We were driving down the road. This morning we were discussing the finer points of the Existentialist authors. I said Albert Camus. Marek said Sartre. I said Kant. Marek said Allen Ginsberg.

WHAT? Ginsberg was a Beat Poet, not an Existentialist writer! You silly little boy you. Tickle, tickle! Not an Existentialist, tickle giggle tickle! What were you thinking, goo, goo, giggle, tickle!

Kids these days. I mean, really, Ginsberg an Existentialist? Sure, there’s some common themes there …

Wait! Stop the car! FIRETRUCK!

That fire truck was parked at The Country Skillet at 2839 Roosevelt Blvd in Clearwater. I wonder if they have pancakes! They have a web site at http://thecountryskillet.com/. See how they love their customers with all those pictures? How can this not be a great place?

Inside was homey, just like you’d expect in a breakfast joint. I’m using “joint” in the 1950s diner sense here. This is a kid-safe review, you Beat-generation hippies!.

That’s right, a perfect place for the face-off that we’ve all been waiting for. Ever since we started Tampa Bay Breakfasts over a year ago, we get emails, telephone calls, and yes, even Western Union telegrams, asking us who is faster, a classic 1976 VW Bug or a tuner VW GTI.

Race fans, you’re in good hands.

The GTI has the advantage of wheelbase. And nitrous. But anything made in 1976 has got to be good! Like Marek’s mom.

Are you ready? Three! Two! One!

What a race! Marek’s been taking all the pictures this morning.

Calls for a coffee. This was good coffee.

Here comes some pancakes! Rumor is, this is a special Chicago recipe. The warmed up syrup is a nice touch, too.

Marek has decided that he likes syrup on his bacon. This was actually the first time Marek was ever responsible for his own syrup. A milestone!

No ketchup, though. It looks buggy. VW buggy. Get it? Bug, like the car not like actual bugs! Haw, haw, that’s hilarious. Seriously. I slay me with this stuff.

Marek likes to keep the coffee flowing!

When Marek is taller, we’ll sit over here. Nice counter!

We wrapped up with a bill for around 11 bucks. Pretty standard pricing model.

We walked away with smiles all the way. And Marek took all the pictures. It’s hard to read, but my t-shirt says “BEER, it’s what’s for dinner.” With a shirt like that, I’m surprised I’m not the mayor of Tampa.

Did someone say that the BEER shirt looks sort of aged? Here’s a shot of me wearing the same shirt about 8 years ago. Note the lack of kid-induced gray hair. Note that favorite guest reviewer Mom has a care-free “I ain’t never havin’ no kids” look in her lovely eyeballs. Note that we’re having fun at an actual beer festival. Yes, dear TBB fan, this shirt pre-dates a lot of things, including the concept of getting up early enough for breakfast.

So this is a good breakfast. Solid on the bacon, great eggs, nice coffee. Marek loved the pancakes. Seemed to be full of locals. Overall, a nice experience. We didn’t identify anything unique, like brains on the menu or a Buddhist shrine in the corner, or anything like that, just a good, solid breakfast diner.

We’re pleased to give the Country Skillet a four-pancake rating.

On the way home, we stopped at the beach on the Courtney Campbell. That makes for a very nice morning.