We visited the Country Harvest restaurant at 1285 S Missouri Ave in Clearwater on 2 January 2011. This was our first visit to the Country Harvest and our first breakfast of the new year. Country Harvest is a recommendation from TBB fan and Country Skillet owner Steve. Steve gives Country Harvest a top rating because it’s run by his brother Pat (he also pointed us to the Tin Can Cafe, run by his brother Jim — a family that understands the importance of breakfast!).

On our way out the door we ran into this ugly bug! It’s actually a female Acanthocephala femorata, but that didn’t stop us from talking for an hour about how the ugly bug was going to eat bad daddies, and also how I’m a bad daddy so I’d best watch out for the ugly bug.

We got to drive down MLK and past the Buc’s big HQ. That’s one big pirate flag!

I’d like to take this opportunity to introduce you to our 2011 Tampa Bay Buccaneers Breakfasts lineup. On my right flank is Ivo on special teams, and on my left flank is Marek on offense. Not shown here is our Acanthocephala femorata, who is not actually on the team and has probably been eaten by a bird by now.

It’s a rainy day to drive across the bay. Marek reported seeing dragons. Then he said it was only clouds. I sort of liked it better when it was dragons.

We drove by Clearwater High School. My mother is a CHS graduate. She still remembers the school fight song.

Finally, after what seems like hours and hours (it’s just 40 minutes, but in little-kid-time, that’s like a decade), we get to Country Harvest. What a cheerful yeller building. It’s in a converted Bob Evans, but Country Harvest looks like the real deal. Marek is holding a sack of crazy. You’ll see what it is when we get inside.

Do you like my shirt? Favorite Guest Reviewer Mom got it for me for Christmas, so I could impress my friends. My peer group is a 3.5 year old. He was impressed.

Good menu, but no blueberry pancakes. That’s Wingo and Doc Hudson, by the way.

Sign of a really good place. As soon as you sit down they bring you muffins. Marek said in a nice, loud shout, “Muffins!” and proceeded to eat muffins and thus not eat his pancake later. They were good muffins, too! That’s Wingo, DJ, and Mac, by the way.

Ivo’s wearing his Snoopy shirt Evi and Wolfgang sent him for Christmas. Thanks, Wolfgang! It fits perfectly!

We had coffee, as is the tradition in our clan.

No real insight into the Country Harvest or breakfasts in general in this picture, I just like how Ivo’s such a giggly baby. Even when he’s sans-madre and subjected to all the slam and kaboom that is the dad-schedule.

Marek enjoyed his coffee. It was like having a quart of oil at Flo’s V-8 Cafe. That’s Doc, Wingo, Mac, Lightning, and DJ, by the way.

Having a baby makes this breakfast thing a little bit more logistically challenging. I have to bring baby food, for example. I used to have to do that with Marek, too, but that was before Tampa Bay Breakfasts became a world-leader in the cutting edge, high-profile, intensely stressful world of breakfast journalism. That’s Doc, Mac, Luigi, Snotrod, Lizzie, Lightning, my personal fav Guido, Wingo, and DJ, by the way.

Ivo’s getting peas today, but he hasn’t figured that out yet because he can’t read.

He does not like peas.

Marek is STILL eating muffins. Where’s the parents? Who just lets their kid run the show like this?

Inside Country Harvest is warm and spacious. And full of cops. When it comes to breakfast, we consider that to be a good sign.

Lightning McQueen is in serious trouble! Jelly collapse!

Lucky for Lightning, and for the rest of us, breakfast came. I stepped out of my usual bounds and got the Greek omelet, which I can report upon as being delicious. And also greasy and filling. The home fries were excellent, having that taste like they had been leftovers of leftovers and then mixed with onions (that sounds like I mean they were bad, but if you’ve ever made home fries you know, you don’t make good home fries with “fresh ingredients”). Ivo, as you can tell, was really loving the peas.

Marek got the pancake and bacon. The bacon disappeared promptly into the bacon black hole that is Marek’s jowls. He didn’t give the pancake much love, but I think that’s because he was already full of muffins. What kind of parent lets their kid fill up on muffins before breakfast?

Also, this was all served with a bottle of Cholula Sauce. I remember some military meals served long ago, where some of us had bottles of Cholula and would proceed to talk about how she was our wife, our mother, our secret lover. Basically, Cholula makes all food good.

Ivo didn’t like the peas, but he did enjoy his first ever wheat toast.

Ivo gets a top-off before we wrap up. Blended up pancake. Extra butter.

The bill weighed in at just under $14 clams for two whole breakfasts. That’s not the cheapest morning chow we know, but it’s not terrible either.

Marek jumped on in to pay the bill. He’s getting to be such a big boy, isn’t he?

And yet, he’s not so big a boy that he doesn’t bring back the change. It’s the best of all worlds!

Before we leave, Marek wants me to let you know that this is Snotrod.

Me and Marek (and also Ivo, who still doesn’t like peas) had quite a nice time. Though Marek did say he didn’t get a pop when he paid the bill. Not every place has pops, but try telling that to him!

Our first breakfast of 2011 was a success. The chow was delish, as Rachel Ray would say, the price was fine. The restaurant was really nice and the staff seemed to be friendly and professional. Except one waitress, who wasn’t ours, gave me some serious stink-eye when I sent Marek off to pay the bill. She obviously didn’t know that Marek’s a Proven Pancake Pro and has paid many a tab at mom-pop-pancake-shops. But still, it was a stink-eye, and we don’t usually get a lot of those. This is a great breakfast, well worth a visit, or two or three! We’re pleased to give the Country Harvest a Tampa Bay Breakfasts four pancake rating.

On the way home, we stopped at P.J.’s car lot. Daddy needs a new breakfast mobile, and I’m thinking this cherry ’69 Lincoln would really scratch that itch, momma! (Though in a pinch, I’d be OK with that wicked ’71 Mach 1 in front of her.)

Uh-oh! Time to get home to mom and tell her all about our busy breakfast morning!