It’s 66 degrees (F) this morning. We’re driving 66 miles per hour. Or is it 66 degrees per mile? 66 miles per degree? One degree per mile per minute? Crazytalk.

It’s another lovely day in Tampa Bay. Well, it’s lovely to the south. To the north, it’s looking pretty non-lovely.

We’re driving all around St. Pete Beach, just checking things out. We found this road that just ends in the Intracoastal. If it weren’t for those stop signs, Ivo’d just wander on in. Good thing he can read. Oh, no, wait, he can’t read! Ivo, stop!

The best boys-n-dad=together family portrait I could get this morning. Ivo’s creeping me out here, with that look on his face.

Here comes that weather front from the north. Day is getting colder by the minute. Dad needs some coffee, boys need some cocoa, and we all need some of that best meal of the day, breakfast.

We visited Beverly’s La Croisette at 7401 Gulf Boulevard in St. Pete. Beach on 15 February 2014. Beverly has a web site at http://www.beverlyslacroisette.com/. Beverly’s was recommended to us by TBB fan Jennifer, who also is a Bay Area Blogger at http://jennlikesit.com/.

Cozy little spot here. Don’t let these empty chairs fool you. By the time we left, there was a line out the door.

Menu full of pride and love. This restaurant is an extension of a home. That’s a good sign.

Today’s a special day. We have guest reviewers! Todd, who previously joined us back in June (I’m relieved to announce that neither of us is wearing the same clothes as we did 8 months ago), and his awesome daughter Magnolia.

They jumped right into the menu, and also the coloring.

Ivo took this picture. At first I thought he’d made a mistake, then I realized he just loves ketchup.

All three young ones asked for hot chocolate. All three got hot chocolate in kid-proof styrofoam cups. That’s thoughtful of them, but does reduce the overall tension for us parents. You see, I tend to amp up the breakfast tension by taking on slightly more risk than I can really handle. It’s what we entertainers do for our audience. Here you can see Ivo’s hot choco, and also the awesome reflection in the spoon. Not only did I not take that shot on purpose, I could not have possibly taken it on purpose if you’d paid me a hundred bucks. So I’m very pleased to share with you this cool and accidental but totally legit picture.

Here’s my main man Marek. He took one look at the styrofoam cup and, I’m not kidding, asked the waitress for a real coffee cup. He knows how a man is supposed to take his coffee.

Magnolia colored this picture so perfectly. I hate to point out the obvious, but she colors better than both Marek and Ivo combined. (Now, the truth is that Ivo would eat the crayons and Marek would be making jokes about farting crayon dust and neither would even TRY to color much less do a good job.)

Father-son portrait. I have new glasses. I’m taking a lot of heat at my day-job for my new “Harry Potter look.” I was really shooting for the “Singe from Underworld” look, but whatever.

Father-son portrait.

Father-daughter portrait.

These shots are how you know you’re doing it right in the fathering department.

Then Todd realized how much college was going to cost for Magnolia in 2030.

Before things got too out of control, breakfast arrived in high style. Notice the lovely Mickey ™ pancake. Notice the seriousness with which Todd approaches his role as Tampa Bay Breakfast reviewer. Notice the hijinks Marek is taking out on Todd’s plate while we’re all distracted. Marek’s mother would be mortified. Good thing she’s not with us, so we don’t have to hear about it.

Ivo got his own (probably unlicensed, downloaded from some file sharing web site) copy of the Mickey pancake.

Marek had the eggs, bacon, and home fries. And nearly cleaned his plate. For a boy who has been saying for months that he hates going to breakfast (true story, and very sad, too), he surely does like to dig in.

And finally, I had the single blueberry pancake…

… Which was the size of a hubcap off a ’72 Buick. This was one of the largest pancakes I ever did see. Not quite as large as at Jimbos, but still, really large. And also quite good, in case I forget to mention.

The real story in this picture is Magnolia’s eyes. Todd is doing a good fatherly job of prepping her plate. While she’s watching Ivo pretty much demolish his pancake and the entire restaurant behind him. She’s never seen a boy stand on his head and fit a whole plate in his mouth while hurling pancakes at the ceiling.

By this point, Todd and I have earned our dad stripes and are ready to run. Marek and Ivo lined up to pay the bill. About $36 for four breakfasts, which isn’t bad at all.

We reviewed our roles. Ivo is courier, Marek is security and navigation. They got the job done, though the waitress saw them coming and said, “oh no, I’m coming to you.”

After breakfast, Todd recommended a park just up the road with a playground, but as we got in the car it started to sprinkle rain. So we headed back to Tampa and stopped off at the Ballast Point park for some much-needed play time. Check out Marek at the foot of the slide in the background.

Here’s what he looked like up close.

We had a very fine breakfast at Beverly’s. Chow was great. They put up with us. Price was reasonable. Locals and tourists in equal measure. They put up with us. And we had Todd and Magnolia, who just made the morning as special as can be. We’re pleased to give Beverly’s La Croisette a Tampa Bay Breakfasts four and a half pancake rating.