to New Smyrna Beach today for the last time. They have put up pay meters at every beach. Can't reward that small time thinking. How come progress seems to result in making something worse? And here's a shocker - almost every parking lot was empty. Good business acumen town council.