25 minutes north, the Umatilla Municipal Airport has a restaurant called Eagles Nest. It’s in a hangar. You watch planes while you eat pancakes.
The airport is small. One runway, mostly Cessnas and crop dusters. The restaurant is all windows on the runway side. Booths, counter seats, and a ceiling covered in model planes. Pilots eat here. So do locals. The coffee is bottomless and strong.
Breakfast is the draw. “The Aviator” is 3 eggs, meat, potatoes, biscuit, gravy. It covers the plate. Lunch is burgers and club sandwiches. Pie is homemade and the meringue is 4 inches high. Your server will be named Connie or Linda and she’ll call you “hon.”
On weekends, you’ll see skydivers landing in the field next door. They pack chutes at tables outside. The pilots eat between runs. It’s the most action Umatilla gets.
Mount Dora people drive up for breakfast when they want something different. It’s a 50-mile round trip for biscuits and gravy, but the view is worth it.
Local Tip: Go Saturday at 8am. The Civil Air Patrol does training and you’ll see 10 planes take off in a row. Ask for a window seat and tip like your life depends on it. The servers work hard.