Island Breezin'

By: Chris Valletta

This past Saturday night, I went to an American chain restaurant called Bahama Breeze, which prides itself on offering its patrons an island retreat to paradise, no matter where you may be. On a cold fall night in Wayne, NJ I stepped into Bahama Breeze and my world was transformed from cold New Jersey, to the warm island rhythms of Barbados. Greeted by the hostess with the largest smile I had ever seen, my island adventure was about to begin and I could not have been more excited to be there. Ever since I was a child, I had always been enamored by tropical islands and the delusions of grandeur that comes along with the secluded beaches and waterfalls. As soon as I saw the island theme of this restaurant, I knew I had to get there somehow. My desire to be in any sort of tropical environment, real or artificial, gives me a form of pleasure that I cannot replicate in any other way. I can escape from the concrete jungle when I am in such places.

I have been to many restaurants and bars before, but Bahama Breeze takes the crown for the restaurant that emphasizes relaxation and friendliness more than anywhere else. After the smiling hostess brought me to my table, the waitress who came turned out to be the most friendly server that I ever had, and this was not due simply to the fact that she was wearing a Hawaiian shirt. She was very personable about everything and tried to relate her own personal eating experience with other options on the menu that I discussed about possibly choosing for an entrée. Sitting down at the table in the middle of the restaurant, I took a minute to take in everything that was going on around me. I immediately noticed that fake palm trees flanked each corner of the restaurant, as I always have had an obsession with palm trees since it reminds me of my desire to be in tropical environments. In addition, all the furniture was of tropical decent, with flower and palm tree patterns on all of the seats.

Looking down at the menu, there was a complete separate menu just for Bahama Breeze's very own hand-crafted island drink specials. The text at the beginning of the menu stated: "Relax..There are no worries here. Just happy, friendly people, great service, and plenty of drink selections. We feature premium house pours, hand-crafted fruit juices, a large selection of fine rums, popular wines and over two dozen beers from around the world." After such a vivid introduction, I could not resist but to look through the drinks that were offered and low and behold, I ordered the "Aruba Red", Bahama's Breeze's very own draft. This emphasis on alcohol went hand in hand with the island lifestyle of relaxation and enjoying life. However, this was different from other establishments such as certain bars, where binge drinking is basically promoted. At Bahama Breeze, the attitude was to order some drinks just to enjoy them and to relax.

After finally making a decision about what to order for an entree since there were so many delicious choices, I sat there at the table and delightfully enjoyed my beer, while at the same time observed other tables in the restaurant. It turned out that nearly every table I looked at had at least one alcoholic beverage on it, which shows that the line between reality and island lifestyle had fizzled and people were much more willing to open up and relax here. There also seemed to be a lot of couples on dates at the restaurant, which makes sense since Bahama Breeze is supposed to represent a desirable place and each couple was essentially resonating that desire back and forth between each other. Finally, I also noticed a large bar in another corner of the restaurant, where the only television in the restaurant was located. I found this interesting because in many eating and drinking establishments, the television is a forefront. However at Bahama Breeze, the reality part of the world is supposed to be non-existent, and we are placed into our own little world where island music, food, drinks, and friendliness prevail and keep going 24/7. Bahama Breeze is a place where there is no repression of any feelings, It is a safe haven for people to loosen up and enjoy themselves because in an island environment, that is what life is all about.