Marek took me by the hand. Dad, says he, to me, I want to go see some airplanes again. Okie dokie, I said. Let’s go!

We visited The Hangar at Albert Whitted Airport in St. Petersburg on 17 July 2010. The airport is located at 107 8th Avenue S.E, and The Hangar has a nice little web site at http://www.thehangarstpete.com/.

Inside this charming little airport. Marek stopped to ask for directions. And also to see if we could get breakfast served while doing aerobatic stunts.

Well guess what? You can take a ride on a biplane, but you have to pay a lot of money (Marek didn’t have ANY money. Moocher.) AND since it’s a biplane, you have to refer to the airport as an “aerodrome” and if we see a female pilot we must call her an “aviatrix.” Them’s the rules, kiddo. Here’s your brochure.

They don’t serve breakfast on the biplane, so follow the signs.

We walked through a lovely dining room and bar, which was almost completely full when we left.

And then we made it outside to the flightline. This is probably the coolest breakfast location we’ve been to yet!

The Hangar is where fashionable people wear gold sandals and drink mimosas. We fit in here.

The Hangar is where fashionable people come to drink coffee and discuss world events. Here’s Marek, STILL going on about the World Cup, complaining about all of Holland’s yellow cards. As you can see from Marek’s attire, he is a die-hard Netherlands football fan. Has been for decades, if you want to believe him.

The menu at The Hangar is short but fun. No blueberry pancakes here, but we’re going to try the pecan pancakes.

As if the flightline weren’t groovy enough, the whole works is named after a Great War aviator. I’m a bit of a WWI buff (and with all the pancakes I eat, I’m also very “buff” in the muscles department), so I double-dig this bit of trivia.

By the way, this is good coffee! I was about 45 seconds from thinking that my cup would runneth dry when our very charming server (if a male pilot is an aviator and a female pilot is an aviatrix, what’s the female word for server?) arrived with some high-octane jet fuel coffee, fresh from the tanker truck.

Marek turned to me with a wry grin. “I say, old chap. That was a close one.” He held up his mug. “To Queen Beatrix!”

All this general aviation has made us truly hungry. And just in time, look what happened! Breakfast!

Have YOU ever had to stop breakfast to yell at a firetruck? No?

Happens to us every day.

Back to breakfast. These eggs were something to fly in for. I’d say they’re on par with the fine eggs at the Samaria in downtown Tampa. The bacon was just the way we like it. The pancakes were top-notch, just like at The Dome in downtown St. Pete, but with pecans. Marek ate it up. So did I. This breakfast received a double-barrel, bi-plane-delivered, 50-caliber strafing run from the Marek and Andy team. There were no survivors from these plates.

It’s so good, these people flew in from Seattle just to take a picture of their plane parked in front of our Pancake-themed race car.

Can’t say as I blame them. We’re nation wide.

Marek was contemplative about this entire event. Food was outstanding. There were airplanes. He’s squishing butter in his fingers. People here are friendly. There’s a helicopter over there. The economy’s acting like it might be on an uptick. We’re both potty-trained. Marek felt that this was one fine morning.

Marek paid the bill. At 17 pesos for these first class seats I wouldn’t call it a budget airline meal, but it’s still cheaper than United’s in-flight peanut snacks these days.

Marek free-roamed the terminal until he found the right spot to pay. For our TBB fans who write to ask if this is a hoax, I can assure you that at least once a week I let my three year old wander around a strange place waving a Jackson. I usually sit back and drink coffee and wait for my change. He’s three. He can say, “Constantinople and Timbuktu.” He can roller skate. He hardly needs my micromanagement to do something simple like pay the bill.

After settling our tab, Marek checked out the models in the dining room. He’s a fan of the JU 52, but this case seemed to be mostly domestic manufacturers.

So Marek says, can we go look at real airplanes? And maybe we can fly one, or even take it home? Can we, dad, can we, pleeeeeezzzzzz? He looks at me like that and I, obviously, look at him lovingly and say, “quit trying to sweet-talk me, boy!”

They gave us a fun little balsa airplane, so we wouldn’t forget where we’d been.

Now THAT’s a breakfast that cruises above 10,000 feet!

So you fly away from this breakfast and start trying to list the bad things. The price was maybe a little bit high. Maybe.

But then you remember that you just had morning chow on an active flightline, perched comfortably over the ramp.

And you just have to admit that this was the most fun you’ve had at breakfast.

They said that we could even bring Zimno, the family hound, to eat outside. That takes it right over the top.

It’s too early to announce a winner for the 2010 Tampa Bay Breakfast of the Year, but The Hangar is currently the front runner.

We’re pleased to present The Hangar with a Tampa Bay Breakfasts five pancake rating.

Go get you some. Tell ’em Marek and Andy sent ya!

We visited Angie’s Grill at 725 Cleveland Street in Clearwater on 10 July 2010. This was our first visit to Angie’s. They have a nice little web site at http://www.angiesgrill.com/. And we had Arthur join us as a guest reviewer!

And, of course, Marek and Andy were on the scene to pursue pancake promises!

Inside we found a nice, cozy little place with a wrap-around counter. I’m thinking me and Marek might have to get brave in the next couple months and try sitting up high like this. It will likely end in disaster.

We didn’t really get to overhear much chatter, so it’s hard to tell if the clientele are regulars or tourists, but judging books by the covers I’d say a mix of both. Everyone seemed friendly enough. The menu was extensive. Angie’s is a place that Takes Breakfast Seriously. We like that in a mom-n-pop pancake shop.

Of course, we had to get coffee right away. Angie’s is miles and miles from the International Headquarters of Tampa Bay Breakfasts, so we were pretty much in need of the hot coffee dose. Note the cute upholstery on the booth seat.

Do you think Arthur is up for a game of cars? CARRRRS ARFUR LETS GO!

If you were gazing calmly at a breakfast menu, thinking that maybe biscuits and gravy sounds nice this morning, would you be intimidated to look up and see this across the table from you?

Marek hollered, “Stop the derby! We need more coffee!”

After a good swig of that good ole Diner Draft, motor oil in a pot, strong, black, and bitter, Marek was ready for more cars.

Arthur was good, but Marek remains the king of this game. Pretty much because he’s taken to telling you the rules and then telling you you’re doing it wrong whenever you touch anything.

In case you’re wondering where Arthur came from, he’s been a TBB fan for years, and he used to be a cartoon character.

After discussing cars and virtual worlds, we were greeted with breakfast. Check out my awesome “Breakfast Club” t-shirt, featuring Tony the Tiger, Snap, Crackle, and Pop, and the Sugar Smacks frog. I am in high style this morning! Thank you, Favorite Guest Reviewer Mom for the present!

Marek did his syrup thing. Years from now he will be running for public office and some reporter is going to ask him, “So, Gubernatorial Candidate Seely, is it true that you have a ‘Syrup Thing’?” He will, obviously, have to answer, “yes, yes it is.”

Arthur went with the biscuits and gravy. Here’s a picture of him explaining to Marek that these are biscuits and gravy.

Good eggs. Good bacon. Good pancakes. Arthur likes the biscuits and gravy. It’s all good, brothers and sisters! Three full bellies for under 15 samoleans. That’s not bad at all.

Marek suggested that he might be willing to pay the bill.

And off we went. We had a fine time at Angie’s.

This was a good, solid Tampa Bay Breakfast. Nice price, good food, nice people. Not a thing to complain about on this fine morning! We’re pleased to give Angie’s Grill a Tampa Bay Breakfast four pancake rating.

So what happened next? I dropped Marek and Arthur off and their respective houses and then got on a plane to Den Haag. Note the t-shirt and need of a shave.

Holland had World Cup Fever! How can you not love this guy?

But, alas, despite the vigorous support of Tampa Bay Breakfasts, Holland succumbed to Spain in the final moments.

On my next visit Marek’s coming with me. We’ll do some Den Haag Ontbijt!

Marek struck the executive pose in the Pancake Limousine this morning. Casually, he orders, “get me something unique, driver. I want to be entertained this morning.” He’s been very stressed, what with all the pressures of being a top-rated food critic and breakfast blog media mogul. “Yes, sir!” I replied.

So I took him to Yanny’s at 1258 S Highland Ave in Clearwater on 19 June 2010. This was our first visit to Yanny’s, and it was a recommendation from TBB Fan Jeff over a year ago. What can I say, we’ve got a busy pancake schedule!

I came prepared. Dressed for success, as you might notice.

There’s reserved parking, which is a nice touch.

Marek and I talked about how this is our 64th published breakfast. Now 64 is a largeish number when you’re talking breakfasts. Marek also pointed out that 2*1=2*2=4*2=8*2=16*2=32*2=64, so the 64th breakfast is also our 2 to the 6th power breakfast, our 111111th breakfast in binary. But if you don’t count the breakfast in Doha (Marek didn’t go to that one because we couldn’t get his passport back from the embassy in time), and if you don’t count 7 re-visits, and if you don’t count the non-commercial visits (grandma’s house and the Lions Club), then really we’ve only visited 110101. Still impressive, but not the binary home run that Marek was hoping for.

Today is Juneteenth. Tomorrow is Father’s Day. We’re celebrating both with our favorite guest reviewer, Mom.

And we were joined by veteran guest reviewers, Jeff and Frankie. That’s right, we’ve got a full sack of crazy this morning.

We all got right down to business with coffee. This was good stuff. The well ran a little dry from time to time as they got busy, but the coffee was just the way we like it. Black and bitter. Check out Marek’s awesome shirt, “S is for Spider.” Now that’s wicked-cool. If only those came in adult sizes.

Favorite guest reviewer Mom had a hot chocolate. She said it was delicious. I’m sure it was even sweeter because she touched it.

Mom is, as you may have noticed from my repeated mentioning of the fact, rather pregnant. She got a nice chance to practice being a family of four. I took this picture of Mom, Marek, Jeff, and Frankie together as a family. And then I ran for Mexico.

The menu has a set of rules on the back. They threatened us with #3.

So finally, after all this, we got a chance to put in an order for some pancakes. Excuse me, ma’am. How thick are your pancakes? They’re that thick? (Seriously, that’s what we were talking about here.)

Breakfast came. And so did chaos. Like a reading of Howl in one deep breath, so came enormous cake-like pancakes, bacon, ham, french toast, eggs, grits, and heck, I don’t know, stuff for other people too. So much so fast that I didn’t even get pictures of everything. But Steve, I’m here to tell you, this bacon was Steve Standard. Marek jumped right on it.

Favorite Guest Reviewer Mom (FGRM) had the most unique french toast we’ve ever seen. She said it was “delish.”

And Frankie, little Frankie, he had grits. Like a good Southron boy.

Marek is into putting on his own syrup. Check out Frankie and the pancake heist in progress. That’s a taste of your own medicine, bubba!

The bill came. Twennysix bucks for three grown ups and two kids for chow we had so much of we couldn’t finish. That’s not a bad deal. Plus, we were a little bit of a tidiness disaster, so it really felt like a value.

Marek paid the bill, as he does from time to time when he’s not feeling ornery.

Ever notice how Marek just makes himself at home in kitchens across the Bay Area? If I did that, I’d get arrested. That’s the kind of charisma this kid has. Charm.

Unique take on pancakes, including the blueberry pancakes. I’m not entirely sure I loved them, but I surely liked them. Steve-standard bacon. Great coffee. Nice folks. Nifty and quirky attitude to the place. And the price was just right. We’re pleased to give Yanny’s French Toast King a Tampa Bay Breakfast four and a half pancake rating.

When we were done with breakfast, we went to Sam’s Books at the Oldsmar Fleamarket.

As you can see here, Marek was trying to impress the little girl with his Jackson Five moves. You can see the same move at time 1:08 here. (I’m at time 3:00)

Hi picked out his books and paid the bill. Off we went, home for a nap! That’s a nice morning!

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.

This morning we meditated about breakfast. We were on a quest. We are the visionaries, and we WILL try EVERY PANCAKE in the Tampa Bay area. We shall lead the people to a better breakfast!

When you have visions like that, you’ve gotta wear shades.

We visited Skyway Jacks II at 11140 4th St N on 9 May 2010. This was our first visit to to SJ2, The Other Jacks. We found out about it through the tried-and-true method of looking for another place and getting lost (Country Skillet, we’ll hit you up next time!). Note the reserved parking spot for the Breakfast Bullet Car. As Tampa Bay’s only true Pancake Professional, this is the kind of treatment we’ve come to expect. S JK 308. Stuttgart Jurgen K. 30 August. There’s a story there, a lotta history. Buy me breakfast one day and I’ll tell you all ’bout it.

You can’t really tell from the picture above, but Jacks2 is in a strip mall. That’s usually a killer-of-breakfast-ambiance, but here at SJ2 this outside patio actually manages to seem welcoming and friendly.

This is obviously, and not just by the name, a second iteration of Skyway Jacks, the winner of the prestigious 2009 Tampa Bay Breakfast of the Year award. All through SJ2 you see these echos of the original.

We had a special guest reviewer today. TBB Fan Shelley, and her four-legs sidekick Banjo. Shelley is just like us, a member of the Bay Area Regional Food Epicurean Reporters, a group I just made up. Check out her great recipes and writings here!

Marek welcomes Shelley …

And then proceeds to ignore her for Banjo.

And then moves in on Banjo’s territory completely. I’m not going to lie to you, dear reader, this was pretty strange.

Marek got back in his seat because this enormous chicken with eggs for boobs told him to. Here’s a reason why I love Skyway Jacks. Eggs are potential baby chickens. Obviously, not every egg is a new chicken, but that’s the whole point of eggs. So isn’t it sort of grotesque to have the Skyway Jacks chicken wearing a shirt with broken, cooked eggs on it? It’s just like when you see a sign for a BBQ shack where it’s a pig in a skirt, grinning and holding out a platter of pulled pork. Perverse, I tell you. Perverse.

SJ2 has the same sort of extensive menu that the original offers. This is the only place I know where you can get a nice plate of S.O.S. I remember having this at my grandparents’ house in the 70s, and I seem to recall that it stood for something on a shingle, not “Save our Ship”.

It didn’t take long for us to get breakfast.

And it was the same awesome blueberry pancakes you’d find at our fav SJ1.

The coffee was good stuff, just the way we like it. Though I’m going to have to admit, we saw the bottom of the cup several times. This was probably because we were outside and most of the action was inside. But us growing boys, we need all those healthy vitamins and minerals you can only get with a good cup of morning motor oil.

While we were having our morning chow, Marek had some fans stop by to ask for autographs. Marek obliged because even though he’s a celebrity, he’s still in touch with the people.

We finished up and went inside to wash up. Sows. You gotta love it. Of course, we didn’t use this one.

The same sign at the original Skyway Jacks is in color. Just cross-referencing here, to keep the academics happy. Next week we’ll write the whole review in MLA style, with footnotes.

So we washed up and were headed out. Marek sees the counter and darts behind it. Say I to he, “what the Sam Hill are you doin’ back there, boy?” He replies, and I am not making this up, “I’m looking for a pop!” The nice register lady announced that they did not have any pops. But they have a whole bucket of them at the original Skyway Jacks! We were disappointed.

We paid the bill. Not bad. Not great, but not bad. Around 11 bones.

Marek and Shelley sat and talked about the finer points of our respective breakfasts. We had a very nice breakfast. Great pancakes, reasonable eggs and bacon. Coffee delicious but sometimes vacant. Guest Reviewers Shelley and Banjo had a great breakfast, with a health-conscious vegetable omelet. No one went away hungry. Though we did all go away, as spending the entire day at a breakfast joint would be sort of creepy. They agreed that this was a 4-pancaker experience; great food, reasonable prices, but dry coffee wells, no pops, and it’s in a strip mall knocked it down a bit.

We’re pleased to grant Skyway Jacks II a Tampa Bay Breakfasts Four-Pancake Rating.

When we were done, Marek says, hey there parental unit, why don’t we quit saying “Skyway” over and over and just go take a ride on it? This Marek, he’s the one with ideas! So we did. We went uuuuuppppp….

This is really high!

And we came down the other side. Wow, that’s the Biggest Bridge Ever! It’s even bigger than the bridge in Bratislava, though it doesn’t have a UFO restaurant.

I know what you’re thinking, oh loyal reader. Why the heck would you pay the toll and go all the way across the Skyway? Well duh, because there’s a race track in Bradenton!

We saw these guys race.

We saw Lady Drag Racers.

And we saw some motorcycles race, too.

And we got some fries and juice, because we’re three years old and so that’s what we do.

And all this makes for one long day.

After we all parted ways, TBB Fan Shelley sent a picture of Banjo’s ride home. Now that’s one good lookin’ puppy!

We got in the car. Marek was still dreaming. “Mmmmm. Pancakes, Dad. I need pancakes.” Okie-dokie, bubba!

We visited the Tick Tock restaurant at 8123 Fourth St. N, St. Petersburg on 13 February 2010. This was our first visit to the Tick Tock.

We liked it extra good before we even went in. Check out those motorcycles! Oh, and also, the tagline, “Tick Tock, It’s Time to Eat!” Now really, how can this place not be great?

Inside was very clean and orderly. New-ish looking, even. We were greeted by several folks and it was just all-round friendly. A nice first impression!

So the whole way over, Marek is saying, oh dad, don’t you just love cars? I say why yes, Marek, I DO love cars. But what about … RACE cars? Yes, dad, I love race cars too. I don’t know where he got it, but the little nugget pulls out this month’s Hot Rod magazine. Notice that he’s got a page open with hot cars and a hot girl; like most guys, he pretty much had to flip a coin on which one to look at, and he settled on the cars.

Looking at that magazine really got us in the mood. For RACING! Whooo! Go Blue!

Between heats, we looked at the menu. This says blueberry pancakes, but what it really is is pancakes with blueberry gunk on the top. I just don’t like that at all. So I got the regular pancakes. Had I known how large they’d be I’d have not gotten Marek his own, but I was still remembering our small pancake experiences from the last few weeks. Better having too many pancakes than too few, I always say!

The Marek, who is still waking up, says hey old timer, you going to come off of any of that coffee or am I going to have to teach you a lesson? Duly chastised, I came off of some of that coffee and we both enjoyed it. We even said “cheers!”

Marek has been off the coffee for a few months, as our dedicated followers may have noticed. But boy, did he like it today! Deelish! And let me tell you something, this coffee cup was never more than half empty. The Tick Tock has a serious coffee pipeline going on, with every gal working in there doing a sweep of every table every five minutes. This was awesome!

Here comes …. breakfast! Check out this ginormous “Mickey Pancake,” for which I’m hoping Disney does not actually get any royalties for the name. Marek “Gimme some Bacon” promptly did his slice-of-bacon-grab. Steve probably would not have cared for this bacon, but we’ve had much worse in our travels.

And look at this heap of pancakes. Holy moly, if I’d known this I’d have skipped supper last night! These were seriously good pancakes and I was very sad that I’d not brought an appetite appropriate for their demise. First Marek beats me in arm wrestling two out of three, then these pancakes put me in the hurt station. Top-notch, in the same category as The Dome’s pancakes, I’d have to say. The eggs, on the other hand, were pretty good but somehow were runny inside and I didn’t care for that at all.

Nothing stopped Marek. He was cheerfully humming Mr. Plow as he dug in.

When we were done we played more cars, read more magazines, and waited for the bill. Not the cheapest we’ve ever had, but not terrible for two breakfasts for just over 11 clams.

Marek paid the bill. Which was a bit of drama as he kept getting lost, dropping his money, and all around goofing off. Come on, kid, act your age! Oh wait, you’re two. OK, you’re doing pretty good.

While Marek was off trying to pay all the wrong people, I was busy stashing our cards in strategic locations. We’re on our second box of business cards and entering our second year of breakfasts. That’s a lot of pancakes, brother!

On our way out the door we had a frank, serious discussion about the Tick Tock. Did you love it, Marek? Yes, dad. Do you love your dad, Marek? Yes dad. Good, ’cause I love you, too. Now give your old man a kiss. OK, Dad. But only if we can go to the drag strip after this.

We rolled out of here full as can be. Folks were supremely friendly. The coffee was bottomless and bitter. The price was fine, but not great. Overall it’s just a good, solid breakfast experience that we’re looking forward to visiting again. We’re pleased to give this Tampa Bay Breakfast a four pancake rating.

When we left we went cruising to the Sunshine Drag Strip to check it out. On the road to the track were these cool old jalopies.

And we were able to pull up onto the strip to take a picture. See Marek tucked in the back?

The whole ride home (it’s a long way from our house to St. Pete), Marek kept saying, “look at me, daddy, LOOK AT ME!” Whudda goofball.

Before we got home, he asked if we had any apples. Sure enough, I did. That apple is the same size as Marek’s head! Look at that! What a great morning for little Marek!

Have you seen our Tampa Bay Breakfast Map? It’s really heavy on Hillsborough County. We didn’t give Pinellas County nearly enough pancake love in 2009. Marek says, hey freezer geezer, let’s pull one of these breakfast recommendations out of the bucket and head across the bridge. I fired up the Breakfast Mobile whilst Marek sat in the Navigator seat and directed.

We landed at The Dome Grill at 561 Central Ave in St. Pete. This was our first visit to The Dome.

The Dome was recommended by our friend Aleshea. If you hear one voice rising above the cacophony of the Tampa Bay area, it’s probably Aleshea. She doesn’t know it yet, but she is The Official Poet of Tampa Bay Breakfasts. She’s our current favorite driving-to-breakfast music. She’s all that, AND she can repair the suspension on a military-grade Humvee.

The inside of The Dome is quite nice. It’s a place where you order and pay at the counter, then they call your number for you to come collect your pancakes. There was a locals vibe, and everyone we met was friendly as family.

There’s what looks like a kickin’ little take-away bakery here. There’s baklava there … do you think The Dome is actually a Greek place? Do historians know for sure that Plato, Socrates, Aristotle did NOT have blueberry pancakes for breakfast every day? Epicurus would have, fo sho, yo, if here weren’t so pent up.

Here’s the centerpiece, though. This is pure artwork. An object of reverence, aptly placed on an altar in the center of the room. I saw this and knew I was in the hands of coffee passion. Oh, the deliciousness that it contained.

This coffee ought to come with a disclaimer — it’s so good you might forget where you parked. Look at that perfect color. In RGB terms, that is #000000.

Check out our Official Poet playing trucks by herself back there. Sure, one might assume that Marek’s across the table from her, but that would be an assumption, now wouldn’t it?

OK, I’m just kidding. Marek really is there playing cars. Which is a nice segue into introducing Bryan, a fine musician, a photographer of exceptional talent, and Aleshea’s main squeeze!

Enough with the chit-chat, long chops! Get to the breakfast! (Marek typed that.)

We all had some really fine chow this morning! Bryan and Aleshea come here often, but they tried new things today in the spirit of being Guest Reviewers.

Marek couldn’t keep to his own and jumped into mine. He helped me out by making sure there were enough finger-holes in my pancakes. Whudda guy.

The eggs were great, the bacon was fine, though not Steve-Standard, but the pancakes were simply awesome. These were really, really good pancakes. I’d say second only to Skyway Jacks for the bay area. Throw in some blueberries and we might have a little competition on our hands here.

Really good pancakes. I went to check on the menu and it’s true, they serve breakfast all day. All day breakfast is one of those marvels of the world, like plumbing or calculus, where you might not come across it every day but when you do you think, now here’s something worthy of note.

Marek washed it all down with juice. He had to build up his strength …

… for playing more cars! Cars!

When we were done, we dropped a stack of Tampa Bay Breakfasts business cards with the rest of the fliers. We’re spreadin’ the good word about breakfasts throughout the Tampa Bay Area (and the Levy-Citrus-Marion Tri-County Area, too, of course). There’s no pancake we will leave unflipped in our quest to visit every mom-n-pop breakfast shop there is.

Man, we like breakfast. No, we are not nutcases. Well, maybe Marek a little bit, but I’m perfectly sane.

So what about The Dome Grill? This Dome is to breakfast what Brunelleschi’s Dome is to free-standing stone domes in the Northern Italian Renaissance. It’s rock-solid and it sets a standard for others to follow. It’s different in that it’s not in Florence and was not built using the cantilever method. All four of us for about 24 clams. Great chow. Neat location. This is a fine Tampa Bay Breakfast. We’re pleased to give The Dome four and a half pancakes.

Aleshea says that we also need to try that place across the street …

Last night my favorite Guest Reviewer and mother of my child says to me in a sweet voice, Andy, I don’t think you truly love me. I reply, of course, that I truly do. She then drives her point home with all the subtly of a ball peen hammer: If you truly loved me, you’d have invited me to guest review at a five-pancake breakfast by now. Marek piped up and said, yeah, batter-brain, show us what you know!

So I pulled out all the stops. I took them to Skyway Jacks.

Skyway Jacks is at 2600 34th St S in St. Pete. We’ve been to Skyway Jacks a bunch of times, but this is our first official Tampa Bay Breakfast Visit. And just to prove how serious this is, there’s an enormous chicken waiting outside the door.

I’ve seen a lot of things, been to a lot of places, and Lordy-be, we’ve eaten a lot of breakfast in our day. But I still don’t know what to make of this.

Skyway Jacks is one of the oldest, strangest, coolest, bestest places for breakfast I ever did know. It’s full of locals of all sorts, it’s always busy, and there’s a simply bizarre collection of pigs everywhere. And a great lunch counter. Keep eating pancakes, Marek, so you can grown tall enough!

Our faithful readers may recall, we judge a place based on some serious factors. Food and price, obviously, but we really appreciate the wacko factor on the menu. And Skyway Jacks has it. This is the only place in town with brains on the menu.

We knew what we came for, so we let mom, err, the Guest Reviewer, take pictures while we goofed off. Marek says, old man, all you ever do is eat pancakes and vote for Democrats. I replied, true, but I also give kisses to Marek!

Breakfast came. I’m not going to lie to you, our loyal TBB fans. We were actually given a choice today between getting a look at a Grand Unified Theory that combines relativistic and quantum observations and getting Skyway Jacks pancakes. There was no hesitation. Also, I’ve got to brag about my killer Rocking with Hawking shirt.

Marek dug right in like he hadn’t seen a pancake in years. Also note the sign behind him. “No hot pants or bathing suits allowed in dining room. Please remove them before entering.” I’ve got nothing to add.

Our guest reviewer hit the French toast with an elbow-drop worthy of Macho Man Randy Savage.

The coffee, you ask? It was delightful. Black like the motor oil of that old VW bus out front. Bitter like being a loyal Bolts fan in the years since 2004. Bottomless like the dress code at a nudist camp. In other words, perfect diner coffee.

Oh yeah.

This is good breakfast.

You don’t see these much any more. Kind of cool to see one still in operation. Marek wanted to pick up some Pall Malls but I didn’t have any quarters.

Then the check came. Let’s talk about the bill for a moment. Guest Reviewer Mom got french toast and orange juice. She’s so polite and conservative that way. Marek had a pancake. I had coffee, blueberry pancakes, and bacon. That’s three real meals. 17 bones. That’s it.

Marek says, ease back, Gandalf, I’ve got this one covered.

And he’s off through the dining room. I believe I saw him pull some moves that would make this year’s Bucs defense scared.

He came back with change. AND he came back with a POP. Just when you thought it was too good to talk about, it gets even better.

Watch out for this lady.

When we were done with breakfast, we hauled our pancake-laden selves down to Fort Desoto and had “long walks on the beach.” That’s what you do when you’re in love, at least according to the personal ads. And we’re in love. With Skyway Jacks.

There’s few things in the world that you can really love without question. Your parents. The Declaration of Independence. A Tampa Bay sports team having a winning season …

… And This Breakfast. Price: superbly affordable. Mom-n-pop-ness: Top-notch and full of locals. Unique factor: Craziest, oddest, neatest breakfast we know. Chow: The Best gosh-darned Blueberry Pancakes I ever paid for (my own mother doesn’t charge me, so it’s not a fair comparison!).

We’ve given a few 5-pancake ratings this year. Farmer John’s is in Pasco County and so is really outside of Tampa Bay proper. Marek’s Grandma’s breakfast is top-rated but it’s not open to the general public. The breakfast for Tampa’s homeless is rated more for philanthropy than for the fact that it’s a breakfast you can just go get. But Skyway Jacks. THIS is our favorite in-territory, publicly accessible, Tampa Bay Breakfast.

We are teary-eyed as we open the envelope and announce that Skyway Jacks has been awarded an honor we just made up while writing this for “Breakfast of the Year 2009” from Tampa Bay Breakfasts.

Oh, and five pancakes too. Go get you some. Tell ’em Marek and Andy sent ya!

I gotta take a nap now.

We visited Georgie Boy at 1101 S Missouri Ave Clearwater on 19 September 2009. This was our first visit to Georgie Boy and it was a highly-anticipated trip as this is TBB Fan and old friend Jeff’s favorite breakfast.

Clearwater’s quite a ride from Tampa, so we had to take some coffee for the road! MMMMM, coffeeeeeee…

The interior of Georgie Boy is nice, clean, and open. Georgie Boy is not a chain, but it sort of has that feel of being “by the book.” It just doesn’t have that warm and worn generations feel that you find in old greasy spoons like Mama’s in South Tampa. Big booths, though; you could seat me, Marek, and most of his favorite cars in one booth. Also, and some trucks, he would like to add. And a bus.

This was a special Tampa Bay Breakfast. We had guest reviewers Jeff and Frank join us. We’ve broken bread with Jeff hundreds of times over some decades, but Frank still has traumatic memories of being born a couple weeks ago. This was our first ever meal with Frank.

Georgie Boy was instantly kid-friendly. Need a high-chair or booster? Need a sling for the baby carrier? Crayons and coloring stuff? Babysitter? Math tutor? Hair cut? Being that Marek is two, we appreciate the little things.

We had a good look at the menu. It was a fine menu, full of all kinds of breakfast. No proper blueberry pancakes, but that’s OK. Pecan pancakes, though, which we seriously thought about trying.

I was just stumped. What ever would we have for breakfast? I began to meditate and commune with the spirits. I started chanting, seeking guidance. Marek saved the day. He said, “Hey old man, get me some pancakes before I hurl this city bus at you!”

The above-referenced city bus. A credible threat.

Are you on the edge of your seat? Are you hollering at the computer screen, “What did you do next?!?!” Well kiss my grits, we had breakfast. Though, now that I think of it, we didn’t actually have grits.

Jeff had breakfast too. This one comes with a side-order of Emergency Room Defibrillator Sauce.

Jeff and I discussed the relative merits and detriments of hardening one’s arteries before the age of 40. (“Pishaw!” says Jeff, waving his hand in a sage-like fashion.) Whilst we were conversing, Marek, delicate flower that he is, proceeded to put the WWF bionic-elbow smack-down on his pancake. Marek usually wins the fight against the pancake, but it’s always by decision. This was a pure knock-out. “More, dadda.”

Then he started eyeballing Frank. That’s one hungry Marek!

Jeff scooped up Frank to prevent him from being eaten by Marek. So Marek just had a second pancake. Of mine. I was sort of looking forward to it. But a father must make massive sacrifices through his life in order to support a son. Despite the obvious pain and suffering this caused me, I handed it over.

When we were done Marek helped pay. He didn’t go off on his “I pay dadda” walkabout like usual, but he was still part of the team.

When we were all done, the Best Thing Ever happened. Marek got a pop! We all know how he feels about that!

When we left we seriously considered taking this home with us. But we had errands to run and, frankly, I was pretty sure we’d just eat the whole thing in the parking lot. Holy Moly this looks delicious!

This was a very nice Tampa Bay Breakfast. The bacon would have not interested Steve from Yankeetown at all, but it was pretty good by my reckoning. The eggs were very nice and the pancakes were delicious, although I felt they were a little on the small side. Not as small as, say, those at Pop-n-Sons, but surely diminutive compared to those massive pancake slabs you see at Jimbo’s. The coffee was fine, served in a carafe that kept us going. The price was quite nice; for Jeff (who had a breakfast that would feed a platoon), Marek, and myself we were able to get out of there with no more help than Professor Hamilton’s ten-dollar-attack and his hip-hop cousin Uncle Abe bringing up the low end. That was a delicious breakfast at a good value. We would give Georgie Boy a four pancake rating. We have to give a half a point booster shot since Jeff and Frank joined us and Marek got a pop when we left. There’s nothing better than good friends and a lollipop at the end!

We’re pleased to give this Tampa Bay Breakfast a four and a half pancake rating.

We visited the Clearwater Marina Restaurant 25 Causeway Blvd in Clearwater on 10 May 2009. Today was Mother’s Day, so in honor of mom we struck out way beyond our normal territory with the plan of leaving the house empty and quiet at least until after lunch. Andy’s been to the Marina Restaurant before for lunch, but that was well before Marek was born. Breakfast was reasonably priced, but the menu offerings were a bit odd. The place was obviously a healthy mix of tourists (like us, all the way from Tampa!) and locals (“Hi Walt!” “Hi Judy!”) and most everyone seemed friendly, in that working-on-Clearwater-beach-and-harried-by-tourists way.

We had breakfast. There was no standard pancakes-eggs-bacon that we usually get, so we got a single pancake for Marek and an egg “McMuffin” for Andy. Greasy but tasty, and for some reason it came with potato chips and a pickle — that’s a unique breakfast! Marek’s pancake came with Mickey ears, so that’s a plus right out.

Marek had coffee. He usually gets coffee. Err, <finger quotes>coffee</finger quotes>, but this time he had a bit of milk in the cup and really enjoyed it. For Andy, the coffee was perfect: super-hot, super-black, super-bitter, super-diner-style all the way. Mmmm, acidy.

The neatest thing about the Marina Restaurant is that if you bring in fish you caught, they’ll cook it for you. At least that’s what’s painted on the window!

Marek paid the bill.

After a compass heading correction, he found our cheerful waitress. First he tried to pay the nice folks there in the booth. They were kind enough to not take a two-year-old’s breakfast money.

We were all set to give the Marina Restaurant a rating of 2.5 or 3 pancakes. It’s an OK place, but the odd menu was a little outside our usual pleasure and it did take a little while to get served. You know, a fine place but not one to drive 45 minutes just for a pickle on your breakfast.

Then Marek got a sticker.

For our faithful readers, I would like to remind you that this rating system is half about the food and half about leaving happy. Our man Marek was so pleased with that sticker that he stuck it on his hand and wore it until it sweated off him (we were playing at the beach playground after) and then proceeded to carry it pinched between his little fingers for an hour until he finally lost it. That alone is worth bumping the 2.5 to 3.5. We give this Tampa Bay Breakfast a rating of 3.5 pancakes.