What is it about breakfast food? It’s magical, really. There’s just something about it. In the words of Ron Swanson,

“There has never been a sadness that can’t be cured by breakfast food.”

It’s just that good.

I visited my bestie in Florida last Fall, and we planned our trip as anyone should: around the food. Ever the perfect hostess, on our first day there my friend presented me with a carefully curated stack of coupons, brochures, and articles highlighting fun things to do in central Florida (we’d challenged ourselves to do things other than theme parks this time around).

Among the papers, like a beacon of hope and light and butter, was the Orlando Magazine dining guide. Hundreds of restaurants were listed, organized by cuisine. I painstakingly made my way through the pages, soliciting dining preferences from my companions. We narrowed it down to about 20 restaurants, and I cut those descriptions out so we could narrow down our choices even more. It was like we were making a culinary collage.

We decided that we would hit at least one foodie destination every day, and planned our other activities around it. It seriously took over a day to plan all of it out (there’s a lot to do in Florida!). Friday’s itinerary began with breakfast at Se7enbites, followed by a stroll through Leu Gardens.

As excited as we were to whittle down our plans and commit them to paper, little did we know: We should’ve planned a trip to Se7enbites every. Single. Morning.

Even as you approach 617 Primrose Drive, you know you’re in for a quirky treat. To begin with, you pass under a bright green sign when you pull into the parking lot – it’s like you’re entering a foodie funhouse.

Next, a cheeky pinup (who closely resembles the Chef/Owner Trina Gregory, hmm...) tells you she wants to fill your pie hole. Don’t mind if I do, Red.

The interior of the restaurant is modern industrial with a street art vibe (at least that’s what I got out of it). Neon green paint coats the walls, and stainless steel light fixtures complement the metal chairs set along long wooden tables and booths painted with a distressed effect.

The menu is simple – a single page of daily scratch-made specialties – but it was nearly impossible for me to decide what to order. Literally all of it looked amazing. A couple came in after us, and as they saw us gazing at the menu, the wife couldn’t help herself – she launched into an unsolicited monologue about how amazing this place was.

“I-used-to-live-here-and-we-just-flew-back-for-a-visit-and-I-demanded-we-come-straight-here-from-the-airport-and-oh-my-god-you-have-to-try-the-biscuits-and-oh-the-sausage-is-made-in-house-and-it’s-so-good-and-oh-god-I-almost-forgot-the-pimiento-cheese-is-to-die-for-you’re-gonna-love-whatever-you-get-I-promise-this-place-is-phenomenal-literally-order-anything-and-you-will-love-it-oh-my-god-oh-my-god-I-just-can’t-tell-you.”

We let her go ahead of us.

I settled on a breakfast sandwich with sausage, egg, and pimiento cheese, with a side of grits. Joe ordered a breakfast platter with eggs, bacon, fried green tomatoes, a biscuit, and grits.

I forget what my friend ordered, but I know it had pimiento cheese on it because I recall gazing across the table at her a few minutes later as we simultaneously realized we’d made the best decision of our day by ordering dishes with pimiento cheese in them. We all ordered the Nutella Turbo to drink (because who in their right mind would ever pass up Nutella and iced coffee?).

I just … I can’t begin to tell you … It was simply …

It was just so good. I never really understood the phrase “It really hit the spot” until I went here and discovered that there is indeed a special spot within our stomachs, ensconced within the deepest epithelial-lined pockets, that patiently waits for meals like this one. My spot was hit.

The biscuits were fluffy but packed a delectably buttery punch. The sausage was juicy, slightly spicy, and brimming with flavor. I’m 97% sure I told my dining companions that I wanted to bathe in the grits (I’m not sure why I thought that sentiment would communicate how much I loved them, but it did the trick).

Breakfast was served on stainless steel trays, atop a piece of wax paper. The message was loud and clear: Our food is good enough that it doesn’t need frills like plates or sprigs of parsley.

You’d think I’d be done now. You’d think that this was enough. I told you what we had for breakfast and that it was oh-so-yummy and okay you should just put this place on your list the next time you want to go out for brunch, right? Not so much, because guess what? We haven’t even gotten to the bakery yet.

Yes! A full-blown bakery, right in the same spot. Cookies, cakes, scones, brownies, pies – the goods here are baked and they are delicious. Their food pun game is on point as well (Faux-reos!).

As full as we were after breakfast, I wanted to buy out the whole damn bakery – I was on vacation, after all! But we weren’t going home right away, so we couldn’t get anything in danger of melting. We settled on a pumpkin gingersnap cookie and made our way to the door.

It’s been months now, and I still dream of this place. It was just so damn good.

Se7enbites Bake Shop

617 N Primrose Drive

Orlando FL 32803

407-203-0727

https://www.facebook.com/Se7enbites/