Alamode Cafe — Restaurant in Big Rapids

We found ourselves at Alamode after leaving Bob Evans due to too long of a wait. When we pulled up we were slightly discouraged to see a packed parking lot but as soon as we caught whiff of the incredible smells coming from the restaurant we all decided this might just be worth the wait. I cannot emphasize enough how incredible this place is. Well worth the crazy long wait on a Sunday afternoon.

This is by far the best food in Big Rapids and the surrounding areas. We ordered the red, white, and blue waffles, the beef pasty, the house omelette, corned beef hash, and veggie quiche. I will review each of those below in addition to the pictures attached.

I love the eclectic choice of the decor and the wait staff was incredibly friendly and efficient despite being absolutely packed to capacity from open to close.

My first impression when they brought out the food was how beautiful the dishes looked. The food looked fresh and everything was hot and smelled delicious.

The red, white and blue waffles are two homemade waffles with strawberries, blueberries, and cream. They were served with a copious amount of bacon, and two eggs served to preference (my daughter chose egg whites). My daughter ate nearly the entire plate and she is one of my pickiest eaters. She stated over and over how delicious everything was. I snuck a bite of her waffle (for the review, obviously) and it was perfectly crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. The strawberries were sweet and delicious.

My mom ordered the beef pasty which was filled with veggies, beef, and came with a hamburger gravy. This was huge and she couldn't finish it but was very happy with the flavor, the crust on the pasty, and the gravy. The crust was very flakey and cooked to a proper crisp, the insides were perfectly soft and well-seasoned. This was simply an all around great choice. If you've never had a pasty before, this is a great place to try something new.

My son ordered the house omelette and I'm glad I was able to grab a picture beforehand because he scarfed down the entire plate before I had a chance to ask him how it was. This came with an omelette, diced potatoes, and toast with fresh raspberry jam. The eggs were cooked perfectly and added to a generous portioned omelette filled with meat and veggies. He wanted a hot sauce to go with it and they provided him with Tabasco so if you're looking for some salsa with heat you may want to just sneak some in to add yourself.

My two youngest shared a corned beef hash plate which were paired with white toast, raspberry jam, and two fried egg whites. They also devoured their entire plates and my younger son even scoured the table for anyone's leftovers. The corned beef was fabulous, fresh corned beef and potatoes- you just can't beat it.

I ordered the veggie quiche which had deliciously cooked portobello mushrooms, fresh slices of tomatoes, and veggies covering the slice of quiche. The sides were sliced (or diced) potatoes with grilled onions, and a biscuit and gravy (in lieu of toast). The quiche was perfect, I was so happy with the amount of veggies that were served and I had to take a to-go box from the amount of food.

I have to note how impressed I was with how well equipped the restaurant was to cater to families. There were available high chairs and boosters, as well as a box of fidget toys, books, and coloring crayons. This is such a lifesaver for those who don't want to pack in entertainment for the kids or shove their faces into electronics during the wait. Despite how ravenous my little hellions were they were so excited by the atmosphere that they were distractible and patient. This alone deserves a five star rating from those of us with children.

We were left feeling satiated and satisfied. We will definitely be coming back here again and telling all of our friends about this place.

Absolutely phenomenal job Alamode, I hope to see you remain in business for many many...

We like to take "breakfast"road trips out of town to try new breakfast places. This was an hour drive; two hours round trip. The menu looked promising. The reviews looked promising. However we left the restaurant rating it two stars... and crossing it off our 'come back again' list. Being labeled the best breakfast place in Mecosta County is misleading. Not so. When we arrived we waited a long time just to be seated. Once seated by the manager, we asked for coffee and water... no coffee returned. No water. Our waitress finally came to our table after we were already waiting too long without water or coffee. She was ready to take our order when I asked to have my coffee first. The waitress was bubbly and very friendly and attentive. I ordered the red white and blue waffles, 2 eggs and sausage. When our meal finally arrived, the sausage was nasty pre-cooked Gordon Food service cafeteria sausage... I sent it back to exchange for bacon which was delicious. Then I took a bite of my eggs and found a short hair in my mouth! So gross. (I have long hair).... I asked for the manager. All I wanted was for the egg to be replaced. She wanted to convince me it wasn't a hair... however we raise chickens, AND I know a hair when I see one! I was a hairstylist for many years. The waffle was a huge disappointment. Apparently they bake a sugar coating into the waffle, that made it sappy sweet and uncomfortably crunchy, like gritty crunchy, all while trying to chew a bite. The 2 waffles were a little bigger than an english muffin in size each. They were terribly dense. Not light and fluffy as I had an appetite for after dieting for 9 months. What a disappointment. My husband's order was the wagon wheel. Nothing special, nasty sausage, undercooked overeasy eggs, sausage gravy unexciting without much flavor. Our bill $30, but we really liked our waitress leaving a $7 tip. The staff was all very friendly and kind. Atmosphere was nice, inviting, clean, and had a fun ambience. Our meal...

The restaurant is beautiful. Our problem was with our waitress, NOT the restaurant. Our waitress read the specials. I ordered the ham and egg English muffin sandwich. I was not told it would have a GRAPE GLAZE on it. Not good. I bit into it and the ham was basically fat. Such a gross texture. I took it out of my sandwich. My boyfriend ordered the country fried steak meal. The waitress, Destany, asked if we wanted onions and cheese on our diced potatoes; we did. When they came they had green peppers on them too. LOTS of them. My boyfriend REALLY doesn’t like green peppers. I said something to her and she said “that’s how they come loaded”. I said, but we wanted them with onions and cheese NOT loaded. She said “that’s how they come”. WHAT?!? The meals were supposed to be $9.95 each. When he paid the bill the total was $25.31. He paid without me because he knows me so well 😉 and I was using the restroom. He was not offered a receipt. At this point we had only seen our waitress 1 time to take our order and 1 time to pay the bill. My soda, which was “free” with the meal, had been empty for the entire meal. I went to the counter on the way out and asked for a soda to go and a copy of the receipt. When I got to the car, I looked at the receipt and it was not itemized;...