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Bartender Katie at the Breakaway Bar and Grill

By: Dan I. Cook

I don’t need a weather person to advise me that it’s hot as hell outside. My grass is dying and there has been no rain in sight. I can’t even walk my dogs without sweating like Elvis on a bad day. Even my pool feels like a hot tub, and I don’t even have a heater. This sucks! Besides sitting inside my own home, where can I go without taking a plane to Iceland to escape this brutal heat? I mean, I want it cold. Real cold.

Breakaway Bar and Grill in Coral Springs

Just head up the stairs for the Breakaway Bar and Grill

This is the place, folks. You know it’s cold when you need to wear a jacket inside. I’ve been here several times over the years and I’ve often wondered why this place isn’t busy during the hottest times of the year. It is so refreshing to walk inside the Florida Panther’s IceDen to begin with. They have three ice skating rinks and the temperature has to be in the low 60s – or even colder.

Walk upstairs and take a left, where you will find this hidden treasure: a cold oasis where you can get out of the scorching heat and enjoy some domestic/craft beers, wine and simple pub grub.

There is a small bar that has 12 beers on draft with four of them being craft beers from Miami Brewing Co. Oh yeah, for you Canadians, they have Labatt Blue on tap. They have an assortment of bottle beers on hand to quench your thirst too. There is no shortage of beer at this joint.

There are also several tables off to the side and chairs that line a rail where there is a clear view of an ice rink below. Each time I’ve been here there were some community teams playing on ice. Most of the time it’s been adults, but I have seen some kids playing too.

Great selection of beers on draft

As the heat in my body core comes down to a nice cool temperature, I order a Miller Lite draft and start talking with the bartender, Katie who has worked here for two years and has a great personality. She gives me the inside scoop on the different “cool” things (pun intended) that happen inside this pub. First off, they have the NHL package for you hockey fans. Happy Hour runs Monday through Friday from 5 p.m – 7 p.m. with dollar-off draft beers and two dollars off wine. When the Panthers play, if you wear any of their apparel and they score, you get a free draft beer. Hooray!

They also show football games, but there isn’t one particular fan base that hangs out here. I ask Katie why, and her response was they show a variety of games and don’t focus on one team. My thoughts are “no one has claimed this bar as their home-base,” which means it’s prime for a Dolphin takeover!

They serve food, but I didn’t try any. Katie recommends their chicken wings and says they are really good.

Single Women Read Below:

So as I’m drinking my beer, some dudes that just finished playing in a hockey league start to filter into the pub. If you have been following my reviews over the years, I’m sure you have realized that I’m not your normal thinking food/business writer. I don’t think like most writers because my mind wanders, mostly in a good way. Case in point: the guys filing in are decent looking men, they have the beards and that rugged look that some women adore.

So I ask Katie, “Do a lot of women hang out here because of all the men?” She laughs and says, just their girlfriends or wives. “I tell my single girlfriends all the time they need come up here and meet some of the single guys. Plus, hockey is not a cheap sport, so they need some money to play and they are nice guys too.”

I start laughing because I knew what she really wanted to say was, “these dudes may have some damn money.” But she is right. No woman wants a scrub (see TLC song for a definition). I ask when is the best time to come check out these handsome hockey men. Her reply was between 7 p.m to 1 a.m on Sundays. Lots of leagues play during that time frame and they usually come to the bar after their games.

So there you have it, with my hidden treasure you also get Dan I. Cook’s dating service too. If you meet you future significant other here, you owe me some beers.

Verdict

There is no other place in Broward County that I know of that can beat the low temperatures and cold beer than this joint. Plus, Katie and Serg, who drives the Zamboni, told me that usually on Sunday nights they have a large snow pile in the back of the rink. This is where all the ice is dumped from the Zamboni. Word is that a few snowball fights have occurred along with some building of snowmen. How romantic. You can meet the man of your dreams and throw a snowball at him all in one night. You can’t make this shit up.

Remember to tell them Dan and Coral Springs Talk sent you and Stay Frosty!

Breakaway Bar & Grill

Panthers IceDen

3299 Sportsplex Dr

Coral Springs, Florida

954-341-9956

Author Profile

Dan Cook

A native of Broward, Half-Samoan Half-Irish or Afa Tasi, Food Warrior, Beer Ninja, United States Marine, owner/talent of danicookeatdrink.com. Retired Oakland Park Police Department/BSO Sergeant, DLE.