Bucky’s Cafe

• 8675 Portage Road
• Portage, MI 49002
• (269) 329-3255
• No Known Website
• Menu

Last fall, J got L in to a really neat little program for toddlers on Friday’s.  Since it’s in the morning, I have to get my butt out of bed to take her.  It’s really been great for her since she doesn’t go to daycare.  It gives her a chance to interact with other kids her age without J or I there.

Usually I drop her off then go back home and take a two hour nap.  This past Friday, I had a couple of errands that I really needed to take care of, including grocery shopping, so, against my better judgement, I decided to just stay out and get done what I needed to get done while L was at “school.”

I dropped L off then started driving towards Westnedge Avenue in Portage.  I was going to head to the Shaver Road Meijer, but damn,I was hungry.  Since I was forgoing a nap, I might as well get myself some breakfast.

I started heading east on Centre and drove right past Shaver Road.  I knew there was a little cafe on Portage Road that I have really never had any reason to go to because I’m  not on that side of town very often.  This day, I was on that side of town and decided to check out a new breakfast spot.

Bucky’s Cafe is in a small strip mall on Portage Road just north of Austin Lake.  It’s a deceivingly large restaurant inside a pretty bland strip mall.  

I walked in to a very busy restaurant and was immediately greeted by a waitress who showed me to a table near the back of the space.  Since I was eating alone, I could have just sat at the lunch counter which is right inside the door, but I took a table knowing I would be quick and wanting a little privacy.  I’m not really the social type that is going to sit at a breakfast counter and talk to the waitresses or other solo diners.

My waitress dropped off a menu when she seated me and asked about a drink.  I ordered a Coke which I swear was on the table less than two minutes after I ordered it.  The waitress was going to give me more time, but right at the top of the breakfast menu was what I was looking for.

I ordered the Steak & Eggs which comes with potato and toast.  I started right in on the hash browns after the plate was delivered to my table less than five minutes after ordering.  The hash browns had a great crust on them, but as is the case so often, the potato strips under the crust were a little under cooked for my taste….but that didn’t stop me from eating the whole pile of potatoes on my plate.

Once the potatoes were gone, I went for the eggs and toast next.  The eggs were over-medium which gave me a little bit of a runny yolk which I like to mix with the juice from the steak to make it a breakfast steak.  The toast I chose was wheat toast and it was pretty standard stuff with a light spreading of butter.

Once everything else on my plate was gone, I went for the steak.  I had asked for a bottle of A1 when the plate was dropped off…just in case…but it turned out I didn’t actually need it.  The steak had a great little pink stripe right through the middle which gave it the juiciness I was hoping for to mix with the egg yolk.  There was a simple seasoning of salt and pepper and a great crust from sitting on the flat top.  As far as breakfast steaks go, this one was pretty darn good.

When the waitress brought my plate, she dropped the check off so I was good to go once I finished my breakfast.  I left a couple bucks cash on the table for the tip then headed over to the cash register near the door to settle up.

The bill was just a hair over $9, but the real plus to Bucky’s is the speed.  I was expecting to burn a little more time at breakfast and I was probably in and out in less than twenty minutes.  Bucky’s Cafe is a pretty standard breakfast joint serving up pretty standard breakfast fare.  Still, the place was packed mid-morning on a Friday and they still turned out plates awfully quickly.

Steak & Eggs w/Hash Browns and Wheat Toast