Restaurant Review: Mom’s Place

Man, do I love breakfast diners! Mom’s Place (4816 N Dale Mabry Hwy, Tampa, FL 33614-6510, (813) 875-2670) is one of two breakfast diners sharing a parking lot on Dale Mabry, right next to Pop N Sons. This cash only establishment is always packed, meaning you’ll always have to wait for a seat. The service is fast and they have plenty of short order cooks and waitresses on hand, but the sheer popularity of this diner continually draws people in. I knew I had to find out why.

Kara and I went there for breakfast on a Saturday morning, one of their busiest times. Luckily, we were able to get right in. We literally found the last open table that had just been bussed and sat down. Despite the hustle and bustle of people talking and eating all around us, this place has the kind of atmosphere that causes you to just breathe slower, talk a little lower and enjoy the moment. Some might refer to this as “grandma’s syndrome”, as you feel like a lazy Sunday at your grandma’s house.

The waitress came quickly to get our drink order and bring menus. She was your typical mid 50s diner gal, the kind of woman who’s been doing this for so long that she could do it in her sleep. She was so graceful in her movement, pouring coffee here while taking notes there, asking questions she asks dozens of times every hour. It’s this kind of diner automation that’s amazing to watch, and she pulled it off so well.

Kara ordered the Ham Steak and I ordered the Greek Omelette. My Greek Omelette had my favorite (and often neglected) ingredient, gyro meat. In so many places, a Greek Omelette is only feta and vegetables in eggs.  It’s pathetic at best. At Mom’s Place, they take Greek to the next level. Gyro, feta, Tzatziki sauce, tomatoes, onions, peppers and potatoes fill the three egg omelette. It’s a hearty breakfast and one I could barely finish. It was flavorful throughout and the side of home fries were exactly as I like them, golden brown on one side and cooked just well enough to be firm but done. This was about as close to a perfect breakfast as I’ve had.

Kara’s breakfast was about as big of a portion of ham as you could ask for, served with two eggs and hashborowns. The ham but they gave was a large steak, probably 1/2″ thick and it filled a whole plate. After she ate all that she could and I ate all that I could from it, there were still scraps left in the plate. There was easily 2 pounds of ham in this serving. Kara commented that the eggs were done well and the hashbrowns were good as well. We left so full that she and I both waddled to the car.

Mom’s Place lives up to it’s name, being the kind of food and atmosphere many of us remember from being a kid at our grandmother’s place, watching her slave over the stove to prepare food just as full of calories and cholesterol as they were full of love. While this food isn’t something I would want to eat every day, it’s something I make a ritual of every Sunday morning, be it at Mom’s or another diner serving similar odes to traditional country breakfast.

Related posts:

1. Restaurant Review: Mama’s Kitchen
2. Restaurant Review: Pach’s Restaurant
3. Restaurant Review: Gold Ring Cafe
4. Restaurant Review: Central Park Restaurant
5. Restaurant Review: Pop N Sons Diner
6. Restaurant Review: Acropolis
7. Restaurant Review: Johnny’s Pizza & Restaurant
8. Restaurant Review: Queen of Sheba Ethiopian Cuisine
9. Restaurant Review: Athenian Garden Restaurant
10. Restaurant Review: Widow Brown’s Restaurant