The morning after we arrive in Orlando we usually wake early – the girls have been known to be up at 4. 00am! After the usual frenzied excitement and many leaps in the pool they are starving and invariably our late arrival the night before means we usually only have milk, water and some cookies. This is when we head for Shoney's for breakfast.
Everyone has personal favourites for breakfast and ours is Shoney’s. The only time we avoid Shoney's or for that matter other Orlando restaurants is on Sunday mornings when locals as well as UK and US tourists want to eat out for breakfast. At this time you not only queue to get a table (and this can be up to half an hour) but have to join long queues every time you replenish your plate.
On entry we avoid the Shoney Bears for sale in the foyer (how many Shoney Bears does a child need? ) Children under 4 eat free and there are concessions for over 55 year olds. When requesting a table we ask if possible for a table rather than a booth. Sometimes you may wait a little longer but this is preferable to everyone sliding in and out of a booth and disrupting the other members of the party.
We always start with a selection of their fruit; melon, oranges, prunes and bananas in strawberry sauce that my Mother would kill for. We then proceed to the scrambled eggs, crispy bacon, sausages (US style), pancakes, cinnamon French toast, potatoes, fresh baked biscuits, wonderful rice and chicken strips. In addition there is a comprehensive salad bar that Dad always has no matter how early it is!
In addition to this All U Can Eat menu there is a Breakfast Entrees and sides menu. Perhaps because we come from the UK and are not used to being offered such huge quantities and choice of food and we usually take advantage of the All U Can Eat option but many customers eat from the Breakfast Entrees and sides, there are a few examples of this menu below:
Country Fried Steak Breakfast – this is a speciality from the south, served with hot country milk gravy, two eggs, breakfast potatoes or southern style grits with a choice of buttermilk biscuits or toast.
Our Grandad’s favourite is the All Star Breakfast – two eggs with sausage patties, bacon, breakfast potatoes ( he doesn’t like the southern style grits) and he opts for toast instead of buttermilk biscuits.
For anyone really hungry they can order T Bone Steak and Eggs and for those that just love pancakes there is a Pancake Platter.
As we leave we resist adding another Shoney Bear to our collection but if we are heading straight back to the villa we buy one of the famous Shoney pies available at the check out - we all love the Strawberry Pie.
Whatever breakfast you choose to eat at Shoney's I hope you enjoy it.