**INITIAL REVIEW**…read more
When I found out there was a Friendly's still open in the Space Coast, I had to make the trek primarily for nostalgia. I remember the simple foods of their children's menu and enjoying Cone Heads there, when I was young, worthwhile memories at a worthwhile place. However, that location was originally on Babcock St. in south Melbourne, and has been closed for many years. As a matter of fact, the old Friendly's building was bulldozed over in which a modern-day 7-Eleven was built in its place.
This Friendly's location is on Eau Gallie Blvd. in Indiantlantic. It sure had the nostalgic look of a Friendly's so that was good, but unfortunately, nostalgia would not be enough to truly enjoy my outing here. Maybe I didn't know because I was young and didn't know any better, but Friendly's, at least this location on its initial visit, was sad and disappointing.
Though an address is provided, Friendly's is its own building, a nostalgic building that kept to its original build from its heydey, on the southwest cornery of the Eau Ballie Blvd. and AIA intersection.
Upon entering, you will be greeted with the classic Friendly's interior, too. However, you can literally "smell" that the wash water needs to be changed out. So imagine the old school smell of clean being a mixture of stale water and old water-based cleaner. That is what you smell walking into the place.
I showed up at the swing from breakfast to lunch, and I wanted lunch. Unfortunately, it seems as if making the sudden switch was too difficult for the cooks in the back, an older gentlemen who I was able to hear complain about how it was "too early" for lunch.
I still got lunch, though, but you can tell there were issues. For starters, the fried ravioli bites were served to me as if they were cooked in a gas station microwave: scalding hot on the outside, frozen and hard on the inside on a few of the bites. The others were... well... okay.
The grilled cheese sandwich and tomato soup was okay, too. I will say the basic grilled cheese was better than some other establishments I been to, such as Mash Monkeys Brewing and Planet Grilled Cheese (basic grilled cheese), but the soup was watery.
I didn't even bother getting a Cone Head, which as the nostalgia I really wanted to experience because I was disatisfied.
The saving grace this visit to Friendly's has is the waitress, an older lady named Jessica. She was very kind and accomodating, and even relayed any of my concerns pertaining to eating lunch "early" though it was at the beginning of the time. I made sure her tip was more than decent.
Ultimately, I am going to have to give this Friendly's a two-star rating out of five review. It could definitely be better, but I also believe in the rule of averages and I want to say this might be the one unsatisfactory outing that happens every once in awhile.
As for Jessica, thank God for her. You definitely need to give her her due diligence because she definitely deserves to work at a place that is better.
