We revisited Mamas Kitchen Family Restaurant on 10 April 2010. We were last here on 15 August 2009, and before that Mamas was our very first official Tampa Bay Breakfast, exactly 51 weeks ago. That’s right, pancake fans, we’ve been your diligent Breakfast Professionals for a whole year! There’s been some changes at Mamas, but the best parts are still there.

First thing you’ll notice is that there’s a new menu and the dining room is shuffled a little bit. If you’re thinking that there’s new management, you’re right. George from Mamas South told me last week that his cousin had sold the place, but that it still smells like Staten Island so it’s still a great place to visit.

We’re driving up to get some pancakes, and Marek says from the back, dad, you know, I’ve been thinking. Maybe I might like to consider playing with cars today. It has been approximately, according to my calculations, 8 seconds since I last played with any cars. So maybe I’ll play cars now.

And what do you know, the kid brought a friend, our favorite Tampa Bay Breakfasts guest reviewer, Mom! Mom appears to know her way around the Matchbox circuit. Look at that race-time passion!

Mom points out that this is a boy lion and this is a girl lion, and the girl lion needs lots and lots of shoes. Marek replied that they’re both TIGERS, MOM! I slowly edged my chair back to join another family.

Was there coffee? Yoooobetcha, and it’s just as good as ever, by which I mean that if you went and bought a brand new 1957 Chevy and you drove it every day until 10 April 2010 and you never once changed the motor oil, and in fact you took dirty motor oil from other cars and maybe your lawnmower and you used that to top off your engine when the oil was a little low, and then finally you changed your oil but used a coffee pot to drain it, then you have this good, dark, bitter, diner coffee that is probably stunting my growth and killing my brain cells. Good coffee, and I never once saw the bottom of the cup, which is standard service at Mamas.

So we’ve had these pancakes before. Actually quite a few times; we’ve probably had breakfast at Mamas more than at any other mom-n-pop pancake shop in the bay area. This is the only breakfast we’ve reviewed three times. There’s a reason for that. This is good chow.

Marek tends to agree. This maneuver is something he learned from watching WWF. The old Fork-in-the-Eyeball take-down. Dusty Rhodes used to do this one in the 70s.

We all need some coffee when we’re having pancakes as good as these! Is it just me, or does this look like a scene from a movie?

When we are all done, Marek went to pay. He had some help from our favorite Breakfast Bella, Vicky. If you go to Mamas, be sure to tip her well and tell her you’re there because of Tampa Bay Breakfasts.

Marek always gets the special treatment at Mamas. Well, he IS a celebrity. As a founding member of Tampa’s only Pancake Professional Posse, he is used to it. But here at Mamas he really is the Magistrate of the Morning Meal.

We’re so alliterative. But that’s largely because being palindromic would be so very time-consuming.

We walked out the door with full bellies, a cheerful disposition from talking to cheerful Vicky, and we even got a pop.

Great chow. Great people. Lions (or tigers if you believe Marek with his unique yelling-based approach to taxonomy). Pops. It’s all good. We’re pleased to re-re-confirm Mamas’ Tampa Bay Breakfast four and a half pancake rating.

After breakfast we had to change clothes because, well, we’re three and a boy and Things Happen. Then Marek and I went grocery shopping. He took care of the produce.