Tobin Bennison
Article Category: Restaurant Review
The 3rd Annual Cocoa Beach Wine & Food Festival In the two short years since its inaugural event, the Cocoa Beach Wine & Food Festival has grown from a mere blip on the local radar into a nationally recognized culinary gathering. Putting more emphasis on the “foodie aspect” of the event, says 2012 Festival Director Tony Hernandez III, entailed the enlistment of celebrity chefs Beau “Beau Mac” MacMillan and Lee Hillson, the addition of five popular Orlando food trucks... [Read more...]
Tobin Bennison
Article Category: Restaurant Review
THE SANDBAR SPORTS GRILL “You’ve been here how long?” I had to ask Andrew Bunin a second time, because it seems like his Sandbar Sports Grill has been here far longer than seven years. It’s a short span of time when you consider older places that enjoy an equally loyal following here. And it’s not very long in which to have made it such a strong Cocoa Beach mainstay, as Bunin and his staff impressively have. In many ways, it’s the quintessential Cocoa Beach eatery... [Read more...]
Tobin Bennison
Article Category: Restaurant Review
Cocoa Beach Thai & Sushi Tobin Bennison It was the kind of day that made you proud to be a Cocoa Beach resident. It was neither too warm, nor too cold — ideal for a family bike ride — and the river at Dempsey Park was bubbling with activity. Dolphin gamboled playfully, and the herons could barely contain their pleasure at the sight of all the leaping mullet. Since leaving the house, we’d passed and greeted at least 15 friends and neighbors, and now a couple waved to us enthusiastically... [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: 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...]
