Thursday, August 21, 2014

Parkside Cafe

Even though I do a lot of business in Pinellas Park, I don't get to the Parkside Cafe as much as I'd like these days, and that's a dern shame. I need to get back there and reacquaint myself with its style and pick up on some nice things I've missed, like that peanut butter pie.

There are many such cafes as this in the world, some good, some bad, some mediocre. Which category this one falls under depends on how much importance you place on the setting, and Parkside's is kind of homey in a mildly generic way. There are those god-awful giant die-cut letter signs on the walls spelling out words like "EAT", and "CAFE" and "LUNCH", you know, the kind you get at Big Lots but usually saying things like "FAMILY" and "HOME" and "HOUSE". When I sit in just the right seat which doesn't face these deadly IQ-lowering signs, I have a good time here.

The waitresses are sometimes like right out of Alice, so much so that I wonder if it's all an act. That harried, sort of friendly but not exactly, kind of brusque but not quite. But what they lack in ambience and customer service, they more than make up for in awesome victuals. Jump in anywhere on the menu here and you'll score. I like the Philly Cheesesteak, the stuffed peppers, the burgers, the pancakes and bacon, you name it. Okay, especially the pancakes and bacon. Breakfast here is a must if you're in the middle of the peninsula and you don't have the oomph to go south to Stella's, north to Clear Sky, or east to Nicki's.

Other exciting Parkside Cafe fun facts:

1. It isn't beside a park.

2. The logo on their menu breaks "Park Side" into two words, while the logo on their sign runs it together as a compound word.

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