{"id":3190,"date":"2011-07-25T05:52:38","date_gmt":"2011-07-25T09:52:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.tampabaybreakfasts.com\/?p=3190"},"modified":"2011-07-25T05:52:38","modified_gmt":"2011-07-25T09:52:38","slug":"kristinas-cafe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tampabaybreakfasts.com\/?p=3190","title":{"rendered":"Kristinas Cafe"},"content":{"rendered":"

We’re headed over the Howard Franklin this morning. There’s a new billboard advertising “Florida.” Being a fan of the state myself, I approve. Though we’re already here, so why advertise to us?<\/p>\n

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This morning we’re going to Kristina’s Cafe at 3590 34th St N in St. Pete<\/a>, previously recommended by Aleshea, the Official Poet of Breakfast. <\/p>\n

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Last week, me and Marek, we weren’t friends. This week, me and Marek, we’re good friends.<\/p>\n

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We walked in to a relatively empty dining room. The welcome was immediate and friendly. We found a seat and Ivo promptly started looking for something to eat. He figured he’d find it in the menu.<\/p>\n

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We had a logistics malfunction this morning. The cloth bag you see here is my low-rent solution to taking Ivo to breakfast. Just throw his stuff in there and go. But the water bottle I brought for him completely leaked and soaked the bag and the bib I brought. So we’ll have to improvise!<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

This is really an extensive menu. If you look closely in the upper right, they have an “Albanian Omelette.” I asked, and it turns out that our very nice waitress is from … Albania! This is a family-run place and everyone’s Albanian. With that, how can you NOT try the Albanian Omelette?!<\/p>\n

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We started out with coffee, as is the custom with us breakfast boys.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The look on this boy’s face. I’m reluctant to come up with my own caption.<\/p>\n

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Marek brought Monster Trucks.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The inside of Kristina’s is open and friendly, and you get a nice view of the kitchen, so you know they’re actually cooking and not just nipping out to McDonalds and dumping McMuffins onto a plate for you.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

When they brought breakfast out, I swear they needed a wheelbarrow. This is a lot of chow!<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

I gave Ivo some toast. Which he promptly chucked. <\/p>\n

\"\"\"\"<\/p>\n

Marek liked these eggs, and the bacon passed with flying colors, too. Though Marek’s favorite part was that he got to use a knife to cut his own eggs.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

This deserves another picture. The Albanian omelette is a knock-out! This is one bellyfull of really good chow.<\/p>\n

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The coffee was super-hot, really black, and it kept coming like an IV bag. <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

These are shovel-ready eggs.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

At first Marek didn’t want to pay the bill, but our exceptional waitress heard us talking about it and asked if he’d like a lollipop. He said, oh yes! And away he went.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

A triumphant Marek, returning with change and pops.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

“Marek, show me your pop!”<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The bill was about $13, which isn’t the cheapest breakfast we’ve ever had, but is still pretty reasonable for the amount and quality of chow we had this morning.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

It’s true, blue lollipops make blue tongues!<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

And good breakfasts make sleepy boys.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

On the way home we stopped at the new (well, new to us) Cypress Road beach park<\/a> that Tampa Bay Breakfasts fan Kevin told us about.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Marek got to play with the other kids. Notice how the other kids showed up obviously planning to go swimming, and Marek’s dad just says, “go jump in the lake, kid.”<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Kristina’s Cafe started out as just another breakfast on our long to-do list. But the reasonable prices, exceptionally friendly staff, really good food, hot and endless coffee, and stories of Albania make this a great place. We’re pleased to give Kristina’s Cafe a Tampa Bay Breakfasts four and a half pancake rating.<\/p>\n

\"one-pancake\"\"one-pancake1\"\"one-pancake2\"\"one-pancake3\"\"half-pancake\"<\/p>\n

\"Kristina's<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We’re headed over the Howard Franklin this morning. There’s a new billboard advertising “Florida.” Being a fan of the state myself, I approve. Though we’re already here, so why advertise to us? This morning we’re going to Kristina’s Cafe at 3590 34th St N in St. Pete, previously recommended by Aleshea, the Official Poet of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true},"categories":[3,14,6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3190","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-breakfasts","category-greek","category-pinellas"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p30Aox-Ps","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":3167,"url":"https:\/\/www.tampabaybreakfasts.com\/?p=3167","url_meta":{"origin":3190,"position":0},"title":"Al’s Nuevo Cafe","date":"July 20, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"We're headed south on Dale Mabry. It's a beautiful morning. If you look closely at this picture on the left, you'll see people just like us, up early for the race. Running a 5k and searching for delicious pancakes are both athletic events. We visited Al's Nuevo Cafe at 3301\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Breakfasts"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.tampabaybreakfasts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/als-ivo-crazy.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":629,"url":"https:\/\/www.tampabaybreakfasts.com\/?p=629","url_meta":{"origin":3190,"position":1},"title":"Samaria Cafe","date":"October 17, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"We're going downtown! We visited the Samaria Cafe at 502 N Tampa St on 17 October 2009. I drive through this way all the time and only just noticed Samaria Cafe last week. This was our first visit to Samaria, and for a good reason: This is only their third\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Breakfasts"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.tampabaybreakfasts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/10\/samaria-pop.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":4087,"url":"https:\/\/www.tampabaybreakfasts.com\/?p=4087","url_meta":{"origin":3190,"position":2},"title":"The Hangar","date":"October 18, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Marek's tucked into the back of the pancake express. The FR-S is a family car. We had to tank up on the way. I remember when I was little and I'd want to pump the gas and wasn't strong enough to squeeze the nozzle. I see Marek try to squeeze\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "American"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.tampabaybreakfasts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/10\/hangar-27.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2847,"url":"https:\/\/www.tampabaybreakfasts.com\/?p=2847","url_meta":{"origin":3190,"position":3},"title":"Paradise Grill","date":"April 13, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"We're taking a really long ride this morning. Have to tank up. The Official Gas Station of Tampa Bay Breakfasts is the Citgo on Lois. Tell Jimmy that Andy sent ya! We're heading all the way to St. Pete Beach this morning. We're that dedicated to exploring every breakfast in\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "American"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.tampabaybreakfasts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/beach-27-chargerforsale.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":854,"url":"https:\/\/www.tampabaybreakfasts.com\/?p=854","url_meta":{"origin":3190,"position":4},"title":"The Caribbean Point on Hillsborough","date":"December 10, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"We were just driving around today. Happy to be back in the 21st century after last week's adventure. Then we saw this truck and we thought Desayunos! Juevos revueltos, cafe con leche, todos! We visited The Caribbean Point at 1003 W Hillsborough Ave on 10 December 2009. This was our\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Breakfasts"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.tampabaybreakfasts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/12\/carib-thanks.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2801,"url":"https:\/\/www.tampabaybreakfasts.com\/?p=2801","url_meta":{"origin":3190,"position":5},"title":"The International Cafe","date":"April 5, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Me and Marek, we're going downtown this morning to find some breakfast. Oh my goodness, someone left this sweet little baby just sitting here on the sidewalk. No, wait. That's Ivo. He's so hungry, he beat us to it. He can't even walk yet, and he's already first in line\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Breakfasts"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.tampabaybreakfasts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/int-17-superman.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tampabaybreakfasts.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3190","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tampabaybreakfasts.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tampabaybreakfasts.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tampabaybreakfasts.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tampabaybreakfasts.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3190"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.tampabaybreakfasts.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3190\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3218,"href":"https:\/\/www.tampabaybreakfasts.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3190\/revisions\/3218"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tampabaybreakfasts.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3190"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tampabaybreakfasts.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3190"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tampabaybreakfasts.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3190"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}