The Soup Spoon Cafe in East Lansing

Went to breakfast Saturday morning with SP, K, and SR. K suggested The Soup Spoon Cafe (1419 E Michigan), so that's where we went. It wasn't busy--at around 10 on a Saturday, but this was fine with us. The place was cute, walls painted in bold and vibrant colors, decorative tea tins lining the shelves. Has that indie feel.

I was disappointed with the menu at first. I prefer savory stuff for breakfast, but the menu was dominated with different variations on Eggs Benedict, which I'd never had before and was honestly sort of afraid of. I'm not sure the richness of hollandaise sits well with me anytime, let alone in the morning. They also had omelettes, but again none of them really interested me. The worst part was that in the make-your-own section, mushrooms were not an option! Sacrilege!

Anyway, I tried to get someone to just pick something for me and SP and I ended up sharing the San Diego Eggs Benedict and the french toast. It turned out really good. The hollandaise in our Benedict was a little spicy, which made me happy. The eggs also had avocado and tomato on it. Oh, and it came with potatoes. I love breakfast potatoes.

The french toast had strawberry cream cheese spread between the three slices of bread, which was awesome--although it was not the most appealing visually. There's a reason they don't put the strawberry cream cheese on the top layer.

Yep, I ended up very pleased though. Great food--although I think I would like to share one savory and one sweet again next time... but then I usually do prefer to do that at breakfast. Nice ambience. And we stuck around for awhile after, just catching up on things...

Woody's Oasis in East Lansing

Woody's is one of my favorite places to eat in East Lansing. It helps that they have about three locations around campus. It also helps that they are cheap. Last year, the vegetarian pita wraps, including the very filling falafel and spicy falafel, were only $2.95 and the meat ones, including chicken and steak with different sauces, were $3.95. This year they have gone up about 50 cents I think, so still a good deal.

The mujadara or lentil pita is also good and my favorite meat ones are the spicy steak and mediterranean chicken, which comes with a garlic sauce. Eggplant is sometimes good, but sometimes too greasy. It's also sort of a toss up as to how big your pita will be; they range from about two to three inches in diameter. If I am really hungry or need the meal to tide me over for awhile, I go with either a meat or a falafel pita. Also, be sure to request turnips in your pita. They are these hot pink pickled things and really make the sandwich special.

Another great deal at Woody's is hummus and pita. Hummus is very filling and, as one of my friends likes to remind me, has a lot of fiber. Besides the original flavor, there is also garlic hummus, which is great, and spicy hummus, which sometimes has too strong a bell pepper flavor for my taste.

Dinner--or any other excuse to get a plate--at Woody's is also great. My favorites are the vegetarian grape leaves and vegetarian kibbee. Each entree is about $10 at the Grand River location and comes with a salad (my favorite is the yogurt salad which has cucumbers) and hummus. The grape leaves can serve two and I think the vegetarian kibbee could serve three. If you have never had kibbee before (I hadn't until a few weeks ago), it is like mashed potatoes but with a middle Eastern flavor. It tastes a bit vinegar-y to me.

(The plates at the international center are $6 and include a smaller sized entree, and two sides [salads, fries, hummus].)

As you can see from the picture, the Grand River location also has a bar, which is very important. And they have drink specials.