Gulf Shores BreakfastA Gulf Shores breakfast is not as easy it appears. Restaurants line the highways, but most of them don't open until lunch. During peak seasons there is a waiting time at the few that do open. I don't mind waiting on breakfast, but I don't want to wait on my morning coffee. I'm probably not alone with that thinking.Last weekend, the first weekend after New Year's Day, we went out for breakfast on both Saturday and Sunday. Saturday was easy. About 9 o'clock, we went to Hazel's in Orange Beach and were promptly seated. Service was quick. But this was early in snowbird season. A few weeks later when more snowbirds arrive, it will be tougher to get seated. Snowbirds tend to linger over breakfast, which is fine and should be expected. They also have their club meetings - the Michigan Club, the Ohio Club,the Indiana Club, etc, which ties up entire sections.
At 9 o'clock the next morning, we tried to have breakfast at the Hangout at the "T" in Gulf Shores. "Tried" is the key word in that sentence. Soon after entering the Hangout, we were told by the host that there was going to be a wait time. He took our name and gave us a buzzer, but couldn't tell us how long to expect the wait to be. The Hangout has a very large restaurant area, but only the small section nearest the beach was "open." Looking at the tables, we could see that most of those seated hadn't been served yet, but since they had a table that probably wasn't a big deal for them. They were enjoying their morning coffee, engaged in conversation. About 15 minutes into our wait, not one table had turned over and about a half dozen parties had grown tired of waiting and left. About 20 minutes into our wait somebody approached us and asked if we would like something to drink while we waited. We said "sure, coffee," and we seated ourselves at a nearby bar. About ten minutes later, no coffee had arrived. By that time another half dozen parties had come and gone. Thirty-five minutes was way past the time I am willing to wait, but since we had been promised coffee, I kept hanging on to hope. But eventually, since no tables had turned over and evidently the staff was too busy to pour a promised cup of coffee, we turned in our buzzers and left. We still didn't giving up on a Gulf Shores breakfast.
We left the Hangout and drove a short distance down East Boulevard (Beach Highway) and went to the Island Pancake House at the Best Western. This restaurant was once a Denny's franchise, and the menu hasn't changed much since then. Even though the Pancake House was busier than the Hangout, we were promptly seated, our coffee promptly delivered and our breakfast promptly served. My only quibble with the Island Pancake House is the price. The bill for two was about $23, which is more than I would like to pay for a Gulf Shores breakfast. They probably have to charge that much to cover the beach overhead and the slow time between seasons.
The Waffle Houses at Gulf Shores, Orange Beach and Perdido Key are other options for a Gulf Shores breakfast. These can also get very busy at peak seasons, but the tables turn over more often. There is not any beach ambiance at the Waffle Houses. These are carbon copies of the rest of the many thousands scattered up and down the highways of the Southern states. The wait area at the Waffle Houses can get crowded and even uncomfortable, so if it looks like there is going to be more than a 10 or 15 minute wait, I'm outta there. We sometimes drive up to Foley to the Cracker Barrel for a Gulf Shores breakfast. I won't fight the crowds on weekends and holidays during peak seasons, but since it is has a large dining section sometimes the wait is shorter than it is at the beach. Plus they've got those rocking chairs on the porch where I can sit and read the morning paper. |
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