Golden Harvest - Brunch

 

I had heard about Golden Harvest for many years.  I heard that the food was great with large servings, they take no reservations and are cash only, it's very different, and they don't do mean.  Because of all of this, it sounded interesting to me and tried to make plans to go there.  As it is outside Chicago, it also involved planning a trip which had logistical problems the first few times I tried, but once I was able to get Lansing, it was fairly easy.  Located in an out of the way corner in Old Town Lansing, it's pretty small and pretty off beat.  I had to laugh when I got there and saw the large, rusted plate metal "boulder" with the top corner made from a No Passing Zone sign.  The boulder sat on one side of the bike rack and the Golden Harvest sat on the other.  It was not easy to get my bike into the rack because of the way that it was made, but I was able to do it and then came to the line.  I was told to take a look at the door when I got there, but I had to get through the line first.  It seemed that they sat people in groups of four because all of the tables are four tops.  If you were not a group of four you could possibly be made into a group of four with another person or group or sat at the counter.  Before that happened though, you had to wait in line.  Living in Chicago and having experienced the line at Hot Doug's, this was easy.  The people in line were friendly and there was a lot of stuff attached to the building to look at.  There was a wide variety of stuff that seemed to really have no order.  There were several street signs, styrofoam skulls, toys, mannequins, motherboards, and the Incredible Hulk.  The pairing of things were sometimes pretty funny (a spray painted mannequin on a dirt bike or Kermit the Frog riding a stage coach) and there is always something new to look at if for no other reason than to try to figure out where it may have come from.

 

 

 

When the line got short, the hostess let about 7 of us in at once, so I didn't get a chance to look at the door, so I was going to have to make a point to look at it when I left.  I was seated at the counter in front of the grill, so I saw all of the action.  There were Home Fries on one side of the grill, and there were a lot because I think they came with every dish.  The Pancakes were prepared in front of me and they were enormous.  There were also pans on the right for omelettes and several waffle irons.  There was also a lot of interesting stuff on the walls inside although many of those were wall hangings.  Several things that I liked were the They Live movie poster, the rebus that translates to Be Nice or Leave, the Exotic Girlie Photos, 80 for $2.00, and the Alice cast photo.

 

The regular menu was a single fold paper menu with items on 3 pages, so there is a pretty extensive selection.  There were several things that caught my interest, but the always changing Specials Board is where the good stuff is.  Looking at everything, I see why a friend of mine will frequently order two breakfasts.

 

I started out with Coffee because it came from a local roaster and it's a good place to start breakfast.  Presented to me in a Hair Stylist mug, I had to laugh because at this stage, my hair doesn't take much maintenance, and I really couldn't do it for someone else.  Made by Paramount Coffee Roasters, it was a medium roast, but it was very mild.  I've had far worse coffee and it would do the job that it's supposed to, but the flavor left something to be desired.  For my breakfast, I went for something off of the Specials Board, the Baked Potato Omelette.  It was a 4 Egg Omelette with Cheddar, Bacon, Broccoli, (Peruvian) Purple Potatoes, Onions, Sour Cream, and Chives, served with Home Fries, Toast, and a slice of Pineapple.  I also ordered a side of Bacon which, while it was only 4 slices, was still almost too much.  It was crisp and flavorful and made from Berkshire hogs. There were lots of flavors and textures and a lot to eat.  It was one of the best omelettes that I have ever had.

After I ate, paid and tipped, this is a cash-only establishment and uses a cashier with the tip jar next to the cash register, I took a look at the door.  The door states the rules letting people know that it's a cash-only establishment, the line starts on the outside of the door, groups of two will be paired up at four tops when busy and they are always busy, and if you are not nice, they don't want your business.  Their Jolly Roger logo using a fork and spoon instead of crossbones, is also on the door.  It was a lot of fun to come here.  The people, both staff and diners were friendly, the food was great, there was a lot to look at, and the soundtrack was literally all over the place, from disco, to punk, to oldies.  I will definitely return, I just wish I could figure out a way to introduce some of my friends to it.