First Watch Breakfast

Being from Jersey-I am a huge fan of dinners, especially for breakfast. When I moved to Florida I lost all hope of finding some decent breakfast eateries. Finally, I have come across some, the newest, First Watch. Known as your daytime cafe, this is the new and approved Denny's and Ihop that offers fresh fruits and healthy options. First Watch opens at 7am for all you early birds and closes at 2:30pm.

I have to say-I was very impressed. The coffee was actually very good and they leave the pot on your table so you don't have to wait for a refill. The menu has lots of great options. Breakfast is served the whole time, but they also have a lunch menu-which looked just as great as the breakfast I had.

 Above is what Nick had-

Key West Crepe 

Turkey, avocado, bacon, tomatoes and Monterey Jack cheese. Topped with sour cream. Served with salsa on the side. 

I had this-

Bacado™ 

Bacon, avocado and melted Monterey Jack cheese, topped with sour cream. Served with a side of homemade salsa

Both dishes were great-now if only this place was open late!! It didn't feel greasy which makes me feel better about eating it. The english muffin was only lightly buttered which was very nice. I totally recommend going here for breakfast over Denny's any day.  Plus this little wrapper around the forks made me smile. 

Have a great day and happy eating!

Melbourne Beach

On my days off that don't include errands, work, or homework I try to unwind by spending a day at the beach. Monday I headed to Melbourne Beach which is near Cocoa Beach (see the photo above for my exact location). It was off the tourist path so there weren't tons of people there which I really enjoy. 

This small stretch of beach even had a place to get some food! Unfortunately, I already bought a sandwich for that day at the beach. Next I will make sure to try Billie's! The weather was so-so, but it's the day away that helps me relax, just listening to the radio and the burying my feet in the sand. 

I did spot a place I was dying to try on my way home...Moo's Soft Serve Ice Cream-the name and what the building looked like got me.

With a tag like "it's udderly delicious" how could you not stop. (Yes I am pretending to bite the giant hot dog-yup thats me) So the menu is basically hot dogs or mini slider burgers, and ice cream. We ordered to coney hot dogs- which were ok, but the banana split was delicious. 

Oh and these people are clever which I love-

Ice Cream drive thru anyone??? Love it! It's the all American way-you can't get much lazier. I love lazy summer days!

Sunday Funday

I rarely get to go out on the weekend, but I got out of work early Sunday night so I had to make the best of it. So where to go for dinner- 903 Mills Market. This place was opened in the 20s and has gone through several revamps. 903 is near Lake Davis and sells gourmet beer, wine, and has a full menu. I went for dinner tried the 903 appetizer which was homemade hummus, and their famous olive tapenade with fresh pita! Very tasty! The fresh pita really makes a difference.

Now for my made dish- 903 market chicken wrap. This is their signature wrap with grilled chicken, mango, pineapple, pecan, bleu cheese crumbles, spring mix, and mango pineapple vinaigrette dressing. I was really hungry and I ate the whole wrap. This just melted in my mouth, but take a look because there are so many awesome food choices.

After a couple of drinks we then headed to Lou's Whiskey Lounge in the Milk District. Last time I hit the Bush and Bull. Lou's is a cash only bar so be prepared to hit up the ATM if you come with plastic only. 

The best way for me to describe Lou's-its a smoke filled bar with locals. Don't dress to impress because your clothes will reek of ciggs when you leave the bar. It reminded me of the local VFW my grandfather used to hang out at. Drinks are cheap and crowd even more interesting. Moving on to the next location-Scuffy Murphy's Irish Pub in the College Park neighborhood. There are two bars and we headed to the back because it was empty! Had the place to ourselves which was really nice!

I tried the house beer-Scruffs Red Lager-similiar to Yuengling and Killian's. They have a larger selection of English and Irish beers. Cheers!

Successful Sunday Funday!

Making the Dough!

So you want to start your own restaurant? Where to start? Well having some money would help! Before you can rake in the dough you need someone, a bank, or company to lend and/or invest in your restaurant idea. Let’s review some ways to finance a startup business.

            The first place people will turn to for money, the bank. More than likely, the bank will consider a restaurant too risky to finance so scratch that off the list unless you are considering opening a national franchise. If this is the case, the bank will require the following: collateral of a dollar for dollar of the amount that you are borrowing. The bank would loan 80% of the project cost only and require you to provide the 20% balance (financing).

            The next place to look is the Small Business Innovation Research Grant. There are also grants listed just for women and minorities. If you receive a grant this tends to attract attention from other investors. You can check the website here to check for different listings of grants. Grants are wonderful things because you do not have to pay back this money!

            Next option, angels. Angel investors are someone who you can talk to if you a business plan and have further developed a company/business. Angels are individuals that invest large amounts of money into companies for the return. To locate angels look in your area to see if there are any angel clubs. Here is just one link to help you to start locating the angels in your area.

            Try to avoid some of the top mistakes when starting to plan your restaurant: not having the proper training, trying to please everyone, and lack of preparation. Training procedures and manuals are a must. Rules and regulations have to be set for a restaurant to operate properly and succeed. Remember, not everyone will like what your restaurant has to offer, but make sure to stick to your niche. Finally, make sure the restaurant is prepared for the opening day. Customers will make a first impression and if things don’t go well the first time it will be hard to get them to return.

            To make the dough you have to have all of the ingredients, mix well, and cook for the successful outcome.

Sources

http://www.restaurantmagazine.com/tag/financing-a-restaurant/

http://money.cnn.com/2007/05/03/magazines/fsb/raising.money.fsb/

http://www.sbir.gov/

http://www.inc.com/magazine/20050701/angels-in-america.html

http://www.therestaurantblogger.com/10-restaurant-startup-mistakes/ 

Pierogi Grill & Deli

For those of you who didn't know-I am half polish from my mother's side. I love learning about Polish culture, history, and food! On the way home from Clearwater Nick (also Polish) we spotted the Pierogi Grill-now how can you pass this place up?!? Not a chance.
After parking, we saw several pierogi vehicles in the parking lot-alog with plenty of other customer's cars. Take a look.

Inside the restaurant it was much nicer than I expected-coming from the beach I was under dressed, but I could not pass up the chance of homemade polish food. For a starter Nick and I shared potato pancakes with sour cream.

Now for the main course-with so many homemade pierogi how does one chose? Just order the mixed plate-12 pierogi-3 potato & cheddar, 3 farm cheese, 3 meat, 3 spinach & mushroom. We also ordered the  Kielbasa with sauerkraut and mashed potato. There was no way we could go wrong. 

Nick trying out the food!

Meat Filling

Farm Cheese Filling

Spinach & Mushroom

Potato & Cheddar

After filling myself to the top with food- I must say it was some of the best Polish food I've had in a long time. I wasn't expecting much from the Pieorgi Grill, but it topped my expectations. You can even take some polish food home with you from their deli. 

Sand Key Beach-Clearwater FL

Beach day # 2 was the day after the fourth of July. Nick and I decided to take a drive to Clearwater. This time I would be looking at the Gulf not the Atlantic (much prettier if you want my opinion). Nick search a few beaches in the area and Sand Key is where I picked. Just about a 10 minute drive from Pier 60 it was not in the biggest tourist area which was nice. There is a parking fee-I think it was a dollar an hour. The beach was pretty quiet and they even has a small food cart to buy snacks from. 

We even spotted this boat that looked like a shark. 

Now it's time for a beach photo shoot! lol

We stayed on the beach till about 7 pm-beautiful weather. We really lucked out because I thought we were going to get a storm. There are beach chairs and umbrellas available to rent if you don't bring your own. There is a nice bathrooms with changing rooms if you want to get cleaned off before you head home. There is also a small fenced in area that said dog park, but I'm not sure if dogs are allowed on the beach here.  If you get a chance check out Sand Key Beach it was beautiful without a ton of tourists smothering you. 

Coconuts on the Beach

Over my holiday I had some great foods and good times. Now to go back and recap them all. I love the opportunity to be a beach bum when I can. My first stop over the long holiday weekend was Coconuts at Cocoa Beach, FL. Many locals hang out here. Coconuts is right on the beach and has drinks, live music, and beach food. Cocoa Beach is just about an hour drive from Orlando-making it the closest. After a few drinks and I've had enough sun I headed inside to fill up on some food. The place is usually bustling so be prepared to make a quick decision on food so you're not waiting forever. Ofcourse, I feel so pressured to have another drink while sitting in the AC cooling off.

I decided on a mild buffalo chicken sandwich with fries-you have the option of getting sweet potato fries too. The sandwich was fresh and just what I was looking for at the end of my day. I classify Coconuts as beach food-its drinks, burgers, sandwiches, wraps, ect. Don't look for anything gourmet just plain and simple done well. 

"A taste to remember...a place you'll never forget"-Coconuts on the Beach