cookies and code

I’m happy to report that Brevard county finally has a gastropub that is worth patronizing. Vintage 56 is the most tasteful and affordable dining experience that my wife and I have had in the last year. Let’s do the walk-through.

When you come upon Vintage 56′s location, you may find yourself taken back a bit. The restaurant is tucked away in a shopping plaza which looks like it hasn’t seen much traffic in the last few years. In fact, if you’re a little faint of heart, you may turn back wondering how what you’ve heard is such a great place found it’s way there. Please trust me when I say, forge ahead, you don’t have to go into the clothing outlet and wig store; you’re just there for the restaurant. Once you make your way in, you’ll soon forget about the outside and appreciate the open floor plan and simple decor. The restaurant contains tables and half-booths (?) and open seating for its guests. We went on a Monday night and there were only a few couples dining which contributed to a nice and quiet ambiance.

I was excited to see that Vintage 56 stays fairly true to the gastropub style with its simple, seasonal menu and beer selection. I was even more ecstatic to see one of my favorite beers, Dogfish Head Pumpkin Ale ($5), on draft; they also had 2 for 1 martinis all evening, each ranging from $8 – $10 a piece. We each started with a cup of soup. I ordered a cup of the Portuguese Sausage and Kale ($3) and my wife ordered a cup of the Lobster Bisque ($4). The Portuguese Sausage soup was the perfect magnitude of spicy, made with chicken broth, kale, and diced carrot, celery, potato, and Andouille sausage; it reminded of the portions of a Zuppa Toscana that I enjoy with even more flavor. The Lobster Bisque has some small chunks of lobster in the broth and is served with a side of sherry crème fraîche which is must add to achieve the full flavor of the soup.

For our meals we went the sandwich route ordering the BLT ($8) and the Vintage Chicken Sandwich ($9). Part of what makes Vintage 56 so great is the way they can take menu items, like these simple sandwiches, and not break from your expectations, but still pleasantly surprise your palate. Both sandwiches are served on fresh baked Ciabatta bread with your choice of homemade sea-salt and cracked pepper potato chips or sweet potato fries (both of which taste great). The BLT is served with a light slathering of mayonnaise, melted whole-milk mozzarella, baby greens, yellow tomatoes, and an ample amount of crispy bacon. The Vintage Chicken Sandwich is made up of a reasonably portioned, grilled chicken breast, baby greens, brie cheese, and a pear and sun-dried cherry chutney. Although we didn’t try them, the menu also offers a selection of flat bread pizzas, burgers, tapas (cold and hot), and entrees. This evening there was also a paella for two on special, but I’m unsure of the price.

By the end of the meal, we were both stuffed, but when I heard a slice of homemade pumpkin pie ($6) was on the menu, I didn’t hesitate to order it. The texture of the pie wasn’t as smooth as I had hoped, but the flavor was amazing and definitely tasted as if the pumpkin was blended fresh. I also ordered a coffee ($2) which had a pretty typical flavor but was a nice complement to the pie.

On top of the great food, the table service was friendly and timely. We were able to sit and talk with the waiter and bartender who were very friendly and attentive. According to our waiter, by the second time he’d eaten at the restaurant he knew he wanted to work there. Being open for ~3 months thus far, it looks like he’s gotten in on the ground floor of what promises to be a great establishment. Also serving lunch, there are plenty of opportunities to stop in and see what I’m raving about. I can’t wait to see what the menu will hold as time goes on.

Vintage 56 is going into our permanent “dinner out” rotation and I’m already eager to visit again. I will go even as far as to say that Vintage 56 is the best restaurant in Rockledge at which I’ve eaten for all of my time in Brevard. Due yourself a favor and make time to stop in for a great meal and a great gastropub experience.

Vintage 56 is located at 200 Barton Boulevard, Rockledge, FL 32955.

There are very few places in the Brevard area I really enjoy sitting down for a beer at. Charlie and Jake’s is a great spot for some home brews, but you can only drink the same 6 beers so many times. When I really want my beer fix, there is only one place that comes to mind, Coasters Pub. Now Coasters isn’t a microbrewery, so maybe the comparison isn’t fair, but they do have a crap load (100+) of awesome beers available, most of which are available on tap.

My father-in-law and I have been patronizing Coasters for the last two years, but it never occurred to me to make mention on the blog of them; that may be because of the great beer selection, however. Coasters not only carries some of the most popular brands on draft, but they also keep a seasonal rotation of beers going year round. Check out the winter selection they’ve made available this time around. Now it’s important to note, that I am by no means a beer expert, but I’m having fun learning about it all each time I go into Coasters. Lately, I’m really digging on Michigan with the Bell’s Two Hearted and Oberon Ales. I was bummed this past Friday that Delerium Tremens was no longer available on draft, but I switched over to the darker Arrogant Bastard Ale and it was well worth it. They always keep St Bernardus Tripel on tap as well as PBR (see the board), so you really have the full spectrum available to you at the pub. I really like the Fall and Winter beer selections, so this is a great time to visit, IMO. Pints can range anywhere from ~$2 for the PBR to ~$20 for their most expensive bottle from what I’ve seen. I usually try to go during happy hour, which will get you about $1 off your pint’s price of anywhere from ~$6 to $10. When I’m in a good mood, I’ll take 2 St. Bernardus and I’m out.

Coasters not only has the best beer selection in Brevard county, but they have great food as well. When we go, we typically get 20 wings (~$14), the fish and chips (~$9), and the french dip (~$9). Although there are some typical bar food menu choices (e.g. – chips and salsa and queso, mozzarella sticks, etc), their menu is diverse enough such that if you don’t feel like the fried experience, you can probably find a salad or sandwich to your liking. I personally really enjoy the wings, they always know how to fry them just right, although they will bake them as well. The fish and chips is made with haddock and just freagin’ rocks; it’s beer battered and comes with beer battered fries. The french dip is a great as well with your choice of onions, peppers, and mushrooms along with mozzarella cheese on a hoagie roll. Nothing is better than those beer battered fries though after a couple beers.

On top of the tasty food, Coasters wait and bartending staff is always spot on. Our waitresses always are great about bringing us samples of the new beers on tap. From our experience, they have a great demeanor and our food is always brought out hot. It’s gotta be tough dealing with a huge bunch of beer drinkers day in and out, but they do a great job. Between the beer, the service, and the food, it’s really hard to go wrong with Coasters Pub. Any place that keeps a longer list of beers than wine is tops in my book. If you like good, quality beer and need a great pub to replace your boring watering hole, Coasters Pub is the place for you. Hell, they even use their website to get information out to the community, how can you go wrong?

Coasters Pub is located in the Walmart plaza at 971A E Eau Gallie Blvd, Melbourne, FL.

When I first moved to Brevard, I wondered what it would be like living near the coast and, of course being a crazed foodie, what would I think of as the quintessential eatery after a few years. After living in the area a few years now the answer to that question stares me in the face every time I pass one of Long Doggers’ locations. Long Doggers is what my wife and I consider a solid place for lunch. We usually hit up the Post Road location, but the South Patrick and Indialantic locations are also really great. No matter which location you hit up, the atmosphere reflects the lay back, beach going lifestyle of the coast with a definite focus on surfing.

One of the best parts of Long Doggers is its simple and fresh menu. This time around we ordered the Regular Dog Day Platter (~$4) and the Dolphin Reuben (~$8), a sweet tea (~$2), and a water. The Dog Day Platter comes with your choice of regular or foot long hotdog (+$1), a pickle, coleslaw, and a choice of side; we opted for the onion rings. The Dolphin Reuben is a generously portioned Mahi fillet served in a white bun with sauerkraut and thousand-island dressing along side coleslaw and a pickle. As always our meals came out hot and were delicious. As an added plus, Long Doggers’ seafood options are just great; I especially enjoy the Grilled Tuna Sandwich seared rare (~$8). We haven’t tried the entrees before, but I’ve heard good things about them as well.

As with most places we frequent, the staff is attentive and accommodating. They’ve always got some type of surfing video running on the TV and have outdoor and indoor seating available. If you’re looking for a reliable place for casual eats, look no further than Long Doggers. You’ll find lots of locals and tasty food; hell, it’s such a staple you’ll probably find yourself buying a t-shirt after a couple visits.

Long Doggers in North Melbourne is located at 2870 Post Rd, Melbourne, FL.

Every now and then, the healthy side of me is placed into submission while the side of me that needs good old greasy, fried food takes over. It’s been a few weeks now and my body is started to revolt, so I figured I’d have one last hurrah before getting back into the swing of cooking at home. Over the last few months, signs for Little Phillies have been popping up on the mainland and beach-side, so I figured cheesesteaks would be a good choice to finish out my feeding frenzy.

Little Phillies’ is located where Kimberly Plaza used to be, from what my wife tells me, hidden in a small plaza North of 7-Eleven and south of the Pineda Causeway on A1A. This new location is quite the step up from the lunch cart that the owner was running prior to opening the restaurant. From what the guy working the counter told us, on busy days, they were selling 200 cheesesteaks road-side and the volume was just too much for the Amaco next to Oasis Shaved Iced, so they opened the new place. Even though I didn’t get a chance to swing by the cart, Little Phillies keeps the back to basics feel and does it well.

The group ended up splitting two of the large Authenticate Cheesesteaks (~$9 each) with an order of fries (~$2) and onion rings (~$3) and a couple of sodas (~$2 each). Each cheesesteak comes stocked with chopped ribeye and the option to add grilled onions, bell pepper (~$0.50), or mushroom (~$0.75) as well as your choice of cheese (provolone, american, or cheesewiz). The fries and onion rings were not at all greasy, were served hot, and tasted great. The cheesesteaks were served hot and are definitely big enough to split. If you have a larger appetite, they offer an X-Large size (~$11) as well as a 1 lb. of steak option (~$12). Chicken and buffalo chicken cheesesteak options are also available along with a slew of subs and fried sides. We didn’t try dessert, but Italian ice and cheesecake bites are also available.

The staff is friendly and the joint can definitely make a good cheesesteak. If you’re looking to try out a recent addition to the Brevard casual dining scene, look no further than Little Phillies. Sometimes restaurants can get complicated with all they try to do to attract customers when all they really need to do is focus on the food. +1 for Little Phillies for getting it right.

Little Phillies is located at 190 Highway A1A, Satellite Beach, FL.

When I took my latest job, the president of the company, Doug, took me out to lunch to say welcome. As a force of habit, I got to talking about food. I was excited to find he was just as much of a “foodie” as I am. He kept raving about a former ice cream stand turned into sandwich shop called Rolli’s. I asked around about the place and didn’t hear too much else about it, so I was held off on giving it a try. Boy was that a dumb move. The other day my wife surprised me and took me to Rolli’s before my trip to Oregon. On a side note, she has officially won the wife of the year award (which not surprisingly, she wins every year).

Pulling up to Rolli’s I have to admit, I was a little hesitant. I haven’t had much luck with the sandwich stands in the past but, as always, you can’t complain until you give it a shot, right? After some time looking over the menu, we decided to order the Rolli Original Pork Sandwich (~$6), the Rolli Cheese Steak (~$6), a cup of fries (~$3), and a 24 oz drink (~$2). Doug raved about the pork sandwich so I had to try it. For the Rolli’s Original and Jr. Pork Sandwich, they slice tender, seasoned pork tenderloin onto an egg bun with grilled onions, provolone cheese, and mayo. The flavor behind the sandwich is a little salty at first, but wow, what a great taste; the pork is so tender it melts in your mouth, no matter how big a bite you take. As for the cheese steak, I was really happy to peek over and see them chop and grill a nice rib-eye with onions. The mixture made its way onto a hoagie roll filled with provolone and mayo; we could have done w/o the mayo, but it was good none the less. The fries were skin-on potatoes cooked in what tasted like peanut oil. I would have liked it if they were a little thicker, but worth the order if you like fries. As far as the drinks go, make sure to order the large (24oz) or you’ll have to pay for refills.

Overall, Rolli’s worked out to be a great pick, so thanks to Doug for the suggestion. Every now and then you need a good, reliable place to get a great sandwich and Rolli’s is that place. If you’ve ever passed Rolli’s on your way to the Melbourne mall, don’t waste your time on the crappy food court, turn back around for a great meal.

Rolli’s is located at 620 W New Haven Ave, Melbourne, FL 32901.

NOTE : Keep in mind that Rolli’s only has a 3 or 4 tables and limited parking, so if there is a lunch rush, be ready to take their great food to go.

I haven’t really started to explore the microbreweries in the Central Florida area, but Charley and Jake’s Brewery and Grill feels like a great start. My wife and I always go to the restaurant located in Suntree rather than Indialantic because of the microbrewery; we’ve heard that the food on the island is better, but we haven’t taken the time to try it yet. Before we found Slow and Low, Charley and Jake’s was our BBQ stop in the Brevard area. More recently we’ve noticed a shift from a focus on BBQ to more of a diverse menu with salads, sandwiches, burgers, etc. This may be, however, because my wife and I look for different things to try on the menu rather than BBQ now-a-days. In fact, you may notice that Charley and Jake’s and Slow and Low have a very similar menu when it comes to BBQ, so who knows what that’s about. In any case, the food and beer is great and definitely worth the visit.

We went a few weeks ago with my in-laws and finally were able to resist ordering a smörgåsbord of food but we were still stuffed after we finished. To start, we ordered the Anniversary Ale (~$3), which has made it onto their permanent menu finally (pale ale), as well as a german-like beer being brewed in house. We also ordered a water and a sweet ice tea (~$2). For our meals, we ordered the catfish platter(~$11) with greens and mac and cheese, the Fisherman’s Plate (~$14) with fries and corn, the cheese steak (~$9) with a baked sweet potato, the prime rib sandwich (~$10) with corn, an extra side of fried sweet potatoes (~$4), and a plate of 6 hush puppies (~3). The catfish plate comes with fried catfish fingers that taste great, not like the traditional farm raise catfish people are used to and dislike. The fisherman’s plate comes with a beer-battered fried white fish, fried shrimp, and fried clams. The cheese steak has lots of veggies and is made with roast beef (I think) and mozzarella on a hoagie roll. The prime rib sandwich is very lean and comes open-face on garlic bread. The hush puppies were a little drier that what I like, but still tasty. If you’re looking for other items to try out, check out the BBQ Chicken Nachos (~$8) as well as the pulled turkey sandwich (~$8).

Overall, our servers have always been attentive and quick to get our food to us. Our food is always hot and the order has always been correct. I’ve heard of mixed reviews from others, but we’ve always enjoyed Charley and Jake’s and will continue to patronize it as long as they keep making their great beer and food. Keep up the great work guys (and get a website).

Charlie and Jake’s Brewery and Grill is located in Suntree at 6300 N Wickham Rd, Melbourne, FL.

On Sunday, my wife and I were coming back from the mall and decided to drive towards the coast to find a local place to eat. We found the Sunset Waterfront Grille and Bar just east of the Banana River on SR 520 and figured we’d give it a shot. The restaurant has a huge outdoor bar and dining area (as well as a small indoor dining area). The view is amazing. There are plenty of folks pulling their boats up and grabbing a beer. The vibe of the restaurant reminded me of a few places we used to go to in Fort Lauderdale, that were on the water, that we really enjoyed. The menu was your average bar and grill menu with a focus on seafood. Entrees averaged about $16 a plate with most of the fish selections priced around $18 (ahi tuna, mahi, grouper, etc).

We ordered the Steak Caesar sandwich with cheese (~$11) and the crab cake sandwich (~$9). Both meals came with coleslaw and a pickle. The steak was really thin and fatty and the Caesar Salad that it was topped with had a lot of dressing. I could tell that the crab cake was fried in oil that was too hot; the outside was dark and crispy but the inside was mush. Both also came on soggy buttered buns. The staff was cordial and we got our food really quickly, but I wish they had taken a little more time in preparing it.

Overall the view was really great, but I don’t think we’ll be back because of the quality of the food. The prices seemed a little high too, considering that there are great, and reasonably priced, restaurants in the Brevard area for seafood. If you want a great view of the river, you can give it a shot, but I didn’t care for it.

Sunset Waterfront Grille and Bar is located at 500 W Cocoa Beach Cswy, Cocoa Beach, FL.

Today for lunch, my wife and I decided to hit up a local favorite of ours, the Pineda Crossing Bar and Grill. Pineda Crossing is a casual gourmet restaurant that has been in Melbourne since the mid-90′s. My wife and I try to go for lunch instead of dinner since the prices are so much more reasonable. The restaurant isn’t much to look at, but don’t let looks be deceiving, the food is worth to visit. In addition to a great menu, they’ve got a couple of good beers on tap. The cuisine is mainly American with an assortment of steak, sandwiches, seafood, and salads. Initially, we found out about the restaurant from a friend of ours, but we continue going back for one thing and one thing alone, the soup. Don’t get me wrong, the food is really great (and once you see what I had today you’ll know why), but the soup “is to die for”. So far I’ve been able to try the She-Crab, Cream of Mushroom, Cream of Zucchini, and Black Bean. Who knew you could make a cream of zucchini soup?!? On top of that, in fact quite literally, they always find cool accents to add as toppers for the soup. So far I’ve seen cheese, onion, croûtons, and popcorn.

Today we ordered a bowl of the Southwestern Corn Chowder (~$5), a dinner salad (~$4.50), and one of the lunch specials, the Seafood Strudel (~$12) which came with rice, broccoli, and a cup of the soup. The meal as always comes with classic fresh-baked white dinner rolls. The soup was very zesty and was topped with a few popped kernels of popcorn and had a nice mix of onion, celery, potatoes, corn, and a cream base. We ordered the salad with homemade honey mustard and homemade champagne vinegarette dressings which we enjoy. The seafood strudel was made with a pastry crust and filled with fish, shrimp, and lump crab meat. The combination of the flavors was excellent and made me jealous that I only got so much and had to eat the rice and vegetables (which were also very good). We skipped dessert because we ordered so much food, but the key lime pie (~$5) is very good.

Unfortunately, as we have found out time and time again, the quality of the service at Pineda Crossing is really hit or miss. The staff is always courteous, but sometimes getting your food may take a while. That being said, we really like Pineda Crossing, especially for lunch, and will continue to patronize it demanding more and more of its soup.

Pineda Crossing is located on US1 near the Pineda Causeway at 2515 Roberts Rd., Melbourne, FL 32940.

One of the reasons I starting blogging about local restaurants in the Central Florida area was because I can never find any decent reviews for local places online; this is especially true for the Melbourne area. I really feel like chain restaurants and franchises don’t need the press, good or bad, because they have marketing initiatives that can do that for the them, IMO local joints don’t. That being said, I think I’m going to have to break my own rule for this one post.

A favorite place of my wife’s is the Darden restaurant Season 52, particularly the Dr. Phillips location. We’ve always been for dinner and I’ve had some really fresh and tasty meals. They have really great fish selections and creative menu choices which change 4 times annually. Just as a note, I had a Curry Red Snapper dish that was so good, I wanted to take home another one for leftovers the next day. The concept for the restaurant is low calorie meals with fresh ingredients. They don’t even have butter in the restaurant which I find kinda funny, but holds true to their mantra.

A couple days ago, my wife and I had lunch at the Dr. Phillips location next to my office. I really like the price points for the lunch entrees, usually around $8, and that fact that each comes with a nice side salad (romaine, baby greens, a strawberry, and a slice of mango, with a sweet oil-based dressing). I had tried the Grouper sandwich, which was ok, but this time I felt like something more on the veggie side of things. We ordered the side salad (~$7), a chicken flatbread (~$9), and the Fresh Market Roasted Veggie Sandwich, which came with a side salad (~$8). I didn’t ask the waitress what came on the sandwich; I was just hoping it wouldn’t be wimpy, simple, bland tomato, lettuce, and zucchini sandwich like I’ve gotten in the past from other restaurants. Boy, was I wrong. I think this was the heartiest vegetable sandwich I’ve ever had. I was so full after eating everything, I felt like I had consumed a lot more than the 400-whatever calories the meal was supposed to be. The sandwich had a stack of grilled zucchini, asparagus, grilled red onions, grilled mushrooms, a thick cut of tomato, and some type of three cheese blend that tasted like a mild version of goat cheese. What a sandwich! It was so good as were the other items we ordered. We didn’t do dessert, which for this restaurant is a must, because we were so full.

My only gripe about this restaurant is the fact that their beer selections are dismal as best. The food however is really great. Dinner has the best selection of food, excluding the sandwich I mentioned above, but it is a bit pricey and a little pretentious at times with the whole “we’re a wine bar, why wouldn’t you like wine with your meal” deal. Darden did a good job with this concept restaurant in Orlando (we didn’t like the Galleria location in Fort Lauderdale at all). We’ll definitely go back.

Season 52 is located in the Dr. Phillips area at 7700 W Sand Lake Rd, Orlando, FL.

Last week, my wife and I in our usual willingness to cook, went out for dinner. We ended up, by the suggestion of a colleague, at the Enigma Cafe on A1A in Satellite Beach. Our tipster usually takes his family for nice dinner at what he said are reasonable prices. Since we’re always up for something new, we gave it a shot.

As far as the vibe of the restaurant goes, you notice almost immediately when pulling up to the restaurant that its got a cheesy paint job. It’s painted in sea-foam and pastel colors and has a “by the ocean” vibe (this is probably because it’s across the street from the Atlantic). Despite the paint job, the building looks relatively new and well constructed. From what we could tell, the inside of the restaurant is very clean as well. When we entered, there was a lounge singer performing in the bar, but after 30 minutes or so he was replaced by a jazz band. We were seated almost immediately (it was a Friday night), so that was cool and there seemed to be a healthy mix of people of different ages, which I always find encouraging. During the meal, the server seemed like a nice kid, but the service ending up being average.

We ordered the Shepard’s Pie (~$11) and the Chicken Parmesan (~$12) as well as added the salad bar (~$3 per person) to our meal. The waiter dropped off some really great garlic bread and the salad bar was the cleanest salad bar I’ve ever seen with some amazingly fresh ingredients. I’m usually against salad bars for cleanliness reasons, but I was shocked at how ridiculous they were about wiping everything down and keeping ingredients from being mixed together. I think what was nicest about the salad bar, was that it was just that, a really good, fresh place where you could assemble a salad; I didn’t have to wait behind the hungry guy in front of me grabbing 80 chicken wings to get to the lettuce. Unfortunately, I think the bread and the salad were the best part of the meal. I ordered the Shepard’s Pie, because the majority of other items came over pasta, and I’m not a huge pasta fan (I can boil it at home for less). The mashed potatoes topping the pie were dry and the stuffing was as mixture of beef, carrots, peas, and corn that was definitely over cooked and could have been frozen previously. The meal tasted, and looked, like it had been baked as part of a larger dish and kept under a heat lamp. I didn’t care for the Chicken Parmesan either. The sauce tasted was very thin without a lot of flavor and the cutlet was a cutlet; it kinda felt like a Chef Boyardee style meal. Since I ate literally none of my meal, which is unusual for me, even if I don’t care for it, we ordered dessert. We got the Chocolate Lava Cake (~$5, I think) a cup of coffee (~$2) and a chocolate martini (~$8). The cake was spongy and served with two huge scoops of ice cream and whipped cream. I kinda felt like I was eating a Little Debbie snack cake with hot fudge on it unfortunately.

Overall, I believe Enigma is living up to its name; I’m not sure what to think of it. The portions were large, but the quality wasn’t up to snuff with what I would have preferred, especially for the prices we paid (although I did like the salad and bread). I will admit, it is possible that I’m being unusually harsh. I wasn’t as hungry as I usually am when we went out and my wife, who usually likes similar things, did enjoy her food. That being said, I’m willing to give Enigma Cafe another shot. I am definitely doing so, however, with hesitant taste buds. Here’s to me finding something I like that’s not over pasta.

Enigma Cafe is located at 1024 Highway A1A, Satellite Beach, FL