Harvest Moon Cafe - Ypsilanti, Michigan

I wandered into the Harvest Moon after finding them in Menu magazine and looking at their website. They have Thanksgiving dinner all year round aka Turkey dinner. They also specialize in something they call "Meatloaf Of The Gods", but I chose instead to sample the breakfast fare.

I am very picky about omelets. I like my eggs fluffy and here they promised a souffle style with 3 eggs so of course I had to try it. I had the Mediterranean which had gyro meat, spinach, onions and feta cheese. I substituted tomatoes for the spinach though. The omelet was excellent, stuffed with so much feta and just cooked to perfection. I ordered rye toast which came with a little paper cup of a quite nice strawberry jam. The american fries are a bit misnamed as they are definitely more of the hash brown variety. Mine were undercooked and underseasoned and could have used a bit of onion to liven them up.

My mother had the Through The Garden omelet. It came with onions, mushrooms, bell pepper, tomatoes, potatoes and swiss cheese. Her eggs were great but she said the potato filling made it a bit dry. She asked for a side of sour cream and said that improved it quite a bit. She also for some reason ordered onion rings, a healthy portion of lightly battered onions which were indeed delicious. A bit spendy at 4.99 for my cup of tea but again I am a cheapskate.

I love that they have a cinnamon raisin toast option here but would prefer more variety on jelly. The biscuits and gravy looked tasty as did the Texas style french toast. I saw a Country Skillet that looked great I may try on another visit. I will not be trying the Corned Beef Hash which was revealed to be of the canned variety which is most disappointing.

Overall we were happy with the restaurant, the service was fine but I would have been a bit happier with some friendly banter. It has the look of a mom and pop place but none of the real warmth and charm. The prices are reasonable and the portions quite generous, it is conveniently located next to my bargathon palace Sam's Club so I will no doubt be stopping back in.

Part 2- The next visit, Sunday evening

I returned to the Harvest Moon for dinner with my parents. I have to say the evening waitstaff is excellent. Friendly, informative and great at the business of waitressing (a vastly underrated art in my opinion). Tonight I got the mom and pop feel I that was missing on my prior visit.

My dad ordered the Thanksgiving feast and adored it. A hearty portion of turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, corn and cranberry sauce. He couldn't eat it all but had fun trying. It came with soup and he chose a tomato based soup with orzo, turkey and veggies. I had a bite and was hooked.

My mother got the fish and chips with her fave onion rings substituted for fries for a mere 1.49 more. The portion was as big as the appetizer basket she had at breakfast. She also had three nice pieces of cod on her plate. The fish came with soup as well and she had the same as my father. She couldn't begin to eat it all.

I went for the All American Club. It comes on white toast but they substituted multigrain without a blink at my request. It comes with turkey (the good stuff), ham, crispy bacon, swiss and american cheeses, lettuce, tomato and mayo. You also get your choice of fries, cole slaw or a cup of soup. The fries are steak fries with skins on the edges and are quite tasty but I still regretted not getting the soup. The sandwich and fries were so generous I could only eat half the club and ended up with a very nice portion for James to have after he got off work.

After observing the Hill of Corn Fritters we were unable to resist ordering a batch of our own. So good, full of ripe corn and served with honey mustard as well as warm maple syrup to dip into. I prefered the honey mustard while my parents loved the maple. Evilly delicious, that is all I can say.

The meals came with homemade bread that was really great, soft with a nice crust. They also provide crackers and breadsticks. When our bread was gone they brought us more and refills on drinks to boot. I really like the iced tea here, it tastes homemade.

After this visit I am very happy indeed. The waitresses were full of advice on what was popular as well as what they themselves prefered so I have plenty of ideas for next time and can't wait to return.