Skyway Jack's gets nod for best breakfast in Florida

You might have expected the best breakfast in Florida to involve oranges, but Food Network Magazine says it's the scrapple at Skyway Jack's in St. Petersburg.

And if it surprises you that an eastern Pennsylvania regional favorite made up of a mush of cornmeal and unmentionable pig parts would be the best breakfast in Florida, you aren't the only one.

"I'm just shocked," said manager Denise Abel. "Of all the things we do here from scratch, it's amazing that they came up with this."

The July-August issue chronicles what it calls the best breakfast offering in each state. The magazine called Skyway Jack's take on the regionally beloved patty "a meal in itself, but it's best paired with home fries and eggs."

Abel says someone called from the network a few months ago and asked about the dish and if she could send them photos. She made it clear that it wasn't a house specialty. "It's hard to find a customer who even knows what scrapple is, but the ones who come in looking for it like it a lot."

Trying scrapple for the first time comes with a caveat: It's an acquired taste. "Ninety percent of the people who see it on the board ask what it is," Abel said. She said that a lot of the people who try it for the first time don't love it. The issue is on newsstands Tuesday.

Time food critic Jim Webster can be reached at jwebster@sptimes.com.