I tried these spots Friday at lunch. They all could be good, but, weren't on this day. The first is in the Hollywood Plaza at Sand Lake. Below Tom's Watch Bar and next to a Disney Store. Not their sister nightclub Corazon by Baire's. The second is in a strip mall at the I Drive-Central Florida Parkway intersection. The last is in the strip mall next to Icon Park (ferris wheel) on I Drive. In the rear where Sleuths Dinner Theater used to be.
Baire's Grill - Corazon by Baire's is to its' left. The signage isn't great here plus the parking lot is all coned off, so, it seems like it isn't open. Parking for dinner must be a clusterfuck. I just grabbed an empanada for $6 because I looked at the menu online and didn't want to spend big on Argentinian food. They had the empanadas at $14 and that was the low mark. The actual menu seemed a bit cheaper. They had a lame $39 lunch special. It is a diverse/large menu. The beef empanada can be fried or baked. The meat was a shredded/ground and a bit salty. Small. The place looks posh. A quartet of wine colored upholstered curved booths with a tree and glass ornaments above. A marbled bar to the right. The main, rectangular room has two rows of booths against the walls and around eight tabled in between. One table seated. Staff in unis. They seem to have eight locations in South Florida. One in NY and I think one in Argentina. I don't find that expensive South American restaurants ever deliver. I wasn't chancing it here. You can throw your money (South Americans seem to have more than they can use) at it and report back. Open for a few weeks.
Mordisco - If disco sucks then this is a fitting moniker. They say it actually means "bite". Another South Florida interloper. They say it is Venezuelan/Caribbean inspired. I learned here that the crappy lasagna I had at Tratto was probably Venezuelan because they had one and also called it pastitcho. Also don't use ricotta. See above for my thoughts on South American non-rustic endeavours. Stupidly, I veered from the planned $20 burger and tried the wood fired salmon asador for $25. Now, even with the more reasonable pricing compared to Baire's, it was a disaster. The salmon was the most overcooked I EVER had. The edges were jerky. I left them. The rest was so dry that I nearly choked with every bite. The side (I chose rice because the veg were peppers) did the impossible. Mushy in the middle and under cooked/hard on the tips. The cream sauce with crushed tostones was tasty. Add they weren't at all embarrassed when I called them out. Said the wood fire is hot. Maybe I needed to be less polite? The steak the guy next to me had looked small and of poor quality. His wife's chicken looked better. The menu is large. Apps, tiraditos/capaccios, salads, soups, mains, desserts. They had an unintriguing $35 lunch special. It's sad because after I ordered, I actually was thinking to myself that this would surely be a Fav. It looks good. Black, stained wood, concrete, gray. Square. Booths encircling a central bar area with more booths in between. A giant yellow tree in between the kitchen and the bar. Staff in unis. Almost full. TVs off. It should have been better. Maybe it can be. I didn't love that they impose a 18% gratuity/service charge (that you may not realize) and THEN ask for a tip. Low class verging on larcenous. Open for a few weeks. Parking wasn't great. I also didn't like the staff assembling for the loud "flair restaurant" Happy Birthday/Feliz Compleanos celebrations. Not the height of sophistication. And what makes it sadder is that it isn't done for children. Just those, I guess, with the minds/maturity of one.
Unplugged Social Cafe - More than I expected. A huge, white and blue room (around forty tables) with a menu with pasta and sandwiches and salads and breakfasts, etc. Not just store bought pastry. Better than a Starbuck's. I had a Cobb salad to go because I didn't know what to select or what they might do well. I was expecting to cross this off the list with a donut. And I HAD been wanting a Cobb for days. Unfortunately, the salad wasn't really a Cobb. They ran out of eggs (although they subbed in chicken). The dressing was a fruity vinaigrette. Wrong cheese. The greens were field greens. The avocado wasn't Haas. And all this after the very nice owner regaled me with how he started this place with the ethos of superior ingredients at affordable prices. I do agree with the pricing. The salad cost $12. The sandwiches and pastas were around mid-teens. They had stem on artichokes. However, they were peeled. The leaves are half the experience in my opinion. Maybe the better half. Minimal decor. Stage in the corner. Patio. Seating area with fake fireplace. Bar. Wine tastings. Thoughtful options. Open 8am-8pm 7days a week. There is some twist with it being a church on Sunday. I was expecting to make this a Fav as I walked away. However, that salad was just too flawed. Still, it was better than I expected and maybe better than most Starbuck's level fans deserve. I totally see it (at a minimum) as a place for hotel refugees to enjoy their time between when the hotel kicks them out and when their flight leaves. They have good AC and wifi and maybe other food tha a Cobb salad.
*There were around twenty cop cars outside of Sea World. Don't recall seeing that before. And they almost have unfucked the Sand Lake Rd exit. Stop light synchronicity still seems beyond the mental capabilities of the public officials down here. Blue Man Group seems to be in a theater behind the ferris wheel. Some place called Eye something seems to have replaced the Egyptian place in the Unplugged strip mall. The more you know...
**Would you believe this piece of shit (with no pics or video) blog (mostly about Central Florida food) received 10k views yesterday? Probably bots. They get me.
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