Dan Reiter
Article Category: Get Out Of Town
Photo: Ezra Millstein Haiti: A Land Forgotten By Dan Reiter Last November, I took a charter flight into the city of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, with Habitat for Humanity’s annual Carter Work Project. Our mission: to build 100 homes for Haitian families displaced by the 2010 earthquake. The quake — a result of 250 years of bottled-up stress on a Caribbean fault line — demolished nearly every building in the capital city, killed 316,000 Haitians, and exiled over one million people to homelessness... [Read more...]
JACK BAKER’S LOBSTER SHANTY Being a contrarian has its undeniable drawbacks, but when it comes to dining, the attitude can open up new worlds of possibility. I’m glad, for instance, that I never heeded the advice of friends to avoid restaurants like the Cliff House and Alioto’s when I lived in San Francisco in the late ’90s. “They’re just for out-of-towners,” they said. “Locals know better than to bother.” When I finally did visit those places,... [Read more...]
Tobin Bennison
Article Category: 20 Questions
MIKKI KRAGELUND This January 12, beachside resident Mikki Kragelund and friend Nina Oosterveer — the “Sunny Cyclers” — will be biking the length of New Zealand to raise $5000 for the World Skin Cancer Foundation. Mikki, whom many here know as “Michelle,” was diagnosed with stage-three melanoma nearly two years ago, but is currently cancer-free, thanks to early detection and treatment. Now living in New Zealand, Mikki came up with the idea for this ride as a... [Read more...]
Tobin Bennison
Article Category: Restaurant Review
Silvestro’s By Tobin Bennison Photos by Rich Sullivan Since taking over last September, the new owners of Silvestro’s have had their work cut out for them. There’s no delicate way of putting it: prior to their arrival, the restaurant was fraught with problems — exorbitant prices, imperious staff, and inconsistent food among them. But one of the biggest difficulties they’ve faced is less tangible: shedding Silvestro’s of its image as an exclusive aerie of the... [Read more...]
Tobin Bennison
Article Category: Skilled Labor
Roger Burleigh of Green Gloves Garden Center By Tobin Bennison Twenty-seven years ago, opening a nursery and landscaping company was probably the last thing on Roger Burleigh’s mind. Back then, skateboarding and BMX occupied most of his thoughts. The half-pipe he built in the backyard of his family’s Merritt Island home attracted Cocoa Beach groms like John Mayo and the Slater brothers, so it’s no wonder he soon added surfing to his list of consuming interests. Burleigh remembers... [Read more...]
Tobin Bennison
Article Category: Get Out Of Town
Estonia: Land of Song By T. Bennison “So he paused. And the Grinch put his hand to his ear. And he did hear a sound rising over the snow. It started in low. Then it started to grow. But the sound wasn’t sad! Why, this sound sounded merry! It couldn’t be so! But it WAS merry! VERY! He stared down at Whoville! The Grinch popped his eyes! Then he shook! What he saw was a shocking surprise! Every Who down in Whoville, the tall and the small, Was singing! Without any presents... [Read more...]
Tobin Bennison
Article Category: 20 Questions
Ted Taylor of Ted Taylor’s Fitness • Tobin Bennison Ever since he moved here from Baltimore, Maryland in 1995, personal trainer Ted Taylor has been a well-respected and very visible member of the Cocoa Beach community. You’ll often see the incredibly fit 70-year-old walking on the beach with his wife, Susan, or stepping out of his downtown gym to Juice N’ Java next door for a smoothie. Though he cuts an imposing figure, Ted is a soft-spoken man, the kind who downplays the many... [Read more...]
Tobin Bennison
Article Category: 20 Questions
The Legend of the Seagullmen How does one go about explaining the Seagullmen phenomenon? With great difficulty. Conceived by brothers Frank, Chris, and David Dreyer and a group of close friends, the Seagullmen are a fascinating fusion of live music, performance art, cutting-edge theater, puppetry, 3-D film, and folkloric folderol. Originally from Philadelphia, the Dreyer brothers moved to Cocoa Beach in 1977 when their father came to the Space Coast to start an advertising agency. “Each of... [Read more...]
Vern Hobbs
Article Category: Get Out Of Town
Bok Tower Gardens • Vern Hobbs This month, as we honor our veterans and observe Thanksgiving, consider a destination, not far from home, that represents one man’s gratitude to his adopted nation. Bok Tower Gardens, near Lake Wales, Florida, was conceived by Edward Bok as a symbolic gesture of appreciation to the United States for providing him with opportunities that transformed him from an impoverished immigrant into a wealthy entrepreneur. Bok arrived in New York from Holland at the age... [Read more...]
Tobin Bennison
Article Category: Restaurant Review
Smokehouse Foods • Tobin Bennison It’s 11:15 a.m. when we arrive to meet Smokehouse Foods owners Wes and Jackie Meadlock, and the dining room of their Port Canaveral eatery is already starting to fill up. When we emerge from the kitchen after a 10-minute tour and demonstration of their indoor smoker, the line to the counter is twelve deep. To say that Smokehouse Foods is one the most popular lunch spots in the Port is an understatement. This is the preferred stop of fishermen and nearby... [Read more...]
