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: 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: 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...]
Tobin Bennison
Article Category: Restaurant Review
Juice ‘N Java • Tobin Bennison • Ask a group of friends to describe the ideal café and it’s likely you’ll hear some wildly different answers. What’s sure is that they’ll all find something to love at Juice ‘N Java. Both expansive and suitably cozy, this favorite local spot pleases the social butterfly and solitary thinker in all of us. There’s enough room outside for a sidewalk patio, and plenty within for large and small works of art, a performance... [Read more...]
Tobin Bennison
Article Category: Restaurant Review
The Fat Snook Tobin Bennison Back in August 2007, four months after the Fat Snook first opened, we raved about their excellent dishes, predicting they would set a new dining standard by which all other local restaurants would be judged. Four years on, the Fat Snook has fulfilled that prophecy well beyond those high expectations. Four years is a long time for any restaurant to be in business, but when you factor in a lagging economy and the precarious future of the area, the span translates into... [Read more...]
Discovery Beach Cafe There are a number of good reasons to try Discovery Beach Café — great food, very reasonable prices, secluded location with beach access, and a full bar — but the best is that you may get to reconnect with proprietor and principal chef Frank Morrell. To say that Frank is a Cocoa Beach legend is something of an understatement. Originally from Brooklyn, he started cooking in 1956 while in the service, and got into the professional restaurant business 15 years later.... [Read more...]
Tobin Bennison
Article Category: Restaurant Review
Marco & Cinta Auddino’s Tobin Bennison In the interest of furthering the development of the beachside community, I’ve long thought of opening a bakery. Not the quaint, nibbly variety you find in college towns mind you, but a European-style outfit, or the kind of blue-collar café hybrid you find in Italian-American areas throughout the North East. The one thing keeping me from seeing my dream become a reality, however, isn’t my lack of funds, but the simple fact that I can’t... [Read more...]
Tobin Bennison
Article Category: Restaurant Review
Ideally, good restaurants should provide something much more than just edible sustenance. Our favorite eateries certainly serve food we like, but we often return to the same place for a great many other reasons — the atmosphere, the people, and the comfort and sense of community they offer. We go to them to get our bellies filled of course, but we also go to feed our spirits. Scores of locals and returning tourists agree that the Green Room Café in downtown Cocoa Beach is one such restaurant.... [Read more...]
Tobin Bennison
Article Category: Restaurant Review
Jazzy’s Mainely Lobster Each year around this time, when the weather warms up and Summer comes clad in Spring’s disguise, we here at the Resident think back on a great meal we had with family and friends beneath an umbrella outside Mainely Lobster in 2008. A few weeks back, we decided it was high time we returned to recreate that magic. We were doubly pleased with our efforts because the place is even better than we remembered. There’s never been a better time to go back yourselves... [Read more...]
Tobin Bennison
Article Category: Restaurant Review
Skewers Tobin Bennison That “soul” is widely lamented as a missing facet in much of today’s cuisine is no secret, and concerted efforts have been made to right the wrong — usually by highlighting food that reflects a specific cultural heritage. In a broad sense, Mediterranean cuisine is the best example of this corrective approach. With its emphasis on heart-healthy preparation and colorful, fresh ingredients, food from this crucible of several disparate civilizations has... [Read more...]
