Set sail on the healthy wave at new daytime eatery
By Cynthia Schuster-Eakin
happenings
Published April 19, 2006

First watch is a nautical term referring to the first shift of the day on a vessel. The new First Watch restaurant, at 168 Market Street in Crocker Park, will help you sail towards fitness with its health conscious menu of breakfast, brunch and lunch entrees.

The Bradenton, Florida-based restaurant chain has been whipping up healthy specialties long before fit was “in.” The restaurant’s “Healthier Side” menu features low-calorie, low-cholesterol and low-fat entrees. The First Watch Web site contains nutritional information on each item and all of the chain’s 50-plus restaurants are smoke free. The concept behind First Watch is to deliver a quality dining experience for breakfast and lunch in a neighborhood setting, serving the people who live and work in the community. That makes it a perfect fit for Crocker Park, which combines a retail setting with residential and office space.

The interior of First Watch, decorated by Interior Design Services of Fort Myers, Fla., is light and airy with lots of fresh greenery and open spaces. Service is prompt, but guests are invited to stay as long as they like. Servers automatically bring a pitcher of ice water and a pot of hot coffee to the table. The kitchen is open and the time that elapses between the order being submitted and served is listed on each guest check.

First Watch offers an appetizing assortment of eggs, omelettes, pancakes, crepes, sandwiches and salads. Guests can opt for the traditional breakfast of two fresh eggs, bacon, ham or sausage, home-fried potatoes and an English muffin ($5.79). Or, they can order one of the restaurant’s signature crepeggs, a thin crepe combined with whipped eggs. The Key West crepe ($7.29) is filled with a mixture of smoked turkey, avocado, bacon, tomatoes and Monterey jack cheese, and served with sour cream and homemade salsa. Though omelettes start with your basic three-cheese, one of the top sellers is the bacado ($7.29), with bacon, avocado and Monterey jack cheese. The Greek fetish omelette is made with roasted red peppers, feta cheese and spinach, and topped with black olives and red onions ($6.79).

Assorted pancake choices include banana crunch with granola, blueberry and cranberry nut ($5.49). You can get a full stack, or order one or more pancakes. Floridian French toast starts with sourdough bread sprinkled with wheat germ and powdered sugar and covered with bananas, kiwi fruit and berries ($6.29). Other healthy options are the Siesta Key cocktail, which is a parfait consisting of layers of granola, low-fat yogurt, fresh fruit and nuts, served with the muffin of the day ($5.79). Oatmeal is served with sweet cranberries and pecans, low-fat milk, sliced bananas and brown sugar with an English muffin ($3.99).

First Watch was one of the first restaurants to offer skillet breakfast entrees. The Joaquin yahoo skillet is an open-faced Mexican-style omelette with mushrooms, broccoli, celery, zucchini and onions, topped with homemade salsa, melted cheese and sour cream, seved with home fries and an English muffin ($6.79). You can also get a skillet of fresh mushroom caps that are sautéed and topped with melted Monterey jack and cheddar cheese, accompanied by two eggs, potato and English muffin ($6.95).

There are several salads on the menu, including Won’s Oriental, prepared with teriyaki chicken, fresh vegetables, water chestnuts and whole cashews, drizzled in sweet and sour dressing, with crunchy Oriental noodles and Mandarin oranges ($7.59). I would enjoy the fruity chicken anytime of the day. This dish offers a healthy scoop of First Watch chicken salad, made with water chestnuts, Granny Smith apples, raisins and celery, served over fresh spinach leaves and sliced tomatoes, with a side of fresh fruit salad and a baked muffin of the day ($6.99). Poppyseed dressing is served on the side, but seemed unnecessary, since the fruit was sweet enough. You can substitute tuna salad combines with water chestnuts, celery and mayonnaise, if you like. My companion ordered the chicken salad melt on grilled multigrain bread, served open face with tomato and melted cheese ($6.29).

The lunch section of the menu includes a classic Reuben sandwich ($6.99), French dip ($6.99), and a Monterey club with smoked turkey and avocado on multigrain bread ($7.29). The new “Not Guilty Your Honor” sandwich is grilled flat bread with hummus, cucumber, spinach leaves, mushrooms, roasted red peppers, tomatoes and feta cheese ($5.99). All sandwiches are served with home-fried potatoes, fresh fruit and marinated salad.

Soup du jour is available after 11 a.m. The daily deli double is a half of the day’s featured sandwich and soup with a dish of marinated salad ($6.29).

First Watch tries to meet all of the special dietary needs of guests whenever possible. The restaurant gladly provides separate checks and there is no extra charge if you share or ask for an extra plate. Kids’ menus are available. First Watch never charges an automatic gratuity, no matter the size of the party.