F&D Kitchen and Bar, Lake Mary - Now F&D Steakhouse

F&D? More like F'n A. As in F'ing A (right) it's good. I went to this new gastropub (and buddy it isn't the first in Lake Mary by a long shot but we'll let that slide) last night. I was surprised by the experience. This place has been a thousand places over the years. They're usually of a good quality, yet, they fail. This place may end the trend. It was packed. Even at eight/nine pm which is late-ish for LM. I went expecting the same treatment I got when it was Chavo. I just went in shorts and a T-shirt like last time to see if I would get "big timed" again. Nope. This time they offered a table without a stink. It was on the patio, but, that was ok because I saw that the place was jammed and they had a waiting list resting on the hostess table. I sat at the bar instead. No problem. I wanted to watch TV anyway. I sat next to a couple that new something about the owner. They came TO Lake Mary FROM Winter Park for this! The owner is a veteran of the the industry, but, this is his first restaurant. You can hardly tell. He spent alot decorating the place in a flea market, industrial motif that is pretty common among modern gastropubs. Think chalk boards, exposed wood and brick, old chandeliers, old light bulbs, etc. They have a bar area. The menu draws from alot of common gastropub fare, but, has some riffs. I had the daily fish (grouper) on top of faro on top of a sweet corn puree adorned with tiny flower blossoms. It cost $24. It was great. Sizable portion. The fish was perfectly cooked. This may be the first time in forever that grouper looked liked grouper when it came on my plate. It was a thick, flaky serving with a nice crust. The faro was perfect. The puree was good. It was an odd pairing and I'm not sure they worked as a whole composition, but, I liked them separately. The folks next to me had an outrageous short rib (on a Flintstone bone), some flavorless (their words) lamb meatballs, good brussel sprouts and a great salad. The couple on my right had what looked like a decent burger. Service was polite and expeditious. The crowd was hip. Prices were reasonable. I will definitely go back. I really hope they do lunch soon. F'n A!

Lombardi's, Winter Park

I grabbed something to go at their new store on Fairbank's (near 4 Rivers). I had the special fish of the day sandwich. I had never heard the name of the fish and can't remember it. I'm sure it was something ordinary that they renamed. It was good in any case. It came on a nice glazed roll with ok lettuce and tomato. FF, cole slaw and a thousand island like tartar sauce on the side. The FF were that gooey, coated kind that just reek of oil absorption, calories and Arby's. It cost a reasonable $8. The place obviously looks new. I think they have been open under a month. The seafood selection is sick. The quality looked impeccable. Their "soft opening" menu is even impressive. Oysters, pink shrimp, poke, lobster mac and cheese egg rolls, steamers, grouper, lobster roll, poke - on and on. Prices are reasonable. They have a clean area to eat in. They even have wine and beer. Top notch.

Brazialian Paletas, I Drive

I stopped by this place because the waiter at Boi said it was a Boi Express. It WAS. It isn't now. You'd think he'd know. It's in the corner of that strip mall that is on the left side of Kirkman. I stopped here to see if the rumors of the malls' tear down were true (they say it isn't) and to get some pizza at the place that replaced Big Italy. It turns out that place is only open at night (and owned by the Boi people). Back to Paletas -  It's a Brazilian popsicle and hamburger/hot dog joint. They have some religious/Chicago connection. The place seats around sixty. It seems way to big for what they serve. They have been open for a month. The owner says she makes her own popsicles. They looked artisanal. They were $3. I had a Dog Bacon for $4. It was a beef hot dog smothered with mashed potatoes, bacon, mayo, potato sticks and corn. It was very good. Nothing tasted nuked. The mashed potatoes were real. The bacon was chunky. They have a variety of dogs and burgers and one chicken sandwich. It looks decrepit, but, maybe they will fix it up. At least the have the caring part down.

Oshio, I Drive

I had lunch at this Korean/Japanese spot next to the sky diving simulator around Universal Blvd on Wednesday. It replaces a Chinese place. I had salmon sushi for $4.50 and I tried a rice pasta soup for $13. The salmon was ice cold. I don't think they expected someone to order it. The soup was a "specialty". I guess the specialty is that they forget to include the beef that comes with it and justifies the price. I'm still not sure what the deal is (language issues). The regular menu said beef. The take out menu does not. The take out menu says it comes with carrots and hot paste sauce. It didn't. I had eaten alot of beef during the week so I didn't complain. I was just knocking this place off the list. In any event, it was like a $13 egg drop soup with tons of pasty slivers of rice pasta in it. The best part of the meal was some mediocre bon chon (four dishes). Although, they can't even make kimchi well (not aged at all). The place is old. They did nothing to it. They still have Chinese statues out front. The table bbq is electric (not charcoal). Prices are slightly higher than most Korean places. It seats about eighty. There were five other there at lunch. The one and probably only thing it has going for it is that I can't think of another Korean play near by (outside of that one on Dr Phillips). They f that up too by giving it a Japanese name. I think it's a derivation of the word oshii which means "delicious". Oshio must mean - "palatable". They have a cheaper lunch menu, but, you have to ask for it. I'm ambivalent about this place.

Mrs. Potato, Universal Area

I grabbed some snack from this Brazilian potato-centric restaurant in the strip mall that houses Bloodhound Brew (Kirkman and Conroy). It's way in the back corner. She does baked potatoes, rosti, burgers, hot dogs, snacks and alot of Brazilian entrees. They have five TV's above the counter and one had a loop of her on Fox 35 with that fake Ryan Seacrest guy. The potatoes looked like ostrich eggs. You can top them with a multitude of things (all under $10). Same with the rosti (A huge hash brown). Lots of the toppings are Brazilian. The burgers are on a potato roll. Around $5. They entrees are in the teens. I had a chicken catupiry (Brazilian cream cheese) empanada for around $2. Very good. Cooked to order. Not greasy. I would mix the chicken and cc so you don't get separate bites of each. Brazilian cream cheese tastes alot like Whipped Cream Cheese. I also had a shrimp pot pie that was the loser. Ridiculously salty. The filling may have had shrimp in it. It was a curry like mess with a slice of pimentoed green olive. The pastry was very mealy and dry. It was like eating a fist full of crackers without water. A shame because it looked cute. The last thing I tried was a chicken and corn risoli (crescent shaped croquette). Does this mean Risoli and Iles mean Crescent Shape and Iles? It was good. The same shredded chicken as the empanada. The inside dough was a little under done. I liked the place. They have a small main room and an adjacent enclosed patio (no view). It looks like some kind of breakfast or cupcake place from the outside.  It seemed to be doing brisk business. Locals and tourists. The value is there. When I go back, I am trying a chicken stroganoff potato or maybe one with the Brazilian sausage. The snacks I mentioned were just a small sample and they do those with many different fillings. They are all around $2. They have been in this location for six months. It may have been called Netto's before this because that is what printed out on my receipt. They had been open near the ice cream place shaped like a cone on I Drive last year. I'm glad I went out of my way to knock it off the list.

Adega Grille, I Drive

I had dinner at this Portuguese restaurant on the Fun Spot side of I Drive tonight. It's near Giraffa's. I went there recently when it was Emporio Brazil. The name means wine cabinet. They should have called it bacaloa. Half the menu is comprised of this dried salt cod and nine tenth of the seafood entrees (one shrimp dish). The rest of the entrees are three beef and one chicken and one pork dish. I had the pork with clams for $17. It was good. I had cooked myself pork two of the last three nights, so, I wasn't eager for more pork. However, I wanted bacaloa even less and I just don't trust most places with shrimp any more. The clams (4) were an afterthought. A decoration. It was really a pork dish in a wine, drippings and cream sauce with roasted potatoes and pickled cauliflower and carrots. There was a lot of pork. It tasted gamey. Hopefully, that meant it wasn't American roided up pork and not that it was spoiled. It could have been because there were only two other diners eating with me (often a sign that the food may be stretched beyond its use by date). I hope the empty room is because their usual customer is a vampire. They also offered up a basket of rolls. The insides were cold. Does that mean they nuked them? The place seats about eighty. Half the tables/seats are in one style and the other half in another. They are new-ish though. The paint is white with orange accent walls. They have a faux brick wall wainscoting. The prep area is in tile. They have some blown up photographs of Portuguese landmarks on the wall. It's all appropriate. They sell Portuguese wine and beer. I still don't know if Orlando is ready for Portuguese cuisine. I'm less sure now. A Portuguese menu can be limited to begin with and such a bacaloa-centric menu is a gamble. I guess it is a smart move from the expense side since dry cod doesn't spoil, but, I'm not sure that is why you sell it. We aren't on a six month voyage to the America's. We can get whatever we want whenever we want. I don't think we ever want bacaloa. All that said, I think you should try it even if only to stamp your culinary passport. You can avoid the bacaloa. They have been open for four months.

The Golden Knife, Downtown - Closed

I had dinner at this sophisticated Continental restaurant on Pine St last Friday. It is in the space that was home to the Breakfast Club and Zilly Bee Cafe. The space is certainly the worst part of the experience. I don't love the location (the Versus sports bar has been sitting idle for years and this is kind of the edge of downtown even though it is only two blocks away from Orange Ave) or the room itself. They have tried to dandify it, but, the ceilings are low and the flow is bad. The ceiling tiles are also terrible. I'll just finish up on the decor as long as I'm at it. The room is semi-divided into a bar/entrance area and a dining room. It must seat 100+. They have put some straw mats on the walls and pinned orchids on them. Interesting. The rest of the vertical space is decorated with mirrors and flat art. The tables and seats seem new. Ok on to the exciting bits. I liked the menu and the food. The appetizers (3) are weak in number. Some things cost as much as entrees. Pricing is all over the place. I don't know if I should applaud some cheap entree prices or hope for lower app prices. The fact that they do a $9 lunch also makes you curse yourself for coming for dinner. However, that isn't a real problem. I had a salmon tartare app and a steak tartare entree. Both were $13. I was maybe going to go for a $20 duck and probably would have if they had something interesting under $10 to start with and I wasn't also drinking wine. I had been been craving tuna tartare for days. I was imagining raw flesh coated in oil. Their version was old fashioned. It was a creamy version. The yellow tail was fresh enough to discern under all the dressing and the portion was large. They cut in green peppers (a first). It was surrounded by avocado slices, tangerine sections and circular toast. You were to it them in a sequence. Savory, fat, sweet. The steak tartare was good too. Same preparation except the meat was mixed with capers and maybe onions and I noticed at least one almond sliver. Chunky texture. It came with a grain/seed bread and had an overcooked fried egg on it. I would do a raw (or cooked) quail. This one was to big. It ruined the appearance. I also thought the bread looked too thick and was of the wrong kind, but, it worked. The chef/owner said he was from Rio and has other partnerships in town. He didn't want to just open a steak house. I don't remember every dish on the menu, but, I think they were all American or French inspired. This is just what used to be called dining out. A high end Continental spot. With all the fusion and ethnic eats, I hope that this "against type" kind of place still has a place. I would guess there are some old timers who still revere this type of experience and some who are so hip that they find it ironic. Maybe even a few will try it just because it's good and they use some contemporary techniques. I was originally scared because the place was empty (one other table of two). I worried that the food would be stale. The owner swore he buys modestly and turns whatever is leftover through catering. I have no reason not to believe him after sampling his food. He also seems to care. He said they bake their own desserts and if the huge chocolate cake that my neighbor had was any good or indication, then that says something too. The menu seems small enough to control. They do fun things like cook sous vide. The wine list is chosen wisely for value. The single glass wine pours were enormous. It's probably the second best restaurant downtown now. They say they are in it for the long haul. I'd try and find it for dinner and if you are lucky enough to work downtown you have no excuse for ignoring it at lunch. They have been open for four months.

Pub Crawl - Downtown: Relax Grill, Grafitti Junction (Closed) and Crow Bar

I went to these bars last Friday.

8-8:15pm: Relax Grill at Lake Eola - This place is an outdoor bar and restaurant next to the Swan paddle boat dock. They have been there for six years. I forget the name of the last place I tried here. Could have been this. It was pretty full.

8:30-9pm: Grafitti Junction - Finally tried this location (on the tracks on Church St). The usual.

10:30pm-12am: The Crow - This place is next to The Abbey and across from where I had dinner (Pine St). I forget what it was just a few weeks ago. It just opened as a whiskey bar. More vodka than whiskey so far. Hot staff. Made me miss my train home. Not sure how trendy a whiskey bar is. Might have caught the tail end of a trend (even for Orlando). Can probably re-theme. Semi-crowded for word of mouth.

Sweet Frog, Longwood

I had some vanilla ice cream or froyo (I don't care) here today. It sells the aforementioned. They have been open for quite a while. I don't care for the stuff, so, it fell through the cracks. It's fine. It seems clean. They have frog characters. Not much selection. It's on 434 near a Shell station.

Mark's Caribbean Cuisine, UCF

I tried this place for dinner in a decrepit strip mall off University and Dean Tuesday. I had a jerk pork meal to go for $6.50 ($5.50 on the menu and board) and a patty on coco bread for $3. The pork was great. Alot of it. Tender. Not too spicy. Good broth. I had enough left over to eat it with rice for dinner the next evening. It had some plain sliced bread with it that I used on a tuna sandwich the next day. The patty was probably from the frozen food section. The "meat" had the consistency of sludge. It reminded me of passages from William Burrough's Naked Lunch or de Sade's 120 Days of Sodom in which they talk about eating things from the "out" door. Coco bread was ok. Almost like a sweet roll. They have a big selection of traditional Jamaican fare. They have been in business for eight years. The ambiance of the place is nothing to write home about, but, I've seen worse/less clean. The high water mark for food is $15 for snapper. Most things are under $10. Their roti is just the bread not the whole sandwich.

Spoleto, UCF

I tried this assembly line Italian spot off Alafaya and University around ten days ago for lunch. I had the fig, prosciutto and burrata salad for $8 They were out of balsamic (a main Ingredient) and figs. Thye let me know about the balsamic. They subbed in some strawberries for the figs. Unacceptable. The prosciutto was of a low quality. The burrata was ok. The rest of the salad was comprised of arugula. If there was an dressing on it, I couldn't tell. They also had to be reminded to include the bread. And then forgot the fig jam. This is the problem with these places. Numb nuts run it. There is no quality control. It just exists to rob Millenials who think the are too precious to eat at McDonald's. They might get gluten. And they are obviously too lazy or clueless to cook it themselves. So, we get these places. They serve pasta, focaccia and salads. They have wine and beer. It looks nice and modern. A fine place to "spoil" yourself whenever you don't get exactly what you think you deserve every time you want it. Plus you get to get back at Daddy for not loving you enough by having him pay for upcharge. Pass.

Joe's Pizza, Winter Park

I grabbed a slice at this Italian (are there other kinds?) pizzeria two Wednesday's ago. It cost $2 and was fine (big with a spicy sauce). This place replaces another pizza place that was on this spot. It's on Fairbanks across from the new Lombardi's. They have been open for three months. They serve sandwiches, pasta, wings, meals. I'd expect banal mediocrity. No surprises here. They even have the bitter white boy who grew up in a nice community yet still ended up a loser. The guy who calls more successful looking people (pretty much everyone) - "boss". Sorry if I just got everyone's food tampered with.

Latin Square, Downtown

I grabbed dinner to go two Wednesday's ago at this Latin restaurant across from the Grand Bohemian. It was another Latin place I reviewed  three year's ago. I had a small (nice size) Latin Square sandwich for $5. It was a pressed sandwich of shredded beef with sweet plantains and potato stix. It was delicious. The beef was fresh and juicy. They also serve breakfast, quarter chicken, and many Cuban style meals and sandwiches. This is their third year in business. The one problem is that they close at 4pm.

Aki, I Drive - Closed

I must have last been to this Japanese restaurant in a now decrepit strip mall behind that Pirate show arena ten years ago. Then it was considered a top tier sushi spot. The market has improved and this place has gone backwards. It's now just a place. I had a sushi lunch for $9 two Wednesday's ago. The portion was generous if not good. One tuna roll with terrible tuna scraps. One California roll with the wood shaving type of fake crab. One piece of tuna (a little better than the roll), one piece of soft, hot, old, ammonia tasting Talapia (I don't know how my ass didn't explode with that), one piece of shrimp and one piece of ok salmon. A good miso soup and a salad with a soy dressing came along for the ride. The place seats 40. It was about half full at 2pm. The place is 20 years old and looks it. It wasn't much to begin with. Maybe the chef gets his balls back at dinner. I can only suggest it if you just want to get fed now. I think they dropped the pride they used to take to satisfy the lunkheads that ended up eating there. Closed Sunday.

Tapa Toro, I Drive - Closed

I ate at this new tapas restaurant aside the Ferris wheel two Wednesdays ago. It had been open for two weeks at the time. It has one major flaw. It's too damn expensive. I won't go off on how I feel about the value proposition of this type of dining and the acumen of the people who accept it, I will tell you they have a $120 steak. That said, I had a good lunch there (slightly lower price points). I had a fricase (their spelling) of pollo for $19, It consisted of smallish (I think Bell and Evans) quarter of chicken roasted with peas, potato, artichoke and cherry tomatoes. The chicken was cooked perfectly. And that's it. A $30+ lunch (tax and tip) that you can get at any Latin chicken joint for $6. Aside from a film crew, there were two other tables dining. One Brazilian family of ten and a single. The place seats 150+. Correlation between prices and diners? It's a conundrum because they obviously sunk a lot of money in the place. It looks great even with the unfortunate lack of depth (a real rectangle). That means they must have to bring in a lot of money to break even. I hope they can fleece the Brazilians because I think most others will avoid it (because of the prices). The front of the place has a circular room connected to a communal table/bar area. The bar area has those containers in which the Spanish pour a stream of wine into their mouths. The middle has the open grill and kitchen area and some seats. The back has the main room. The front is all windows. Which would be good if the view wasn't an unmowed lawn in front of I Drive. The interior design is nice. Copies of Picasso's, Miro's, Dali's, etc. A Gaudi Park Guell style use of ceramics. Some bullfighting stuff. Frames that have TV's behind them and look like a painting when the TV is off. The tables and chairs are new and I think they were brownish wood. I remember some red drapes. The menu is also a little common. All in all, I think Ceviche or Santiago's Bodego are better values. Take more risks. And those are just examples. I like their approach (the chef came out to see if the meal was good and the service was great and they source well), but, I just would rather not be wasteful with what beneficence fortune allows me. The soda was flat, the lunch menu was scant and parking is still free at the structure next to the restaurant.

Grub Crawl - Altamonte Springs: Zora Grill (Closed) and Red Rooster (Closed)

I had lunch at these two newly opened places on 436 in between Ronald Reagan (rail stop) and 17-92 on Friday.

Zora Grille - Open for a month and named after the Zoroastrian religion of the Persian empire (the one without the suicide bombings), this is a new grill in a new building. I had a lamb "limousine" platter for $12 and a yogurt soda (doogh) for $2. The ground lamb was about ten inches long. They say 8oz. It was perfectly cooked and tasted like lamb, but not too gamey. I just got back from Norway and they offered up all kinds of sausages (including lamb) that tasted nothing like they were advertised as. The platter also came with a huge pile of saffron basmati rice, lavosh squares (instead of pita), a roasted tomato and two sides. I chose hummus and cucumber yogurt. The hummus was home made and I thought it had a fruity flavor that they said was probably impossible given the recipe. The cucumber yogurt was also good. Alot of cucumber and non-watery yogurt. The tomato was fine if unnecessary. They menu mentioned hot peppers with the dish. I didn't miss them if they were forgotten. The "limousine" designation is a term they coined for the shape of the meat. They do a beef one too. They also do two chicken (breast or thigh), one veggie and a ribeye and a strip shish kabob. Also two mixed platters. The prices start at $9 and end at $24. It's a small assortment. Hopefully, that means manageable. The owners (one family) are first timers. The place is a large square edifice with high ceilings. It's sparsely decorated with modern pieces. The furniture is reclaimed. The walls are some kind of pee green. You can see the grill. You order at a counter and they bring it to you. I'm not sure if a tip is expected (not automatic at the register). There were two tables eating at 2pm. One table was Middle Eastern. I was originally betting on a nation with a "stan" attached to it because of the prominence of the proboscises on the men, but, I would now wager they were also Iranian. I'd try it if you haven't had much experience with Persian cuisine or if you are used to the common Greek type menu. Nothing here should scare anyone. Closed from 2:30 to 5pm and on Monday.

Red Rooster - I think this is the fourth restaurant I've tried at this spot beside the gas station across from the light rail stop. Now it is a Philipino/Guyanan menu. It has been open for three weeks. I had a lunch platter for $6. It was a drum and thigh in Adobo sauce (soy, vinegar, ginger) with rice and a side. She really only had a few of the listed sides, so, she let me have a noodle dish as a side. I also had a fried wing (I thought I said 1pc, but, I think she was out of that too). The food was pretty good. Maybe too much breading and an odd spice on the wing. The rice was fresh and soft. The wife is Filipino and the husband is Guyanan (South America). The menu "lists" alot of Indian and West Indian dishes. Plus weird stuff like mac and cheese, pasta, corn bread and baked beans. The place is really for take out. This is an adventurous play. Probably not the highest quality meals, but, home made regional fare that you don't find on every corner. It's affordable.

Cafe Madrid, Curry Ford Rd

I ate lunch at this Spanish/Cuban restaurant almost two weeks ago. It is in a strip mall that has one of those ice cream drive thrus that looks like an ice cream. On the Crystal Lake side. I had the white meat Chicken Almondine for $10. It was good. The chicken was stewed in a salsa. Two pieces. Moist. On the bone. An orchard of almonds. It needed a bigger bowl. It came with white or yellow rice, plantains or tostones, red or black beans, a salad and bread. I chose yellow, tostones and red. I ate alot and still couldn't finish much of the beans or half the tostones and bread. All were flavorful. No problems. They pressed the bread ala a Cubano sandwich. Service (2) was quick and efficient. No language barrier. The place seats about fifty. I showed up way early (before noon) and around eight people came in while I dined. They have been there for 25 years. I would guess it is one of those situations in which the owners are Cuban and there is some Spanish ancestry that they are proud of. Most of the large menu is Cuban. The seafood section is the most "Spanish". I just saw that they also do a "late" breakfast plate and they do a Spanish Omelette. The entrees include multiple dishes of pork, chicken and beef. They have 5 sandwiches. They even do mofongo. The decor is ok. They have a little fake overhang around the bar. I had no complaints. Sometimes you have to worry about the higher priced dishes being treated ham handedly or the ingredients being second or third rate. I would give them the benefit of the doubt.

Pub Crawl - Metro West: Crafted and Pacific Rootz

I tried these two "neighbors" in that strip mall off Hiawassee Rd that has the Yard House on Saturday night.

Crafted - A... wait for it...new gastropuke... I mean pub. I only drank, but, the menu seemed very (ok compartively) intriguing. Watermelon radishes. Pave paotatoes. A "block" burger = filet mignon. Tasso. Sofrito. Etc. The place took over the Taquitos Jaliscos location. The people also run Embers. They did a nice job. High ceilings. Open floor plan. A few focus pieces. It has a big patio. There was a large communal table seated that night. I'm not sure if that was a special seating or not. They have a decent beer selection. They were serving a late night menu after dinner hours. I may even go back to try the food.

Pacific Rootz - A place only open after 5pm. They serve "fresh" kava drinks. They said it has a mellowing effect. I think this is a fad. They said their's is superior because the home make it from real roots (not powder - although I saw powder at the bottom of my bowl) from the Pacific Islands. It's a very rustic process. They keep the "juice" in old milk containers and serve it in miso soup bowls. They were making it on the side of the building (to the left of the main strip mall). They have 6 versions. Some affect the head more and some the body. I'm not sure what it did to me because I started drinking after. It numbed my tongue and did make me a little zoned out. They gave me the first bowl on the house then I came back for a nightcap for $5. They are mostly from Tonga. It might be worth it just to meet someone from Tonga. I think they have recently opened.

The Whiskey, Sand Lake Rd

I had a Lassahn (owner's name) burger for $12 at this burger and whiskey-centric restaurant that takes the place of Cricketer's Arms. I had come to the area to try a Spanish place on Turkey Lake, but, it looks like that place has closed (no news on the net). The last thing I wanted was a burger. But, I have been to almost everything not annoying in the area and I needed to test this place out. The burger was really good. They didn't squeeze all the juice out of it and perhaps even under cooked it from the medium rare I asked for. The burger came with good cheddar and really good bacon. The bun may have been a little to big, but, it was fresh. The fries were good. I knew this place was all about burgers, so, I did that for you. I really wanted the $10 GC with pork belly or the $15 shrimp and grits. Those and a semi-expensive salmon are the non-burger/non app options. The burger selection is pretty much predictable. On egg one. A veggie one. Etc. They have a few nuances. The vibe is straight out of the Hard Rock Hotel (LV) - Eighties edition. Even all the customers seemed to be from that era. The definitely music was. They have memorabilia and posters of rock gods (mostly drinking whiskey) on the walls. The tones are very dark. They use wood for effect. It was pretty full. It sets about sixty. It's a rectangular lay out. Service was great. A real surprise. The concept is a bit stale in the bigger cities (est. around 2005), so, I can't go crazy over it. And I'm starting to loath gourmet burger places, but, at least they execute well. I guess that beats a ham handed attempt at the latest fad. I think they have been there for around six months. I can't believe the difference between this burger and the piece of shit I just had for the same price at the Tilted Kilt in Lake Mary.

Grub Crawl - Michigan Ave: Bakery Plus and Cornerstone Pizza

I stopped at these dumpy looking places in between I-4 and Crystal Lake on Saturday.

Bakery Plus - A bakery that serves sandwiches. Asian owned. I just grabbed a chocolate frosted donut for 70 cents. I like Dunkin's better. The just take their glazed and dump chocolate on it = too sweet then. Not a new space.

Cornerstone - I drove by at noon and they hadn't opened yet. I drove by at 2 pm and they didn't have any pizzas made. My next sentence probably would have gone - I drove by at 3 and the pizza sucked. The space is even grubbier than Bakery Plus. I would be shocked if anything is good here.