Hell n Blazes Brewing Co.- Melbourne, FL- 3 Stars
Located in a building on New Haven that dates back to 1898, and most recently housed a small boutique catering to the Christmas season and tourists, one finds our destination of the day, Hell n Blazes...Brewing Co. After being dry for 241 days and with nary a mention of grub in the name, I have to say that I was a bit apprehensive about my next meal.
Upon entering it was obvious that, name notwithstanding, this place was built as a brewery first, food service joint as an afterthought. Even with the emphasis put on the brewing aspect, the whole came off as a very friendly design and the place was stocked with an extremely outgoing and charming staff. With a full bar and at least nine freshly brewed beers on tap, my mouth was watering. Foregoing the inviting libations, I turned my attention to the job at hand. Perusing the menu, it came off as your typical pub fare with enough creativity thrown in to make it interesting.
My waitress introduced herself as Sara, and while she had the appearance of a headliner at Lilith Fair, she is super knowledgeable on the menu and spot-on to the point of being a 4-star server all day long. I asked Sara for one Goat Burger (medium rare) and an order of their Mac and Cheese.
Counting the minutes as I tried in vain to divert my eyes from the whispering beer taps, I soon saw Sara approaching with my order. As soon as she placed my food on the table, I graciously waved her off, snapped the obligatory pictures and dug in. The bun the burger was served on a perfectly toasted delicious Kaiser bun. The meat itself was hand-formed and cooked as ordered, the sad part was that the mushrooms were obviously pre-sliced. That doesn't mean they weren't fresh, just that they appeared to perfectly sliced to be sliced to order. I could be wrong, maybe the chef is that good. The onions were sauteed to a delightful caramelization and the accompanying Arugula added a nice bite to the aftertaste. All in all it was your average pub burger.
The Mac and Cheese was an appealing spiral Mueller pasta, however, the dish itself came off as being melted in the microwave. The taste was fine, again, nothing spectacular, but far from the bottom of the barrel. As the items sampled were ordinary, I would be wary of venturing away from your typical burgers and brew here.
The Big Boy says, “For a wide variety of freshly brewed beer and good burgers, this historic building is a good destination to keep in mind!” #bigboydiningout #bigboyMore