New Year - New Food

 There are 165 restaurants in my spreadsheet. places I have not been and want to go. Because of the pandemic, I visited only six in 2020, five in 2021, and seven in 2022. At this rate, I should get through my list in about 28 years, I will be 103 when I finish and that assumes I do not add any more places. I added 59 in 2022 and one so far in 2023. I need to make changes in my bucket list goals. Even the pre-pandemic goal of 26 is not enough so I made one new every ten days which gave me 36 for the year.

The year started up well and I visited three in the first eleven days. So I settled for one every 9 days which comes out to 40 for the year. I figure I will adapt as I go. Being a mathematician, I found that if I go every D days, I can hit P places. Choices are (DxP):

9x40, 10x36, 8x45, 12x30, 6x60, 15x24, 5x72, 18x20, 4x90, 3x120, 2x180

Here are my reviews of the first three of 2023.

Cheers on the Beach - Melbourne Beach

Just let me be up front about this new place, in the same site as the closed Jake's Crab Shack. When I walked in, no one yelled my name!! They did not know who I was. Other than a few signs like the one over the door, and a few old timers at the bar that resembled Norm and Cliff, and a bartender waitress who had an attitude somewhat like Carla, this is really still the Crab House.

They did have a lunch menu and I ordered from it...

The napkins looked like Cheers. They did have Yuengling on draft which I like.

My choice for lunch was the Shrimp Po Boy Taco. The shrimp were big and breaded, and I think the Remoulade was made in house. I got it with fries which were cooked to perfection. I will admit that my server, who was tending the bar and all the tables too, by herself, was very good at her job. It was the middle of the week so I assume they have more servers at dinner and during the weekends.

I gave the place a 2.5 (Good to Great). There was an interesting dinner menu and I assume that is when they know your name. I may try it again. I was going to score 2.0 but the fries being so good and the fresh Remoulade sent it up the half point.

Keke's Breakfast Café - West Melbourne

My friend Nancy was with me when we tried Keke's Breakfast Café. It is located across from the Melbourne Mall on 192, next to Jason's Deli. We had tried it a year ago but there were too many people waiting outside to get in. We did not stay to wait. This time there was no wait.

I am assuming it is a chain. The seating inside is all booths and there is plenty of partitioning between groups. Our waitress was really good and kept my coffee full. Here is a shot of the outside.

Nancy wanted to try the turkey sausage and decided to try the Silver Dollar Pancakes, the kids meal. She said they were great. I did not ask her about the syrup but I assumed it was not from up north.

I went with the Eggs Benedict and was very happy with what I got. It had Canadian bacon and Hollandaise sauce, served on an English muffin. The other stuff are pan fries.

I gave the place a 3.0 (Great) and I would go back. But it was a little expensive and so is everybody now and egg prices at the store are outrageous. As we were walking out we saw that they had built a new Aldi in the same shopping center. Nancy and I use to shop at the Service Merchandise that was also in this center. I think they closed that over 20 years ago.

Salty Sisters - Cocoa Beach

I had visited this place during the Cocoa Beach Art Festival last Thanksgiving, but I only had a beer. It use to be called Jenna's Breezeway, but now it is called Salty Sisters. As you can see, I had stopped after watching a rocket launch from Port Canaveral and I arrived five minutes after they opened and no one was there. The bartender told me they had expanded the bar area into the next store front. They still have an outside area with live music and games on weekends. The inside bar had 28 seats, and I only take up one...

There were lots of TVs for sports and some interesting art work on the walls. They did have dart boards and plenty of tables and booths. I probably should stop by when there are more people, which there were last year during the Art Festival.

There were two servers, both tending the bar and the tables. More people did show up while I waited for my lunch.

Nice big sign behind the bar...

I like to order named food and they had Pete's Sandwich. Pastrami on rye with your choice of topping. I got the sauerkraut, swiss cheese and thousand island dressing, making it a pseudo-Reuben. I opted for the Cole slaw as my side.

The sandwich was great and the servers were nice. I gave the place a 2.5 (Good to Great) because I just did not think it was at the level for "My" Great. I definitely will stop in again. After I finished eating I checked the outside and the old Breezeway. Looks like a good place to party on the weekend.

The Breezeway....Jenna would be proud.

Some Favorites

Now that I am starting to go out more, I have some of my regular stops. One place I usually stop after visiting the Zoo or Wetlands, is Cabana Shores in Palm Shores on US1. I like their tacos...dirty!

These tacos were a special on the sign which I always check, Thai Basil Shrimp Tacos...

Another place I like to go for a drive is to Captain Hiram's Resort in Sebastian. I stopped at the Sandbar for a quick lunch.

I ordered the Smoked Fish Dip and the Crab Chowder, just a cup. Oh, and a beer...

The view from my seat at the Sandbar...

Another place I go to often is Frigates in Eau Gallie. Here, they do know my name! Well, at least the bartender Tracy does, but she does not yell it out. The view from my bar seat  on my last visit.

I ordered the Mahi Reuben with a side salad in place of the fries. Oh, and a beer....

I am cleaning out the bar at my house, and figured I could make some of these shots. You know the saying..."One Tequila, Two Tequila, Three Tequila, Floor!"

If you want to know what is on my current restaurant list, I can send you an email...