Michael’s Family Restaurant

Hubs and I have been cutting back on dining out. I don’t know if we even did it on purpose, but I noticed that we are opting for home cooked food lately. But this past weekend, we found ourselves wanting to go out for brunch.  After we hit up the Farmers Market, we quickly did a spin on the UrbanSpoon app and discovered Michael’s Restaurant.  I think I’ve seen it before in passing, but never had a chance to pop in.  Time to change that.

In a strip mall, it is your basic family style restaurant.  Two large rooms with simple tables, not many decorations.  The restaurant was maybe half full on the Saturday morning, all families or couples.  The walls are adorned with photos from Greece or of the Carmel statues and Main Street.  Clearly, after looking at the decor and menu, Michael and his family are of Greek decent.  There was feta and gyro meat all over, even in an omelet (which I almost ordered.)

Hubs opted for a classic Eggs Benedict.  His eggs were done to his liking with the yolk spilling over the toasted english muffin and slices of ham.  From my one taste bite, it seemed classic enough.  Sure, it may be a powdered hollandaise, but I don’t know many family style restaurants who are making their own (chime in if I need to check somewhere out – this is my favorite breakfast food after all).  His hashbrowns were slightly more crispy than mine and he ate it all.  Not the best, not the worse, he mentioned it would be 3 out of 5 stars.

I had opted for an omelet – the Chef’s Special ‘Omelette’ with sausage, ham, mushrooms and cheese.    The scrambled eggs were fluffy and seasoned well due to the ingredients stuffed inside – my guess is because of the sausage, a rich meaty flavor.  The ham had a hearty flavor as well as it was slightly caramelized when cooked.  I didn’t really taste a lot of the mushrooms that were mixed in, but I chalk that up to the meaty flavor of the sausage.  I hope they weren’t canned, but I couldn’t tell.  A blend of cheddar and monterey cheese was melted on top.  I ama fan when ingredients are mixed into the eggs rather than just enveloped inside.  It guarantees each bite, even the slightly crispy edge, to have a piece of ham or mushroom.  As mentioned, my hashbrowns could have been much more crispy and needed some salt.  I had subbed my toast for a half order of their French toast, which I really liked was an option (you could have ordered a pancake too).  Served with hot maple syrup, the French toast was slightly crispy from the cooked egg batter but still soft in the center.  It was just thick enough for the egg to be completely soaked through, but not thin enough to where it would loose its texture and be mushy.  Simple, but a good piece of French toast.

Overall, Michael’s was expected.  I expected a family style restaurant that would be homey and busy.  I expected decent food, but nothing over the top spectacular.  Would I go again?  Sure.  As hubs called it, 3 out of 5 is where I would land too.  I would be willing to go back and try the gyro omelet or lunch plate.

Michael’s Family Restaurant * 840 West Main St. * Carmel, 46032 * 317.574.1918