Update: The owner of the Breezeway approached me (after the post was sent to him by Jeff Triplett...the mayor has read my blog? Who knew.), and after our discussion, I've decided to amend some portions of my review. I was frankly surprised by his humility, and since the whole point of writing these reviews is to create discourse, I was glad he was willing to discuss some of the issues.
The Breezeway
Number of Visits: 2
(Once with my family, once with the Sanford Supper Club)
Distance from Chez Sanford-Centric: one block down 1st
Best Described As: a casual hit or miss seafood joint that lost its way en route to New Smyrna
(Rick would like everyone to know that he knows how to get to New Smyrna.)
Expectations
My relationship with the Breezeway has been contentious, to say the very least. My first visit was with my dad and his girlfriend on a Sunday afternoon. We were the only people there, and even then we had some serious issues with our ticket times. I ordered the Sanford Special, which is a giant pork tenderloin sandwich...aka a schnitzel sandwich. (Rick would like to clarify that the choice to have a pork tenderloin sandwich on the menu had nothing to do with any other restaurant and was inspired by the midwestern love for this treat. I still find it to be an unfortunate name.)
(My previous description of the working next door to the Breezeway was a bit gratuitous, even in my book. I mainly needed to get that story off my chest. Now that I have, I don't mind condensing by saying the experience left a bad taste in my mouth, and my relationship with the place has been a bit contentious ever since.)
Needless to say, I don't normally eat there. However, since some people in town like this place and it's been quite a while since I experienced the place as a guest, I figured it was time to give them another shot. While I hoped they would pleasantly surprise me, my expectations were nonexistent.
We sat in the restaurant's title character, the Breezeway. Tuesday's weather was unbeatable, so needless to say, I really enjoyed sitting out there-- with one giant caveat. Apparently Tuesday night is "karaoke with a bad PA system" night, which meant we were screaming over "music" all night. Don't get me wrong, some of the performances were good, but I just don't think karaoke is an appropriate soundtrack for a restaurant that charges $14 for a mahi sandwich.
Speaking of food, things were not quite as bad as I thought they would be, but not great. The appetizers were tasty, and the firecracker shrimp was definitely the highlight. (Rick would like to note that he's never heard of the firecracker chicken at Christo's.) The mussels were also pretty good, although some were overcooked, and the fried mozzarella rounds were better than your token frozen mozzarella sticks. The entrees on the other hand? Ugh. The pastami sandwich, while piled high with meat, contained no condiments whatsoever, making for the driest sandwich possible. We liked the fried eggplant on our second sandwich, but could have done without the canned tomato sauce and the bread offended Jeremy's French sensibilities to the very core. Little did Kianni know, when she ordered Chicken Francese, a pasta dish served with a "lemon-white wine sauce", she would actually receive a plate doused in the clarified garlic butter that comes with Domino's pizza. (Disclaimer: Rick wanted me to know that they don't actually use sauce from Domino's for this dish. While the original comparison was meant to explain that it's not a good sauce, I'll just say that it's not a good sauce.) The food was probably fine for some, but frankly it was all dismally overpriced for the quality.
The restaurant has a decent selection of beer, including Sierra Nevada and Sam Adams....listed under "imports", which I guess is code for "beer that doesn't suck as bad". The cocktail list includes the usual roundup of sugary tropical concoctions, but for $8 I'd rather just have a featured cocktail at the Imperial afterwards.
Our service was actually awesome, and by far the most impressive thing about the visit. Our server was around when we needed her and gone when we didn't, which I've always considered the trickiest part of the job. I appreciated her efficiency in dealing with a large group. I should also note that the food came out surprisingly fast, a welcome change from past visits.
Bottom Line
Meh. My low expectations were met. However, this style of restaurant has never been my jam (I have also never owned anything with the words "Salt Life" on it) and I know some people really get into places like this. This is another classic example of a locally owned restaurant trying to follow the corporate recipe-- and coming up super short. As always, I think reducing the sprawling menu, changing the music to be both more pleasant and less loud, and continuing to train good staff would help round out the Breezeway as a neighborhood staple. With a couple of changes, the Breezeway could easily morph from the loud drunk who lives next door into the friendly neighbor we love to party with.
But never forget, I am totally, 100% biased, so try it for yourself!
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