Breakfast: More than just bacon and eggs
Maria Schmitt
Issue date: 11/6/08 Section: Arts
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75 W Carleton Rd.
(517) 437-3470
Perhaps one of the best-known, this diner on M-99 is open all day, unlike other diners in town, and offers an extensive menu of "award-winning" breakfast items as well as lunch and dinner items.
Repeated trips here have worn down my preferences to one order that varies depending on my level of hunger.
I am a huge fan of French toast and the Finish Line's is by far my favorite. It is consistently fluffy and delicious, perfectly cooked, and promptly served.
I generally order just that, with one egg over-easy on the side toast. If I'm feeling ambitious I'll go for four wedges of French toast, but sometimes only two. The pieces are normal slices of toast, but they're filling, especially if combined with other items. Friends often order the one- or two-of-everything, a delightful compilation of eggs, meat, hash browns and toast.
The service is stellar, with speedy waitresses and precise bus boys to boot. Customers can pay with cash or credit card, a convenient option found in only a few of the area's breakfast nooks.
Don't be surprised to see at least one other Hillsdale student during your visit to the NASCAR-enveloped building, where pictures of famous racecar drivers adorn the walls and checkered flags abound.
On Parent or Commencement Weekend, the booths around you could very easily be filled with fellow students and their visiting parents, all equally anxious for the restaurant's culinary delights.
-Coffee: 99 cents
-French toast: Two wedges ($2.59), four wedges ($2.99)
-Omelet: $4.49 to $5.69
-Pancakes: $2.59 for two
-Waffle: $3.39
-Most popular items: The Two-of-Everything ($4.99), Breakfast Burrito ($4.09), Pantry Omelet ($5.69)
The coffee cup
73 N Broad St.
(517) 439-0140
The most claustrophobic of these restaurants, the Coffee Cup, is also has a lot of personality.
Inside, a low ceiling and small tables squeeze cozily in two small rooms.
Bright yellow walls with red stripes and small, intimate tables fill the little diner. A glimpse into the kitchen on the way to our table reveals the expected hustle and bustle of a well-loved establishment on a chilly Saturday morning.
Another of my breakfast favorites is the omelet.
I decided to give it a go here and order one with cheese, ham and green peppers.
It was a good omelet, but I am a fan of lots of melted cheese and lots of delicious filling, and the Coffee Cup's certainly didn't have enough cheese for my taste.
The wait staff, as at most of these establishments, is small, but efficient.
A random, unexpected bonus of the diner: The complimentary water comes in large, plastic cups, unlike the Finish Line or the Pink Panther, for example, where the complimentary, with-coffee water cups hold no more than a few big gulps' worth.
At a nearby table, a Hillsdale student orders one of the Coffee Cup's famous pancakes - mysteriously orange and as big as the plate it is served on.
"Yeah, they're always orange," she states matter-of-factly to her friend.
An added, non-breakfast bonus of the Coffee Cup is the Thai food they serve for lunch every Thursday and Friday.
My favorite aspect of this restaurant is its cozy atmosphere.
-Coffee: $1.00
-French toast: $2.95 (two pieces)
-Omelet: $4.50 to $6.95
-Pancakes: Small ($2.75), large ($3.25), short stack ($3.75)
-Most popular item: Omelets in general and the specialty Thai food.
Mel's diner
4127 Hudson Rd., Osseo
(517) 523-2800
This lesser-known restaurant is probably my favorite of the bunch, simply because of the omelets owner Mel Kayse cooks up. I love sitting at the counter and watching Mel make my omelet perfectly, every time.
My favorite, the Adios, is filled with potatoes, cheese and spicy Chorizo sausage. Even more cheese smothers the top and the whole, three-egg monstrosity is served with toast. Unless I'm really hungry, I find it hard to finish the whole thing.
This joint is usually less crowded than others, as it is located about 15 minutes south of town on M-99.
Much of the space above the counter is covered in random coffee mugs collected over time.
Mel offers a special to college students that I have found brings me back and back again: if you bring in a college student who has never been there before, your meal is free.
Amazing, right?
Definitely worth the drive for a huge, delicious, cheesy omelet.
I would love a free breakfast…if you're interested in going, give me a call.
-Coffee: $1.25
-French toast: $3.00
-Omelet: $4.25 - $7.50
-Most popular item: The Super Breakfast Burrito with meat, eggs, cheese and homemade salsa for $5.50; also the Osseo omelet, which is smothered in gravy, for $6.00
The pink panther
1460 E Chicago Rd., Jonesville
(517) 849-9016
The most amusing of the restaurants reviewed here, the Pink Panther, is a 24-hour truck stop/restaurant, complete with parked semis and a huge sign that states simply, "Eat," a few minutes east of Jonesville on US-12.
The restaurant is open from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday to Tuesday, and 24 hours Wednesday to Sunday, but a visit there is only complete if made past midnight.
Intermittent silences and conversations from nearby tables and super-cheap, good food fill the building.
That a late-night desire for eggs can be satisfied there, for only a few bucks, is incredible.
Another favorite is wonderful there: biscuits and gravy. The gravy is speckled with sausage, adding another flavor to an old classic.
The Pink Panther only accepts cash, so leave the plastic at home.
A few arcade games and a test-your-love-potential machine dot the premises, in case you get bored waiting or simply feel like pinball.
A high-five for being the triumph of late-night dining.
-Coffee: $1
-French toast: Three slices ($2.95)
-Biscuits and gravy: Two for $3.25, one for $2.50
-Omelet: $3.75 to $5.95
-Pancakes: One ($1.50), short stack ($2)
-Most popular item: The Western Omelet and Biscuits and Gravy
The Palace
38 N. Howell St.
(517) 437-0689
With a totally different vibe and a royalty-themed menu, featuring items like "the Princess Platter," the Palace on Howell Street, near David's Dolce Vita, is a home to regulars.
Customers joke with waitresses eager to serve, buzzing behind the main counter in a frenzy of coffee and plates and order slips.
I give the Palace the award for best coffee: a recent Sunday-morning trip to the restaurant found me waiting a long time for my meal, but my never-empty cup of delicious coffee kept me hanging on.
A seat at the counter allowed me to watch the waitresses make pot after pot, hands blurred repeating the motion every few minutes.
When my meal arrived after many apologies on behalf of the waitress (they were having a hard time keeping up with that morning's busyness), I enjoyed it thoroughly.
The Palace offers more to observe: old, eclectic decorations, patrons with bright green hair, a waitress in a bright pink shirt dashing off orders on her pad in a hurried scrawl.
Atmospherically, the immense amount of cigarette smoke in the restaurant proves to be its only downside.
-Coffee: $1.00
-French toast: Two slices ($3.29)
-Omelet: $5.29 to $6.89
-Pancakes: One for $1.99 or two for $2.99
-Waffle: $4.29 with fruit
-Most popular item: The Country Omelet
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