10/24/2020 - The Herrick House & Mulberry Cafe, Clare, MI

Today was a great treat for my dad and I.  We invited my mom and Troy to join us on our breakfast endeavors.  I have had lunch many times at the Mulberry Cafe with my work, but have wanted to come for breakfast for a long time.  And I knew I couldn't come to this restaurant without bringing my mom.  This place is right up her alley.  We even got an extra treat when Philena decided last minute she was going to join us.

The Herrick House & Mulberry Cafe is located in Downtown Clare, right across 5th Street from the Doherty Hotel.  It is a quaint building.  A house that has been converted into a restaurant and gift shop.

The one thing I love about this restaurant, aside from how good the food has always been, every single time I have eaten there, is that they have a lot of gluten free options.  I can get many of their lunch sandwich options with gluten free bread, so I was quite excited at what my breakfast options would be.

We walked in and were quickly seated.  The restaurant was busy, but not full as I had seen it during a lunch visit earlier in the week.  Our waitress came and took our drink orders.  She was very personable and easily joined in on the joking that was taking place at our table. 

There is so much goodness in this menu to order.  I normally have a hard time deciding on what I want to order.  But that was not the case this morning.  I had noticed that they had french toast on the menu and knew that my chances of getting gluten free french toast today were very high.  The waitress came to our table and told us the special for the day which was a Hawaiian omelette.  It had ham, pineapple and swiss cheese on it.  Dad and Philena decided that they wanted the special.  They also received american fries and toast with homemade jam (today's happened to be triple berry).  

Mom had ordered the All American which consisted of two eggs (she eats over easy 😝, sorry mom, but anything runny with eggs kind of grosses me out, lol) toast, American fries and bacon.  

Troy ordered the Western Omelette.  It had Sausage, onions, peppers, pepper jack cheese served with sour cream & salsa.

She finally got to me to get my order.  I asked the waitress if I could get the french toast with gluten free bread and SCORE!!  Yes!  I don't believe I had eaten french toast (one of my favs) since I had to start eating gluten free.  

Our food arrived and looked absolutely delicious.  Dad and Philena enjoyed their Hawaiian fare this morning.  Noting that the omelette surprised them with the sweet of the pineapple, but it was a good surprise.  

Dad thoroughly enjoyed the homemade bread and homemade jam. 

Mom enjoyed her food and breakfast experience this morning, commenting that "It was good.  Nice ambiance, good food, friendly staff."

Troy enjoyed his meal.  He loves to have hot sauce on his eggs, and today's came with salsa and sour cream.

Troy said that his eggs were cooked properly.  The dish was exactly what you would have expected with a Western Omelette, but with flair.

The addition of salsa and sour cream gave it a dimension that I had not had before from other western omelettes at other restaurants.  The combination of the omelette, hash browns and small cup of fruit gave a dining experience that rounded out every flavor sensation from the sweet and tangy to the hearty and filling.

And finally to me.  All I can say is Wow!  I have missed being able to enjoy french toast.  I have to say as well, when my food arrived, I thought a mistake had been made.  Most places that have gluten free options have breads that they purchase from the store.  When my food arrived, I thought that the bread looked too thick to be gluten free.  So I questioned the waitress as to whether it actually was gluten free.  To my surprise, she said that it was.  She stated that it was home made from a mix that their chef purchases.

I proceeded to prepare my french toast with butter and maple syrup and soon after took my first bite.  I was in maple syrup goodness heaven.  After taking a bite, I realized that the bread was actually gluten free as there is an unmistakable flavor that I am familiar with.  However, the bread consistency was far better than any other gluten free bread that I have ate.  Often the bread is dry, but this bread was far from dry.  It was actually quite moist on the inside and very delicious.

We also finally found a restaurant with good coffee.  The flavor of the coffee was far richer than any place we have ate at yet.  I still myself prefer just a bit more richness in my coffee, but this was still pretty good.  

As we were on our way home, my mom was already making plans to bring her friends here to eat.  They are very well known for the quiche of the day that comes with a scone and lemon curd.  Dad also commented that he wouldn't mind coming there again.  Maybe we will need to stop in again closer to Christmas and see what other goodies we can find in their gift shop!  I highly recommend this place for any meal.  I have never been disappointed.