Soups, Salads, Sandwiches

 Although I have not been keeping up with my goal for a new restaurant every two weeks, I still have been eating out. Mostly for breakfast or lunch, and when I get the urge, I cook myself something good. Here are a few of the things I have been eating lately.

First, a couple of the repeat places I like. The first picture is from the Mulberry Lane Café on US1 in Melbourne. I love their French Benedict, and I am happy that fruit is an option in place of potatoes or grits. This is a croissant with ham and cheese plus the poached egg and hollandaise sauce.

I know Long Doggers is a favorite for many things including hot dogs and surfer fare, but I really like their Banzai Shrimp Bowl that comes with a side of sweet plantains. Jasmine rice and black beans are underneath this scrumptious dish.

Another place for breakfast is Too Cool Café in Indian Harbour Beach. Located in an old donut shop, they make a great Savory Crepe. Below is the Ham & Cheese crepe which also has caramelized onions and is topped with Hollandaise sauce. The side is Bayou home fries.

I was watching an episode of Weekends with Yankee and they had this chef, Joe Yonan, talking about all the ways you can cook beans. The show visited a few places where beans are grown including some varieties that almost went extinct. So I went to Barnes & Noble looking for the book Cool Beans. I did not find that book, but did pick up one called The Soup Book. Wow, what a great book, it is organized by the four seasons and includes soups using the abundant items from each season, whether it be vegetables, fruits, meat or seafood. They have an introductory section on making the basic stocks, and other preparations. They also end with a section on breads and other baked items for soup dipping.

My first attempt was a corn chowder. Here are some of the items I was going to need.

They also have info on whether you can freeze the soup and for how long. Here is a bowl of the finished product. This particular soup had no meat, but did have dairy products.

The problem was I decided that I would make one soup a week. But most of the recipes serve 4 to 6 people. Here is a photo of my leftovers after having two bowls for dinner. Lets just say I ate a lot of soup and it took more than a week to finish it all. 

Either I have to make a new soup every two weeks, or half the portion. This corn chowder was not freezable because of the ingredients, so some major decisions are going to have to be made. But this first attempt was delicious, and the plan is to make a Chinese egg drop soup tomorrow.

I mentioned I have visited a few new places this year. Just four in the first seven months. In June, I went to Drews Brews and Grille. The place is new, but the building has been around since I have lived here. It was a bar where our softball team use to go after games and we drank and played foosball. It has been a few different restaurants too. The menu cover...

It is located in downtown Melbourne on Henley Court, just above El Ambia Cubano. I ordered the grinder Bella, which turned out to just be a Reuben sandwich, and not that good. The fries were cooked great and were plentiful. I know they have better food than this sandwich because I saw it on some of the plates of other customers around me.

I give the place a 2.5 (Good to Great). I think they need to figure out what they are. It seemed more like a bar that served food, but they may really want to be a restaurant that has a bar. Here is what it looks like out front.

Another new place I visited on the last day of June is located not too far from my home. It is called El Rincon Latino and is at the end of a strip mall on Babcock Street. It kind of looks like a dive from outside but it was very pleasant and clean on the inside. The owner welcomed me and as I sat down he gave me the menu and a business card.

As I was the only one in there, I asked them where they were from. He said Honduras and that all the food is made fresh including the tortilla and Pupusas, which I have never had before.

It was about 1 pm so I ordered a pollo burrito. I also asked for one pupusa. Here is a photo of the burrito, much bigger than I thought it would be. It was delicious. Beans and rice were on the inside.

The pupusa I ordered was a cheese and pork cracklings. It came with salsa and curtido, which is like a cross between Cole slaw, sauerkraut and/or kimchee. I was not sure how to eat a pupusa so I did a YouTube search to learn. It was wonderful, and a bit messy. I definitely will get it again.

I give the place a 3.0 (Great). The people were nice, I did meet the chef who I think is the owners wife. 

I took Nancy to a new place for breakfast last week. It is called Around the World Café & Bakery and is located on Fifth Avenue in Indiatlantic. The owner is Ukrainian and was very nice to talk with. Nancy got the crab omelet and I got the ham & cheese omelet. Nancy is handing me her tomato because they broiled it for a minute. Sorry my meal was half gone before I took the photo.

We entered the café from the back and I took this photo of their sign.

I give the place a 3.0 (Great). Although we were there for breakfast, we did peruse the many bakery items they had on hand. This is another place I know I will go back for a visit.

Although it was not new for me, I did want to mention that Nancy and I went to Sand on the Beach in Melbourne Beach. They serve breakfast from 8 to 11 every day. (Open at 7am on Sat & Sun.)

Nancy got the Florentine Benedict with grits and the tomato on the side.

I ordered the Basic Benedict with home fries. We sat on the lower deck outside, the sun was shining on my eggs; I guess instead of poached they were sunny side up...Ha ha.

The place is owned by Djon Pepaj, an chef and owner of a few places I like in the area. This is the wall mural in the outside waiting area, next to the hostess desk.

Here is a view of the downstairs bar looking toward the Atlantic. Our table was the one on the far right.

The patio continues even further to the right. It was a little hot in the sun but there was a breeze off the ocean. Their upstairs dining room has AC.

I hope you enjoyed the post. I am always game to try a new place, just give me a call.