Sky View Cafe -- A Great Punta Gorda Breakfast without Tickets

The Sky View Cafe is one of those out-of-the-ordinary places tucked next to Bailey Terminal at the Punta Gorda Airport.  You only have to pull up to the parking lot in front of the terminal to catch the waft of bacon floating in the air so good you can taste the salty, crunchy, greasy goodness.  You've arrived at one of those down-home Punta Gorda food joints, and you don't need airline tickets to go there.

And it's not all about the food.  First off, you're at the airport, and as hinted by the name "sky view," there are  wonderful views of planes taking off.. unique planes... teeny, tiny ones, and large commercial ones.   Secondly, the place itself is a minature museum with model airplanes hanging from the ceiling, vintage airplane photos on the walls, and other aviation collectibles strewn about.  And then there is the people -- on any given day, members of city council might stop by for breakfast, or ranchers might gather, or snowbirds flock busy chirping away about goings on in their winter camps, and other regular locals come in for great food served swiftly and cheerfully. In other words,  there is atmosphere on the ground here.

And then there is, of course, the food.  I can only talk about breakfast, but there is a lot to talk about right there.  Of course, all the standard breakfast fare is offered: eggs, pancakes, etc.  But there's a lot more, the menu runs two pages and includes what is labelled as "one-pan breakfasts." For example, the Denver concoction includes onions, green pepper, ham , and eggs all scrambled together and christened with melted cheese -- need I say more.   The Cafe offers several of these one-pan smorgasbords and omelets with similar ingredients.  One of my favorites on the menu is their crunchy french toast, bread that has been dipped in egg and oatmeal with cinnamon before grilling giving the familiar dish an added crunch.

The Cafe's breakfast menu also includes country specials like biscuits and gravy.  And on this particular morning, I enjoyed one of the awesome breakfast on a bagel sandwiches they serve with the very, very best hash browns anywhere -- yum!   And my companion went for some of best pancakes in town loaded with real blueberries, not that noxious sauce that some places put on pancakes to call them blueberry.  Needless to say, we always leave the Sky View well fed and entertained.