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 …
Dear Andrew and Marek,
Bryan and I had a fabulous time eating delicious pancakes, playing cars and swapping stories at one of our favorite hang outs, The Dome Grill. We hope you’ll invite us to tag along the next time you’re on this side of the bridge!
Thanks again,
Aleshea Newly Crowned Breakfast Poet Extraordinaire Harris
Our TBB Poet took home the grand prize at last night’s Sacred Sounds poetry slam! Congratulations, Aleshea!
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Tampa-FL/Sacred-Sounds-Saturdays/144826422517
The Dome is currently being charged with age discrimination after a son of the owner told a beautiful 50 year old woman that she was not young and beautiful enough to be a cashier there, at the instruction of his father. Many locals are boycotting due to his incredible insensitivity. We are not young and beautiful enough to continue spending our money there, and are opting instead to eat across the street.
And then of course, there’s this…
http://www.city-data.com/fl-restaurants/DOME-GRILL-THE.html