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.
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