Monday, March 21, 2011

Stardust Coffee, Orlando, FL

Since there's no website, (!free wi-fi and no website?), here are the particulars:
Stardust Coffee 
1842 East Winter Park Road, Orlando, FL 32803(407) 623-3393 
OK, so much for the public service announcements.  Oh, and don't smoke.  Oh, and don't do drugs and other bad stuff.  Oh, and of course, don't eat animals.  Right, right.
So it's the first day I'm flying with a new pilot, who as most are, is a carnivore.  He seems to be open to trying new things but I am a kind and magnanimous sort where other's food needs desires are concerned so I find Stardust on Vegout as a veg friendly place.
The place is nothing short of eclectic and reminds me of a place I used to frequent in New Haven called Ron's Place.  I have no idea why I used to go there except it was where the "different" freaks hung out and I was also getting into Punk music, (hello Ramones).  Ron's had black walls if I remember.  
So this place is like a video library from the late 1800's.  I know but if they did this is what it might look like.  Just shelves of stuff, didn't seem to be in any kind of order or categories, (pre Dewey and his system).  I'm sure there was but I didn't see it.  There was a smaller room off to one side where someone was singing screeching into a mike.  Maybe it's my age, (aw jeeze), but it didn't have that foot stomping hootenanny rhythm I'm a kin to.
It did stop after a short while and that was it for the entertainment at least while we were there.

OK, so be forewarned, I held the camera in a vertical position so this video is on it's side.  You either need to crane your head all the way on it's side, tip over your computer or skip the video.



You order at the small counter and then go sit with a number on a stick to wait for your food. It took me a while longer to order because of this amazing beer cooler.  I gave barnivore.com a workout, that's for sure.  And the first few I looked up had really nice looking bottle designs but  weren't vegan so not to create a riot in the line behind me I just went with the Peak Organic.
Beautiful looking Hummus, veggie, and Pita Plate.
The appetizer was interesting.  There were marinated red peppers, which I don't think I ever had before, which were excellent.  The other veggies were fresh and crisp.  The pita had some spices including paprika and a little heat so I'm thinking a touch of cayenne.  (Yeah, cayenne.)  I found the hummus surprisingly a bit bland, in need of some salt and perhaps a squeeze of lemon to brighten it up.  I did however find a whole garlic clove the next day.  My little tiny hotel fridge actually froze the entire contents of the take out container, which was about half of what was served.  It was a little bit frozen and a bit of a different color than garlic.  I thought it was a freakin' garbanzo bean so bit right into it.  

Colorful food seems to be the order of the day night.
The main course was the vegan burrito.  Interestingly, there is no Daiya here.  It's like finding a new civilization with no electricity.  How in the world of vegan chefs/cooks/restaurant owners can this not be on your menu.  OK, even if Daiya isn't then how about just some good old vegan cheese?  Nah.  Anyway, this was a pretty outstanding burrito in it's own right.  I asked for the vegan chili and it was flavorful and had a bit of welcome heat.  I think the salsa was made inhouse as it was chunky and had a nice flavor.  If it's not I would like to know the brand.
Now here's the funny, (ha, ha), thing.  The guy I'm with, bear in mind it's his first time eating with me on the road, first trip, first exposure to my picky and strange eating requirements, orders a chicken quesadilla.  Not really out of the park strange, especially since this ISN'T a vegan restaurant.  Now I didn't actually hear this and can't testify to it in a court of law.  When the server put my plate down he said something like, "Here's your burrito with no dairy, no meat, no chicken, and no cheese."  Then he put down the other plate, said something and left.  My buddy looks at me and asks, "Did he just call me a murderer?"  I'm like, stymied at this very moment in time.  I really don't know what to say so all that comes out is, "Nah, I didn't hear that.  Did he?""Well, yeah I think he did.""I didn't hear that.  I know he said something.""Yup, I think he just called me a murderer."
Now we went on to discuss all sorts of sophomoric stupidity like whether there might have been a hocked lugi on the quesadilla or maybe just some wayward spit.  Listen.  Regardless of your personal feelings about people and their food choices, if this was in fact said, it might have ruined any inroads I might have made about changing ONE individuals food choices SOME of the time.  Of forever.  It was pretty thoughtless.  It didn't make him feel any more welcome in a place I chose because I'm a vegan.  I mean, you really don't know if this guy was on the verge of a mindful breakthrough about his food or a day away from going vegan.  It's a pretty crappy assumption that it is your place to chastise someone who orders meat in your OMNIVORE restaurant.  It's your job to assist, serve, shut up and leave.  Of course, if you didn't actually say this just disregard this rant paragraph and, if you'd be so kind, make an appointment for me at the nearest otologist. 
Now, also to be fair, my buddy said the food, "... tore him up." I didn't get into specific details, and I felt just fine.  So I'd consider going back but I'm pretty pretty sure he'll take a pass

Stardust Video & Coffee on Urbanspoon

3 comments:

magnet's coil said...

I love Stardust. This is their website: http://stardustvideoandcoffee.wordpress.com/

I really doubt any of the cooks called your friend a "murderer" because they all eat meat. If they did, it had to be a mild attempt at humor. Go back. Tell your friend to order the grinderman, and you should order the pita pizza vegan.

Marty said...

Hi Ashley,

Thanks for the comment. As I said, I didn't hear it but it's water under the bridge and something to discuss, (or not), in-house.

Thanks for posting the link. I just couldn't find it when I googled it.

Also, I enjoyed the food and would go back, so thanks for the menu suggestion. We called in our order at the suggestion of Christine (?) since it was getting close to closing time for the kitchen. Great suggestion btw, but I didn't really have time to peruse the menu as I would have liked.

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