Hearty Platter Cafe - Bonduel, WI

 A pleasant no-frills greasy spoon in a gas station . . .

We arrived about 9:30am on the 4th of July to fuel up for the day.  My sister was kind enough to let us stay at her home, and thankfully she left us hanging for breakfast.  I keed I keed.  I'd rather go out and explore restaurants!  

I can't say my hopes were too high when we had to walk through the Kwik-E-Mart to get to the Hearty Platter Cafe, to find a garishily lit, spartan, zero effort in prettying up the place, near empty restaurant.  At that point, ya just kinda shrug, say lets just ride'r out and hope for the best.  But to our surprise, it was a very pleasant low key utilitarian caszjh meal  

And part of the pleasant was how friendly and kind our server Sharry (sp?) was.  She was just a peach, and she treated out daughter just like a normal person.  That kinda thing stands out

The table setting didn't exactly inspire confidence, but an entire caraf of coffee arriving didn't hurt.  And it's always appreciated when the kid's beverage arrives with a lid and straw

Our meals arrived presented simply and no nonsense, with sizeable portions.  Both of these were only $9 bucks, and seemed to please the ladies

I went with The Long Haul, which reads a bit like a breakfast dream to me.  Three eggs, hasbrowns, sausage AND bacon, side of toast.  $12 bucks.  Done.  My only complaint would be the sloppy half-arsed cooking of the eggs.  Trails of "egg skin" . . . is that what you'd call the whispy browned wings?  I'm in dire need of taking a course on cooking eggs, but even I know better than that. Oh well complaining not complaining

All in all the place was a winner that morning, and we'll be back.  For the three of us to have full breakfasts and get out under $40 before tip is pretty sweet.  It’s easy to be cynical about a gas station restaurant, and your experience here may have everything to do with your server.  Maybe we were just lucky with Sharry(sp?).  But price was right.  It doesn’t have the ambiance or attention to cookery or kitsch of Hungry Bear, but the value is there

btw, there's a nice little piece on the place over at the Milwaukee Record. Though he seems overly excited about Kwik Trip in general, a quick perusal of his Food/Drink page shows that he's doing The Good Work of writing about local places in Milwaukee and afield. I'm gonna have to dig in and find some spots to hit

Comments, Questions, Two Bit Opinions, and Whatnot are welcome:

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Hearty Platter Cafe at Kwik Trip #621 - 100 Expy Way, Bonduel, WI 54107 

715-758-2366