Sticks of Fire: a Tampa blog

Sunday was a glorious Tampa day. The breeze was blowing, the jasmine was blooming, and the temperature was a perfect 74 degrees. To me, there is nothing better than spending as much time outside as possible on such a day. But, wait. What about breakfast?

I’ve not had a lot of breakfast luck as of late. In fact I have almost given up on the entire concept of going out for breakfast, one of my favorite outings. So in a last attempt to revitalize my belief that good breakfast does exist and it doesn’t have to be just bad diner food, I headed out for Pach’s Place.

I’ve heard a lot about Pach’s Place (pronounced Patch’s Place). Some really, really good and some just okay. I had to see for myself.

I was warned there would be a line, so upon my arrival to the almost corner of Bayshore Blvd and Bay To Bay, I wasn’t surprised when I saw the line of people staggering out of the door. That’s always a good sign, in my book.

The concept is that you wait in line until a table is open with the exact number of people you have in your party. It was a little odd for me, when I was sat before the three 105 year olds, but that’s the way it works.

Pach’s Place is definitely a well-oiled machine. The place was jam-packed. Servers were swirling around one another grabbing for coffee, toast, and butter. Cooks were heaving massive piles of home fries on the flat top along side perfect rows of buttery pancakes, simultaneously stirring Hollandaise. It was like The Ballet Of Diners.

The décor is the standard breakfast café décor. Gotty baskets, Becky-Homecky signage, and wilted flowers. Nothing special.

The menu was the same. Bright yellow, laminated paper opened to the standard diner cuisine with a few modest additions. This is only a breakfast and lunch depot, but they covered the grounds. Everything from omelets to waffles to breakfast skillets to blue ribbon lunch plates. Something for everyone.

Our server was an attentive guy. He reminded my husband of one of his favorite bus boys from the days he ran an upscale restaurant in Portland, OR. We’ll call him Fernando.
Fernando was from an affluent Costa Rican family and had spent half of his life on the beaches of Costa Rica and the other half in Southern France. He would often tell servers, should they get a little snippety, “I do not need you, you need me.” Drawing every syllable with a heavy Costa Rican accent mixed with a French flair. Needless to say, Fernando was quite able to hold his own in the world.

Our server was just like Fernando. He laid down silverware and napkins. Gave us “Okay, kiddies. We are busy, busy. You need to order now or you will never eat and I have 400 hundred things I need to do right now, not to mention my feet are killing me from the heels I wore at the Male Room last night.”

We took the hint.

My Hubby ordered the Country (and yes, it is Country, not Chicken. Only Yankees and Texans call it Chicken Fried.) Fried Steak Platter and I ordered the Bayshore Special.
Let the drooling commence.

“Fernando” brought us our coffee and we soaked up the sights and sounds of Pach’s Place.
Food was flying out of the kitchen window. Big bowls of fresh fruit, soda biscuits, Eggs Benedict and a mouth watering-looking B.L.T. sandwich (it was at least 3 inches high) passed right by my nose.

Oh and the omelets. The beautiful omelets.

Pach’s offers a weekend menu with some really awesome sounding omelet creations. One comes with Crabmeat, Broccoli, and Mornay Sauce, another Spanish Sauce, Sausage, and Mozzarella. All with heaping portions of home fries.

Breakfast had finally arrived. It took a little longer than the restaurant norm, but hey, the place was packed and it wasn’t because nobody was doing anything.

Somehow, we got pancakes, although we did not order them.

I’m not complaining. These were, hands down, the best pancakes I have ever eaten in my life.

The batter was perfectly sweet and buttery. The texture was like spongy cushions of yum. They were so good, my Husband, (Who hates pancakes, hates them, I tell you. I am not allowed to make pancakes in my own home because he despises them so much.) loved them. He declared he would never say a bad word about pancakes again, because of Pach’s pancakes.

The Country Fried Steak was to follow, served with grits and two scrambled eggs, covered in sausage gravy. The steak patty was okay, nothing special. It was a cracker crust and was manufactured pre-made stuff, but it didn’t matter because it was smothered with that heavenly gravy.

This stuff was good. Big bites of sausage sticking through the milk based gravy speckled with pepper flakes. Glorious Gravy! It may have been straight from a Sysco packet, but they definitely added some loving care to it.

The grits, same as the steak, nothing special, but still good. Add some salt, lots-o-pepper, and butter and you have a winner.

Now, had I paid $9 for this, I might have been a little upset with the Country Fried Steak Platter, but I didn’t. I paid $5.95. Yes, $5.95. I am certain you will not find a Country Fried Steak breakfast in all of Hillsborough County for $5.95 that even comes close to Pach’s. The price alone is worth it.

The Bayshore Scramble was awesome? Wicked? Amazing? Am I hitting any tokens phrases that will make you get up and go to Pach’s right now?

Two fluffy scrambled eggs on a buttery croissant topped with fresh asparagus, crumbled, crisp bacon, and then covered in Hollandaise. How can you go wrong? There was mention of cheese on the menu, but I couldn’t find any nor did I miss it.

I cringed when I saw asparagus and the price tag. I was certain I would get canned asparagus (something that should be banned in every country), but I was gladly surprised. The asparagus were freshly blanched stalks and stems, still hot and perfectly cooked.
Accompanied with half crispy, half soft home fries that could have used a little seasoning, this plate is near prefect… for the price, $6.25.

Pach’s Place knows their place. They offer good food, heaping portions, for cheap. I’m not gonna complain if I have to add a little salt now and then.

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