Health Travelers Eat Their Way Around The Country

With each new assignment we find a new place where we like eat. Me and my wife are breakfast people, we often like to go out to breakfast on Saturday. We don't go out too much during the week because eating out often can can deplete your disposable income faster than a banker can say overdrawn.

But breakfast is relatively inexpensive. I'm not talking about McDonald's or any of the other fast food places. Nor am I talking about chain restaurants. We like to hit the local restaurants that serve a great meal.

To that end, the following are some of the places around the country we have eaten that impressed us.

• In Winston-Salem, a great place to go if you can get a medical travel assignment there, is at Billy Bob's Silver Diner, located near Hanes Mall on Hanes mall Blvd and across from the movie theater. The breakfast was always good, there was plenty of food and the price was around $6 each for eggs, bacon, potatoes toast and coffee. It had a nice '50s feel to the interior. Outside the diner is a throwback to an earlier time. It is covered in shiny aluminum and is a real eye-catcher.
• Up next is B.B.King's Blues Club. To be honest, we did not eat breakfast there. I don't even think they serve Breakfast. The Traveler and I strolled over there after visiting the Peabody Hotel to watch the ducks walk through the lobby. It was about the coldest night of the year for Memphis. After not getting to see the ducks because of the huge crowd that packed the lobby, we froze looking for some entertainment on Beale Street. We wandered into B.B. King's Blues Club. There were quite a few people in there waiting for the entertainment to start. While waiting we had a barbecue spare rib dinner. The - tastiest - we - have - ever - eaten, bar none. I am sure there are plenty of other places in Memphis that serve just as delicious food, but we didn't eat there. So what I can recommend, medical travelers, are the ribs at the Blues Club on Beale Street in Memphis.
• The next place to eat, should you find yourself in Fayetteville, N.C. is the Quality Inn Ambassador on Eastern Blvd. There is a restaurant separate from the Inn that serves a great breakfast. Lots of well-prepared food, hot coffee and fast service for a low price. A lot of locals eat there.
• From there, should you find yourself in Beaufort, S.C., the place to east breakfast is Boundary Street Pizza on Boundary Street. We would occasionally drive by the business in the morning and see the parking lot packed with customers. I'm thinking they must put out one heck of a breakfast pizza. One day we decided to stop in a see what was going on for breakfast. It's a place the Traveler and I will never forget. It's not a big place inside but the food was well prepared with eggs to order, breakfast potatoes, bacon or sausage, toast, pancakes, and hot coffee, all for about 9 bucks! For both of us. Moreover, the owner is an extremely friendly guy who quietly boasts that many of the town's movers and shakers frequently eat there. I can understand why. Oh yeah, the pizza is really good too.
• Beaufort gets a double nod for places to eat. The second place is Barbara Jeans on Ladys Island. Great Southern food that is to die for. We ate outdoors on the porch that wraps around the building, an old-fashioned farm style home.
• From Beaufort we head farther south to Milton, FL. We didn't actually like living in Milton, but they did have a couple of places for great breakfasts. One was Ace's and the other was Reggies. Both serve a full breakfast line and good hot coffee. Get there early because they both get packed quickly on the weekends.
• Next up is Pensacola, FL, home of the Blue Angels. The place for breakfast is the Scenic 90 Cafe, aka the Shiny Diny. Like Billy Bobs in Winston-Salem, Scenic 90 is a diner-style cafe serving breakfast, lunch and dinner. Breakfast choices are not plentiful, but what you do get is really good and fairly cheap. The interior is a '50s style ambiance. Get there early if you want a seat.
• Heading east from Pensacola to the blue waters of Destin is Another Broken Egg. A little pricey but the food is really scrumptious and you get a lot of choices.
• Also in Destin is the Donut Hole, a very popular restaurant that serves a wide variety of well-prepared breakfast foods. Also a little pricey but worth it.
• This time we head really far south to Naples, FL. The place to eat here is Joe's Diner in Naples Park, right on the Tamiami Trail. I have never seen such a large variety of breakfast foods. We eat there frequently and everything is well prepared and hot. Plus, if you buy an "Eat at Joe's" T-shirt or cap, each time you wear it in to eat, you get 10 percent off your meal, which is fairly economical already.
• One last place that has to be mentioned is the Dockside Sports Pub in Ft. Myers Beach. We stayed there one night on our way to Naples. The Traveler and I were in the mood for pizza. But when we called a few places, they had no one to deliver the food. Couldn't find the help. Cutting the story short, I walked to the nearby Dockside, which is a sports bar and karaoke lounge that serves a variety of short order items and entrees and award winning pizza. I bought a cheese pizza. Talk about good! That doesn't begin to describe the taste. A large cheese pizza ran about $13 but well worth the price.