An eager server guides me to a corner table marked by a “reserved” sign. My companion and I, after sampling an array of hot and cold starters (a few unusual, most chef-influenced versions of sports-bar staples), feast on steak and mahi entrées. Wine? Sure. Or should we choose cocktails?
We were dressed for a date night, and fit right in since the lighting was low, the banquettes tapered and the linens black. Yet, nearby, parents and tots in shorts and T-shirts appeared equally at home.
Folks at the bar sported baseball caps while rooting for their football faves airing on TV. Next to us, a posse of 40-something women draped in togas settled in and ordered full meals.
“We’re dressed for later,” one says. “We figured we’d have dinner before the atmosphere changes.” The restaurant, Blue Jacket’s Gastropub in Baldwin Park, morphs into a nightspot as the evening progresses. The toga tie-in, however, remains a mystery. We left before the party started.
While watching this mixy-matchy crowd relax, sip and eat, we noticed that the background music was just as uncategorizable as the clientele. “American Pie” was followed by an electronic dance song (no, we hadn’t heard it before) then a series of indie rock and a folky-sounding selections. Eclectic for sure.
A Blue Jacket’s newbie, I was perplexed as to what kind of place this was. Usually, I can nail a concept’s description with a simple thumbnail summary. I learned the answer after spending time—after my anonymous meal—with the owner, Donald L. Behrmann, a neurosurgeon, and John Ziobrowski, the manager.
Here’s the gist of it: Blue Jacket’s Gastropub is a neighborhood restaurant, café, bar and nightspot that aims to be everything to everyone. In other words, it’s whatever you want it to be. That’s tough to pull off, but it seems to be working so far at Blue Jacket’s.
“Plain and simple, we’re not trying to be anything other than a restaurant-tavern combo with American food that’s upscale,” says Ziobrowski. Blue Jacket’s is open seven days a week—from 11 a.m. to midnight on weekdays and 11 to 2 a.m. on weekends—which allows plenty of time to switch things up.
That means you can grab a classic American lunch or brunch during the day. Or stop in for a drink, maybe with jalapeno poppers, after work. Or go for a full-on three-course repast for dinner. On Fridays and Saturdays, once dinner service ends, you can mix and mingle to music performed live or spun by DJs. Sometimes, the brave even sing karaoke.
The Broad Street storefront that houses Blue Jacket’s has been a welcoming bar and restaurant since the earliest days of the upscale master-planned community that abuts Winter Park. Under a previous owner it cycled through various names: Jack’s Steakhouse and then Provisions & Buzz Co.
Since taking over in 2021, Behrmann has slowly reshaped the space by ramping up the ambiance and the food quality. He changed the name in 2022, once he completed an extensive renovation that saw the addition of brick walls, tan banquettes and black ceilings.
Blue Jacket’s name is a tribute to the USS Blue Jacket, a wooden mockup of a destroyer escort that sat incongruously on land and was used for training purposes from 1968 to 1993, when the site that now encompasses Blue Jacket Park and Baldwin Park was Naval Training Center Orlando.
In addition to remodeling the restaurant’s interior, Behrmann brought in Chef Jonathan Walko, a longtime Ruth’s Chris culinary manager, to compress and upgrade the menu. “Before I got here, the menu looked like Cheesecake Factory’s,” says Ziobrowski, noting that guests could choose from 75 items. Now there are a more manageable 25 selections.
Ingredients were also upgraded. The chefs now source seafood, beef and breads from specialty vendors. The steaks—which you’d expect to be first-rate considering Walko’s background—are enlivened with a proprietary blend of house seasonings.
“This used to be a place to hang out at the bar,” says Behrmann. “Now bar patrons add a burger or wrap to their order before heading out the door instead of going down the street [to a competitor] for dinner.”
Behrmann, still a practicing physician, was a regular customer before he bought the place and aimed, in part, to create a restaurant that all four of his children could enjoy. That included the picky one, the vegan, the foodie and the wine aficionado. (It worked.)
Today Behrmann lives in an apartment above the dining room. “I’m accessible and available to keep an eye on things,” he says. “And I’m an expert at being a restaurant patron because I spent my entire life eating out. I know what should happen.”
What should happen did, in fact, happen for me and my companion. I enjoyed a flavorful and tender ribeye, a 16-ounce cut served with a side dish. (I picked Brussels sprouts with a honey-mustard sauce.) And I added a baked potato a la carte just for good measure.
Although we had some excellent dishes during our visit, the lamb sliders really stood out. I’d order them as my entrée next time, or maybe just try the lamb burger. Toasted buttery buns, goat cheese aioli and onion marmalade heightened the experience.
I also suggest the mahi croquettes, crusty panko-coated fish sticks with Cajun tartar sauce. Or simply have the fried cheese curds (bland for me but a safe bet for those who avoid bold flavors.) Two half cobs are the base for the street corn, a stellar side dish that we ordered as an appetizer. It’s both tart and creamy with cilantro cream and roasted red pepper sauce.
Also, I’m told, the mushroom risotto with short ribs sells well. And the sourdough grilled cheese sandwich with white cheddar, bacon, tomato jam and tomato soup has become a favorite for lunch and dinner. The hearty burgers are made from fresh patties and served on buns from Olde Hearth Bread Company. I’ll get to them all eventually.
Behrmann is determined to offer, under one roof, an all-day space for casual or lavish meals as well as a neighborly bar with a congenial social scene after the dinner guests are home in bed. But the evolution continues. Blue Jacket’s is, after all, a neighborhood establishment, owned by a neighbor—and neighbors are welcome to help define it.
Blue Jacket’s Gastropub
4868 New Broad St, Orlando, FL
407-896-2688
bluejacketsgastro.com