Written by BrevardCounty.com | 11 January 2010

After a stormy start (literally), Pepaj Restaurants has another oceanfront winner

Never let it be said that Djon Pepaj doesn’t have a little something for everyone at his restaurants on the South Brevard beaches. Djon’s has been a staple for finer diners for years. Andiamo is a smart, Italian-style bistro. Caribbean-ish City Tropics has become a standby for the after-hours set.

Sand on the Beach Bar & Grill has joined them.

Sand on the Beach is about as aptly named a restaurant as imaginable, as it is located directly on the oceanfront and done in Key West-like colors, with rather whimsical murals of beach scenes painted on the walls.

It is a wonder that the place is painted in anything, considering its history. Pepaj purchased the structure, formerly Boomerang’s, in 2004, and those who remember Melbourne Beach that year have a good idea of what happened in the year of Charley, Frances and Jeanne.

Written by BrevardCounty.com | 02 December 2009

A bit of the Middle East in the heart of Indialantic

You may not know precisely what Skewers is, but you know it’s there. You can hear it: joyous, Mediterranean-style music that makes the more adventurous (and lithe) diner want to get up and dance. And you most certainly can smell it: the aromas of fresh meats, seafood and vegetables grilling over charcoal, perhaps with a hint something from the hookah.

Skewers Mediterranean grille, to use its full name, has become a classic in the restaurant district on Fifth Avenue in Indialantic, one of the great venues of the area for Middle Eastern cuisine and all the fun and adventure that goes with it. It’s not so classic that it’s stilted, however.

Written by BrevardCounty.com | 03 November 2009

The nature of TooJays is apparent to anyone who enters its front door.

It is a delicatessen-bakery not unlike some found in the Northeast, with tall, colorful cakes and fresh pastries in the display case and trays of salads near meats ready for slicing in the refrigerators. Yet-to-be-cooked blintzes are arranged on a plate with a small bowl of fruit topping and a giant, whole tongue has yet to be removed from its wrapper.

The wall behind it all displays products and prices, and it’s interesting to note that a loaf of rye bread may be had for less than it would be in some supermarkets. It’s all true; TooJays is sandwich and dessert heaven, with seemingly endless variations of meat, fish or vegetables between the slices or enveloped by tortillas.

Never mind the fancy stuff, like “Roasted Vegetable Wrap with marinated portabella, roasted red peppers, grilled red onion and romaine lettuce tossed with balsamic vinaigrette and Gorgonzola cheese rolled in a soft tortilla,” TooJays is where you want to be if you crave hot, New York-style corned beef mounded on rye with nothing but good deli mustard to spice it up.

Written by BrevardCounty.com | 03 November 2009

Oh, how everyone seeks a good all-around restaurant in late spring and early summer, when it is time to celebrate graduations, weddings, engagements, anniversaries and other special events, and few restaurants do all-around as well as Chart House.

Melbourne’s Chart House is thought of less as the outlet of a well-respected chain than as an exquisitely local venue, with wonderful views of the downtown waterfront with its boats and breezes and that decades-old history as one of the places at which to celebrate special events.

It is best described as the classic American restaurant, with a menu that includes a wide assortment of entrees, most prepared and served in the classic way. You may find ahi on the raw bar and Lobster Spring Rolls among the appetizers, but you will not find “fusion” among the descriptions of Chart House fare.

Rather, you will find one of the best Sunday brunches in the area; a salad bar that is exceeded by none, ordered by many as an entrée; and some satisfying steak and seafood dishes. If you’re the meat-and-potatoes type, Chart House is your place.