Good Morning Mama's- Revisit

My daughter had been away at camp and even though my son was busy with his activities as well, we always take advantage of some Mommy/son time while she’s away.  I was trying to think of a lunch place he would like that he hadn’t been to and thanks to twitter, Good Morning Mama’s came up.  We never go on the weekends because it is oppressively busy (good for them) but midweek, we got in no problem (although it was still pretty busy).

I ordered their Panini grilled cheese ($5.99) which had two kind of cheese (cheddar and Swiss, tomato, and I added bacon for $1.00. I am a sucker for a Panini grilled sandwich—I think just because it makes it thinner and easier to eat.  Also it tends to melt everything pretty well, although when I got my sandwich, it didn’t seem like the cheese was all the way melted. But when I started eating it, it was much better and was meltier than it looked. For my side, on the server’s recommendation, I had the potato salad as my side and it was pretty good. Again, it was the old school kind with chunks of potato, celery, mayo and a bit of egg. I think there was a bit of pickle in there as well. It needed salt and then it was pretty good.

My son loved the kid’s breakfast option, “Nola’s onesie” ($3.99).  It comes with one egg (cooked to order), one sausage link, one piece of bacon and one pancake.  He got his egg scrambled and practically licked the plate clean other than a little bit of the eggs.  He also liked the colorful interior of the place and told me he wished we could go more (we have gone 2-3 times to try to go with the kids and the wait was just too long).

They appear to have changed the menu a bit and taken off some of the things that are not made in house, which I appreciate. I think I heard our server say that most everything is now made in house.  I know it will never happen, but my secret dream would be for restaurants to make some special designation of the things that they make themselves.

It’s a pretty straightforward diner-style place with pretty decent food. If we could get in more easily, we’d probably take the kids a fair amount. As it stands, it’s a good simple weekday breakfast or lunch place.  I know some of you must frequent this place with as busy as it is….what else is really good here?

Good Morning Mama’s

1001 East 54^th Street

Indy  46220

317/255-3800

www.goodmorningmamas.com

Good Morning Mama's - Lunch

Because of the breakfast kick I have been thinking about Good Morning Mama’s lately, but we generally only go out to eat breakfast on the weekends, and the place is crazy on the weekends.  So we decided to try it for lunch instead.  It was definitely not as crazy busy for lunch.

It was a cold day and something hot and melty sounded good—so I ordered the spinach melt ($6.99).  It was exactly what I wanted.  It was spinach and walnut pesto mixed with seasoned cream cheese, Swiss cheese, tomato and bacon all pressed together in a Panini press on wheat bread.  It was really good. Everything inside was warm and I really appreciated the bacon on the sandwich—honestly it made it for me.  I loved the creamy spinach taste which had that earthy flavor from the walnuts, but the saltiness and the denser texture of the bacon was the perfect combo together. It would just be too creamy without the bacon.  I debated on which side to get because I wanted something they were making in house (I wanted the potato pancakes but apparently they are not made there) so I ordered the mac and cheese ($1.99 up charge).  They may be making it there, but it is just noodles and Velveeta (or similar).  I am pretty sure this is prepared with the kid’s menu in mind.  I passed on eating the rest once I had my obligatory bite.  Next time I would try a different side.  But the sandwich was very good.

Hubby had the Reuben ($7.49) (which is one of his favorite sandwiches) with a side of fries ($1.99).  This was also really good and hit the spot on cold day.  Normally I am not a big fan of Reubens because the proportions are too out of whack for me (way too much meat, not enough other stuff). This one was really good though. They do their own corned beef and it was all kind of mixed together making for a creamy, cheesy mix of the meat, the Swiss, the Thousand Island dressing, and the sauerkraut.  I liked the way you got a taste of all the ingredients in every bite. Hubby always asks for extra Thousand Island dressing with a Reuben, but this one didn’t need it.  He got fries as his side ($1.99) but they were just your standard foodservice fries. Nothing special. As far as what we had for sides, I would take a skip on the extra 2 bucks (anyone had any of their sides that are really good?)

All in all, it was a very enjoyable experience and we sussed out from the server what are the least busy times on the weekend to go for breakfast or lunch so we can take the kids next time. I think they will like it—the sandwiches were good and the whole kitschy diner thing are right up their alley.

Good Morning Mama’s

1001 East 54^th Street

Indy 46220

317/255-3800

www.goodmorningmamas.com

Good Morning Mama's

We were in a rare situation where we were looking for a late breakfast to prepare for a very early dinner (some days you just have to plan everything around the meals you know?), so it seemed like a perfect opportunity to try Good Morning Mama’s. This is the latest venture (I know it has been open awhile) of the Mama Corolla’s owners and appears to have just as much popularity as the casual Italian eatery a couple doors down the street.

This is the best re-use of a gas station for sure. The atmosphere of Good Morning Mama’s is extremely bright and cheery and retro. They have taken an old gas station with great lines and followed that theme with the décor of diner-ish tables and chairs and 50s characters painted on the walls. The place is cute, although I am guessing if it were full would be quite noisy, as when we were there it was only half full, and it was quite loud already.

We both wanted full-on breakfast, so I ordered the “Mama’s” and hubby ordered the “Papa’s.” Seemed appropriate. The “Mama’s” is your classic, two eggs any style, fried potatoes, toast and meat. I got my eggs over medium, exchanged my toast for a biscuit and ordered the bacon. Whenever I eat breakfast out, especially somewhere for the first time, I always worry about how to order my eggs. I like them runny in the yolks, but not in the whites. In my opinion, that is “over medium.” A lot of times apparently cooks do not agree with me and sometimes I need to order them “over easy” to get the yolks runny. These were perfect. One hurdle was crossed. The bacon was also very good, crispy, but not too crispy and still flavorful. I hate bacon that looks good and has no flavor. There is just no point in that. The potatoes were the sliced and fried variety. They were not bad, but my favorites are hash browns that are crispy. These had some crispy parts, and I enjoyed the ones that were. The softer ones I just skipped. The biggest disappointment for me was the biscuit. It looked good but didn’t have that rich buttery flavor that you want in a biscuit. It just didn’t have much flavor at all to me. I had some of hubby’s toast and it was better. Next time, toast is the way to go. Nice, thick and buttery.

Hubby’s “Papa’s” was corned beef hash with two eggs and toast. He was very happy. He is a lover of corned beef hash but is also particular in how he likes it (no peppers). This was house made corned beef sautéed with shredded potatoes with two more perfectly cooked eggs (he likes them over easy). He was very happy with the flavor of the beef and the portion size as well. It wasn’t so ridiculously big that he felt guilty eating every bite. And again, it came with a generous helping of the hot buttery toast.

Good Morning Mama’s is doing a quality job with breakfast foods and will likely go on the regular rotation for us. And I know the kids will like it too if for no other reason than the décor (although the simple food will probably appeal to them as well). There is a fairly extensive lunch menu as well with several good sounding sandwiches. The food isn’t fancy, but the quality is there, the service was good, and they know how to cook an egg.

Good Morning Mama’s
1001 East 54th Street
Indy 46220
317/255-3800
www.goodmorningmamas.com