Allen is about to welcome two new restaurants: Torchy’s Taco and Southern Breeze Market Café. Torchy’s will open at 1008 W. McDermott Drive, Suite 600, next Wednesday (April 11). They will announce other Dallas-area locations they plan to open soon.
Okay, sinus medication, let’s try this post again. Sorry for the confusion but head is heavier than heaven. There are two new restaurants opening: Torchy’s Taco in Allen and Southern Breeze in Keller.
Southern Breeze Market Café, owned by the culinary husband-and-wife team of Melody and Daniel Fitzgerald, will make its debut on April 10 in Old Town Keller. Melody, a former pastry chef at the Mansion, and Daniel, former front-of-the-house-man at Tillmans’ at Tillman’s Roadhouse and Bonnell’s Fine Texas Cuisine in Fort Worth, and Morton’s of Chicago Steakhouse in Dallas, currently own and operate Sugar & Frosting, a cupcakery in Allen. The “Timeless Southern Cuisine” (trending) and “Carolina Chic, comfort food dishes seasoned with a modern-day culinary flair.”
Jump. Hard. And help me get this song out of my head.
The press release:
Bringing the tastiness of southern goodness to beautiful Old Town Keller, Southern Breeze Market Café opens April, 10, 2012, with a new perspective on lunch. This escape from modern, daily office life transports guests to a south as home-made as mom’s pecan pie, with the inescapable comfort that both envelops your senses and also allows you to exhale as you relax into its southern hospitality. Timeless southern cuisine, made from scratch with only premium ingredients, is both modern and new at Southern Breeze Market Café in Old Town Keller.
Inspired by restaurants along the Carolina coasts, Melody and Daniel Fitzgerald, proprietors and hosts of Southern Breeze, are offering up plates of seasonal favorites that taste like home, only better. No matter which side of the Mason-Dixon they are originally from, patrons will appreciate the genuine tastes that Southern Breeze cooks up. With inspired recipes by Melody Fitzgerald, the tastes are unmistakably “Carolina Chic,” comfort food dishes seasoned with a modern-day culinary flair.
“We wanted Southern Breeze to be all of our favorite restaurants, rolled into one,” said Melody Fitzgerald, who, along with husband Daniel, also owns Sugar & Frosting, the innovative bakery and cupcakery, also in Keller. Proving that you can have both roots and wings, the Fitzgeralds chose their hometown area of DFW to open their dream restaurant together. “We have experience in restaurants and hotels all over the country,” said Daniel Fitzgerald, “and we could imagine no other place than DFW to bring Melody’s skills as a pastry chef and my experience in restaurant operations together. We’re glad to be home.”
Southern Breeze entrees include favorites such as Shrimp & Grits; Seasonal Quiches made with spinach, bacon and Swiss cheese, ham, cheddar and broccoli and tomato basil with corn; and even Pulled BBQ Chicken Cups. Baked Mac-n-Cheese is also found here as an entrée – because everyone knows it’s a meal in itself anyway. Sandwiches such as Sweet Potato Biscuits with Country Ham & Honey Butter (featuring biscuits and butter that are both made in-house), Caprese BLT and a Pimento Cheese or Brie & Apple Sandwiches are the perfect lunch treat. Soups include Beer Cheese, Velvet Corn & Crab Chowder and French Onion. An array of salads plays off the southerners’ love of anything fresh and fruity, such as Blackberry Salad, House-made Chicken Salad with Fresh Fruit and Marinated Roasted Cheese and Olive Skewers. Price points for luncheon entrees range from $7 to $9.
Desserts at Southern Breeze offer a sweet ending to a homemade lunch, and even a selection of delectable treats to save for later. The restaurant features fresh desserts, made from scratch daily, including Mixed Berry Shortcakes, Coconut Buttermilk Pie, layer cakes in Coconut Cream and Light Lemon, and Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting, among others. Desserts will rotate daily and draw upon whatever is fresh and in-season at the time. Guests can also pocket a sweet something for that afternoon craving (or become the office hero and bring back something for their officemates), in the form of large Cherry Chunk Cookies or even Cheese Straws.
The fare is a modern take on southern classics, but the laid-back atmosphere is anything but modern – nestled among the historic homes that comprise the storybook Old Town Keller is the reclaimed gem that serves as Southern Breeze. Guests walk a deck to a large, wrap-around porch that belies its close proximity to the “concrete jungle” that is the Southlake/Keller area. The lunchtime locale provides an oasis, a safe harbor for those seeking respite from a day at the office, and a southern “home” to return to – even if you’re not actually southern. Everyone is welcome in this historic home-turned-café, which could just as easily host a Harper Lee as it could a Kathryn Stockett.
Inside, the restaurant is outfitted in a light and breezy color palette that reflects its Carolina inspiration: deep oranges, yellows and greens make for a bright and light mood in the front room. Southern Breeze’s Red Room, named for the traditional, deep rouge wallpaper that adorns the walls, is part of the everyday dining experience at the restaurant and can be rented out for special occasions like anniversary dinners, baby showers, receptions and more.
Too busy to stay a while and shoot the breeze (as they say)? Southern Breeze offers a “to-go” component – fresh, hot and all wrapped up, just like mom used to do – for those who want to take their lunch with them. A 30-minute head’s up is appreciated so your meal is ready when you get there, but if you want to sit for a spell on the comfy benches in the historic hallway and take a breather, your to-go order can be ready to take with you in a few minutes.
Want to enjoy the beautiful spring-time weather and dine amongst the daisies? Southern Breeze is happy to fill your picnic basket to take with you to whatever outdoor dining destination floats your boat. Whether it’s a romantic outing for two or a family-style get-together, these picnic baskets are filled with southern classics to help make new memories.
Southern Breeze also offers a menu that is by kids, for kids. Melody and Daniel Fitzgerald’s sons created the Southern Breeze Kids Menu, which features kid-sized portions of some perennial childhood favorites, such as Grilled Cheesey and Snuggly Piggies (how else would your pigs in a home-made blanket be other than “snuggly”?).
Southern Breeze Market Café is open Tuesday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. The restaurant is located at 138 Olive Street in Old Town Keller. More information can be found on the web at www.SouthernBreezeMarketCafe.com, on Facebook at “Southern Breeze Market Café” or by calling the restaurant at 817-337-5177.
