Have you ever noticed that good breakfast places are a lot harder to find than spots that serve tasty lunches or dinners? Folks are always tickled to talk about newest three-star joint they visited in Lyon, or share a favorite hole-in-the wall near St. Louis University, but more times than not, a query about breakfast is met with evasion or a long and ultimately fruitless silence.
Our woman-on-the-scene in Panama City, Florida,, Ann’s youngest, apparently had quite a job coming up with just the right place for our recent visit. You’d think anywhere as geared to visitors and snowbirds as the self-styled Emerald Coast is would be brimming with possibilities. But Jennifer managed to score, and score big, when the chips – or eggs, in this case – were down.
Bayou Joe’s is near the small-town-feeling downtown of Panama City, and is indeed located on a bayou. On, not near, or even next to. A wide covered porch that’s walled in clear plastic when it’s not absolutely balmy faces the water and gets a generous helping of morning sun. To be perfectly honest, it’s almost a shack; if you’re looking for elegant decor, this isn’t your place.
But the combination of caffeine rush and the bliss of warm sun for someone who’s coming out of the damp gloom of late winter in the Midwest is utterly glorious. And the coffee is good, too. (The inside dining room has probably nursed more than one hangover in the cool quiet.)
The headliner on the menu is an omelet stuffed with grouper and shrimp. The luxurious results would have felt at home by the pool of a swank Beverly Hills hotel. The creamy filling was full of flavor, and the whole indulgent thing was perfect vacation fare. Another entree, "garbage potatoes" are a sort of potato du jour, fried potatoes with whatever the cook decides will work well with them. Onions are a given; on this visit, there were eggs, sweet peppers, cheese and a few mushrooms in the large serving, tasty and worthwhile.
After we got home, we discovered that Bayou Joe’s is known in the pleasure boat-gypsy community for trashburgers, hamburgers done, like the potatoes with whatever it strikes the cook to throw on them. A little too cutesy on the names, but the breakfast was too good not to visit again next time.
Bayou Joe’s, 112 East 3rd Court, Panama City, FL
850-763-6442
In addition, in Panama City Beach, a visit to Billy’s Oyster Bar, a spot long popular with locals, shows an unassuming spot that surely jumps during the high tourist season. The food, including local oysters, is simply prepared seafood, mostly broiled or fried. The beverage of choice is beer, of course. Reliable and reasonably priced.
Billy’s Oyster Bar, 3000 Thomas Drive, Panama City Beach, FL
850-235-2349