Location: 2151 Sagamore Pkwy S, Lafayette, IN (map it)
Phone: 765-448-3100
Cuisine: American

Let me start this review by saying we had a celebrity siting during today’s dining excursion! We went to the Breakfast Nook over by the mall, and as we were sitting there chatting one of my friends pointed out that Bob Rohrman was sitting at a nearby table. Yes, folks, it’s true. You can be jealous now. 

The Breakfast Nook is over in the mall parking lot, in what used to be the White Castle. And I will disclaim this now, knowing what the inside of a White Castle looks like, I did not have high hopes for this place. In fact, I had really low expectations and I really think I need to go into all reviews like that. Of course, we got there and it’s cheesy colored logo with a cheesy font was just glaring at me from the parking lot, but still, I went in anyway!

I was pleasantly surprised at how nice it was inside. Sure, it’s no fancy upscale place, but it was very clean, tasteful decorated, and most importantly, did not look like a White Castle.

It was not busy, in fact we were one of three tables with people at it. The menu is pretty extensive. They advertise that they’re “more than just breakfast” even though they are called the Breakfast Nook. They have specials for every day of the week and the regular menu has everything from breakfast to sandwiches, to seafood and more.

Since it’s called the Breakfast Nook, I felt like it was my duty to get breakfast (even though they advertise the “Best Tenderloins in Town”). I saw something called a skillet breakfast and decided to go with that, even though there wasn’t a clear description of what it was. What I ended up getting was hash browns with ham, onions and peppers topped with gravy. That was topped with a slice of American cheese. And that was topped with two eggs du jour.  (Health food!) Honestly, though, I can’t tell you if it was really good or not. It pretty much all tasted like gravy. And I’m not sure American cheese on top of gravy and under eggs is the way to go. It certainly wasn’t bad and I ate most of it, but I’m not sure it’s something I’d order again. Now I want to go back and try all these things separately.

One friend did me a solid by ordered the “Best Tenderloin in Town” and she reports that it was really good, although she’s not sure she’d give it the “best” award, but right up there and good. My other friend ordered a burger and friends. She said that it was nothing outstanding, but tasted fine. Both friends reported their fries were undercooked.

The service was quite slow, and the food took a really long time to come out, even though there were only 5 people eating in the entire restaurant. Overall, I’d probably go again if I was on that side of town and really wanted breakfast. That area by the mall is devoid of any breakfast spots aside from McDonald’s.

Kid Friendly: Yes

Price: Very reasonable. Most entrees $3-$8.

Location: 660 Main Street Lafayette, IN (map it)
Phone: 765-427-8166
Cuisine: American

In this week’s installment of Lafayette Eats, we headed downtown to try out a quaint little spot called the Copper Dog Cafe. I’ve been by this place a few times before, and hadn’t been able to try it because they weren’t open the times I’ve tried. It’s located downtown, north of 6th Street in a small little space. I’ve been by before and seen outdoor seating, although this is not the season for that anymore.

I had never been inside before, and I was surprised by how nice it was. When I’d been by and viewed people eating outside, it seemed like everyone eating there had their dog with them so I was under the impression it was a lot more casual than it actually is. The inside is small but very tastefully decorated. with a light jazz music playing in the background. Upon being seated, our table was brought a large glass bottle of water with cups of ice, so we could server ourselves water if we wanted and we were offered an assortment of beverages including wine, cold and hot tea, coffee, and soda.

The menu is very small, and I assume changes seasonally since the menu I found on their website was different than the one I saw in the restaurant. It consists mostly of a few various sandwiches, salad, and soup choices. They also had fresh hummus and pico de gallo. I was starving, so I ordered some hummus and pico de gallo for the table and an iced tea.

There was only one other table occupied the entire time we were there, so it certainly wasn’t busy with any kind of lunch rush, and I’m not sure if that’s due to location or if it was just an off day. Our server was very polite and attentive. My tea glass was frequently refilled and he had lots of information about the menu items.

For lunch, I ordered a turkey sandwich that was advertised as a turkey and Swiss on Rye. I did this with some trepidation, because I’m generally not a fan of Rye bread. However, the Rye was light and the sandwich was good. It was server with potato chips on the side. I really liked the Swiss they used on it. The hummus and pico de gallo was also quite good. It came with pita bread, which was nothing special, just the kind you can get at the grocery. It was cut into triangles and served with a slice of cucumber on each triangle, which was something I’ve never seen before. I really enjoyed the hummus/cucumber combination, as well as adding the pico de gallo to that combo as well. Very yummy.

One friend ordered the “signature sandwich,” which is a portabella sandwich with melted cheese, tomato and avocado. It was served with veggie straw sticks. She reported that the sandwich was delicious and the sauce on it was a little spicy in a good way, but that the veggie sticks were mostly flavorless. (She let me try one, they were.) My other friend ordered the soup and grilled cheese, and reported both were quite good.

While we were munching on our appetizer, we heard the server telling the other table about their dessert offerings. Because of that, I knew I was going to want to get dessert so I only ate some of my sandwich so I would have room. When we told us the dessert offerings, there were several but I forgot what they were after I heard “pumpkin cake.” So my friend and I shared a piece of pumpkin cake. I did ask if it was made fresh there, and he said it was not, they have it made and shipped in from Indianapolis. I’m glad we opted to share a piece, though, since it was HUGE. Delicious, but huge.We were also offered complimentary coffee to accompany our dessert, which is nice because I really like a good cup of coffee with my meal, and the coffee was very good.

They have odd hours, only open Tuesday through Saturday for lunch only, and opening for dinner on Friday and Saturday nights by reservation only. So don’t run out there unless you check that they are open first, because you might arrive to find them closed.

According to their website, they only serve meals with all natural, whole ingredients and use only fresh, locally grown produce. I do like a place that tries to stay local in their offerings so I give that a plus.

Kid Friendly: Not kid unfriendly, exactly. The menu had grilled cheese, but there was no kids’ menu and no other children in the restaurant.

Price: A bit pricy for cafe fare. In this neck of the woods, $11 is high for a turkey sandwich and some chips.

Location: 102 North Chauncey Street, West Lafayette, IN (map it)
Phone: 412-216-1627
Cuisine: American

I mentioned on Facebook a few weeks ago that while out and about, I ran into one of the owners of the new School House of Chili. I had heard this restaurant was coming, but didn’t know anything about it so I was happy to meet him. He was very pleasant, told us all about his chilis and how the restaurant would be opening soon. Turns out he was wrong about the opening date, it took a few more weeks to get open. And I have to admit, today was actually my second trip in there. I was a bit disappointed my first time, and wanted to try it again before I wrote up this review.

So today myself and two friends went to try again. It’s located right at the corner of Chauncey and Columbia in West Lafayette, directly across from the Morton Center. It’s a small little venue, but nice with a fair number of tables and chairs. Here’s how it works. There’s a long counter and you order cafeteria style. They have a selection of chilis. Today they had: Cincinnati chili, California chili, tailgate chili, spicy chili, and white chicken chili. However, you can also choose a “bottom” on your chili, so you can have something else on the bottom of your bowl. The choices today were pasta, mac n cheese, rice, pasta, or fritos.

So you pick your bottom, then your chili. Then your bowl gets passed to the “toppings” area where you can choose from a variety of toppings such as sour cream, cheese, onions, tomatoes, and jalapenos. Then once that’s done, you get to the register where you can add in a drink and corn bread or a roll.

The last time I went, I ordered the Cincinnati chili. When I ordered, I was asked what bottom I wanted. I said, “Doesn’t Cincinnati chili come on spaghetti?” He answered yes, so I said I wanted that. But they didn’t have spaghetti, they had macaroni. Their own spin, he said. That’s fine, I’m not partial to one shape over another when it comes to noodles. So I topped it off with cheese and onions and went to eat. And I was utterly unimpressed. It wasn’t bad. But it wasn’t anything special either. I’ve had better Cincinnati chili. In fact, I make better Cincinnati chili.

So today I wanted to try something different just to be fair and give this place an honest review. I decided to order the tailgate chili, on Fritos, with cheese and onions. Since last time I got the corn bread, I choose rolls this time. One friend got the Cincinnati chili and another friend got the spicy chili. The tailgate chili was also unimpressive. Like the Cincinnati chili, it was okay. But it wasn’t anything special and it actually wasn’t even hot. It was warm, but I feel like chili should be served hot. My friend who ordered the Cincinnati chili gave it an “eh” review. So she was also unimpressed. My other friend ordered the spicy chili on rice and said it was quite good and she enjoyed it.  After eating, I asked for a sample (they are happy to give you samples) of the California chili. It seemed like more of a soup to me, and it was okay. Again, nothing special though.

We tried both the rolls and the corn bread and we all agreed the corn bread was good. However, there was no butter to be found anywhere. And corn bread just needs butter. The rolls might have been okay, but again without butter they were dry and bland.

While the staff was very pleasant, and very apologetic about the wait, the system they have for ordering is not exactly the most expedient system I’ve ever seen. When there are only a handful of people there, it is smooth enough but at one point, there was a line to the door and the ordering process was painfully slow. There was one person dishing chili, one person doing toppings, and then one person checking you out. Seems like maybe they need to work out a better system to get the food moving faster. It’s not like they have to go back and prepare each meal individually. I think this can be chalked up to being new and just opened, and will likely improve over time.

They also had a chalk board with the various menu items on it, but no real descriptions of what the chilis were. I think it would have been helpful if next to “tailgate chili” there was a description so I’d know what was in the chili. I had no idea what to expect when I ordered it.

The staff was very pleasant. One young man, who I think maybe was an owner, came over after the line died down to ask if we needed anything and make sure we enjoyed our meal. So I think there’s a lot of potential here. I just think the chili needs to get a little better.

From the friends: @kristenrielly “had lunch @House_of_Chili Very good spicy chili, it’s named appropriately; friendly staff; needs butter for roll/cornbread” @khaskett93 “Ate lunch @House_of_Chili. So-so Cincinnati chili. Good cornbread (though butter is desperately needed). Friendly staff. ”

Kid Friendly: Yes, so long as your kids like chili. (Although I think they have hot dogs.)

Price: Around $6-8 per meal it seemed.

Location: 106 East 3rd Street, Brookston (map it)
Phone: (765) 563-3788
Cuisine: American

When I first moved to this area in 1998, some co-workers and I were going out to lunch and they all wanted to go to Klein Brot Haus. I didn’t live in Lafayette at the time, but a nearby city, and I’d never heard of this place. I knew it was located in Brookston and that it had a great soup and bread bar. I like soup. I like bread. So it is shocking to me that I’ve never actually made it back there.

I started this website in 2008, and since then I only write reviews of restaurants as I try them, even if I’ve been there before. So today I decided was a good day for soup and bread, and I encouraged my friend to join me in the drive to Brookston to enjoy. I realize the ownership has likely changed hands since that day back in 1998, but I still wanted to go give it a try and I’m really glad I did.

It’s really not that far of a drive, just north of Lafayette off 43. It’s not a huge place and has a very homey, antique-y feel to it. Or maybe you’d call it rustic? Plenty of tables and chairs, newspapers around, a coffee station, and of course, a pastry display. Then off to one side is a little bar for the soup and bread. We got there a little early so it wasn’t quite ready yet, but chose to wait on it.

They offered three soups today, but sometimes they do four. Today’s choices were Kentucky Burgoo, chicken noodle, and Irish stew. If having the bar, you can help yourself to soups and the other items on the bar. The bowls are fairly small so you can be sure to try all the varieties. They had a platter of fresh bread as well and a selection of butters: apple butter, regular butter, cinnamon butter, and honey butter. I had read that they offered salads as well, and so long as you are open minded about what is considered salad, they do. The salads today were baked bean salad, cole slaw, beats, and apple sauce.

Let’s start with the soups. I did try all three, and they were all really good. The chicken noodle was good, but not extraordinary. The other two were a toss up for which one was better. The Irish stew, while called stew, was actually a brothy soup with cabbage, sausage, and other vegetables while the Kentucky Burgoo was more of a stew, with multiple meats and a lot of peas and corn.

The bread was delicious (but I’ve rarely met a bread I didn’t like) and I tasted all the butters and really liked them all. The cinnamon butter was like spreading cinnamon toast on top of your bread. Decadent.

As to the salads, these were not my favorite. The “baked bean salad” was really just cold baked beans. I liked baked beans, and these were fine, but I prefer them warm. The cole slaw was different in that it seemed to be only cabbage, no carrots or onion that I saw, and it wasn’t sweet at all. I am, after many tries, not a fan of beats, so I didn’t give those a try. Nor did I try the apple sauce.

Upon finishing our meal, we both agreed that dessert was going to be a necessity. I couldn’t stop looking at the huge display of options. I asked what was best, and the server had a hard time picking.  I finally settled on the Pumpkin Bar (’tis the season) and my friend got a chocolate brownie. The pumpkin bar was just a slice of heaven. So good. The chocolate brownie was so rich we could hardly eat it. Good, but wow, very rich.

They also have breakfast, as well as cold and hot sandwiches. Nearly everyone eating there was having soup and bread though.

The service was very good as well. It was pretty much self serve, but the person in charge was very pleasant, was very helpful, and just a really nice guy.

Overall, it’s definitely worth the drive to Brookston for a tasty lunch.

Kid Friendly: Yes.

Price: $5.99 for all you can eat soup and bread.

Location: 2108 Veterans Memorial Pkwy Suite C, Lafayette (map it)
Phone: (765) 838-0176
Cuisine: American

A loyal follower has been suggesting this place for a review for a while now, so I finally made my way over to the south side to give it a try. If you are looking for it, it’s in the strip mall there near the Bar Barry Liquor store. When you walk in, there are tables in the middle, booths up one wall, and a big eat at bar on the other side. It was very clean, very nicely arranged, and everything looked fresh and new. I was impressed.

We were told to sit anywhere, so we did. The server was there immediately to give us menus and take our drink orders, and our drinks came back almost as fast. The menu consists of mainly breakfast, which is served all day, burgers, and salads with a few other items. (The full menu can be seen here.) It’s certainly not an expansive menu, but they also had specials on the a chalkboard which I assume change daily.

My friend noticed the appetizers and ordered something I’ve never heard of before: cheese curds. Apparently a staple in Wisconsin, the cheese curd is some kind of deep fried cheese. These came and out and YUM! I have no past experience with the cheese curd and no basis for comparison, but it was really good. However, a word of warning: it’s not health food!

I’d been told to get the breakfast, and since I always do as I’m told (heh) I ordered the Southside Breakfast Monte Cristo, which is a ham, egg, and cheese sandwich of sorts, although it’s served on some kind of special bread and then cooked like French Toast. Really, it tasted like a ham, egg, and cheese sandwich on French Toast. It was good. Different, but tasty.

I ordered the hash browns and my other friend who was having breakfast went with the fried potatoes. I tasted both, and definitely the fried potatoes were better. The hash browns weren’t bad, but lacked a little of the crispness that I like in hash browns. The fried potatoes had a better flavor and consistency.

My other friend ordered off the lunch menu, and choose the breaded tenderloin with fries. She reports it was pretty good, although not the best she’s had and that the fries were very good.

After eating lunch we were looking at the dessert case. I had no plans to have dessert, because I was full and really, dessert doesn’t go so well with breakfast. I asked our server if the desserts were made there, or if they were brought in. She assured me that the owners actually make all the desserts and so I was sold. I would have to try something. We ordered a slice of peanut butter pie to share and it was delicious. Decadent, for sure, but yummy. If I’m having dessert, then I always feel like I need coffee to go with it, so I ordered a cup and the coffee was quite good too. There’s nothing worse than bad restaurant coffee.

The service here was really good too. The servers were around often and were extremely pleasant. Always ready to refill a drink or get anything we needed. Overall, we had a very pleasant experience.

Kid Friendly: Yes.

Price: Breakfast platters from $2.75 up to $7.25, entrees between $6-8.