Restaurant Review: Pach’s Restaurant

It’s a well regarded fact that Pach’s Restaurant (2909 W Bay To Bay Blvd, Tampa, FL 33629, (813) 831-7122) is one of the best places for breakfast in Tampa Bay. Like all little diners, the menu is filled with things we all remember eating as children and a few twists on old favorites, like breakfast skillets. The sitting room is relatively small and condensed together, packing as many patrons in as possible while still giving a little walkway to the staff to bus food out and dishes back in.

I was amazed by how incredibly busy it was. Granted, it was a Sunday morning. Further granted, there were people lined up out the door talking about how good the food is. That’s always a good sign.

Despite being busy, we were seated quickly and our drinks came out within 5 minutes. Our waitress, a high energy fast talking pro if I’ve ever seen one, knew exactly when to come by, what do ask and what to recommend. She streamlined the whole process, making recommendations that we agreed with. Kara ordered the Ham and Cheese Skillet with pancakes and I ordered the Steak and Bacon Special Omelette with Hollandaise sauce.

While waiting, I took note of the exceptional portion sizes in everything they brought out. It was most certainly enough to fill anyone, and I don’t see how anyone could finish some of these dishes. While most diners give you a good amount of food, Pach’s steps up the ante with platter size portions on just about everything they serve.

When my dish arrived, I could smell the Hollandaise sauce before it even came to the table. When they say smothered, they mean it. A thick coat of Hollandaise sauce covered the quiche-like egg mixture with bits of bacon and steak sticking out all around. I forked off a fluffy piece of the mixture, dabbed it in the sauce and took my first bite. It was magical, like a two-nacorn. I know it sounds silly to compare a meal to a two-horned unicorn, but it was that good. The steak and bacon were both done exactly right, being just greasy and salty enough to get your attention but not overwhelming the rest of the dish. The hollandaise sauce gave a semi sweet coat to the eggs and onions and drew the dish together. Every bite I took was savored. This may very well be the best breakfast that I’ve ever had.

Kara’s dish was just as amazing looking and the few bites I stole were exceptional. The egg they use on these skillets is fluffy and light and there’s lots of it. They probably use 3 or 4 eggs in one of these. The egg sits on a pile of large chunks of griddled ham and potatoes. Everything about it seemed fresh and light all while having the oily overtone that makes a breakfast like this taste so wonderful. Kara, who is usually a picky eater and never finishes anything, goggled this up quickly.

The only disappointment I had in my meal was the biscuit and gravy that came with it. The gravy was flavorful and thick, just how I like it. Infact, if I didn’t already have Hollandaise sauce, I would have poured the gravy on my dish and really gluttoned it up. But the gravy was the only winner in this dish. The biscuit was hard, flavorless, dry and, even with the gravy, couldn’t be made into anything resembling food. After two bites, I gave up on the biscuit all together.

Once Kara blew through her skillet, she ate some of the pancakes (which she said were really good) and then realized she was too full to go on. Here’s how she left the pancakes, one untouched and one half eaten.

As we got up to waddle out to the car, we paid at the register (less than $20! for both of us to get stuffed!). I looked back at the cook doing what he does best. In all this chaos with 100 people coming in and out of this place, the staff kept their cool right out in the open.

I was so impressed by Pach’s that I’m going to make a regular ordeal of it. They have a crabmeat, broccoli and Morney sauce omelette that is calling my name next Sunday.

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