{"id":5018,"date":"2013-08-04T22:39:59","date_gmt":"2013-08-05T02:39:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.tampabaybreakfasts.com\/?p=5018"},"modified":"2013-08-04T22:39:59","modified_gmt":"2013-08-05T02:39:59","slug":"odessa-family-restaurant","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tampabaybreakfasts.com\/?p=5018","title":{"rendered":"Odessa Family Restaurant"},"content":{"rendered":"

We visited the Odessa Family Restaurant on 3 August 2013. This was a recommendation made by TBB fan Chris last year. We’re not really familiar with Odessa, so Ivo decided to wear a helmet. <\/p>\n

\"odessa00\"<\/p>\n

Marek, as I’ve mentioned elsewhere in our blog, is already 16 years old and can’t be torn away from his little tablet. But at least he’s quiet.<\/p>\n

\"odessa01\"<\/p>\n

Lovely Florida day today. Fine time to get some pancakes!<\/p>\n

\"odessa02\"<\/p>\n

The address of the Odessa Family Restaurant is 8741 Gunn Hwy<\/a>. However, if you goof up and go to 8741 OLD Gunn Hwy, you fine this old Thunderbird instead. Appears to be a third generation model from ’61 through ’63.<\/a><\/p>\n

\"odessa03\"<\/p>\n

Finally at our destination. We stopped for a dad-n-sons portrait. Ivo can appear so sweet, so calm and caring. The key word is “appear.”<\/p>\n

\"odessa04\"<\/p>\n

Marek wouldn’t sit still for a picture with his old man. Too busy with his new squirrel, “Rocky J<\/a>.” I’ve been force-feeding the boys cartoons from the ’60s and ’70s because, well, if I have to sit and watch something with them it might as well be something I like.<\/p>\n

\"odessa05\"<\/p>\n

And here we are, the Odessa Family Restaurant.<\/p>\n

\"odessa06\"<\/p>\n

We like hand-drawn menus outside a restaurant. Let’s you know they’re taking each day seriously. Also serves as a bit of a spelling pop-quiz (this one passed, but they don’t always do (I said that on purpose)).<\/p>\n

\"odessa07\"<\/p>\n

Marek and I got into an argument over the menu. He wanted to read it, I wanted to take a clear picture of it. So, like many disputes throughout human history, neither of us got what we wanted.<\/p>\n

\"odessa08\"<\/p>\n

We have Tampa Bay Breakfasts Guest Reviewers today. Lizzy and Chris. This is a nice picture. They have no idea what’s about to happen to them.<\/p>\n

\"odessa09\"<\/p>\n

We did originally get lost, so we were in the car for an extra half-hour. Ivo was so hungry, he decided to eat his dolphin, affectionately named “Dolphie.”<\/p>\n

\"odessa10\"<\/p>\n

Marek took this picture of Lizzy. Note where she’s sitting here, and where she ends up sitting in a moment.<\/p>\n

\"odessa11\"<\/p>\n

Marek took this picture of Chris. Actually not a bad picture; Marek’s getting better at this.<\/p>\n

\"odessa12\"<\/p>\n

And then Ivo just nonchalantly stretches, yawns, and says, wow, it sure is hot in here. I’ll just take THIS off.<\/p>\n

\"odessa13\"<\/p>\n

And Lizzy immediately traded seats with Chris. Too strong, Ivo, you’re coming on too strong. Girls don’t like when you just take off your clothes before they’ve even gotten food.<\/p>\n

\"odessa14\"<\/p>\n

Marek, on the other hand, was a total gentleman. Played stack-the-creamers and never once did any clothing fall off him.<\/p>\n

\"odessa15\"<\/p>\n

A little coffee cheers with Ivo and Andy.<\/p>\n

You’re wondering if he’s still got pants on now, aren’t you?<\/p>\n

\"odessa16\"<\/p>\n

Luckily for everyone, chow arrived. Grits, eggs, hash, toast for old man Andy.<\/p>\n

\"odessa17\"<\/p>\n

Pancakes for ladie’s-man-Ivo.<\/p>\n

\"odessa18\"<\/p>\n

Bacon and eggs and home fries for International Mystery Man Marek.<\/p>\n

\"odessa19\"<\/p>\n

French toast and texting for Lizzy.<\/p>\n

Eggs and bacon for Chris. This breakfast is not thin provisioned at all.<\/p>\n

\"odessa20\"<\/p>\n

Marek loves him some home fries. Would not eat an actual baked potato if you gave him a motorcycle, but loves home fries.<\/p>\n

\"odessa21\"<\/p>\n

We’ll see more of Ivo in a little bit.<\/p>\n

\"odessa22\"<\/p>\n

While everyone’s looking at Ivo, waiting for the next Very Odd Thing to happen, Marek tucked in to a nice packet of jelly. These are the sorts of pictures he’ll be sore about when he gets a couple years older.<\/p>\n

\"odessa23\"<\/p>\n

Here comes the bill. $45ish all together, which isn’t bad for all the chow we had.<\/p>\n

\"odessa24\"<\/p>\n

Ivo’s going to pay. Dad’s got no cash, so here’s a card. Ivo isn’t wearing a shirt. Also, he’s apparently lost a shoe somewhere. And he’s filthy. But I’m dad, right, so I pretty much get an “A” on the parent test for just showing up. If mom were here like this, people would be all about what a bad mother she was, but me, it’s all, “awww, he’s such a good dad, the kid is half-naked and disgusting but he’s making an effort.”<\/p>\n

That never ceases to irritate my lovely wife. That, and we go to the same place to get our hairs cut and mine always costs $100 less than hers. That burns her up, too.<\/p>\n

\"odessa25\"<\/p>\n

Bad news. No credit cards. And I’ve got like 10 bucks cash.<\/p>\n

\"odessa26\"<\/p>\n

Good news. Chris is flush with a C-note. He’s got our backs.<\/p>\n

\"odessa27\"<\/p>\n

So you, dear reader, would you hand a $100 bill over to a kid that looks like this? <\/p>\n

\"odessa28\"<\/p>\n

Ivo took that hundred dollars and danced. No kidding danced.<\/p>\n

\"odessa29\"<\/p>\n

And danced. I’m surprised he didn’t make more money from the rest of the customers, he was just dancing. But finally, he got the bill paid.<\/p>\n

\"odessa30\"<\/p>\n

Afterwards, we lined up for a family photo. Chris came very close to taking three kids home this morning. Lizzy spent some time telling Marek a story about aliens, and he was all about going to her house to live so he could see the aliens himself.<\/p>\n

\"odessa31\"<\/p>\n

On our way home, we stopped off at the Tampa BMX track and rode around on the little kid’s track next to the real race track. We’ve been toying around with the idea of Marek trying out BMX, since he’s so good on his bike. <\/p>\n

\"odessa32\"<\/p>\n

This was a fine breakfast. Price was fine. Location cozy and full of friendly folks. No one complained about my half-naked child terrorizing the place, which is worth half a point. Food was good and the company was very fine indeed. And Chris, I owe you $45! We’re pleased to give the Odessa Family Restaurant a Tampa Bay Breakfasts four and a half pancake rating.<\/p>\n

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

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

We visited the Odessa Family Restaurant on 3 August 2013. This was a recommendation made by TBB fan Chris last year. We’re not really familiar with Odessa, so Ivo decided to wear a helmet. Marek, as I’ve mentioned elsewhere in our blog, is already 16 years old and can’t be torn away from his little […]<\/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":[11,3,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5018","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-american","category-breakfasts","category-hillsborough"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p30Aox-1iW","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":4288,"url":"https:\/\/www.tampabaybreakfasts.com\/?p=4288","url_meta":{"origin":5018,"position":0},"title":"Tampa Bay Breakfast of the Year for 2012","date":"December 26, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Ivo, Marek, and I are pleased to announce the 2012 Tampa Bay Breakfast of the year. This prestigious award has been called \"The Nobel for Breakfasts\" and \"Huh? What are you talking about?\" by international news sources. Restaurants who win this accolade go on to see a spike of about\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Breakfasts"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":3749,"url":"https:\/\/www.tampabaybreakfasts.com\/?p=3749","url_meta":{"origin":5018,"position":1},"title":"301 Family Restaurant","date":"May 24, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"We visited the 301 Diner at 3407 N HWY 301 on 12 May 2012. They have a Facebook page at http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pages\/301-Family-Restaurant\/113574495337246. Notice that it's right across the street from the Dallas Bull. And just up the road a bit is the Veteran's park, complete with helicopter on display. Me and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "American"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.tampabaybreakfasts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/301-19.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1920,"url":"https:\/\/www.tampabaybreakfasts.com\/?p=1920","url_meta":{"origin":5018,"position":2},"title":"Pine Grove Family Restaurant","date":"September 6, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"We re-visited the Pine Grove Family Restaurant at 9399 N Florida Ave on 5 September 2010. We've been here plenty of times, but not since our last official visit over a year ago. If Pine Grove looks like it's been here a while, that's probably because it has. Based on\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "American"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2136,"url":"https:\/\/www.tampabaybreakfasts.com\/?p=2136","url_meta":{"origin":5018,"position":3},"title":"DeMilli\u2019s Family Restaurant","date":"November 10, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"It's a beautiful day in the Tampa Bay Area. If you're reading this from San Francisco, Stuttgart, or perhaps even Vancouver, I'm willing to bet your day isn't as nice as ours. Today we visited DeMilli's Family Restaurant at 6501 Park Boulevard. It's Halloween, 31 October 2010, and everyone was\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "American"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.tampabaybreakfasts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/11\/v-demills-crazy-marek.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":276,"url":"https:\/\/www.tampabaybreakfasts.com\/?p=276","url_meta":{"origin":5018,"position":4},"title":"Pine Grove Family Restaurant","date":"June 21, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"We visited the Pine Grove Family Restaurant at 9399 N Florida Ave on Father's Day, June 21st. Most things on the menu are very nicely priced, though the omelets seem to be a bit on the high side. Marek and I have been here a few times before and have\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "American"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.tampabaybreakfasts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/06\/pine-marek-pays5.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1951,"url":"https:\/\/www.tampabaybreakfasts.com\/?p=1951","url_meta":{"origin":5018,"position":5},"title":"Potbellies Family Restaurant","date":"September 12, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"We visited Pot Bellies Family Restaurant at 3826 South Himes Avenue on 11 September 2010. This was our first visit, and we found it through the scientific method known in academia as \"just drivin' 'round.\" Inside we found a very bustly place full of pigs. Not the customers or staff,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "American"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.tampabaybreakfasts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/09\/belly-marek-pays3.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\/5018","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=5018"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.tampabaybreakfasts.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5018\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5057,"href":"https:\/\/www.tampabaybreakfasts.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5018\/revisions\/5057"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tampabaybreakfasts.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5018"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tampabaybreakfasts.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5018"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tampabaybreakfasts.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5018"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}