Friday, April 26, 2024

A Valentine's Day breakfast guide for the morning after

February 14, 2022

Restaurants to go to for breakfast in the East Lansing/Lansing area. Shot on Feb. 1, 2022. 

Valentine’s Day. Maybe you’ve been looking forward to it all year. Maybe you’re dreading it.

The fancy dinner reservations, heart shaped boxes of chocolate, love letters and bouquets of flowers are all you need to make the evening special. At least, that’s what Hollywood rom-coms and the Valentine’s Day display at Meijer would have you believe.

With all the talk of romantic Valentine’s Day evenings, it’s easy to forget one very important fact. If all goes well, there’s a good chance you’ll be waking up to your significant other the next morning — and you’ll probably be hungry.

It's important to resolve this hunger before one of you gets hangry and threatens to eat the bouquet of flowers sitting on the counter. A disaster that could ruin all the romance from the night before.

That’s where breakfast comes in.

Maybe work or school kept you and your significant other from having the romantic night you wanted. Maybe the cost of that dinner reservation was just too high. Maybe you’re looking for a way to celebrate the holiday finally being over.

Whatever the reason, let this be your justification to go eat some great food for breakfast. You can save the box of chocolates for later, because here are four great breakfast spots in the area for you to enjoy the morning after Valentine’s Day.

Soup Spoon Café

Maybe this isn’t just a breakfast guide, because Soup Spoon Café serves lunch and dinner, too. Given how delicious the food is, I wouldn’t blame you if you decided to eat Valentine’s Day dinner there before coming back for breakfast the next morning. It really is that good.

Soup Spoon’s breakfast menu has something for everyone. If you’re looking to start your morning with an omelet or an egg scramble, you’re in luck because they have 12 listed on their menu. If you can’t decide on one of the choices offered, you can always opt to build your own omelet to fit exactly what you’re craving.

Omelets and scrambles aren’t all though. Soup Spoon Café also offers buttermilk pancakes (with optional blueberries or chocolate chips), French toast, breakfast sandwiches, breakfast burritos and a variety of eggs benedicts, just to name a few. My personal favorite is the “Smoked Salmon Benny,” complete with two poached eggs, house smoked salmon, an English muffin and chipotle aioli drizzle.

For the vegans out there, Soup Spoon Café offers "A ‘Very Vegan’ Start," which includes fried potatoes and grilled vegetables, spicy vegan lentil patty, tomatoes, balsamic drizzle, wheat toast and strawberry preserves.

Soup Spoon Café offers a quality atmosphere. The large windows light up most of the dining area and is the perfect place to admire how beautiful your significant other is — even if their first cup of coffee hasn’t quite hit yet.

Soup Spoon Café is located at 1419 E Michigan Ave. in Lansing. They’re open Monday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Leo’s Coney Island

Leo’s is the lover that you keep going back to. It may not be as glamorous as some of the other restaurants here, but it offers great food at great prices, all within walking distance of campus. When you don’t feel like driving or waiting for a table, Leo’s is there to take you in with open arms.

The restaurant serves breakfast all day, so you and your significant other won’t be judged if you want to sleep in before getting your fix of banana pancakes. In fact, their entire menu is served all day, which means you can enjoy some avocado toast while your partner gazes in awe at a flaming plate of cheese when they order the “Saganaki”… That’s hot.

Get there before 11 a.m. Monday through Friday, though, and you’ll be able to get a full breakfast of two eggs, meat and hashbrowns for under $7, making Leo’s Coney Island a great option for college budgets. They also offer a wide selection of omelets, alongside sweeter options like their cinnamon swirl French toast.

Chances are that if you’ve lived in East Lansing for any amount of time, you already know how much of a staple Leo’s is to the MSU community. If you haven’t been yet, you’re missing out. Leo’s Coney Island is located at 333 Albert Ave., East Lansing.

Good Truckin’ Diner

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It’s hard not to fall in love with Good Truckin’ Diner the moment you walk through the door. The restaurant itself is tiny, consisting of a wall of booths, a few tables and a counter that looks over the kitchen. The walls are covered with license plates, street signs and local artwork. If you’re like me, you’ll spend a good amount of time looking at all of that before you even glance at a menu.

When you do look at the menu, you’ll start to see why Good Truckin’ Diner isn’t like the other diners in town. Did you know cereal shakes were a thing? They are at Good Truckin’ Diner. How about French toast topped with rum sauce and caramelized bananas? Order the “Bourbon Street,” and find out just how delicious that combination truly is. If that’s not sweet enough for you, you can always order the bonuts, which are really just an excuse to eat cinnamon sugar donuts for breakfast.

Maybe the previous night’s festivities have left you with a bit of a headache the next morning. Good Truckin’ offers three different “hangover” sandwiches to help you out. For a change of pace, you could also try the “Mary Jane waffle,” which consists of a cornbread waffle topped with pork or avocado, two over-medium eggs, crema and scallions. You can enjoy it guilt free, too, because  Mary Jane is legal at both state and federal levels.

Good Truckin’ Diner is located at 1107 S. Washington Ave., in the heart of the REO Town district. I’d recommend getting there early, but even if you have to wait, it’s worth every second.

For Crepe Sake

Let’s be honest, not many of us can afford to jet off to Paris for a romantic getaway. That doesn’t mean that you can’t celebrate Valentine’s Day with a taste of France though, thanks to a relatively new addition to the East Lansing restaurant scene. For Crepe Sake provides an assortment of sweet and savory crepes alongside a selection of Belgian waffles to help bring the spirit of Paris to the East Lansing community.

For Crepe Sake offers crepes with a variety of fillings, ranging from classics like a lemon and sugar crepe, to the “France,” which comes filled with Nutella, strawberries, bananas and whipped cream. For a savory option, try the "Orchard." This crepe comes filled with ham, cinnamon apple butter, aged white cheddar and caramelized onion. For Belgian waffles, the “Turtle” comes topped with caramel sauce, chocolate sauce, toasted pecans and whipped cream.

Did I mention that you can add a scoop of ice cream “a la mode” to your crepe or waffle? Yes, please.

In addition to their crepes and Belgian waffles, they also offer hot chocolates, mochas, macchiatos and a range of other hot and cold drinks, depending on what you’re looking for.

For Crepe Sake is located at 211 M.A.C. Ave., East Lansing, and is open Tuesday through Sunday, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. They have extended hours Thursday through Saturday, when they’re also open 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.


This story is part of our Love & Sex Edition. Read the full issue here.


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