Sweet Thyme Deli: Breakfast and lunch with the locals
202 Ferry Street SE, Fort Walton Beach, 243-2566


By Bruce Collier
May 1, 2008 Issue

I ate at Sweet Thyme Deli twice on the same weekday. I stopped in for breakfast, then ordered that day’s special as takeout. I ate it for dinner that evening, and it reheated fine. After breakfast, I spoke briefly with Rick and Sylvia Falasca, co-owners and cooks.

The Falascas have lived in the area since 1966. In the 1970s, they co-owned (with Rick’s parents) a restaurant in Fountain Square called Munchkins, serving burgers, ice cream, and such. After a few years with a national sandwich franchise, they opened Sweet Thyme in 2004. They welcome all diners, but their clientele is drawn largely from locals. Area businesses and offices are frequent customers, calling ahead or coming in for lunch. Rick and Sylvia cook many of the daily specials, each of which has its own devotees. Some customers can be counted on to show up regularly on the same weekday, for a taste of “their” special. “We really like doing this, we do our own home-cooked meals,” says Sylvia.

Among the items on the breakfast menu are an array of omelettes, including Spanish and Mediterranean, blueberry pancakes, granola, various sides, and almond French toast. I ordered the latter, with bacon on the side. The server (Colleen) was of the old school, greeting regulars by name and calling everyone else “hon.” She brought my toast, saying “You’re gonna love it.” And, as they say, she kept the coffee coming.

I did love it. Four slices of French bread were dipped and sprinkled with toasted almonds, served with a drizzle of caramel and a small mountain of whipped cream. Colleen brought a jug of syrup in case this wasn’t enough. The bacon was sliced thin and fried crisp. The toast was just sweet enough, and disappeared pretty fast. I guess I was hungry, because I ate the sliced orange and strawberry garnish as well.

As breakfast progressed, I took a look around the restaurant. The tables are covered with checked cloth, and the walls are decorated with posters and artwork, including a huge rendering of a late-model car. Deli cases house food and beverages, and there are tables outside under umbrellas. Sweet Thyme does a brisk takeout business, some 30 percent of the total, according to Rick.

The biggest rush, say the Falascas, is Saturday brunch, served from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. (lunch runs concurrent on Saturday, from 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.) Apparently some thought Rick was “crazy” not to serve brunch on Sunday, but his hunch paid off. Rick estimates that some 20 to 21 dozen eggs are cooked up on Saturdays. “We use a lot of eggs in the omelettes.” The Falascas believe in a fat, fluffy omelette, unlike “some others,” who turn out something more like a crepe, he observes. Another Saturday favorite is Sylvia’s homemade gingerbread, complimentarily served on that day.

The lunch menu offers sandwiches, including a club, grilled cheese, BLT, reuben, pastrami, ham, turkey, and vegetable. There’s also the Wednesday special - Sylvia’s grilled mozzarella, spinach and pesto sandwich. The home-cooked daily specials are chicken salad (Monday), and Rick’s own lasagna (Tuesday), meatloaf (Thursday) and spaghetti (Friday). Rick has also initiated a fish fry on Fridays, on a trial basis. One can also get a roast beef French dip on Wednesdays. The menu offers soups and specialty salads and wraps, with grilled or blackened chicken and roast turkey, and cakes and other sweets for afterwards, unless you want to do like me and have yours first.

I enjoyed the meatloaf, served with mashed potatoes (the real thing, not instant, says Rick), gravy, mixed vegetables and garlic bread. As with the French toast, it was the real deal, good, straightforward comfort food.

The Falascas base their business mainly on locals, though tourists do come in to eat, and for guidance to other individually-owned eateries. Most specifically want to avoid chains. The Falascas enjoy taking care of their guests. “I like to meet and talk to different types of people,” says Rick, adding that it is his favorite part of the job.

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