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From Our Resident Feature Writer...
The Breakers
Before coming to live at the beach in Florida, my visits here were frequent. For a long time I’ve felt like I have a good handle on this small town and what it has to offer. But until yesterday I was ignorant of what that pink restaurant on the beach, at the end of Flagler Avenue was all about. It’s a well-known restaurant and bar three miles north, straight up the beach from me, and it’s called The Breakers. The name clearly comes from the fact that the windows all look out onto the Atlantic surf breaking on the white sand beach, and from almost anywhere inside the ocean views are endlessly postcard pretty. But all this is new to me, because until yesterday I had never been to The Breakers and was unfamiliar with all but the name and location. Somehow, in my eleven or twelve years of coming here, I had never eaten there.
For that reason, yesterday became a landmark day for me personally when a friend took me to lunch there. Stories from a handful of people had always included mention of the great burgers served at The Breakers. I have my own favorites and so never gave much thought to trying a Breakers burger. After yesterday, I realize my former attitude of little interest was my loss. No doubt about it, any of the burgers on the Breakers menu can stand up against any burger, anywhere. They are that good.
Eating in a large crowd of people is something you have to expect. Lunch or dinner at The Breakers on a day when the weather is good (and it very rarely isn’t) the restaurant will be wall to wall with people, many of whom want to pass the afternoon or evening at one of the window counters looking out at the ocean, sipping a beer, eating a burger. My friend and I were lucky and stumbled upon a couple of seats at the bar just as we arrived; perfect seats, perfect view.
Ask some locals and they will tell you that The Breakers has been here forever, but forever turns out to be no more than twenty years. A Boston family took over the beachfront property and built the restaurant in 1990. But it didn’t take them long to gain notice—apart from the reputation of that premier view of the ocean. The restaurant won a Star of the South Beach - Best Burger award for the first time in 1993. They went on to win the award in ’94, ’95, ’96, 2004, ’06, ’07, ’08 and 2009. The Breakers Burger won the Best Burger in Central Florida award in 1995, ’99, 2000 and 2005. No foolin’, this is a burger not to miss!
A full menu is offered, including dinners, all priced at $14.95, though the choices are limited to seafood. Apart from burgers, sandwiches come in the familiar varieties of chicken breast, BLT, tuna salad, chicken salad, turkey and fish. If a burger is on your mind, you will have to choose from a list of seventeen. I had the Bacon Burger and wish I had another one in front of me now. All burgers are hand-shaped with a half pound of lean ground beef, char-grilled to order, and served with lettuce, tomato & onion, and a choice of fries, potato salad or cole slaw. All are priced at $9.50. The bar offers twenty different beers on tap, and thirty brands bottled.
If you ever find yourself anywhere remotely near New Smyrna Beach, it’s worth going out of your way to spend an hour or so at The Breakers with a great burger and a dazzling view of the deep blue simple.
July 20, 2010
William Leet
Something in the Air
Can’t describe myself as doing much of  anything today, most of it along the lines of what I imagine as the life of Riley. But don’t misunderstand that to mean sleeping until noon and idling away the remaining hours flipping through movie magazines and munching chocolate bonbons. No, after the usual early morning walk on the beach, I passed a couple of hours reading to my golden girls in the retirement home down the street, then came home to laze way the afternoon marveling at the change of season underway here on the watery edge.
The doors and windows are all open here and autumn breezes are blowing through and unclogging these stale rooms. Surprising how insensitive one becomes to a daily electric climate, dulled and accepting of the ‘perfect’ air-conditioned temperature. Though it seems a little early to me (my first autumn in Florida) I am experiencing a change now that involves much more than mere changing temperatures. Something is in the air. A shift is in progress on every front. The color of the ocean has darkened, the light has gradually become more sympathetic, less intimidating. New birds have come from other climates to winter at the seaside. Ocean water is colder, the beard of seaweed tracing the surf line redder now. I doubt there is ever a time in this setting when the air is anything less than fresh, but at this time of year you notice a clear difference in the air, a difference that enlivens the senses.
In the late afternoon  I walked down to the water’s edge with the idea of filling my vision with nothing but ocean and sky, wanting to stand with feet in the surf, seeing a hundred and eighty degrees of only those elements, divided by the razor sharp horizon. But in fact, nothing about it surprised me; colder water, deeper blue ocean, and perfect clarity to the horizon three miles out. Walking back up to the beach stairs, I came upon the lady in sand, an image that made me think of Picasso for some reason. The photo of the stairs? Nothing special, except as a look at the climbing sand bolstered by October tides.
October 19, 2010
William Leet
Atlantic Center for the Arts Presents...
Exhibition - Flora & Fauna Gary Borse, Bryan Hiveley, & Renee Rey
Opening Reception November 6 - December 17, 4 - 7 PM
Atlantic Center’s Harris House Gallery, 214 S. Riverside Drive
Saturday, November 6
This exhibit features three Florida artists with over-the-top  interpretations of landscape and wildlife in their work. Artists Gary Borse and Renee Rey create two-dimensional landscapes that are simultaneously realistic and imaginative. Sculptor Bryan Hiveley’s colorful carved wood creatures evoke wild characters from fables and folk-tales.
Free/Public invited
Generously Sponsored by
Fred & Jeanie Raffa
Wham Bam Poetry Slam 7
7 - 10 PM
Harris Theater
1414 Art Center Avenue
Friday, November 12
ACA’s seventh annual poetry slam is open to the public - for poets and spectators!
Even if you’re not a poet, enjoy the show! Poets may register by phone, email, or by signing up at the door 30 minutes before the slam begins. There is a limit of 15 participants, 16 years and up, with three challenges, three judges, and a notoriously raucous audience. Cash awards for winners. All participants receive a one-year membership to ACA.
Registration opens October 11.
To register, or for more information, phone 386.423.1753 or email shiggins@atlanticcenterforthearts.org
Free/Public invited
ACA Exposed
3 - 7 PM
Atlantic Center for the Arts
1414 Art Center Avenue
Sunday, November 14
Join us for ACA Exposed, a thrilling night of performances by former ACA artists-in-residence, fabulous food, and interesting people at Atlantic Center for the Arts to benefit ACA’s programs. Special Guests - ACA’s National Council. Tickets: $100
Tickets and information: 386.427.6975
November 14, 3pm - 7pm
Expose yourself to a dynamic feast of art, artists, nature, food and wine. This thrilling ni ght features some of ACA's most illustrious Artists-In-Residence and a special performance by violinist and composer Master Artist Daniel Bernard Roumain. Members of the ACA's National Council will be in attendance, including poet Bob Holman, literary journalist and writer Michael Dirda, composer Bill Duckworth, director of Tigertail Productions Mary Luft, and National Council Chair and arts producer/cultural development strategist David White. Studio visits and presentations with Artists-In-Residence, including visual artist Bryce Hammond; vocalist, compposer and writer Kristin Page Stuart; and poet Terri Witek. Fabulous food by The Coordinator, Tim Webber. Fine wines provided by ACA Truste David Taub, Palm Bay Imports.
This unforgettable event benefits ACA's programs. Tickets are $100. For tickets and information, please call 386.427.6975, extension 10.
Atlantic Center for the Arts is located at 1414 Art Center Avenue in New Smyrna Beach.
www.atlanticcenterforthearts.org
Draw, Print, & Paint
Kathy Corey
10 AM - 2 PM
Yurick Studios
123 Douglas Street
Saturday, November 20
Participants will explore the primary techniques of 2-dimensional art by creating a drawing, a fine art print, and
a painting of their chosen subject matter.
Supplies are provide.Those wishing to participate must register in advance.
Bring a bag lunch and wear comfy
clothes with closed-toe shoes.
Ages 6 - 12. Scholarships available!
Information and registration,
386.423.1753
$25 ACA member; $30 nonmember
Exhibition – IMAGES Artists: Selections from the City of New Smyrna Beach Collection
Opening Reception November 19
5 - 7 PM
Pabst Visitor Center & Gallery
1414 Art Center Avenue
November 20 – January 29
This exhibit features work by some of
the most illustrious artists at IMAGES: A Festival of the Arts in its 35-year history, purchased for the City’s permanent collection and residing in City Hall, Commission Chambers, Public Works, Human Resources, and the City
Manager’s office. Free/Public invited
Canaveral Seashore Plein Air Paintout
Nov 08, 2010 - Nov 13, 2010
Thirty of the most talented landscape artists from Florida and the Northeast will bring their paint boxes and easels to the seashore and surrounding areas in Mosquito Lagoon, Atlantic Center for the Arts, and historic downtown New Smyrna Beach. They will create one-of-a-kind paintings "en plein air " (in open air). More than 30 Artists will be painting from dawn to dusk for the five days of the Paint Out. As paintings are completed, they will be hung in an on-site “wet room” in the Eldora House and will be available for immediate sale.
You can meet the artists at a Wine and Cheese Reception at Arts on Douglas, 7 pm, Wednesday, November 10. This event is open to the public. Paintings produced the first 3 days will be on display and for sale. There will be a Sunset Paint In at JB's Fish Camp on Thursday, November 11, 3-7 pm. Open to the public.
There will be a Community Quick Draw and Family Fun Day at Canaveral National Seashore on Saturday, November 13th from 10am until 2pm. Bring your easel and paint with the pros. There will be free events for the kids.
This year marks the 35th anniversary of Canaveral national Seashore, one of only nine national seashores in the country.
This remarkable first-time event is hosted by the Friends of Canaveral, a volunteer, non-profit organization that partners with the National Park Service to preserve, maintain and protect this pristine shoreline for future generations. The goal of the Paintout is to raise money to build a historical, interactive environmental learning center to teach shool children about the environment, and to increase public awareness and support for the park.
We are asking are merchants and individuals to help offset expenses by donating money, products or services-in-kind to this event. In exchange for this support, we will donate premium advertising space in our Paintout program, a monetary credit toward the purchase of original art of your choice, free tickets to our exclusive Patron's Reception, logos and links on our website and other advertising collateral, and much more.
We thank you in advance for enabling us to continue our support of Canaveral National Seashore. Your contribution will help ensure that this unique natural habitat will be preserved and maintained for many generations to come.
For more information about this event or to contact us with questions, please contact Leslie Long, Event Director at EventsByLeslie@gmail.com, or you may call Del Appleby, Volunteer Coordinator at 386.424.0634 or Pat Skrtic, Event Chair at 386.428.6151.
www.canaveralseashorepaintout.org
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