@jakeduck
Hi
Any smoked fish does not taste like regular fish. Not everyone likes salmon. I like smoked salmon with cream cheese on bagel.
Lobster should not be chewy....I don’t order it. That white fish you had was probably cod or sole or tilapia or even flounder. They’re mild and you have to season them up. Love sautéed oysters, soft shell crabs, mussels in white wine sauce...lots of bread for dipping. Like fried calamari.

Went to a burger place last night ....suppose to be the best burgers in Orlando...called Hangry Bison. You can construct your own burgers. I had ribeye burger (outstanding meat) topped with thousand island glaze, red onion, cucumber, avocado, spinach. couldn’t finish it...could hardly get my mouth around it. Had it on a gluten free bun to ease my guilt. Smoked bourbon was so good. Eating healthier today.

Italian restaurants can have bizarre (for you) things on the menu. I’ll try to find something. This is a eating weekend for us.

Regards from FL Mary

Hi
Kimichi I’ve had...fermented cabbage but Takuan..not sure....I may have and not known what I was eating. Right now my son and I are marinating chicken breasts in Sofrita.....Latin mixture...will let you know the taste...and also sautéing brown shimeji mushrooms which I have never seen. He found this in the Latin store too. Experimental kitchen..he’s a good innovative cook...no recipes ...no cookbooks.

FL Mary

Hi,
What has iron, calcium, potassium, phosphorus, selenium, vitamins A,B,C and Omega 3?
OCTOPUS!
Francesco’s Italian restaurant (in Maitland near Orlando) last night we ordered 2 plates of charred octopus on top of enormous slices of thick slice charred tomatoes and charred romaine. Octopus looks like steak tidbits when sliced .....not a piece left. Best I ever had. You would have fainted but it was like eating prime fillet tidbits. Shared shrimp which was good. I ordered grilled eggplant parmigiana that also came with pasta on a plate that could have fed 4 people. Again...best I have tasted. Even the bread was unusually savory and delicious. We sampled each other’s pasta dishes and pizza.
They are known for their very large portions and superlative food. Usually need reservations even on some weekday nights.
They allow you to bring your own wine for a corkage fee so we had 2 bottles of red (one was a $100 bottle from a client of my sons). No wine left. Amazing waiter and service. Kitchen is out in the open so you can see the chef’s cook. Restaurant is barely 5 minutes from my sons home. Came home to coconut cake and strawberry shortcake. I couldn’t even eat breakfast this morning.

So fantastic to have everything at a restaurant done to perfection and superlative service.

Carb and salt overload here....returning to normal eating for rest of day and heading home.

The Latin Sofrito marinated chicken was good but required extra spices. I wouldn’t go out of my way to buy at a Latin market but would only buy it there. I would imagine the jarred sofrito in the supermarkets are not good. Those mushrooms had a nutty flavor but are similar to shiitake mushrooms. The ethnic supermarkets are actually cheaper to shop at. Avacados were 2 for $1 and $1.50 each at Publix.

We are fortunate to have the variety of bodegas and Asian markets here in Florida along with all type of organic supermarkets.
I do miss the farm stands in Long Island. We have them here but not the same. I miss going out to the east end of the island in the fall for pumpkins and winter vegetables...purple cauliflower .....and the wineries! Rhubarb pies the size of flying saucers.

That’s enough for now.

FL Mary