Brunch with Soul

Its late Sunday morning and you’re looking for some good home cooked food, but you don’t want to cook it. Try Beans & Cornbread in Southfield, MI.  Beans & Cornbread is a soul food restaurant, offering the traditional soul food items.

On Sundays Beans & Cornbread offers an affordable soul food brunch, with all of the necessary staples.  The hours of brunch are 11 am – 2 pm on Sundays, and the food is served buffet style. The price is only $12.95 per person, for all you can eat!!!!  We took the kids and they ate for free since they were under 5 years of age.

This food was very good, considering that it is buffet style.  Generally, I am not fond of food served buffet style; however all of my usual pet peeves were not an issue here.  The food was piping hot, because they refilled the buffet chafers on a regular basis.  The buffet was located in the next room on the bar, away from where everyone was dining, and the area was kept every clean.

The Food

The Sunday that we went, there was a good representation of soul food. There was fried chicken wings, barbecued chicken wings, fried catfish, meatballs, broasted potatoes, green beans, macaroni and cheese and pasta salad. Eggs, waffles and pancakes were made to order.  All of the food on the buffet was very good, but the pancakes and waffles left a little be desired.  The catfish was perfectly cooked, with just the right amount of seasoning.  My personal favorite dish that Beans & Cornbread serves is the macaroni and cheese.  I was a little disappointed in the fact that there were very little breakfast items, and the breakfast items that were served weren’t that impressive.

The Restaurant

The restaurant is small, but clean.  There are three separate areas, the bar, the dining area and a private dining area. The service is usually slow, especially on a Sunday.  We have gone for dinner, which is not buffet style, and for brunch.  Dinner was quite the wait, but the food was very good.  For brunch we went at the start of brunch time; there was no wait.  At times the wait staff and the hostesses although friendly, seemed a little disorganized, which could be the cause of the long wait times for seating and food.  Now if you decide to go to brunch or dinner after church on Sunday, you should expect that there will be a long wait time. This is there busiest time of the week.  While we were there for brunch there was a live jazz band performing.  While this seems like a nice addition to ambiance, the space is already too small, and the band only made the space seemed more cramped.

Recommendation

I would definitely recommend the brunch, because you can have a taste of all of their most popular items and an affordable price.  The brunch was lacking a little in breakfast items, but if you are not a huge breakfast eater then this could be perfect for you.  Overall I would give Beans & Cornbread a 7 out of 10.

 

A Tribute to My Youth: Mexican Town Restaurant

I remember the first time I ventured to Mexicantown, Southwest Detroit without my mother.  I was with a good friend of mine and we really didn’t know how to get there; we just knew what we were looking for.  It seemed to take us an hour to get there, when it should have only taken us 25 minutes max.  Back then, our restaurant of choice in Mexicantown was Xochimilco.  The meal of choice for both of us was Beef and Cheese Enchiladas double rice no beans and a side of sour cream! This order was generally placed in one breath.  Once we got a little older Margaritas accompanied those orders.

Still, to this day I delight in going down to Mexicantown for REAL Mexican food.  Just last week Geoff (my husband), myself, and our 2 little ones drove down to Southwest Detroit for a late, cheap dinner.  Our restaurant of choice these days is Mexican Town Restaurant.  Whenever we are in the mood for some chips and salsa we head there.  The chips are fried fresh and the salsa is made daily.  I have yet to find salsa that tastes better than the salsa served at Mexican Town.  I prefer the hot, while the rest of the family prefers the mild.  On this occasion we all shared a large Super Nacho, except for the youngest child, Khloe; she wanted tacos.  We always order sour cream and fresh avocado slices with our nachos.  Let me tell you, there is NOTHING healthy about this meal, but by the end my taste buds were on fire and my stomach was full.  Everyone at the table was satisfied, including my oldest child, Gavyn, who’s a picky eater.  Geoff was the most satisfied because the entire bill including tip was under $25!

There aren’t many restaurants out there, where a family of four can eat for less than $25 dollars, and be happy with the outcome.  The service is always fast, and I personally have never been disappointed with the food.  I do admit, now that I am older I have to take an antacid after this meal, but I’m quite alright with that!  My children enjoy going because it’s something different from the norm, and for me its comfort food that reminds me of my youth.  So the next time you are near Southwest Detroit, stop by Mexican Town Restaurant for really good Mexican food!

 

The Breakfast Club Restaurant

Hello Detroit,

Recently I visited The Breakfast Club Restaurant in Farmington Hills, MI.  I went solo; no children, and no husband.

The restaurant was small and quaint, with a country feel.  There was a mish-mosh of artwork on the walls.  The interior was clean, but table cloths and menus could have used some updating….. But here’s the deal, once I opened up the menu I noticed that there were 3 pages of fabulous breakfast items.  I not just talking you run-of-the-mill breakfast menu, I’m talking creative ingredient pairings throughout the menu.

When the waitress came to my table, I was offered coffee, which I accepted.  On each table there were small glass bowls that held multiple flavored cream cups for your coffee.  After the waitress brought the coffee out, I was ready to order.  I ordered “Kelly’s Favorite Omelet.”  This was a 3 egg omelet filled with smokehouse bacon, fresh spinach and Gruyere cheese.  The omelet is served with hash browns and your choice of toast or fruit.  I chose the fruit in an effort to have something healthy on my plate.

The omelet came out on a small iron skillet that sat atop a wooden charger.  The omelet was beautiful, fluffy and perfectly cooked.  However, I wasn’t as impressed with the hash browns.  I would have expected with the wonderful ingredients of the omelets, that the hash browns would have been fresh cut.  The fruit was fresh and added to the overall taste of the platter.

Once my breakfast was finished, the bill came out on a small saucer, and on top sat a BEAUTIFUL chocolate covered strawberry!!  My Fav!!! What a great way to receive the bill.

Overall, my experience at The Breakfast Club Restaurant was good.  I will be returning because there is so much more to try.  I would give the restaurant a 7.5 out of 10, because the restaurant could have used some updating and the hash brown would have been better if they were made from fresh potatoes.