Hungry Howie's in Deland, FL

Way back in the day, I listed Hungry Howie's Pizza pretty high on the pizza chain hierarchy. Of the big chains, Papa John's was near the top. Domino's was near the bottom of the list. Hungry Howie's was second or third on the list. Then all the nearby Hungry Howie's near me closed.

I was out in Volusia County and ended up at the Hungry Howie's in Deland. The pizza was very different than I remembered Hungry Howie's serving. The crust was thick and puffy. I remember it being much thinner than this pizza was. The flavor of the cheese and sauce were fine. It seemed like they drenched the entire pie in a disgusting amount of some sort of butter sauce. I very much did enjoy the sesame seeds on the crust.

Hungry Howie's (or at least this Hungry Howie's location) was not what I remembered at all. It was worse. If this was a good representation of the chain's pizzas, they have moved way down in my hierarchy of pizza chains.

Something else that bothered me: I ordered this pie in the days of COVID-19, but before Deland's mandatory mask order - not that it would probably make a difference since people aren't following the rule in Seminole or Orange County). Not a single person working in this store who I saw, both front of house and who I could see in the kitchen, was wearing a mask. Seems like a standard safety thing that all restaurants should be following. If Hungry Howie's ignores masks, I can imagine there's other food safety things that might be ignored. Not saying they were violating any other rules, but that seems like a logical next step...

Boston Coffeehouse in Deland, FL

Boston Coffeehouse divides people. I know certain people who love Boston Coffeehouse while other people claim it's the most horrible coffee/food they've had. I recently visited the Boston Coffeehouse in Downtown Deland. Not horrible, but not great either.

I ordered the half sandwich/half soup. For the sandwich, I had the Cambridge Croissant. The croissant was filled with sliced turkey, spinach, provolone, tomato, and creamy avocado spread. It was a very basic sandwich with nothing too exciting going on, but it was tasty enough. For the soup, I had corn chowder.

I also ordered a Frozen Hot Chocolate. Frozen hot chocolates confuse me. There is the contradiction in the name. Something cannot be frozen and hot. Wouldn't this drink be more like an icy chocolate milk than a hot chocolate? Regardless, the drink was good. Like I said, it tasted like an icy version of chocolate milk, topped with whipped creme and chocolate syrup.

Fuji Express in Deland, FL

I ventured to Deland and had dinner at a restaurant called Fuji Express. This fast food Japanese restaurant served both hibachi style food as well as sushi. There were other people eating there, but I don't know if I'd trust this restaurant with raw fish. I ordered the Shrimp Teriyaki Bento Box. The shrimp was cooked with carrots, baby corn, and broccoli in teriyaki sauce. It was served with California rolls, goyza, and steamed rice. Everything tasted adequate enough. None of it was outstanding, but nothing was bad either. I wouldn't rush back here for fast food Japanese food, but wouldn't necessarily object if someone suggested eating at Fuji Express again.

Snow Buckets in DeLand, FL

I was in Downtown Deland and got dessert from a shop called Snow Buckets. They specialized in snow cones and are located in the space once occupied by an ice cream shop called Cone Heads. I really didn't know what to expect from Snow Buckets' snow cones. Would they be the lower end snow cones consisting of chopped ice and syrup? Would they be the delicate, finely shaved ice found in Hawaiian shaved ice? Asian style shaved ice topped with fruit and condensed milk was also a potential option here. Curiosity of what sort icy dessert was served was my main reason for stopping here.

It turned out Snow Buckets served the classic snow cone. First they coarsely chopped ice into a cup. Syrups were then selected. I chose passion fruit and guyabana. I was sort of expecting them to pour one syrup over half the cup and the other over the other half, but the two syrups mixed right on top of each other. This created in interesting flavor combination that tasted like neither passion fruit or guyabana.

I now know what sort of snow cones are served at Snow Buckets...

El Taco Amigo in Deland, FL

I had Mexican food for lunch from a restaurant called El Taco Amigo in Deland. They are located downtown in a building shared with an auto repair garage. You order at El Taco Amigo from a window outside. There are a few tables on the porch next to the window.

 

They had a good sized menu consisting of a section of tacos where you got to choose the style and type of meat. There was also a section offering meals and combinations.

 

I tried three of their tacos. For the meats, I tried a chorizo, a pork pastor, and a polio. The three tacos were served on corn tortillas, topped with cilantro and cabbage. Slices of lime, radishes and hot sauce were served on the side. The chorizo and pastor tacos were my favorite and I liked them equally. The meats actually tasted very similar and I was unable to tell which one was which. They did have a slightly different appearance, so I know I did get two different tacos. Regardless, they were equally tasty! I'm not up on my spanish enough to know if polio was a typo on the menu rather than pollo, but the shredded chicken taco was the most boring of the three tacos. Luckily I didn't catch any polio from it.

I enjoyed my meal at El Taco Amigo. I would most definitely go back here again for more tacos!

JC's Lobster Pot in Deland, FL

I had dinner at JC's Lobster Pot in Deland. This seafood restaurant is located on 44, not far from the St. Johns River.

When I entered the restaurant, I noticed they had a rock shrimp special. It had been a while since I've eaten rock shrimp, so I decided to give that a try. The meal began with clam chowder and a side salad.

For the main course, I received a plate of just over a dozen large rock shrimp, butter dipping sauce, french fries, and hush puppies. The shrimp were very tasty, as shrimp dipped in butter should be. The hush puppies were good and the fries were okay but weren't a standout of the meal.

I never knew JC's Lobster Pot existed until I found it accidentally when my dinner plans at a nearby restaurant fell through. I'm glad I know about it now because I did enjoy my meal here!

Deland Fish House in Deland, FL

I ventured out to Deland for dinner on a recent evening and found myself at a restaurant called the Deland Fish House. This seafood restaurant was located on International Speedway Blvd, not far from Downtown Deland and Stetson University.

They had a combo dinner where you got to pick a type of fish and shellfish that sounded good to me. I chose the blackened mahi mahi for my fish and a crab cake for the shellfish. The dinner came with two sides and I chose the fried okra and cheese grits. Hush puppies were also included. The blackened mahi mahi was very tasty. The seasoning was nice and spicy. The crab cake was also tasty. There was a lot of crab in this very large crab cake, which is always a good thing. The fried okra was average and the cheese grits were very plain tasting. The seafood was definitely better than the side items, as it should be at a seafood restaurant. Overall, I liked this place. The food was good for the most part. The prices were a little less than I was expecting and the portions were huge. I'd return!

Bill & Frank's Brickhouse Grill in Deland, FL

Bill & Frank's Brickhouse Grill is a restaurant located in Downtown Deland. I've been here a couple times in the past and always liked the restaurant but never wrote about them on this blog. I took a picture of my food on my most recent visit, so now there's a blog post. The Brickhouse Grill has a very varied menu, ranging from sandwiches, steaks, pastas, salads, and my choice for the evening: barbeque.

I decided to try some the beef brisket and smoked turkey. This was served with garlic toast, mashed potatoes, and pickle slices. The meats had a nice smokey flavor. Out of the two, I preferred the turkey. A couple of the slices of brisket were very fatty. It's unfortunate because the brisket was otherwise tasty. The mashed potatoes had bacon and cheese mixed in for some added flavor.

My meal at Bill & Frank's Brickhouse Grill wasn't perfect with the fatty brisket, but was otherwise good. I'd most definitely return, next time to probably try some of their sandwiches that sound really good.

Stay Calm Cupcake Truck

There's a new cupcake truck in town! I was sent a coupon to try the Stay Calm Cupcake Truck for their grand opening. I found them at Rebounderz in Longwood for a very rainy Taste Bud Tuesdays.

We tried the strawberry lemon cupcake and the chocolate peanut butter cupcake.

Cone Heads South in Deland, FL

Cone Heads South is a small ice cream shop in downtown Deland. I recently gave them a try while driving though the town.

I had a small cup of strawberry cheesecake ice cream. I'm assuming they didn't have any small cups left since they put my serving of ice cream into a large cup, making the portion look very small. Regardless, the ice cream was tasty and actually tasted like cheesecake. Sometimes I've ordered cheesecake flavored ice cream elsewhere and it just tastes like vanilla, so this gives Cone Heads a few points in my book...