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

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.