Helen’s Cafe the Breakfast Club — Restaurant in Valparaiso

Because of the job I have, I don’t often find myself able to go out for a nice breakfast. But, towards the end of January, I encountered an opening one morning and I decided to try out Helen’s Cafe (The Breakfast Club) on Calumet and Sycamore in Valparaiso. I had heard and read that the food and the setting were both terrific, so I was really looking forward to trying the place out.

When you walk in, the first things that strike you are a warm and impeccably orderly vibe. The restaurant is decorated in a simple but wonderful style.

Simultaneously, you are greeted with the delicious aroma of hearty breakfast foods being cooked in the kitchen. The combined feelings of welcome and extreme competence are immediate and unmistakable.

When I walked through the doorway, I was warmly greeted by the person who was “running the show” and immediately shown to a comfortable seat at a very nice table. The server was kind, helpful, and extremely efficient. I believe her name was Lisette (but don’t quote me, please).

The menu had several different offerings, all of which looked delicious. As I looked around at the people who were already enjoying their food at the surrounding tables, I saw beautiful pancakes, golden brown sausages, delicious looking eggs, and a variety of other items which all arrived at the tables in extremely generous portions.

I ordered an omelette which had a few different kinds of meat, some hashbrowns, and an English muffin, accompanied by a big glass of orange juice.

The food was beautifully prepared and presented, and it came out of the kitchen, piping hot and begging to be devoured .

The omelette was cooked to perfection. The cheese was melty and the meats were savory and delicious. The hashbrowns were crisp, hot, and extremely tasty. The English muffin was perfectly toasted and came with a couple different kinds of jam. In short, the experience was extremely wonderful in every category you would care to explore. The pricing for this delicious meal was very reasonable, and the service throughout was delivered with multiple smiles and authentic kindness.

I’ve been to a lot of breakfast joints in my day, and Helen’s Cafe immediately earned a place at the top of my list. It was Five stars all the way.

One of the reasons I decided to come to this restaurant was because I knew that the young lady who runs the place was named Helen. For some reason, I had a funny feeling that Helen might have been a fourth grade student of mine from several years back.

Sure enough, when I walked through the door, she was standing at the counter and she was indeed the person who had immediately greeted me so warmly. We had a brief conversation about how she came to be at the helm of the fine establishment which bears her name. While we were talking, my mind flashed back to nine year-old Helen, in the days when she was a young fourth grader.

I taught 4th grade for 37 years and Helen was one of many young people I was privileged to work with during my time at Parkview Elementary School. She was a terrific student…hard-working, kind, serious, thoughtful, and an absolutely wonderful writer. I can still vividly recall one of her creative writing papers from years ago. It was so well done that I remember taking it down to the teachers’ lounge and sharing it with the teachers she had worked with before and the fifth grade teachers, who would be lucky enough to work with her during the subsequent year. The other teachers were equally wowed by the power of her essay.

When a person is nine years old, we don’t really have any idea what they will do with the adult portion of their lives. But one thing becomes pretty evident to teachers when a kid has character, work ethic, compassion for other people, and a desire to perform at the highest levels. Whatever that child chooses to do will certainly wind up being a successful endeavor.

Awesome work, Helen! You are...

Had breakfast there on Sunday morning about 9:30 am. Not super busy but was getting there. I had eggs benidict, muffins were not toasted, my eggs were overcooked, no runny yolk. My friend ordered over medium eggs and got over easy once. Maybe she got mine who knows. The sauce was ok, not the best, not a lot of flavor. Our waitress was good. What surprised me was the most was the two hostesses. First, people were waiting at the register and to be seated, the two of them were no where to be found. They finally came out and we went to pay. There are two charges, extra for credit card. My friend went first with her check, the hostess kept asking if we were paying together even though we held out checks separately. When it came for me to pay she rang up the credit card amount even though I gave her exact change in cash! I am sorry, but those two girls have no business running the front. I am all for letting people learn but not on busy days. Please learn how to run cash register, be a good hostess and to all the patrons, Please check your receipts! if they make mistakes with exact change, I am not sure how the run...

Went this past Saturday, food was great! There was only one waitress to tend to approximately six tables, no big deal. Since she was busy, I went up to pay and while up there, I asked the small-statured lady at the register if she would mind grabbing me a to-go box for my fiance and herself.

To my surprise after I went and sat back down, this lady at the cash register watched the SINGLE waitress responsible for half a dozen table tend to THREE more tables before interrupting her when she came to mine and told her that I needed two to-go boxes instead of simply grabbing them herself.

Mind you, while the waitress was struggling to keep up, the lady at the register was openly staring at her phone rather than helping. May return sometime in the future, but will not be in a hurry if we have to watch workers struggle because others blatantly refuse to...