"Sunday Brunch"

I was driving to work this past Sunday morning, juggling ideas in my head as to where I should start, or which places I should visit first for this blog. I jumped from one restaurant to another in my head, keeping some of my favorites in mind, when I noticed something on my way.

Every single family diner and homestyle cafe were completely loaded, I mean packed! Some parking lots were full, others had their customers vehicles pouring over into other establishment's lots. I knew Sundays were still big for breakfast and lunch for some families, but it had never struck me like this until now. I had so easily found my answer. The idea for "Sunday Brunch" made itself very clear.

This made me think of just how many great family-owned places like this there are in just South Bend and Mishawaka alone, and most of them that are my favorites have one thing in common... outstanding breakfast! I immediately started remembering some of the places of the top of my head. The American Pancake House and their German apple pancake, Allie's Cafe & Catering and their foot long breakfast burrito, and the west-side's Top Notch and their Chicago-style breakfast skillets all popped into my head at once. And, they're all great places to stop in on your weekend mornings off and have a great breakfast with friends or family! (hence the parking lots).

My idea will put me on a mission every Sunday of every week to visit one of the area's best breakfast spots and fill everyone in on what makes each and every one special and unique, and find out a little bit more about their signature dishes. I can't wait to wake up and say, "Good morning Sunday!" (which means a lot considering I'm not a morning person, better keep the black coffee comin').

What "Home" Means to this Blog

Before I begin my journey to discover all the nooks and crannies that make eating in Michiana such a great experience, I wanted to take the opportunity to create a moment to reflect on what home means to us.

           

We all have a certain kind of love for our home, no matter how much we travel or how we may grow apart from it over time. Home is something that we miss when we are gone, no matter if it has changed or given us reason to leave it in the first place. There’s a certain familiarity and an identifiable connection with home that always welcomes us back with that sense of belonging, whether we would like to feel it or not. Home is unique to us, our past, our personality, and who we are. Most of all, home is ours.

When many of you see this picture you may recognize it as your own hometown. Others may see a picture of a place that resembles, or reminds them of their hometown. I chose this photograph to post because home has a lot to do with this blog. For anyone who loves food and loves making breakfast, lunch, or dinner a social event either with a date, friends, or family, they will instantly be able to think of a handful of places in their hometown that they consider unique to their own home and keep returning week after week because it is their spot, and always has been. 

That’s what I want to make this blog different from the average restaurant write-up session, the comfort of home and the sense of ownership that comes with it. The places I want to find in our area should be establishments with great food that are homegrown (for the most part), and add to a unique and local flavor that makes home home to us, and absolutely unique to anyone who visits. Home is ours, and our favorite places around here to eat and drink… well those are ours too.

Why Unique Eats?

There are people who love food, and there are people who take food a little too seriously. I am of the latter category. I grew up on the west side of South Bend in a terrific Polish family that made great food (in both quality and quantity) a part of any social gathering, whether for holidays, summer cookouts, or the Sunday family dinner. I guess you could say that from the very start I was raised in a culture that loved to eat, and did I ever embrace it.

By the time I was 12 I had already started on the grill cooking for every neighborhood summer block party by request; the rest is history. Now the only thing I enjoy more than sitting down to a great meal is watching others sit down to a great meal that I had prepared. I carry on that tradition, that idea that great times call for equally great eats. And, when the occasion calls for a night out, a weekend breakfast meeting, or just grabbing your favorite lunchtime foods on the go, it’s always good to know the perfect places to go that always leave your belly happy (unless you’re a fast food junkie in which case, God help you).

This is my inspiration for this blog. It picks up where my other blog, with the self-descriptive title “Home in the Kitchen”, leaves off and will talk more about great places to enjoy some awesome dishes away from home. Its purpose is to focus mainly on the locally grown establishments that really give our Michiana community its own unique flavor, because those are the kind of places that are the best kept secrets. Those are the kind of places that most people are reluctant to even try and find. Those are the kind of places that I love the most.

So I guess the journey starts here! I invite you to take it with me, and by all means, help me navigate a little by dropping in with what you think are our best and most unique pig-out spots.