We visited a weekly breakfast provided to Tampa’s homeless by several church groups in the area. The breakfast is held in the parking lot at 1312 N Tampa St every Saturday morning at around 0800.

Marek jumped right in to help.

And off he went to lend a hand.

His assigned task was to distribute toothpaste.

We spent some time with Denise, our neighbor and good friend.

This breakfast group accepts donations of all sorts and acts as a distribution point for food and clothing for Tampa’s homeless population. If you’d like to donate or help out you’re welcome to just show up. Alternately you may contact Andy at andy@sonador.com to find out more.

We are pleased to give this Tampa Bay Breakfast a five pancake rating!

We visited The Pink Flamingo Cafe at 304 E. Davis Boulevard on 7 June. The Pink Flamingo Cafe was our first official recommendation (as you can see, we’ve got a tremendous backlog of Breakfast work!). The Pink Flamingo Cafe also has a nice web site at http://www.pinkflamingo.us/. This was our first visit to the Pink Flamingo Cafe. It won’t be our last.

We had breakfast. And it was good.

I was a bit disappointed that we couldn’t get our old standby of pancakes, bacon, and eggs as a set unit. And they don’t have blueberry pancakes. But the Flamingo did have “banana walnut” pancakes. I gave this a try, and was not disappointed. Making pancakes with a bunch of crazy crap in them can be a good way to get a plate of mushy goo for breakfast, but the Flamingo pulled this off most excellently! And the syrup was nicely warmed up, and rumor is that it’s home-made too. That’s a good touch!

Marek wasted no time digging in, and he ate a lot for his little belly.

The Flamingo has some unique flair. While we were having pancakes, they played some newer Jimmy Buffet and a track from one of my favorite albums, Donald Fagen’s “The Nightfly”. The dining room is full of classic Florida kitsch as a theme (it IS on an island, after all, so we’ll forgive them for this).

They have a fish tank, which is guaranteed Marek fascination! (Though Marek thought it could use more fish.)

The best thing, the most unique thing about the Flamingo, is that folks can bring their dogs for breakfast, so long as everyone sits outside on the patio.

By the time we were done, there were several dogs with their families. (Our beloved hound, Zimno, will need about $67,453 worth of obedience training before we take HIM here!). Marek was enthralled to find dogs out the door!

Lest we forget, we had coffee. And it was good. And bottomless!

Marek paid the bill.

He got into some sort of discussion with the management. I have no idea what they talked about, but I’m betting he was trying to negotiate to get a pop. They must not have had any, as all he brought back was change. But it’s a credit to how good this place was … he didn’t even notice!

The bottom line on The Pink Flamingo Cafe is that this is simply a top-notch Tampa Bay Breakfast. Great food, super-nice people, lots of regulars, dogs and fish, and plenty of strong black coffee. We had a long discussion on the way home if this should be a 4.5 or a 5 pancake rating. We decided that we’d say 4.5 because it was a little pricey (not that it’s wasn’t worth the premium, but it usually we can get breakfast for under 10; today we had to lay out a Jackson to pay). If they’d had pops or blueberry pancakes, it would be a strong contender for the Best Breakfast Ever in Tampa Bay. (That’s a title currently held by Skyway Jack’s, in case you were wondering.)

We’re pleased to give The Pink Flamingo Cafe a 4.5 pancake rating. Thanks to Christine for the great recommendation!

We visited the Three Coins Diner at 7410 N Nebraska Ave on May 30th. Breakfast is very reasonably priced. The special “Club Breakfast” for $5.50 is a really good deal. We’ve been to the Three Coins a bunch of times and we’ve always come away happy. The restaurant also has a web site at http://www.threecoinsdiner.com/.

We had breakfast. As our cheerful readers know, we’ve been having a downward slide in our overall happiness with breakfasts. I’m going to be honest with you here. We chose the Three Coins today as a ringer. We knew it would be great, and, frankly, we didn’t want to take any chances. The Three Coins didn’t disappoint. The bacon was good. The eggs were proper (*). And the pancakes… I would like to remind you that we’re highly experienced Pancake Professionals … the pancakes were Just Right.

Wait, you say, what about the coffee?

The coffee meets all grade-A parameters: burning hot, black, bitter, bottomless.

But Andy, you say, did Marek have his coffee? Why yes, he did. He’s the only kid I know who likes salted coffee. I think he’ll be starting a trend.

We both enjoy a good coffee in the morning.

The Three Coins has a nice lunch counter. It’s full of regulars, and we’ve never been there where there wasn’t a table full of local cops. If it’s good enough for Tampa’s Finest, it’s good enough for us!

So what’s unique about Three Coins? It’s open 24 hours and is a police favorite. It’s also in a little bit of a sketchy neighborhood. But there’s nothing like Mama’s murals or Martha’s catfish or Nicko’s Elvis. It’s just a really good place that’s close to our house and full of nice folks. We just like the Three Coins a lot.

When we were done, Marek paid the bill.

He executed a military search pattern on the terrain and found the register by way of a shortcut through the lunch counter.

We were all set to give the Three Coins a four-pancake rating. The food’s great, the people are great, but it is missing the “unique” factor and all. Then Marek got a pop with the change. That changes everything.

As the entire Tampa Bay Area knows by now, Marek likes him some lollipops. And a happy Marek is a guaranteed great rating. And this is a Happy Marek.

We’re pleased to give the Three Coins Diner a four and a half pancake rating.

(*) “Proper” in the M.C. Hammer sense of the word

We visited the Ranch House Restaurant at 7706 W Hillsborough Ave on 16 May 2009. There’s another Ranch House on Gandy, but it doesn’t appear to be the same place. The one on Gandy is a Greek sort of place, while this Ranch House has a definite Hispanic flair. The people were quite friendly and the prices were very reasonable.

We had breakfast. But even better, we had our first Tampa Bay Breakfast Guest, my old friend Pete from Seminole. Thanks for joining us, Pete!

The breakfast was fine. Pete enjoyed the waffle with blueberries. I felt the eggs could have been cooked a little longer. The coffee was perfect, just the way I like it: Hot, Black, Bitter, Diner, Many-Times-Re-Filled. Marek got the chocolate chip pancake … and didn’t care for it at all! He ended up eating all of my pancakes. They must have been good, but I wouldn’t be able to tell you.

There’s nothing particularly unique about the Ranch House. It’s a fine place in a strip mall with reasonable food and nice folks. The customers seemed to be mostly snow birds, retirees, and folks from up nawth. The menu did have a special page, with meals named after folks in the family. We’re suckers for this kind of thing.

Marek paid the bill.

He paid, got the change, and brought it back. The returning of the change will doubtless stop when he’s a teenager.

And we learned just how much a two year old can remember. He then went back to the counter and just stared at the nice lady. Turns out … he was waiting for his “pop” like he seems to get at most breakfasts. She didn’t have any pops to offer, but he did get a mint. It was pretty funny when he finally tasted it.

This is a good place with nice folks, reasonable prices, and a solid breakfast. Marek does not recommend the chocolate chip pancakes at all, nor does he favor the mints.

We give this Tampa Bay Breakfast a rating of three pancakes.

We visited Pop ‘n’ Sons Diner at 4812 N Dale Mabry Highway on May 2nd. Today is Marek’s second birthday party, but we still made some time for breakfast. Boys gotta eat, y’know.

Breakfast was very reasonably priced. We split the pancakes, bacon, and eggs breakfast, and we added a biscuit as a nod to our friend Doug, all for just over seven bucks. The people were exceptionally friendly and the customers, while few this morning, appeared to be happy, comfortable, and seemed like regulars.

This was our first ever visit to Pop ‘n’ Sons. Pop ‘n’ Sons has a web site at http://www.popnsons.com/

We had breakfast. The eggs were just right. The bacon was pretty good. The pancakes were steaming hot (HOT! Marek says, and starts blowing on them), but they seemed small in comparison to other pancakes we’ve had in the area. The coffee was just right. Marek agreed.

My friend Doug, Vice Mayor of the town of Yankeetown, recently suggested that we not overlook the quality of biscuits when we review a Tampa Bay Breakfast. Doug, we had a biscuit. I can attest that it was good. Marek didn’t try it. He claimed it was hot and wanted to blow on it, however, so at least he participated.

Pop ‘n’ Sons is one of those 50s retro/revival/poodle-skirt kind of diners. Lots of period memorabilia on the walls, lots of chrome in the furnishings. You could stage Grease The Musical here. As you can see, the place is remarkably clean and polished. As part of the theme, they have a very nice lunch counter. We like lunch counters and will be sitting at them when Marek gets older. Or taller. Which ever comes first.

A unique feature of Pop ‘n’ Sons, to go along with the 50s theme, is the car show they sponsor on a regular basis.

If you know Marek, you know he likes Clifford, lollipops, his mother, pancakes, and cars. Carrrrrrs, dada, carrrrrrrsssss.

Marek paid the bill. He got a little lost and tried to pay the people at the next table over, but we got that sorted out eventually.

And he got a pop. Now let me tell you, if you don’t already know. Marek likes him some lollipop action. This is a sure way for him to leave happy, which is almost a guarantee to not get below three pancakes on your review!

While the 50s theme isn’t usually our bag, hep daddy-o, the supremely friendly people at Pop ‘n’ Sons truly started our day out right. We give this Tampa Bay Breakfast a rating of four pancakes.