Main Street Coffee House

It's not Sunday but it has been a really long time since I have added a new review to this site and one is way overdue. It isn't like we stopped doing our Sunday morning thing but some of the places we visited I had reviewed before and I didn't want to repeat them. One Sunday we visited Santa Monica for breakfast and though I photographed part of the restaurant, I was unable to get the sign and I couldn't remember the name or exact location.

Now we are in Indiana, in Amish Country and Sunday-morning-anything-but-church is difficult to do, hence waiting until today.

We are staying in Wakarusa, Indiana located about 10 miles from Nappanee and that was our coffee destination today. We have been to this place before though not since I started this blog so I felt safe reviewing the Main Street Coffee House located ...you guessed it, at 5 Main Street in downtown Nappanee.

This "little" gem (since we were here last, two years ago the shop has taken over the building next door as well so it is hardly little anymore) is a homey, comfortable place with plenty of seating for the many patrons. There is reading material galore and even some childrens books for the little ones who accompany their moms.

Main Street roasts their own coffee on the premises and it is delicious.Today we both opted to have a bottomless house coffee (there were five different flavours to choose from) for $1.60 each. To add to our beverage aside from regular cream there were flavoured creamers, sugar, artificial sweeteners and honey as well as podered cocoa and cinnamon.

Had we not already had our breakfast, Main Street offers Amish Baked Oatmeal (seriously delicious), regular oatmeal, a variety of homemade muffins, scones and biscuits as well as other morning meals. Their chalkboard boasts of an assortment of healthy looking entrees from salads to sandwiches as well.

For atmoshere, friendly staff, awesome food and great coffee you'll be hard pressed to find better anywhere else around here and we give Main Street Coffee House 9 beans out of 10.

The Paradise Cafe

Whew! The weather here IS VERY nice! It is hot, but not so hot that a motorcycle ride is out of the question. This morning with nothing heavier than a denim jacket on, we headed up to Yucca Valley in search of a place for breakfast and coffee.

Our trek took us to a cute little roadside cafe found at the east end of Yucca Valley called the Paradise Cafe located at 58890 29 Palms Highway Yucca Valley, CA 92284. We've passed it many times and there are always lots of cars in the parking lot (in our eyes, a good sign) so today we decided to check it out.

The restaurant is tiny, 15 tables, and all but one was occupied so we were quickly seated but soon there were several people waiting. The Paradise Cafe breakfast menu was pretty extensive and offered lots of homestyle choices. I had an egg and skillet type of breakfast and Rick ordered pancakes. He has an allergy to eggs and short of plain toast or cereal, pancakes or waffles have the least amount of the allergen in them (and besides that way he can justify his sugar fix). We both ordered their bottomless cup of coffee (decaf for me) which was delicious. I have recently learned to drink coffee with just cream so for me to say it was delicious is saying a lot.

The Paradise Cafe is an old-fashioned type of eatery and the service was excellent as was the food. Our entrees weren't excessive and we both left there completely satisfied with our choices. Our bill total was just under $20.00 and it was well worth the ride there.

We give the Paradise Cafe 7.5 beans out of 10.

The Backstreet Bistro

Lately we are getting really lucky on Sundays; the weather always seems ideal for a motorcycle ride and we are getting an earlier start hence avoiding having to wait once we reach our destination.

This morning we rode to the Backstreet Bistro located at 72-820 El Paseo Drive in Palm Desert. We have driven by it several times and it always seems busy so for us that indicates that it is a good place to eat. The Backstreet advertises that they serve breakfast lunch and dinner so it seemed worthy of a visit.

Like many of the restaurants in the Coachella Valley, they have a lovely outdoor patio and because it was such a beautiful day, we ate outside. Though their breakfast menu is not as extensive as many we have tried lately, they do serve an assortment of egg dishes as well as pancakes and hot cereal. We both ordered the obligitory cup of coffee, (mine decaf) and I settled for eggs while Rick tried their pancakes.

There was no fresh squeezed orange juice on the menu though they do offer fresh fruit and other juices. The coffee is advertised as bottomless for $1.50, a good price and though it was pretty good, I have had better. Lately, we have been drinking our hot beverage sans sweetener therefore I am getting a much better sense of what it really tastes like.

There was free reading material and the service was great. Our server checked on us several times and was friendly, prompt and attentive. We enjoyed our breakfast and though we have enjoyed others more, it was hard to beat the price at the Backstreet Bistro. We savoured two cups of coffee and one satisfying meal each and our bill totaled less than $15.00, not bad at all.

We give the Backstreet Bistro 6 beans out of 10.

Don & Sweet Sue's Cafe

Having visited Rick's Restaurant and Bakery, it seemed only fitting that Don & Sweet Sue's Cafe should be on our list of breakfast places. After all, if Rick serves a mean breakfast, surely Sue will serve an even better one, right? Actually, we had seen Don and Sweet Sue's before on a previous motorcycle ride and with the decent biking weather this morning, it seemed like a place worthy of a visit.

Sweet Sue's Cafe is located at 68955 Ramon Road in Cathedral City, just southwest of the intersection at Date Palm Drive and Ramon Road. There is a large, heated, outdoor, patio with plenty of indoor seating as well. They serve all meals advertising home cooking and serving "the best breakfast in the valley". Based on our experience today, I don't know if it is the best but it certainly is one of the best and we enjoyed our visit.

Our coffee was wonderful; my bottomless cup of decaf was hot, not bitter at all and as fresh as any I have ever had. Rick echoed the same sentiments about his caffeinated version. I had eggs florentine, a spinach version of the classic benedict, while Rick had a giant waffle slathered in fresh blueberries and vanilla cream (no calories with either choice, ha ha!). We were not disappointed.

The atmosphere at Don & Sweet Sue's is homey and comfortable with great service, delicious food, hot coffee and well worth stopping for. We give them 8 beans out of 10 and look forward a return visit.

Billy Reed's Restaurant

Last Sunday we took our visitors, my daughter Karley, her partner Ian and their two children to Mimi's for breakfast and as I have reviewed it already, I wasn't about to do it again.

Today Rick and I are alone again and the weather is beautiful so we took the motorcycle and headed into Palm Springs to go to Billy Reed's for breakfast. We've been aware of Billy Reed's since we first arrived in the Coachella Valley almost two years ago. It's one of those restaurants that we would drive by, notice the full parking lot and think, "One of these days, we should check that place out".

Recently I read in the Desert Sun, that Billy Reed's was a popular place for breakfast so we figured today we would find out why. According to the sign, they've been in business since 1975 and the building and surrounding gardens are very well established.

The interior decor reminds me of a fine, old, almost-British style hotel, with high ceilings, old paintings and lots of woodwork. Unfortunately there was no warmth coming from either our greeter or our server so despite the cozy interior, there was no ambiance to speak of.

The breakfast choices were plentiful but the OJ isn't freshly squeezed, the fruit on Rick's pancakes was from a can and the whipped cream offered on my pecan waffle is also defined as an edible oil product. The saving grace was that the coffee was good, with free refills, Billy's uses "real" maple syrup; a first in these parts and we had real cream for our coffee. Our server was efficient enough but friendly isn't a word that comes to mind when we think of her.

Having already checked out Rick's and Mimi's, Billy Reed's was a disappointment but I am still glad we went. We give Billy Reed's 5 beans out of 10.

Mimi's Café

This Sunday was a beautiful sunny day; warm and ideal for a motorcycle ride. We wanted to go to the outdoor College of the Desert Street Fair today so we chose to look for a breakfast place near there. Mimi’s Café fits the bill, though it isn’t an independent restaurant, it was in the perfect location, has an outdoor patio and serves wicked breakfasts.

Mimi's Café is located at 71861 State Highway 111 in Rancho Mirage across the road from The River, shopping and entertainment center. There is plenty of parking, a small outdoor patio but a large indoor dining area. Though Mimi's serves all meals, in these parts it's their breakfast they are famous for and for good reason.

Mimi's serves freshly squeezed orange juice and their coffee comes in bottomless mugs; it is not too strong, hot and delicious. There is a couple of blended coffee choices on the menu as well. The breakfast menu has plenty of great options and the prices are extremely reasonable. It was difficult to decide what to eat because it all sounded so good but once we did, we were not disappointed.

Though there was a line-up when we arrived and it was moving fast, we chose to eat outside so there was no wait at all. Sitting on the patio in the warm sunshine made the whole experience even better and we have no complaints at all.

If you are planning a visit to the Westfield Shopping Center, the Streetfair or The River, you'll be hard pressed to find a better place for breakfast and coffee. We give Mimi's Café 8 beans out of 10.

Rick's Restaurant & Bakery

We are running out of independent coffee shops that are within a comfortable driving distance of Catalina Spa where we are staying for the winter; especially when we are trying to get there on the motorcycle! Consequently we have changed the criteria for our weekly venture, to include good "breakfast/brunch" spots as well as coffee shops. In fact Sunday brunches are becoming more typical for us because we just never seem to get going early enough.

This week we rode our motorcycle into Palm Springs and went to Rick's Restaurant and Bakery located at 1973 North Palm Canyon Drive. We have wanted to check this place out since we first saw it last year (something about the name) and since we learned that breakfast/brunch and lunch is all they serve, it was a perfect destination.

Rick's is fabulous spot with a great choice of meal options that would suit every palate and they serve great coffee. There are even blended coffee choices on the menu as well as regular and decaf. Evidently refills are included as we both received them at no additional cost. The coffee is served in great ceramic mugs with the restaurant logo on the side (available for purchase at the counter); it is hot, not too strong and delicious. There is cream, sugar and the artificial pink stuff available . (Do you get the impression I am against artificial sweeteners?)

The seating is comfortable, ranging from well padded booths to tables and chairs to stools at the long counter. The staff are friendly, there is reading material around and Rick's makes their own homemade cinnamon buns which were very enticing (somehow we resisted).

Rick's Restarant is well worth the stop; you'll be hard pressed to get a better breakfast anywhere and we give them 7.5 beans out of 10.