By: Tobin Bennison
Article Category: Restaurant Review 3 Comments
They say you can’t go home again, but places like the Blueberry Muffin prove you can still get pretty darn close.
Like thousands of small, independently owned restaurants scattered all over the country, Indialantic’s Blueberry Muffin acts as a home away from home for individuals throughout its community and beyond. It’s a place where the spirit of home isn’t nearly as irretrievable as we’ve resigned ourselves into believing, and where feeding the soul is as important as satiating the stomach.
The very thing that binds the Muffin to other similar eateries is also, anomalously, the attribute that makes it so unique: the character of its owners. Here — despite their humble protests to the contrary — the Kokotis family makes Indialantic’s favorite restaurant a place where customers can bask in the kind of excellent, home-cooked food only unconditional love can produce.
The youthful and affable Bill and Anna Kokotis know that basic customer satisfaction is the cornerstone of their success, but they take the principle one step further by embracing each diner, whether new or regular, as one of their own. Customers who’ve been coming since the Kokotises purchased the Muffin in 1986 have watched their daughters, Anastasia and Antonia, grow up behind the counter, and Antonia and husband Tim’s recent welcoming of son Nathan is still met with the kind of temporal disbelief usually reserved for family reunions. One midwestern patron who comes to the Space Coast on business once a year claims that the promise of a meal at the Blueberry Muffin is always the one delicious palliative of a journey fraught with boredom and hard work, and his arrival is always treated as a homecoming.
Originally from Chicago, the Kokotises moved to Indialantic in 1985, lured by the pristine environs, solid school system and close-knit community. By the time of their arrival, the Blueberry Muffin was already established as the area’s go-to spot for breakfast and lunch, but Bill and Anna transformed it from a reliable workhorse into the cozy home away from home we’re all forever in search of. If you ask them, Bill and Anna will claim that “the universe” was on their side when they took over, but thousands of Muffin devotees simply chalk their success up to their engaging personalities and lovingly prepared dishes.
Emphasis on fresh, superior ingredients — like the wild Maine blueberries they use for their namesake and “Blueberry Patch” pancakes — elevate the Muffin’s food from standard fare to the meals you associate with family gatherings. Likewise, the light egg wash and brief dusting given to their battered haddock and chips make them some of the best we’ve had beachside. Airy and delicately crispy, the crust is more akin to filo than the doughy coating you’re used to experiencing.
Breakfast can be enjoyed all day at the Muffin, and daily, revolving specials feature different varieties of fresh-baked muffins and house-made quiches. Signature pancakes, served with creamery butter, are joined by fluffy French toast and hearty Belgian waffles, which can be topped with pecans, walnuts or fresh fruit. Classic egg combos (including hash or steak and eggs with the option of expertly seasoned, rough-cut home fries ) are balanced out by no-carb choices and fresh fruit plates. Carb-free omelettes are also on hand, along with a create-your-own option, which offers some welcome fillings like broccoli, feta, Mediterranean-inspired gyro meat and fresh shrimp. But the biggest breakfast draws have to be the Kokotis’ fantastic Eggs Benedict, Eggs Florentine and Maryland Crab Cakes Benedict, a unique combination of flavors Muffin customers count as an all-time favorite.
In addition to two daily homemade soups (one, like the popular tomato basil — made with ingredients grown by the Kokotises themselves — is usually a vegetarian choice), the Muffin’s lunch menu features several cooked-to-order entrees and a wide variety of burgers and sandwiches. Entrees like tender ahi tuna (served with fresh steamed vegetables), mahi mahi and wild salmon (all of which can be prepared either blackened or grilled and added to any one of their generous salads), reveal the Kokotis’ love of seafood, while the inclusion of old fashioned meat loaf; hot, open-faced roast turkey or roast beef (served with mashed potatoes and gravy); chicken breast topped with grilled mushrooms, onions and Swiss, and one of the best country fried steaks in the County offer nods to more traditional American recipes. All entrees come with a choice of soup, salad or vegetables.
Sandwiches (served on white, wheat, rye or croissant with sides like cottage cheese, fresh fruit, soup, salad, and cole slaw along with tasty fries and onion rings) are relegated into cold categories — including a number of hefty standards, as well as tuna, seafood salad and freshly roasted prime rib — and hot, of which the Monte Cristo is one of the more popular: deli-style ham and Swiss between two slices of French toast. There’s also a French dip with au jus; a 6-oz. grilled or blackened ribeye topped with onion rings; a mahi mahi or ahi tuna on a kaiser roll; grilled chicken; lamb or chicken gyros with delicious tzatziki; corned beef or pastrami Reubens; turkey or tuna melts; barbecue pork, and chicken or steak Philly-style hoagies. Burger choices happily include a patty melt with grilled onions and a healthy veggie burger served on a kaiser with a side of fresh fruit.
The Kokotises are also widely revered for their fresh-baked muffins, biscuits and whole pies, which is good news in light of the approaching Thanksgiving holiday. Expect apple; Key lime; “Chocolate Silk;” New York-style cheesecakes; a berry-laden “Fruit of the Forest” pie, and of course, their signature blueberry pie, packed full of Maine’s best. Special Thanksgiving pies can be ordered ahead in time for family feasts.
To many of us, the proverbial “home” of our childhood may be nothing more than a bittersweet memory. But it’s important to remember that home is also where the heart is, and the Blueberry Muffin stole ours with effortless ease.
The Blueberry Muffin is located at 1130 A1A in Indialantic and is open 7 days a week from 6:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Call 725-7117 for take-out service and to order your Thanksgiving pies ahead.
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I LOVE the Blueberry Muffin! I’ve been going there since I was a kid with my aunt and uncle who live around there. OK, I lied! We spend 35 minutes in the car JUST to get a scrumptious chocolate chip muffin, and a couple blueberry ones as well!
Used to go to the BB Muffin in the mid eighties when I attended FIT. Absolutely loved the place. I remember Bill and his family and all of the waitresses there. They had really good coffee an menus on their place mat. I’ll bet we went there 3 times a week.
For breakfast, food was hit and miss. Omelets and pancakes good. Muffins and biscuits hard as a rock – inedible! Very strange for a place that calls itself “Blueberry Muffin” Restaurant.
Service and food delivery was quick. However, 2 different waitresses were rude on 2 different occasions. The first time, the waitress just walked away before everyone told her what we wanted to drink. We weren’t being unreasonable with the time to decide, but come on…. On the 2nd visit, the waitress just dumped off the food and ran off – no “do you need ketchup, straws, hot sauce, extra napkins.” I guess there is a reason the service is QUICK.
When we saw the waitress again, we asked for hot sauce. She came back and someone in our party wanted a straw for her milk. The waitress rudely asked “is there anything else you need before I walk away?”
Oddly, yet somewhat expected, both waitresses became very friendly when they dropped off the check. “What cute children!” “Where are you from?” etc. hmmm..