cookies and code

Today my wife and I walked away from dinner saying, “That was the best meal we’ve had in a long time.” We’ve been going to Banzai Sushi and Thai Restaurant since the first week we moved into Brevard county. A friend of mine, who had grown up in Melbourne, recommended it as one of his favorite Japanese and Thai restaurants in the area. Ever since that first visit we have never had a bad experience being spoiled with amazing food, service, and ambiance. To call Banzai just an eatery doesn’t do it justice, it’s a dining experience. In fact Banzai has kept up its dining traditions when most restaurateurs have been quick to abandon them in these tough economic times. Allow me to share our latest experience.

Upon arriving at their small, but comfortable location, you are immediately greeted by one of the servers and immediately seated at a table; we’ve never had to wait. Within a minute or so, your server arrives with hot towels to clean your hands and small salad bowls with tiny spoons. The salad is a mixture of diced tomatoes and cucumber, shredded carrots, mandarin oranges, and pieces of fried tempura batter. It’s a great balance of sweet and salty and perfect to wet your appetite. We usually like to start with a pot of hot green tea ($1.50 p/person) and a couple ice waters. Once we work our way through the massive list of sushi, Japanese, Thai, and Chinese selections, we’ve never had to wait more than a 10-15 minutes to start our meal. This time around, I ordered one of the most fragrant and tasty green curry dishes with chicken (~$10) and my wife ordered the small green salad (~$3) and the shrimp and vegetable tempura appetizer (~$8). The curry is prepared with coconut millk, bell pepper, bamboo shoots, fresh basil, and red pepper oil in a huge portion; if you like spicy, try the Thai hot for that good kind of spicy. The small green salad comes with your option of ginger or honey ginger dressing on top of iceberg and romaine lettuce, tomato, shredded carrots, and sliced cucumber. The tempura appetizer is big enough to be a meal for a single person coming with three shrimp, onion, broccoli, and sweet potato. If all of this food wasn’t enough, at the end of the meal, the server brings out fried sweet doughnuts, dusted with sugar granules. This time around we didn’t order any sushi, but I have to say that Banzai has some of the best quality sushi for your dollar. Their sushi chefs will make pretty much anything you’d like, even if it’s not on the menu. The rolls are packed full of ingredients and they even have surfboards for larger groups.

Adding to the experience of dining at Banzai, every server in the restaurant is your server. They are all equally friendly and courteous offering help to anyone who needs it. I’m not sure if he’s the manager or owner, but even the man in charge is out and about taking care of his customers, making it a pleasent evening for everyone in the restaurant. What’s probably the best part of the service however, is the facet most people don’t consider, invisibility. Banzai works like a well oiled machine providing its customers with whatever they need, but without them having to ask for it. This breeds the peaceful quiet that I have to believe all of Banzai’s patrons associate with the restaurant.

Banzai Sushi and Thai Restaurant provides a high quality experience for what has become a more reasonable price now-a-days. The quality of food is high and you’ll find yourself eager for your next visit before you even walk out of the door. If you’re looking for an establishment that is just as much about the time you spend there as it is the food, do yourself a favor and give Banzai and shot. I promise you won’t regret it.

Banzai Sushi and Thai Restaurant is located in the Publix plaza on the corner of Lake Washington and Wickham at 3208 Lake Washington Road, Melbourne, FL.

This morning after church, my wife and myself found ourselves looking for a place to have breakfast. I’ve reviewed a few places around the area, but I figured I’d list most of the places we thought of as a good option for breakfast:

• Blue Lemon Cafe – 1301 South Patrick Drive, Satellite Beach, FL
• Blueberry Muffin – 1130 N Highway A1A, Indialantic, FL 32903
• Breakfast at Lilly’s – 240 Highway A1a, Satellite Beach, FL
• Corey’s Bagels on the Beach – 692 E Eau Gallie Blvd, Indian Harbour Bch, FL
• Eddie’s Sunrise Diner – 55 E Nasa Blvd, Melbourne, FL
• Memaw’s Bar-B-Q – 600 E Eau Gallie Blvd, Indian Harbour Bch, FL
• Niki’s Rainbow Cafe – 570 Highway A1A, Satellite Beach, FL
• Simply Delicious – 125 N Orlando Ave, Cocoa Beach, FL
• Suntree Cafe – 718 S Patrick Drive, Satellite Beach, FL

I know these aren’t all the options by far, but these are the ones we’ve been to and always had good service and food. For anyone who lives in the area, what places would you recommend for breakfast?

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.

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.

When Mediterranean food comes to mind, we are fortunate enough in Suntree to have quite a few places within a few minutes drive. There’s Niki’s, Grecian Garden, Yanni’s Deli, and my new favorite Cedar’s Cafe. Cedar’s advertises itself as a Mediterranean and Lebanese restaurant, but for those who are more familiar with Greek cuisine you should still feel comfortable. Cedar’s is about a 10 table restaurant with indoor/outdoor seating and a great local vibe. The first thing that I noticed when looking at the menu (because I’m cheap) was that they are very reasonably priced. This of course leads to the question, how’s the food and the service? Well no worries, Cedar’s does not disappoint.

A large group of us went out to lunch and called ahead to be safe. Without any problems, we were accommodated and there were no questions when we asked to split the check. I started with a small order of the vegetable grape leaves (~$3) and then ordered the gyro wrap (~$6) for my lunch. The grape leaves came out very quickly, there were 3 in the small order, and were delicious. The grape leaves themselves were nice and thin and the taste wasn’t overpowering at all. They were stuffed with rice and bigger than I expected, so I was starting to fill up by the time my sandwich arrived. Recently I’ve been ordering gyro’s at bars or local sandwich shops, but all you get is the “out of the bag onto the grill” experience. Cedar’s helped to remind me what a gyro should taste like. The gyro wrap came with lettuce, tomato, onion and tzatziki sauce with thin slices of meat. The meat tasted like a mixture of pork and lamb meat prepared on the traditional roasting spit. I would have liked to have shredded cabbage instead lettuce, but the sandwich was great none the less. When the time for dessert came, we were all pretty stuffed, but once we saw the baklava we loosened our belts. There are about 4-5 variations that they make fresh daily and, wow, I will be stopping by more often just for the dessert. I got the roll as well as the pistachio stuffed pieces (~$1.50) and it was some of the best baklava I’ve ever eaten. If you just want to stop by for something sweet, the baklava is definitely worth the trip.

Overall the experience at Cedar’s was great and I feel like I finally have a reliable Mediterranean restaurant to put into the rotation. Did I mention the baklava?

Cedar’s Cafe is located in the Publix Plaza at the corner of Post Road and Wickham Road at 4100 North Wickham Rd, Melbourne, FL 32935.

NOTE: If you enjoyed this restaurant, you may want to read my review for Niki’s Rainbow Restaurant beachside for another great option.

NOTE: Primavera Italian Restaurant has closed and been replaced by Amore Ristorante and Chophouse.

Well, another Friday night and we wanted pizza. There are plenty of places that we know of which can satisfy this craving, but it was time to try out a new place. Primavera Italian Restaurant was the pick this week. Primavera is located in the YMCA plaza on Wickham. Every time we swing pass by the restaurant it is packed, so we figured this has to be a good sign.

We showed up during the dinner rush but were seated promptly in the back, near the kitchen. We ordered a large pie with cheese (~$10), an order of garlic breadsticks (~$2), a side salad (~$3) with garlic parmesan dressing, and a couple of sodas (~$2 each). The salad came first and was a bit lacking with one cucumber, one tomato, and a few carrot shreds over iceberg lettuce. The dressing however was really good being made of a combination of parmesan cheese, minced garlic, and oil (I’m guessing). The breadsticks were baked fresh for the table with a buttery, garlic flavor that’s easy to enjoy. All was actually going pretty well until the pizza came. We were really hoping for a New York style pizza, but we were met with a pretty bland rendition of cheese, sauce and dough. The pizza was hot so that was nice, but the sauce tasted like something from everyone’s favorite canned chef. After one slice each, we decided to end the meal. I will admit it was tastier cold, but all pizza starts to retain a certain flavor once its chilled. As we were leaving, they had fresh baked loaves of bread that you could take home with you on the counter, so that is a plus. I would like to note that our waitress was also very attentive, so that is definitely another plus.

After some discussion, we’ve decided that we’re going to give Primavera another shot but next time stick to the entrees instead. I’d suggest staying away from the pizza though, it wasn’t a good experience. Hopefully we can find something we like next time. If anyone has any suggestions on what to try, I’m definitely open to hearing them. For now the jury on Primavera Italian Restaurant is still out.

Primavera Italian Restaurant is located at 6300 N Wickham Rd #122, Melbourne, FL.

Well after getting back into town, we decided to end our trip with a visit to a good and reliable Melbourne establishment, Leaning Tower of Pizza Restaurant off of Wickham Road. Leaning Tower has been around for over 23 years, and of that time, my wife’s family has been patronizing them for over 20 years; heck, I’ve been going for over 3 years and love it. Leaning Tower is a family owned business that offers New York style Italian cuisine for reasonable prices. The restaurant is small, but the staff is courteous and very attentive. We quite frequently call our order ahead so it’s ready for us when we sit down and today was no exception.

We ordered the All Beef Stromboli (~$7) which comes baked with sauteed onions, ground beef, fresh spices, red wine, black olives, and mozarella and comes with a side of sauce. We also ordered the Hot Steak Sub (~$6) with peppers (+$0.50) which is made with real steak, onions, and provolone cheese. The sauce, although not as hearty as some may like, is very flavorful and tastes great. In the past we’ve also ordered their tossed salad for the table and it’s a great iceberg lettuce salad with tomatoes, red onion, and carrots; I like their Italian dressing too. If you’re in the mood for pizza, they make a great New York style pie; we order a large with cheese (~$11) for lunch sometimes and really enjoy it.

Leaning Tower is a true Melbourne establishment with great food. They’ve focussed on staying a small and quality establishment that produces a consistent product. They truly do abide by their motto, “NOTHING FANCY, Just Good Food!” If you haven’t tried them yet, stop by and visit.

Leaning Tower of Pizza Restaurant is located at 681 N Wickham Rd, Melbourne, FL.

I’m always looking for Cajun places that serve dishes that remind me of home. I was ecstatic when I found Jackamo’s New Orleans Kitchen near my office but I always hoped there was something a little closer to home for when the cravings hit. Recently, my wife found Lafitte’s, a restaurant located in the Hilton Rialto near the Melbourne Airport. Usually I abstain from reviewing restaurants that are part of a franchise, but from looking at the website, there are only 8 locations nationwide, so that’s few enough for me to consider this place somewhat local. Ok, problem rationalized.

Lafitte’s labels itself as a New Orleans style restaurant serving the stereotypical Cajun and Creole dishes including poy boys, gumbo, and etouffee. My father-in-law and I decided to give it a shot since our wives aren’t too much on this particular type of cuisine. We ordered a bowl of the chicken and sausage gumbo (~$6), a cup of the seafood gumbo (~$3), the shrimp creole (~$10), crawfish etouffee (~$8), and an order of bread pudding (~$5). They use the hotel bar for drinks which doesn’t have any draft beer, just your usual bottles, so we skipped the beer. Since we went on the weekend before Madi Gras, each entree we ordered came with a free dessert which unfortunately did not include bread pudding, so we decided to put in a separate order for one. We got the gumbo first. The bowl was meal sized and the cup was what I expect for a cup of soup. Next we got a couple of baby green salads topped with tomato, cucumber, and red onion. Our meals came soon after and the first thing I noticed was that they weren’t very hot. The etouffee was topped with a boiled crawfish that was cold in fact. The shrimp creole came with what looked like a couple of grilled shrimp laid on a bed of sauce along with some steamed veggies (broccoli, carrots, etc) and both meals also came with white rice. The entrees were again average, the roux was a little dark, and nothing compared to the homemade dishes of my youth. It may seem like I’m being a little hard on the restaurant at this point, but I forgot to note … WE WERE THE ONLY PEOPLE IN THE 30+ TABLE RESTAURANT. Where everyone was, I have no idea, but the absence of warm bodies was very discouraging (it was a Saturday night). After the meal, we got the bread pudding. I would categorize the serving size as “sliver”. The dessert was good being baked with apples and raisins topped with a sweet icing and chocolate syrup, but come on, $5 for a portion that small? In the end, it took forever to get the check handled, but the waitress was young and seemed to be new so we gave her a break.

I had higher expectations for Lafitte’s. I was thinking it’d be a Jackamo’s like restaurant in a formal dining setting, and I think that caused me to be disappointed. I would equate Lafitte’s to restaurants like Landry’s which have tried to popularize Cajun cuisine but are pretty average in terms of food quality and menu selection. I think they stay in business because of the surrounding office building and hotel conference center. If you live in the Melbourne area and want to give it a try, go for it, but don’t have high expectations. It’s definitely representative of what people have come to expect Cajun cooking to be (which is unfortunate), but it doesn’t remind me of Mom’s great homemade dishes.

Lafitte’s is located in the Hilton Rialto near the Melbourne Airport at 200 Rialto Place, Melbourne, FL.

The classic problem: its a Friday night, you don’t want to cook, and you feel like pasta. When you live in the Melbourne area you’ve got lots of choices, so when in doubt I always like to look close to home. In the Suntree area alone, I can think of 5 different Italian places that my wife and I have been to and enjoyed. This Friday’s choice was Amici’s Italian Restaurant and Pizzeria.

If you’re looking for the true New York Italian experience, look no further than Amici’s. This restaurant is a recent addition to the Suntree area bringing a great selection of pizza and classic Italian dishes to the area. Every time we go the staff is extremely friendly and attentive. As we dine, we always notice the owners/managers out on the restaurant floor greeting patrons with the traditional kiss on the cheek. Even though we don’t have the same relationship with the staff, you get a great feeling of welcomeness and hospitality. The restaurant itself has a split floor plan with one side being dedicated to take-out and the other being a more traditional restaurant and bar. The floor plan is very open and the restaurant is noticeably clean. They’ve also got a nice selection of draft beer, including Peroni, as well as some nice Italian wines by the glass/bottle.

To start, every table, regardless of whether you order a sandwich or an entree, gets a generous helping of dried herbs drenched in olive oil with freshly baked bread. I’ve noticed that this has become common fare in most Italian restaurants, but Amici’s does it well. This time around we ordered the Chicken Parmigiana Sub (~$7), the Tortellini Della Nonna (~$13) which came with a salad, and a Sprite (~$2). The salad came first; it was a generous portion of baby spring greens topped with a few juicy tomato quarters, cucumber, red onion, and black and green olives. It was enough for us to share. The food came shortly after we finished the salad and was piping hot. The sub was a giant 12″ hoagie with huge breaded, pan fried chicken cutlets topped with mozzarella cheese just the right amount of their red sauce. The tortellini are filled with cheese and come with fresh mushrooms and peas in a pink cream sauce. We don’t like to order pasta out, we prefer a healthier multi-grain or wheat option that usually isn’t available, but “wow”, who cares. The pink cream sauce so good that it was worth ever carb (because I really count ). We cleaned the plate and then continued to dip bread into the remnants of the dish because we liked the sauce so much. It’s a definite “must order” item for anyone visiting Amici’s. We were too stuffed to try dessert or coffee, but the selection looks extremely appetizing. In the past we’ve also ordered the veal parmigiana sub (~$7) and a medium cheese pizza (~$12) and we weren’t disappointed.

Amici’s is a great local establishment and my wife and I consider ourselves lucky that it is so close to the house. I have an Italian mother-in-law that makes some of the best and most authenticate Italian dishes I’ve ever eaten; Amici’s comes really close to competing. With a great atmosphere, great people, and great food, you can’t lose by visiting Amici’s Italian Restaurant and Pizzeria.

Amici’s Italian Restaurant and Pizzeria is located in Suntree at 7720 North Wickham Road, Unit 120, Melbourne, FL.

NOTE: Amici’s for dinner is always packed with an average of a 30+ minute wait, so make sure to call ahead or take the early dining route.

NOTE: Islamorada Restaurant has been closed and re-opened as Cocomo’s Grille, an island inspired restaurant. Cocomo’s Grille has closed and re-opened at Hula Girl Cafe. Hula Girl Cafe is now closed.

Since moving from South FL, I’ve been looking for a really good Cuban restaurant in the Melbourne area. I’d heard a few people mention Cuban Sandwich down on Babcock, a place in downtown Cocoa Beach, and Islamorada Restaurant in Suntree. I figured I would give Islamorda a shot since it was close to the house, but after I learned they were only open for dinner, I was a little disappointed. Recently, however, in our local community paper, Islamorda has started to advertise about their new hours and lunch menu. This is great news to me; I finally lucked out and was able to try something other than a Cuban sandwich thanks to lunch pricing. That being said, I found that dinner pricing was a little steep, but nothing more than can be expected for a specialty restaurant.

Islamorda is a quaint little restaurant located right next to the YMCA in Suntree. Islamorda combines Key West and Cuban cuisine into what turns out to be a really tasty fusion. Additionally, the atmosphere is cozy and the wait staff are polite. Now my favorite lunch choice has always been the “media noche” sandwich, but unfortunately Islamorada does not make them; they do however make some other very tasty alternatives. For lunch, my wife and I ordered the roast pork with moro rice and tostones (~$10), a Caribbean chicken salad (~$6), a soda (~$2, canned), and a side order of fried sweet plantains (~$3). Our meals came with Cuban-style rolls and their great candy-like, whipped key-lime butter. Our food arrived after a few minutes, nice and hot. The roast pork was delicious, stewed with onion and seasonings; a little Mojo sauce added some nice flavor to it as well. You can’t lose with moro rice, tostones, and fried sweet plantains which were prepared equally as well. The Caribbean salad was a great blend of lettuce, tomatoes, croutons, carrots, pinneapple, and olives served with single breast of chicken marinated in a jerk-like seasoning and grilled. The salad came with a single serving of the raspberry vinaigrette, but you may want to ask for one more due to the salad’s size. It would have been nice to see more darker green leafy veggies in the salad as well, but it still tasted great.

Overall I’d say Islamorada Restaurant is a definite, “must visit” for residents of the Melbourne area. Good food and good people have made our experience there a pleasurable one. Look for their “10% off one entree” discount coupon in the Suntree/Viera paper while it lasts.

Islamorada Restaurant is located in the YMCA plaza at 6300 N Wickham Rd, Melbourne, FL.