Travel Notes - Alabama Louisiana Florida

Travel Notes - Alabama Louisiana Florida: I rented a car for a week from Hertz for $15. I used points because it would have cost $473. I had to do this because the nimrods at Sanford Paint and Body didn't finish my repairs in time. That will be a Tutorial. I stayed here the first day. I drove to Gainesville and had a lunch TMNT sandwich at The Paper Bag Deli DT (3D) for $14. The whole town is metered parking. I continued on to West Pensacola and stayed at the poor Country Inn West (Booking 8.2) for $71. Walmart Cobb Salads dinner.

The next day I stopped in Mobile. Grabbed an ok Spanish SOS Squid to go at Squid Ink (Travels with Darley) for $18. Saw a newish food court called Parc le Tralour. They are dicks about meters too. Drove around and found a closed Hummingbird Oyster Bar (3D). They were setting up for Mardi Gras parades. I found free parking at the Blind Mule (Chow Down Countdown #75) back DT. Got the $21 chili cb with fries to go. Drove to 12W and the North Shore at Covington. Stayed at the Hilton Garden Inn (Expedia 8.6) for $101. Drove at Abita Brewing in Abita Springs. BK dinner. I saw Covington and Abita Springs on Samantha Brown's Places to Love. They are on the north shore of Lake Pontchartrain.

The next day I drove through DT Covington. Saw the Southern Hotel, etc. Cute town. Drove 190S to the lake in Mandeville. 22W to 55S/51S to Akers/Manchac. Had a thin fried catfish plate with hp and ff at Middendorf's (Food Paradise and Good Eats) for $23. Down to 10E to 610E. Exited on the Canal St exit. Went to City Park for the first time. Went to NOMA and Besthoff Sculpture Garden. Maybe the best things in NO. Garden is free. Drove around the park. Tad Gormley Stadium (mostly UNO track), Botanical Garden, City Putt, Carousel Gardens Amusement Park. They even have a Cafe du Monde here. Down Orleans. Grabbed a cochon de lait (pulled pork with cole slaw) at Katies's (3D) for $18. It turned out to be on the same block as that Liuzza's place I went to a few trips back. Down Bienville a few blocks to a real surprise - Neyow's Creole Cafe (I forget the show). I was getting "you mind if we dance wif your dates" vibes, but, they delivered excellent fried chicken, carrot souffle and mac and cheese for $18. The souffle was a first. Like pumpkin pie filling. They made the mac with thin/short vermicelli or something. A first too. I went east a block or two to the Parkway Bakery (Samantha Brown's Places to Love). Grabbed an alligator sausage po boy to go for $11. This was a cool spot. Had parking. I should state here that I ate the cochon and po boy the next day. Both were good. To the Garden District and the Marsh Hotel (Expedia 9.2) for $95. They lied about the parking. I got a spot because I showed up exactly at 4pm, but, there were only two spots. They also didn't give me a great room. I should state here that almost every location except those in FL wanted exorbitant rates for the weekend. Think $400+.

The next day I drove through Pensacola to 90E to Santa Rosa Beach FL. Stayed at the brand new Tru by Hilton (Expedia 9.6) for $88. Had a free wine tasting at Emerald Coast Wine Cellars at Miramar Beach. They are part of that Chautauqua Winery in Defuniak Springs. Let's put it this way - all wines were non vintage. Grabbed an overpriced, un-pressed or impressive Cuban with potato wedges at Stinky's Fish Camp on 30A for $22. 

The next day I stopped for a $15 bagel with smoked salmon, cc, capers, pickled onions and tomato at Coastal Coffee & Cafe. Drove 30A (a jjoy) to 90E. Stopped at St Joe's Shrimp at Hunt's on St Joe Bay in Cape San Blas for llb of steamed white shrimp for $22. They said it was caught there. Said the moratorium on oyster harvesting is lifting in March and some is allowed now. Stopped at Leon Sinks Geological Area in Crawfordville (open this time). North to Tallahassee to Railroad Square. I can't believe I had never been to this cool little area before. Had an ok curry chicken and an ok chickpea empanada at Pineappetit (3D) for $12. They are known for filled, carved out pineapples. That wouldn't travel well. Saw the basketball arena (Donald L Tucker Civic Center). Almost went to a game. Drove on to Orlando. 

Spent $355 on hotels. $244 on food/etc. $116 on gas. Total = $730. I think the last time I did this route was right as DeSantis ordered us home for Covid.

Grub Crawl - Epic Universe and Florida Mall Areas: Half Barrel, Pho Sky Blossom, Gozumba, Turull's and Mazala Pijja

I tried these spots Sunday at lunch. The first is on Universal Blvd in a strip mall. The second is in a strip mall at the northwest corner at Sand Lake and OBT. The third is in the strip mall on the northeast corner of that intersection. The fourth is in a strip mall one block east of that on Sand Lake. The last is in a strip mall south of that on Doss Ave that I believe is called Lakshmi.

Half Barrel Beer Project - They said they have been there for nine years. I believe this is the last brewery that has escaped me in CF. I had two 5ozers that seemed like less than that at $3.50 a piece. A nice hibiscus one and an ok Mexican lager. Small place. Only four of their own brews. Some food. New looking. Tvs. This whole area is pristine. Brand spanking new.

Pho Sky Blossom - I had the chicken pho at $17 after they said they couldn't do a crab and tomato one. It was fine. Lots of breast meat that I wish they wouldn't tear length wise. Nor add older batches to the fresh ones. Noodles seemed store bought. They couldn't bother to separate them. Like a brick. All stuck together. Typical menu and prices. The place is black and pink and gray. Cherry blossom tree in front of four tvs patched together to make one huge one showing a tourism video for Vietnam. Stage. Wicker lamp shades. Two metal ones. Some stone accents. Gray stuffed cushion back chairs. A half wall topped with feathers. Kitchen behind that. A mini L shape layout. Four blue cushioned seat tables and a bar in the front. Eight tables for six or more on the spine of the L. Two servers. Dressed in black. About half full. Took a bit long to ladle soup. An ok experience on a cold afternoon. I will take issue with the sriracha et al they presented me. All half full and dirty. A bad look.

Gozumba - Walked in and out. Some kind of trash nightclub. Was frisked going in. Can't imagine eating there. 

Turull's Kitchen & Bar - I like tapas. I don't like paying people astronomical mark ups to put them on a plate for me. As such, I grabbed the cheapest thing to go. $7 tortilla de patata (1 piece). Now I'm unsure if they sliced one piece into three tiny ones or they made a mistake or this is how they count in Spain, but, I received three tinies. Side of garlic mayo. Ok. Not sure if they made it. The menu has bites like croquetas and empanadas at $13. Calamares, gambas, pulpo in the twenties. Sausage, soup, tostones, etc. Mains like Carnes in the forties. Seafood in the thirties. Paellas in the forties. I didn't see portion sizes. Only two tables eating. Five desserts. Gray, white, red and black. Counter on the left. Tiny glass wine closet at the entrance. Mostly filled with Lan. Light bulb tipped tree. Bottle of wine mural. Blue and white checker board backed chairs. Wood tables. Open kitchen in the rear. Around a dozen tables and seats at the counter. Seemed estrogen fueled. I'm sure it's good. I just don't have that USAID, Somali day care or South American despot money. Nor a stolen credit card. Their in house video had images of Mallorca on it. Not sure if the food takes on this character. I thought they were newish, but, their sign read 2023. I believe they are closed on Monday.

Mazala Pijja - I assumed this would be as pointless as the five other previous places here that I have been forced to endure. I am a big whatever is the opposite of a fan of Indian pizza (or most fusion). It just has too much of its own character to blend. Plus all these suckers were around $20 for a 12" pijja shit. The meatballs on some people. Needless to say there wasn't one person in there eating. Needless to say I chose a $5 mango lassi to go. They rang up a $6 chai. Jokes on me. I dropped it on the ground. Maybe Ganesh was protecting me from pee-ja? I had a sip. It was fine. To my dismay, I later saw a separate more reasonable Holiday Menu that had actual Indian dishes at acceptable price points. IE - Chicken 65 or chili for $14. Probably hose you on the rice. I guess the pizza menu didn't get it done on its own. It's run by the Saffron Hospitality Group. Small. About eight tables. I think it was white and blue. Only a cook was there.

*Whomever is in charge of the traffic lights around Epic Universe and Sand Lake from I4 to John Young is a complete moron.

Selva Rosa, Maitland

I had occasion to try this MexicAsian spot Monday at lunch. A rose by another other name would not mean pink jungle. I found it to have aspirations that weren't realized in this meal. I'm not sure how much can be attributed to growing pains (open for two weeks). I guess if you have hired the wrong people then you will have those. But, then I guess the blame should be with you (management) if your vision isn't realized. I tried a lunch special. I'll state here that their pricing is a selling point. I had the Surf n Turf Bento Box for $18. It was a choice of fajita (chicken) and a roll (salmon avocado) with black beans and white rice and a salad. The eight piece roll was fat. Lots of salmon and fresh avocado. However, the salmon seemed salted. I wonder if this was a flourish that landed flat or a dirty mis en place. Not a selling point. The rice was good enough. I had to ask for tortillas for the fajita. Not sure if they are to be included or they just placated me because they are still in the customer acquisition stage. Not grilled. The chicken was pretty good. Not a ton of flavor. You really missed the usual condiments (sour cream, guac, etc). The salad was old and poor. A kind of take on the Japanese salad with orange dressing. Avocado and lime. This had been mixed well before. All the components were wilted/mushy. With the lack of condiments, I employed the salad and black beans as adjuncts. The beans were tasteless and surrounded by mud water. The rice was very good. Basmati, I believe. Chips and salsa were included. The chips could have been a bit fresher. The salsa tasted fishy. No heat. I did ask for hot sauce in a bottle (in case salsa number one had jizz in it) with the box and they came back with a better hot version and a dish of habenero sauce that I didn't try. So, we almost had the makings of a Favorite. But, these basic failures made this all the more infuriating. It was like like seeing a musical at the Wayne Densch Theater. You're left lamenting what it was not rather than what it was. Hopefully, they can clean these things up because it could be very good. The menu is full of fusion. And while I found fault with a similarly inspired mash up at Nikitta, the main difference is the value they assess themselves. This is not MORE expensive than traditional (properly executed) Japanese. It is less. Probably half as dear as these Peruvian enterprises. I did have some consternation over the descriptors. A quick perusal was not enough to conclude whether their dishes were novel or just a play on words. Obviously, if it is the former then I would be more impressed. They offer up a bit of sushi and sashimi. Empanadas, all the forms of tortilla based dishes, ceviche, edamame, guisada, pork chop, pollo asada, etc. A rib eye at $30 was the top end. I didn't love that the apps had main prices. A few desserts. Cocktails, basic beer and wine selection and hard stuff. The place is huge with high ceilings. L shaped bar in the far corner. A few booths and high tops in that area. A main room with around fifteen tables and four booths. A section with the sushi bar that had four tables and seats at the bar. And a large patio area. Seats were wicker and wood. Black ceiling, gray, wood, bamboo. Green leaf accents. Many jaguar paintings. A horde of employees. Three hosts. Around twenty wait staff. Their presence was a bit distracting. As was the music of tone deaf, whisper singing female pop tarts. The ac was also way too high. They had some parking. It is in the old Rusteak location on South Orlando. The mis-steps should be easy to correct. Then again, if they were allowed to take places to begin with, should we expect the people that allowed them to be able to cure them? Here's hoping. O E O E O.

Travel Notes - Nevada Idaho Utah Arizona

Travel Notes - Nevada Idaho Utah Arizona: I flew to Las Vegas on Frontier (7am) and back on Jet Blue (11am) for $226. I paid extra for the non-red eye/late pm routes this time. The early am was a bitch though. Rented a car for two weeks from Hertz for $489. It was twice that earlier. I switched from a $536 Budget two days before because they overcharged me on the San Antonio rental. I took this trip because I finally put my car in the shop and didn't want to pay for a rental car to sit in my driveway. I had no idea where I would go. Weather and cost set the course. Colorado and New Mexico had no snow. I was going to go to Jackson Hole, but, didn't like the cost of anything. No drop for off peak days. Next year.

I had a bad pate banh mi for $7 at Pho Thanh on Spring Mountain Rd. Average al pastor and lengua soft tacos at Taqueria El Paisano for $8. These (and most of the places in LV that I will try) aren't famous or well regarded (as far as I know). I had just seen them around and they looked cheap. I traveled down Decataur to see if their H Mart had opened. It had. Smaller than ours with more franchise-y food court. I grabbed a plate of geoduck clam ($18) and milkfish ($4) sashimi to go. I don't think I had eaten either before. The geoduck had dark and a light bits. Not worth the expense. The milkfish was like ahi tataki. A big portion. Very good. I had seen it whole on their fish counter. Almost went for the $8 uni too. I drove downtown to the Oasis Hotel at the Goldenspike (Expedia 8.0). It cost $67 with RF. They wouldn't let me in early. Free parking. Worst hotel I've stayed in in LV. Stunk of cigs. The "good" part according to them is a motel connected to it (Oasis). I stayed in the tower at the Goldenspike. I walked around until they let me in. Grabbed wine at ABC and an Italian Sausage Sandwich with crinkle fries at Project BBQ at Circa. Couldn't muster the energy to leave the room. Made reservations/plan for the next day.

The next day I drove 15N about ten miles to 93N. Grabbed a meatball sub combo at Subway for $11 at a gas station. Drove to the border in Jackpot. Stayed at Cactus Pete's Resort Casino (Expedia 8.2) for $101 with RF. Grabbed some junk at the General Store. Drank a bottle of wine I bought in LV. It snowed overnight.

The next day I drove through Twin Falls ID to Boise. Stayed at the Red Lion Downtown (Booking 6.2) for $80. They wouldn't check me in early, so, I had lunch at Westside Drive In (3D). CB and Loaded MP for $16. Drove through DT. Took pics of the Capitol. It had been a while since I had last been here. Checked in. Walked back into town. Past a hockey arena and a food hall and some breweries. Had a $11 flight at Bardenay Distilling Company (Drinking Made Easy) and $11 Portuguese cider at Bar Guernica (3D) on a block dedicated to the Basques. I had a $7 beer at Bitter Creek Ale House (Drinking Made Easy). Around the corner to Saint Lawrence Gridiron (3D) for a $38 Bleu Brisket Sandwich with fries and a beer. Walked back to the hotel. Some other places that were on tv are: Bacon, Taj Mahal, Big Jud's, Sunshine Spice, Madre, Lulu's, Tango's. Some have gone out of business.

The next day I drove to BSU to take pics. Then State St west out of town. I tried to try a 3D defunct pizza place that now is La Catracha. It looked ok, so, I tried a baleada for $8. It was a crepe filled with egg and beans and cheese. Good. Honduran? I drove to McCall on 55N. I bought a lift ticket ($132 with charges) for the next day at Brundage. $69 most. Returned to town and rented skis for $47 at Home Town Sports. They wanted $70 at Brundage. Bought dinner/wine at Albertson's. Stayed at Third Street Inn (Booking 8.2) for two nights at $301. 

The next day I did Brundage. It snowed the two days before. A little cold. Good resort. Back to town. Pics of Lake McCall. 1/3lb Elk Burger with cheese and bacon for $16 at My Father's Place. Dinner of Hailey Burrito at KB's Burritos for $12.

The next day I drove 55S to Boise. Stopped at Tamarack Resort in Donnelly. It was a Sunday, so, lift tickets were double. After getting hosed at Brundage, I didn't feel like skiing again. It looked basic and it was pretty cold anyway. Stopped on State St at Alyonka Russian Cuisine (3D). Prices were out of line, so, I just grabbed a good $8 Cheburki to go. Drove to Twin Falls. Stayed at the terrible Sleep Inn Jerome at Exit 173 on 84 (Expedia 8.8) for $72. Found the ramp where Evel Knievel tried to jump the Snake River. Taco Smell for dinner.

The next day I continued on 84E and south to Utah. A dick at the Comfort Inn on 80 and 15 canceled my reservation when I said the room smelled like cigs. I had an ok eggs and home fries with cheese grits plate at Hub & Spoke Diner (Cheap Eats) for $13. Grabbed a bad turkey, ham and bacon wrap with ff at Lucky 13 (Food Paradise) for $20. Known for burgers. Didn't want to eat it while driving. Drove to Beaver because it was early in the day and I'm kind of over SLC. Stayed at the Quality Inn for $81 (rack rate). McD value meal. The burger value meal is still $5 here. They had $1.49 any size sodas out west too.

The next day I drove to Vegas. Good Bat Biet banh mi for $8 at Co Anh Sandwich & Noodle Kitchen on Spring Mountain Rd. Stayed at the Four Queens (Booking 8.2) DT for $60. Parking is $5. Free if you join their club. Wine at ABC. Half lb of poke for $15 at The Poke Shack & Grill in that container complex DT. Blackberry Basque Cake ice cream for $5 at Sorry Not Sorry Creamery. The Basques appear to have been herders out West. Too thick yellow curry with chicken with rice from Le Thai for $18. Too tired to venture out. 

The next day I had the buffet at Imperial Seafood Buffet on Spring Mountain Rd for $34. I had seen it when it opened. I think the quality has declined. Wanted as much sushi as possible at a new place though. Ended up not eating that much. Their cooked Chinese stuff wasn't that great. Ok salt and pepper frogs legs. Grabbed a mango pudding down the street at Hui Lan Shan for $5. It sucked. They advertise that they are famous in Hong Kong. I saw them the first day. They weren't open then. Drove to Boulder Hwy to stay at Sam's Town Casino Resort (Expedia 9.0). Nice. I should remind you here that I want to stay at every theme hotel in Vegas. Ate things that had accumulated during the trip for dinner. It became hot in Vegas.

The next day I got on 93S to 40W to Flagstaff. Two shrinkflated hbs at In & Out in Kingman. Stayed at the Voco by IHG (Booking 8.3) for $62. Flight of beer at Dark Sky Brewing Company for $18. Beer at Hops on Birch for $8. Wine flight for $23 at Oeno Wine Lounge. Dinner and wine from Bashsa's. Watched Game of Thrones channel. Missed the red wedding AGAIN!

The next day I had lunch at a place that was Brix and now is Sosta. I had a $21 grilled chicken pesto sandwich with chips. Drove 180N to Tusayan. Stayed at the Red Feather Lodge (Expedia 9.0) for $122. Overpriced. Especially since the town was deserted. I was here for the Grand Canyon. After 86ing Jackson Hole and not wishing to make the drive to CA, this was all that was left. Plus I had the Annual Pass, so, it was free. I drove in and walked the rim trail and went to the Visitor's Center. Drove the Hermit Road (west side of the park). Back to town and had what was supposed to be six taquitos (three cut in half) from Plaza Bonita for $17. A Mudshark beer from the General Store.

The next day I went back to the Grand Canyon. Took the Desert View Road (64) east out of the park. There is a watchtower at the end. Glad I went back. I don't think I drove these routes before. Park was pretty empty even though MLK Holiday. Drove on to Cameron and south to Flagstaff. Del Taco. West on 40 to Williams. Saw the Poozeum of dino poo (closed) and Route 66. Grabbed a slice of blueberry (stale) cream cheese pie at Pine Country Restaurant because a tourist magazine said to. Drove on to Vegas. I'll state here that 93 is full of pot holes and windshield cracking pebbles. There is also a tributary that leads to that glass bottom Grand Canyon overlook. I think the town is an Indian territory called Skylight. I'll try and do that next time. Though I think it costs over $70. Stayed at the great Ahern Hotel on Sahara Blvd (Expedia 9.4) for only $86. Free parking. Walked to the Strat to see about bungee jumping and food. Failed. Passed a machine gun shooting place. Walked through the Sahara in search of food. Failed. Wine from WG. Tried a place called Golden Steer. It seemed like a locally famous spot. Too crowded and dressy for me at that moment. Settled on a pepperoni pizza for $14 at Slice in the hotel. It was very good. Stayed in. There was another steak house down there on the Strip. Some luminescent art area on Sahara. The way there on foot was too sketchy though. Lots of crazies in LV.

The next day I had the free breakfast (eggs, etc) that was served at the All American Sports Kitchen. I walked back to the Strat to find out all the bungee slots were taken and the $130 online quote is really $154 with tax et al. Maybe next time. Saw Abby Hornacek do it. Drove to Boulder Hwy to stay at the shabby Boulder Station (Expedia 8.4). They were dicks about checking in early. I had to enlist the casino manager to overrule them. Watched playoffs. Ate leftover pizza.

The next day it was up Flamingo to the Atomic Testing Museum. It was $30. I walked through the exit/gift shop. I probably could have seen it for free that way. Turned around when I realized I was halfway in the museum. Another free room had replicas/info about Fat Man and Little Boy. Around UNLV. To Spring Mountain Rd for Lemongrass Grilled Chicken Pho at Pho Ga Bac Bac at $20. Parked for free at Treasure Island. Walked to Bellagio to see the Chinese New Year display. The Hard Rock guitar that will house rooms is half done. Caesar's is building a day pool area in front. These things block off that side of the Strip. New burger place at the Cosmopolitan (some pun with Patties). That's about it. Drove to the Luxor (Expedia 7.2) for $67 with RF and $20 for parking. Checked in. Been there before, but, wanted to be near that area and it was the cheapest. I love the idea of a pyramid. However, they gave me a tower room. I'm not sure if that is an upgrade. Went to Park MGM for Best Friend by Roy Choi. He's the Kogi Korean taco truck guy from LA. Been trying to eat here for a while. Only dinner and no free parking. Walked right in. Had eggplant schnitzel with salad for $22. Very good. I didn't want any tacos or noodles or rice or meat at that point. Walked through MGM. The prix fixe at Atelier Joel Robuchon is now over $250. Not one person eating! Hakkasan is now a restaurant. Back through New York New York and Excaliber. Nothing new/notable. To Mandalay Bay. Same. Watched the second half of the BCS. I should state here that the old Tropicana spot is being slightly built on. I assume for MLB. The Strip there is ripped up AGAIN!

The next day I dropped off the car and flew home. No delays. MCO was very busy. Rental car areas were twenty deep. Spent $1250 on Hotels. $20 on Parking. $222 on gas. $489 on rental car. $205 for rental cars to/from airport. $607 on food/drink/groceries. $179 on skiing. $6 on misc. Total = $3204. Totally not worth it.

Grub Crawl - Winter Park: Mr Wok and Sushi Island

I tried these spots Wednesday at lunch. Both to go. The first is on Aloma Between 436 and the road that goes to Winter Park HS. The second is in the old Ayoogas location near University on 436.

Mr Wok - Just a Chinese take out place. A little better and cleaner than most. I avoid these because the food is all over 2000 calories. And they are usually lacking in cleanliness et al. And I'm told they play joke and they make pee pee in your Coke. A $4.99 lunch special costs $9.45 nowadays it seems. I chose the moo goo gai pan because I like my garbage Chinese take out quality chicken pounded and deboned so I can see the gross bits. It was good. Carrots, celery, some kind of lettuce, mushrooms and some really good (largest I've been served) pieces of either bamboo shoot or heart of palm. Sauce wasn't salty. It came with pork fried or white rice. I chose the unhealthy one. I wonder if they even have fried rice as an option in China? It had cubes of pork. That is becoming a rarity. No egg. Not alot of soy sauce. Not uncommonly oily. It also came with egg roll or soup. I chose wonton soup because most egg rolls are just that nowadays. Air filled wrappers. Three mushy exterior dumplings. A tiny portion of broth. Smallest container I have ever seen. Seventeen lunch special options. The usual regular take menu. A Diet section. Claims to be NY Style. It can't be because someone else didn't pay for it. Two metal counter tops with four seats. A bench with a mural above it. White and black tile. Maybe some blue color? No one there but me. Open since May. Just take out, but, still better than what Hong Kong Phoeey served me down the street.

Sushi Island - Just opened. Of course it had to be an AYCE ($22 at lunch $35 at dinner). I didn't have time for that, so, I just sampled a yellowtail roll for $7. Not promising. YT had zero flavor. Rice wasn't properly prepared. Fluffy. Eight pieces. Decent size. I asked for no nori wrapper. Big menu. Apps, soup, tempura, fried rice and noodles, udon noodle soup, salads, sushi, sashimi, rolls, katsu and hibachi. Looks good. Big. High ceilings. Front room with bar and four tables. Sculpture piece with plastic string lights. Sushi prep area on the right. Four guys. Main room with three columns of five tables and a corner area with two tables for bigger parties. Half full. Seemed like alot of Fullsail students. Tvs. Sake bottles. Gray. Wood. Windows. Lamps. They made it look nice. Now you have to decide what price to quality bait you find acceptable. I've got my "go to" to feed my bi-weekly habit. I only veer away to try these newbies for you.

Grub Crawl - International Drive: Nikitta and Taffers Tavern

I tried these spots on International Drive last night. The first replaced Hanamizuki in the strip mall aside the ferris wheel. The second is across from Jojo's at the Pointe Orlando.

Nikitta - Its a date place. Expensive Peruvian sushi. I think they said the owners of the Eye owned this. It looks great. Around a dozen tables. Digital mural up front. Interesting lantern inspired lighting fixtures. Small bar to the right. I think I remember a silvery look and some kind of lavender. Mood lighting and a to go mission is responsible for the amnesia. Around half full. The udon dish I saw online was off the menu, so, I just sulked to the belly baos. Two for $14. Pretty bad. Lame bun. 90% fat. The meat sliver was tough. Unispired mayo based dressing. Took forever. Packaging was the best part. The menu and this concept does nothing for me. I think tiraditos and ceviches are rarely successful and often offend the fish. And I'm not supporting the high end Japanese concerns any longer. Thus a marriage between the two are the worst of both worlds to me. But, I knew that going in. Just wanted to participate at the lowest level/cost. Mission accomplished. They have $20 rolls as well. Some post $50 mains. Some guys came in with free drink tickets from the Eye and I saw some creative dry ice cocktails go out. If you work for an NGO, you could probably make this a habit. No hats please. Open for a few months. June? Only for dinner. I think they are closed on Monday. Parking can be an issue. Nikitta I didn't love you so.

Taffers Tavern - Straight outta Georgia. Opened a few weeks ago. I was well surprised by the $14 All American Chesseburger. Good crust. Good cheese. At least 1/2 lb. Hand molded. Buttered bun. Ok L/T/O/P. Mayo. Semi spicy ketchup on the side. Medium rare was well done. A bit salty. Came with fairly good french fries. Truffle(ique) oil. Came out reasonably fast. Small menu. Seven apps. Four flatbreads. Four burgers. Four sandos. Two salads. Maybe six mains. Three desserts. Alot of booze. Chicken alla Vodka, salmon and a steak were the most off brand items. Around fifteen tables. some small booths. Ten seats at the large bar on the left. Tvs. Sports. Lots of wood. Gray backed chairs. The PGA convention was in, so, it was packed with normal looking people. Dinner. Lunch on weekends. Much better than I was expecting. Not sure if they validate. I parked at the Alehouse lot next door as usual. 

*I came here from the airport and I can report that Universal has unsynchronized all the lights so that you are constantly stuck at every one on Sand Lake Rd. I tried to try AGAIN Sal's Pizza. No one home. There is a new Thai place just north of Pointe Orlando. Also open for lunch. Was too tired to wait for a third meal. FYI - the airport was busy. And I thought the holiday ENDED the day before. I'll have another Crawl and a Travel Notes coming up. I'm locked down because two and a half weeks didn't seem to be enough time for some people to repair the back end of a vehicle as promised. I'll have that Tutorial for you in the coming weeks. Did you miss me? XOXO. Who remembers that?

Grub Crawl - International Drive: Amma's Kitchen and Slap!

I tried these spots today at lunch. They are fairly close to each other. The first is in the middle of I Drive (b/n Sand Lake and and Kirkman). The second is in the strip mall across from it. Around the corner on Carrier Dr. 

Amma's Kitchen - I was there to try another Indian place down the street called Aangun. It didn't open until 4pm. Good for me because this three month old will be a Fav. Southern Indian. I had the Chicken Meal for $11 because it had so much. Chicken 65, Kushka, Chicken Curry, Parotta, Rice, Kootu, Poriyal, Sambar, Rasam, Vathakuzhambu, Buttermilk, Raita and Payasam. Three were dips. Two were a tad thicker than that. Two were rice. One was a kind of rice pudding. One was thin bread. One was chopped green beans. The chicken 65 was about five pieces of fried chicken with bones attached. A bit tough. The curry was a stew with bones. Tender. The jasmine rice was fine. The biryani style had nice flavor. The raita was thick with chopped cucumber and onion. Most of the dips were superfluous. One of the thicker ones seemed like there were some lentils in it. The "wrap" bread was a bit crunchy. Many things had a punch. I loved the idea of cutting the green beans like scallions. Their length always annoys me. The rice pudding used cut vermicelli noodles and had more of a butterscotch taste. Some things I had never had/seen. Served on a metal tray. The menu is large. Lots of dosas ($8-$15). More egg dishes than I have ever seen in an Indian restaurant. The breads were called parotta and chapathi. They had a category called Tiffen. It had something called an Idly. Never saw those words before. Lots of apps (veg, chicken, goat, fish, shrimp) from $2. Curries ($8-$15). Biryani ($11-$17). Rotti ($12-$20). All these "family packs" ($40-$62). They had pomfret. I wonder if the pre-prepared business is large. The one issue was the service. It seemed like you were imposing on them. The place doesn't look like much. I believe it was a Middle Eastern place before. They didn't change much. Two large tvs. One blaring Indian dance music. Fourteen tables. Most are booths. Some stone work. Plastic forks and cups. They claim other locations in Ontario, NJ and NY. If I lived near here, I would eat here once a week. Amma pleased. Youma will be as well.

Slap! Hand Ripped Noodles - Open a month. Orlando Weekly guy had it as a Fav. I tried the Cumin Lamb Noodle Soup for $17. I've had it without soup in a famous place in Las Vegas. It's a Chengdu dish. It was much hotter there. Since I had it to go, I could taste the lamb on it's own. Good flavor. You have to know cumin. A tad grisly. That's lamb. I wish they wouldn't give such long strips. With a knife and fork, it would be a pain to eat. With chopsticks, it's impossible. And hard to get down the gullet. The noodles all stuck together. That made it harder to ascertain the quality. I think they were good. The broth was a bit sour. Maybe vegetable broth? I'm not sure I would like it in other soups. The cumin here turned it tasty. Bok choy and bean sprouts as well. Big portion. They also offer seven other soups ($15-$21) and the same seven without soup (chili). Two chili slurps ($12) with a different noodle that they didn't have that day. I think these are not hand slapped. You can add a short rib slab for $8.That looked good. They had three crispy pancake "baos" from $8-$9 that I almost went with. Would have if I was in town longer and this place wasn't called hand ripped noodles. They or the four dumplings ($12-$13) or some fried skewers (10 at $6). Four apps too. I saw beer and what I think were canned booze in the fridge. The place has had a total refurb. Looks like an izakaya. Around a dozen wood tables. Some long with benches. Lanterns galore. Black ceiling. Slap kitchen in the rear behind glass. I saw the guy slapping his dough. Almost full. Two waitresses in black. They didn't know about the Weekly's articles. This gimmick isn't as rare as it once was. I just reported on a similar place on Turkey Lake Rd a little while ago. That said, with more than just noodles and the other options seemingly good, it will probably be a Fav too.