Globetrotting with Nico

No Longer in Business
Nico Globos (loosely translated – “Nico the Globetrotter”) is a place to go and be charmed.  Its European personality pervades everything;  the decor, the menu, even the staff.  It's a friendly personality, maybe too friendly for some tastes but it works for me.

Nico Globos

Located in what passes for downtown in Lake Mary, far from the Heathrow bustle across the interstate, you first notice the outdoor dining area.  Local folk probably already occupy many of the five umbrella shaded tables, sip wine, read and perhaps charge a cell phone.  But before you get to the door, one of them may hop up and introduce herself as owner Anita and wish you a pleasant visit.

Indoors you find more continental flavors with iron chandeliers and sconces, stone floors, and wine barrels lining a narrow space, a half dozen booths on one side and a handful of tables for two on the other.  Anita apologizes for the paper menu, which I thought was unnecessary since it changes about twice a week.  I like this and a menu that changes often makes me more likely to come back often.  I'd hate to be a server trying to keep up, though.

Nico's House Salad

Now to the food, quite good for both of us.  For starters my wife has Nico's House Salad, which turns out to be the star of the evening; field greens, cheese, pears, nuts with a tangy sweet red wine vinaigrette.  I lead off with the Lobster Bisque, golden and properly smooth with tomato prominent in the flavor, which would be perfect with a pinch less salt.

Penne Past with Shrimp and Spinach

The entrees are Portabella (sic) Stuffed Raviolli sauteed in butter which would keep my lady's interest from start to finish (a feat) and Penne Pasta with Shrimp and Spinach sauteed in olive oil and spices.  There's too much food on my plate to finish it all.

To wash it down, I'm introduced to Turbo Dog English Style Brown Ale, the closest American beverage I've found to my favorite, Newcastle.

At $50+ for two dinners, a beer and no dessert, the pricing feels a little steep at what is essentially a neighborhood eatery.  But to be fair, on another occasion I made two lunches out of the $8 curried chicken salad.  Maybe I just don't do enough globetrotting.

Watch out for that guy in the next booth.

Nico Globos
124 4th Street
Lake Mary, FL

Crotchets

Crotchets are those posts wherein I display my crotchetiness.  For example:

I enjoy attentive servers.  They ask intelligent questions like, "May I refill your tea?" or, "Do you need more butter for your bread?"

I don't enjoy servers who demonstrate that they aren't paying attention by asking, "Is everything okay?"  That makes me feel like they are just showing the flag under management orders.  Or maybe there is something wrong with the food and they wonder whether I've noticed it yet.

And don't get me started on those who ask "How does everything look?" two seconds after they set it on the table.  I'm not an art critic, I'm hungry.

I Even Ordered the Haggis

Scotland's Saltire
The World's oldest national flag

In Florida, Scottish restaurants are as hard to find as Nessie, unless you include McDonald's and “Duncan” Donuts. As far as I can tell there is one place in the state that claims that designation, MacAllister's in Lakewood Ranch. I recently had a chance to stop by on a visit to Sarasota.

MacAllister's Grill and Tavern has two themes – Scotland and golf. In fact, I would say it's mainly a Golfing theme with a Scottish flavor. The outdoor seating looks nice but since it was raining we dined inside where the décor was tavern style with lots of wood, booths and golf. In our room, the walls held pictures of castles, golf courses and a tribute to Payne Stuart.

On the menu, a flag beside various items indicated Scots inspiration but that was actually a little confusing when the Seafood Pasta was marked as Scottish but the Highland Chicken wasn't. Many items were obvious, though, like Steak Pie, a number of Salmon dishes and Haggis.

Haggis and Tatties

On principle, I started with the Haggis and Tatties appetizer. Like most people, I'm not really fond of what Robert Burns called the “Great chieftan o' the puddin race”, but I actually found this version tasty: a slice of haggis wrapped with mashed potoatoes, deep fried, then topped with onion strings and served with a gorgonzola and whisky sauce.

My entree, the Edinburgh broil, was essentially a London broil given a Scottish name, a nice rosemary sauce, and another helping of tatties.  Pretty good for $10. My wife is a sucker for Chicken Pot Pie and said this was one of her better ones.

The (Scottish) Beer List

There is also a fair selection of Scots beverages, though I skipped them since my next activity for the evening was to be driving to Orlando in the rain.  Next time I will enjoy a bottle or two of Old Engine Oil.

Over all, the food is decent and the prices reasonable. It's a good place to go and pretend to be a Scotsman or a golfer for a little while.

MacAllister's Grill and Tavern
8110 Lakewood Main Street 
Lakewood Ranch, Fl 34202

Happy Burgerday to...

I went to a birthday party the other day and this was the cake.

Bellissimo Indeed

Bottom to top - Pollo Bellissimo,
Spinaci e Fagioli, Pollo Sofia and my wife

No Longer in Business

Angelo is the best thing about Bellissimo in Altamonte Springs.  He greets you with a handshake, a grin, a hearty "Buona sera!" and maybe kisses the ladies (well he gave my wife one, anyway - I need to explain the restaurant term bussing to him).  One of the partners, he makes the rounds of the dozen or so tables and makes sure everyone is having a party, even encouraging guests to chat with strangers at other tables.  It's a neighborhood place and he tries to make everyone feel like neighbors.

For Angelo to surpass the food is quite a feat.  I'm certain the restaurant is named for its Pollo Bellissimo and not the other way around.  Chicken breasts pounded pancake thin, sautéed and topped with mushrooms in a brandy balsamic sauce is without doubt the best Italian dish I have ever been served.

My wife claimed her Pollo Sofia was even better.  It was another sautéed breast covered with an herbal white sauce on a bed of spinach.  I tasted it and she does have an argument.

Spinaci e Fagioli

The accompaniments were also praiseworthy:  the sautéed veggies were well seasoned and flavorful (I usually consider zucchini strictly ornamental) and roasted potatoes coated with olive oil were light and delicious.  One side item, Spinaci e Fagioli - spinach and beans - sounded too interesting to pass up so I ordered it for myself.  What I got for my $3 was a family sized plate of white beans and properly wilted spinach that we shared and then took the other half home.

My half of the Caesar Salad

Only the starters seemed weak, the bread and the greens in the house salad were standard commercial fare, pleasant but not up to the rest of the menu.  To be fair, though, we split an excellent Caeser Salad on our second visit, so we'll probably go that route from now on.

If you live near Altamonte Springs and want to meet some neighbors over dinner, Bellissimo is a good place.

Bellissimo Ristorante Italiano
520 West State Road 436 - Suite 1112
Altamonte Springs

Fish Tacos? Eeuwww...er...uh...pretty good

Wall art at Fresh on the Fly

The ladies were hungry and I'd still never had a fish taco, so we paid another visit to Fresh on the Fly in Lake Mary.

Mom wanted fried shrimp but that only comes in a Po' Boy Sandwich, so she got the Po' Boy without the sandwich.  Her rating: the best fried shrimp in my life!  She's been eating them for over 80 years, so that opinion deserves some respect.

Wife had the same and called it good but the breading had a little too much black pepper for her taste.  (Full disclosure: she and pepper are not close friends.)

Fish Tacos with Red Beans & Rice

The fish tacos were surprisingly good, though the Spicy Pineapple Salsa, while tasty, was quite tame for me.  Pepper and I are best buds.  Next time I'll opt for the blackened fish instead of fried.  The real star of my order was the Red Beans and Rice, worth a trip on it's own.

Coconut Creme Bar

I like their desserts.  Rather than seeing how much sweet stuff you can cram down after your meal, they give you just  the right amount to top it off.  We split Key Lime Pie and a Coconut  Bar.  The pie was better than most I've had,  just a tangy filling and crust with a hint of topping.  If you do need a finish with some substance, the coconut bar is good.  Sort of a heavy cheesecake with freshly whipped cream.

Mom has gone home, now, so we'll have to find another excuse to eat here.   Red beans and rice sounds good for lunch tomorrow.

A New Game in Town

No longer in Business

A good burger starts with a patty that has been hand pressed just enough to hold together. At Line Drive Burgers in Lake Mary they know this and do it well.

If you're from one of those places where they think cricket is a game instead of bait, or that football is played with a round ball, the name might not tell you that at this burger shop, baseball is the game.  Inside, though, it's obvious from the wall decor and especially the menu.  The burgers come in five sizes - the single, the double, the triple, the Grand Slam and the Ty Cobb.  Keeping up with the theme, dogs and brats are available and even Cracker Jack, though I didn't see any popcorn.  Or beer.

I ordered a single and was invited to fill my cup and have a seat until my name was called for the fixin's.  When my burger was done, they slid it onto a warm roll and added my usual lettuce, onions ("fresh or grilled, sir?") with spicy mustard, and handed me the basket and my bag of taters.

"Fretatas" are thick, crinkle cut potato chips served in a paper bag and crunchy enough to be heard across the room.  They are flavorful, despite being unseasoned, and are not greasy.  I even enjoyed the leftovers at dinner.

There are only six tables and the four toppers will only seat four close friends, and business was brisk enough that I expect it to outgrow the place before long.  The owners cultivate a community involvement flavor by donating 5% of sales to charities (a different one each week) and by inviting artists to show their stuff on several chalkboards around the walls.

My only downside was that the water for the soda fountain seemed to need more filtering than it was getting.  Not a good flavor.

Single burger, Fretata and large drink cost about $9, more than I usually spend for lunch but I'll do it again.

On Broadway...

We have to go all the way to Broadway to get our pizza, but fortunately, Broadway Ristorante & Pizzeria is just down the street on SR 434 about where Altamonte Springs meets Longwood.  As the word Ristorante implies, there is more on the menu than pizza and it all looks very good, but we are just suckers for pie.  This is the best we've found without travelling out of town or back in time to college days (Mano's RIP).  The crust is relatively thin hand-tossed covered with a very New York Italian sauce with toppings sliced, chopped or sprinkled exactly right, for me anyway.

One thing I notice - call me weird - is when pizza and pasta places understand the two different lids for condiment shakers.  Round holes are for powders like Parmesan cheese: slotted openings are for the larger goodies, especially red pepper flakes.  As the picture shows, someone here gets it.

My only complaint is they no longer serve Newcastle, my preferred beverage with pizza.  The selection is still large enough I can choose from among Guinness, Bass and some other quite acceptable potables, but I still give them a hard time about it.

This neighborhood place seats about 30-40 inside with the bar and maybe twice that outside under canopies, where entertainers occasionally do their thing.

Tonight we had a large pie with mushrooms, onions and pepperoni, one beer and two sodas for about $27.

What Are Grits ???

I received the following information concerning grits in an email from one of the fellas up by Savannah:

 Nobody knows.  Some folks believe grits are grown on bushes and are harvested by midgets by shaking the bushes after spreading sheets around them.  Many people feel that grits are made from ground up bits of white corn. These are obviously lies spread by Communists and terrorists.  Nothing as good as Grits can be made from corn.

The most recent research suggests that the mysterious Manna that God rained down upon the Israelites during their time in the Sinai Desert was most likely Grits.  Critics disagree,  stating that there is no record of biscuits, butter, salt and red eye gravy raining down from the sky and that God would not punish his people by forcing them to eat Grits without these key ingredients.

A reasonable story but possibly inaccurate. 

How Grits are Formed. Grits are formed deep underground under intense heat and pressure.  It takes over 1000 years to form a single Grit.  Most of the world's grit mines are in South Carolina and are guarded day and night by armed guards and pit bull dogs.  Harvesting the Grit is a dangerous occupation and many Grit miners lose their lives each year so that Grits can continue to be served morning after morning for breakfast (not that having Grits for lunch and dinner is out of the question).

That was supposed to be Top Secret.  Gotta ask Hal. 

Yankees have attempted to create synthetic Grits.  They call it Cream of Wheat.  As far as we can tell, the key ingredients of Cream of Wheat are Elmer's Glue and shredded Styrofoam.  These synthetic grits have also been shown to cause nausea, and may leave you unable to have children.

Absolutely factual. 

The 10 Commandments of Grits.

    I.   Thou shalt not put syrup on thy Grits..

   II.   Thou shalt not eat thy Grits with a spoon or knife.

  III.   Thou shalt not eat Cream of Wheat and call it Grits, for this is blasphemy.

 IV.  Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's Grits.

  V.  Thou shalt use only salt, butter and red-eye gravy as toppings for thy Grits.

 VI.  Thou shalt not eat Instant Grits.

 VII.  Thou shalt not put ketchup on thy Grits.

VIII.  Thou shalt not put margarine on thy Grits.

IX.   Thou shalt not eat toast with thy Grits, only biscuits made from scratch.

 X.   Thou shalt eat grits on the Sabbath for this is manna from heaven.

AMEN. 

How to Eat Grits. Immediately after removing your grits from the stove top, add a generous portion of butter or red eye gravy.  WARNING:  Do NOT use low-fat butter. The butter should cause the Grits to turn a wondrous shade of yellow.  Hold a banana or a yellow rain slicker next to your Grits. If the colors match, you have the correct amount of butter.

In lieu of butter, pour a generous helping of red eye gravy on your grits.  Be sure to pour enough to have some left for sopping up with your biscuits.  Never, ever substitute canned or store bought biscuits for the real thing because they can cause cancer, rotten teeth and impotence.

Next, add salt.  The correct ratio of Grit to Salt is 10:1.  Therefore, for every 10 grits, you should have 1 grain of salt.

Now begin eating your grits.  Always use a fork, never a  spoon, to eat Grits.  Your grits should be thick enough so they do not run through the tines of the fork.

That last paragraph addressed the second problem with the grits in my previous post: proper grits should be about the consistency of mashed  potatoes.  If you need a bowl or a spoon, someone in the kitchen was thinking cream of wheat. 

The correct beverage to serve with Grits is black coffee.  

...poured into a saucer a few sips at a time and blown on until the proper temp (my grandpa's method).

DO NOT use cream or, heaven forbid, Skim Milk.

Not to mention powdered creamer. 

Your grits should never be eaten in a bowl because Yankees will think its Cream of Wheat.

IRISH BLESSING BEFORE EATING GRITS

May the lord bless these grits, 

May no Yankee ever get the recipe,

May I eat grits every day while living,

And may I die while eating grits.

AMEN

One last remark - the foregoing treats "grits" as plural.  Some hold the view that the term is singular (or collective) like "meal" and the grammatically correct question would be "What is grits."  Where the word came from isn't really known but could be a metathetic variation of "grist", much like ask and aks or chipotle and chipolte.

GOT GRITS? :-)

Southern Surprise at White Wolf

We often look for excuses to eat at the White Wolf Cafe, and my Mom visiting us this week made a good one.  She likes this place as much as we do.

A funky (do people still use that word) cafe in the middle of Orlando's Bohemian/Antique district, White Wolf started as an antique shop itself and visible price tags tell you that much of the decor is still for sale.

Cloths never hide the polished marble table tops (sides left rough) and that, along with the tile flooring, means there is nothing to dampen the busy restaurant noises.  To me this is just auditory decor, but it could bother some in my age bracket.

My wife ordered the Moroccan Salad, chunks of chicken breast tossed with bananas, raisins and nuts in chopped romaine with a sweet curry dressing.  She asked for the croissant in the picture, it usually comes with wedges of pita.

This is our mutual favorite and we often just order one to share - at White Wolf you always get more than you can eat.  

We didn't share this time, though.  My surprise was one of the specials on the chalk board - Country Fried Steak with sausage gravy, eggs and potatoes.  It's always been on the menu, but I had never noticed it amongst items like the aforementioned salad, Citrus Salmon Salad, kabobs and lasagna.

They call it country fried but I'd say chicken fried steak.  Wrapped in a thick but light, flaky crust, it was better than Grandma used to make, and I loved hers.  The gravy was loaded with sausage flavor and just the right spiciness.

I substituted grits for the potatoes and as good as the place is, they don't understand this dish.  It wasn't seasoned at all, and a second issue is visible in my picture.  Tell me what you think it is in the comments and check back in a couple of days for my upcoming post on grits.

Mom had the Philly Cheese Steak Sandwich, which was excellent despite not being a real Philly - no Cheese Whiz.  That's okay, I don't keep it in the house either.

The next day we had leftovers for lunch, with the wife and me splitting the remaining salad and steak.  Still yummy.