Gobblers

We’re visiting all the family this weekend, so it’s another chance for some fine home-town chow. We visited Gobblers on Highway 19 in Inglis on 11 June 2011. Last time we were here was back on New Year’s Eve 2009!

Nice promenade here across the front of the building. Marek is leading the way.

Me and Ivo, we’re following.

This is the “parent sniff.” I realized that whenever I pick up Ivo I always sniff him. Show here, Ivo with that “new baby smell” and not that “new baby with a full load” smell that I was afraid of.

The latrines are out back. I have to tell you because if you didn’t know, you might not find them. Not because they’re out back, but because they’re camouflaged! That’s why those orange warning cones are there, to keep you from just walking and walking and WHAM, you hit the wall and pee your pants because you were holding it that long trying to find the latrines. Come on, why would they put cones there if it wasn’t a problem?

Ivo picked us up some menus. They’re baby-proof laminated, so he set about drooling on them. Note how all the text is black and the section headings are green, except for the red text “Farm Fresh Omelettes.” Does that make you wonder? It makes me wonder. I didn’t ask about it, but it would be very cool if they had an actual chicken coop out back. “Your eggs are going to be a few minutes…. Bittie’s squeezing now…”

Marek, no kidding, picks up the menu and starts making his order. Eggs and bacon and juice and mumble mumble. No one around listening to him, but that’s OK. And also, from this picture you’d think the kid was blind. He’s selectively deaf, yes. Blind, no.

Marek’s enjoying his morning coffee. Ivo is in the middle of executing a right hook to take me out. Feed me, old man, feed me!

And so here we go with the baby goop. Please stop with the punching and biting, Ivo!

Got to give the thumbs-up to the Nature Coast place mats. Of course, the more people who actually visit Natural North Florida, the less “natural” and more “Orlando” it will become, so I disagree with the encouragement for people to “visit.” Our breakfast on this map, for those of you’ns who aren’t from ’round these parts, is at the very bottom of the light green area. See the bottom-most horse on the map? Drive due south from him for ten miles; Gobblers is on the right.

This is Marek playing a new game of “what can I put in dad’s coffee that doesn’t make him mad?” He also discovered a newer game, “what can I put in dad’s coffee that really ticks him off?” Turns out, he won prizes for both games!

The answers for the two games, by the way are:

1. “Absolutely nothing”

2. “Pretty much everything.”

My coffee was saved by breakfast. So you’ll notice something here. Not a pancake for miles of Marek’s plate. He was NOT INTERESTED in pancakes at all. I asked him, Marek, want to go get pancakes? NO, DAD! Marek, want to go get bacon and eggs? Oh yeah, dad! And also, for those dedicated readers watching the boy’s motor skills develop in the human factors lab that is our breakfast, check out his rather skilled use of the knife.

Intrigued by the red font on the menu, I went with the “Southern Omelette.” This was made up of so many different pork products that I felt like apologizing to the next pig I see. Delish, for sure, but a bit more actual meat in one sitting than I usually have.

Little Ivo enjoyed the home fries. I thought they were pretty good but did need ketchup to really set them off. Ivo took them plain because, well, he’s 10 months old and doesn’t really need ketchup. Tabasco, sure, but not ketchup.

More coffee, just in time!

Ivo ate his whole bowl of goop, took a formula bottle, a handful of home fries, and toast. He ate my car keys once. We had to stay at the place for four hours until they came out the other end.

I put some jelly on some toast. Marek was all about, what’s that dad, what’s that dad? I gave it to him and, in classic “what planet is this kid from?” form, he proceeded to lick the toast rather than eat it, and then started opening jelly packets to eat them, too. I moved to another table and pretended I didn’t know either kid.

The final bill wasn’t bad. A little high for what we usually do, but this was an immense amount of chow for us boys and it was all pretty good. I can’t comment on the bacon, as it did a disappearing act into Marek’s belly, but otherwise everything was just right.

Marek paid the bill, with onlookers asking him along the way if he was going to pay the bill. If he was older he’d reply, no, I’m going to buy a used Space Shuttle, or something smart-mouthed like that. But he’s still young and sweet.

Marek looks like he’s ready to visit one of those places down on Adamo with all those ones.

This is Darlene. I have pictures of her holding Marek when he was Ivo’s age, and now I have a picture of her holding Ivo, too! Don’t you just love Darlene’s pigtails?

Gobblers was a fine start to our morning. From here, it’s all grandparents and cousins for the rest of the weekend!

Gobblers is a fine small-town diner. Almost everyone is a local, including the Bakers who keep my parents’ vehicles running (thanks, Mike and Jenny!). The chow is good, the coffee black, the latrines camouflaged, the prices OK, and the people friendly. We’re pleased to give Gobblers a Tampa Bay Breakfasts four pancake rating (even though we didn’t actually have the pancakes!).

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