Traveling around Florida writing stories,  I consider it my civic duty to sample breakfast wherever I go. Hey, it is a tough job but somebody's got to do it. While researching my travel book 50 Great Walks in Florida (University Press of Florida, publication date Feb. 17, 2008) breakfast actually was part of the research, a fun part! The places that made the cut ended up in the Trip Essentials for that chapter.

Sometimes the vibes as well as the food make you want to stay. At Mangrove Mike's Cafe in Islamorada, Florida Keys you can share counter space with the locals. In fact, most of the people in here are local. This is definitely not a tourist trap. The first time I went there, I overheard this conversation:

Local woman to owner: "The eggs are a bit dry this morning, you are off your touch." She's smiling when she says this.

Owner/chef puts his hands on hips , looks at her and says, "You stick to your artwork, making paintings, which you do really well and I'll stick to making breakfast ,which I do really well. Do we have a deal?"

She nodded.

Everybody laughed.

My kind of place. At Mangrove Mikes, breakfast platters are huge and the coffee flows freely. Locals will share fishing stories with you (some pretty tall) and weather predictions (wait 15 minutes and the weather will change). This place was so friendly at breakfast, I wanted to come back for lunch.

Way far away from Mangrove Mikes in the Keys, going upstate to northeast Florida, is the Old Spanish Sugar Mill inside DeLeon Springs State Park near DeLand. The mill is now a restaurant. Breakfast takes on a different dimension here. Pancake griddles are embedded into the tables. You order your pancake flavors, any sides like bacon, and make breakfast yourself at your table. Fun and filling. This is a great family treat. It is especially popular on weekends.

So let's do breakfast - anytime!

walk in peace
Lucy