Mid-Michigan Dining

• 1625 Turner Street
• Lansing, MI 48906
• (517) 485-3663
• Website
• Menu

Golden Harvest on Turner Street in Lansing's Old Town neighborhood

OH! MY! GOD!  Why did it take me a year to find Golden Harvest?  Why did no one twist my arm, grab me by the ear and drag me there? Seriously? 

J’s parents were still in town and they’re big breakfast people, so we decided to get up and go for breakfast.  I think I remember someone suggesting it a long time ago, but we don’t usually get up for breakfast, so we never considered it.  I was surfing the web looking for breakfast and found some pretty glowing reviews for the place. 

Golden Harvest is in Old Town on Turner Street.  We found it was a little tough to find when going north due to the configuration of Larch Street right before you get to the restaurant.  The GPS didn’t update fast enough and we missed a right turn, but went around the block and made it back.  The building is very tiny and it sits right on the corner.  When we pulled up, there was a line out the door.  I got out to see how deep the line was.  Since it was only two parties in front of us, we got in line and waited it out. 

It took about twenty minutes for a table to clear up.  When it did, two actually opened up.  One was a table for two.  The other was a table for four.  The party in front of us was just two women.  Guess where they sat.  Seriously, the two of them took the table for four instead of the table for two.  J asked them if they would mind taking the other table.  They hesitantly did.  Seriously!  Who does that?

Inside Golden Harvest is quite interesting.  There are only seven tables and counter with maybe ten seats.  The walls are covered with old tin serving trays.  It’s very kitchey.  The cook top is right behind the counter so you can enjoy a show if you happen to sit at one of the stools.  There was only one waitress working the whole area and she was running around non-stop.  She came over with menus and took drink orders.  Everyone at the table got coffee except for me.  I got a Pepsi.  J’s step-dad also got an orange juice.  Another guy who walked around with the coffee pot and cleared tables came by with water.

Easily the best breakfast town. The Golden Harvest on Lansing's north side.

The waitress took a few minutes to come back which gave me time to make a decision.  I could find four or five things on the menu that sounded good.  What I settled on was the steak and eggs.  I always say I don’t order steak at restaurants because it’s the worst value on the meal.  Breakfast is a different story.  Most times, you get a pretty good size piece of meat.  In this case, it was a nine ounce sirloin that I had cooked medium rare.  The meal came with two eggs (over hard), home fries, and wheat toast.  The waitress set down a bottle of A1 when she brought the plate out, but there was no need. The steak was delicious.  You could tell the flat top was well used and seasoned.  The steak had a great flavor of grease and pepper.  The eggs soaked up a lot of the juice from the steak which gave them a flavor like I’ve never had on eggs.  Even the home fries were delicious and I usually don’t like potatoes that haven’t been deep fried.  The little pieces were cooked perfectly and there was a Cajun season on them…again, combine that with the juices from the steak and you ended up with a unique flavor profile.  The toast was toast.  It was two slices of bread that had been buttered.  By the time I got to the bottom of the plate, I was stuffed and really happy. 

J and her mom both ordered one of the specials. It was a fresh blackberry & Irish creme custard french toast.  J’s mom eats restaurant breakfast fairly often.  She said it was, by far, the best french toast she ever had.  J agreed.  There were fresh blackberries on top of the creme.  Both of them got hash browns and choice of meat.  J got bacon.  She got five pieces of super crispy bacon which is her favorite.  J’s mom got a home made spicy sausage patty.  She loved that as well noting that there were big pieces of pepper in the patty.  The hash browns were also done exactly the way J likes them.  They had a good crust on top and they were cooked all the way through.  That seems to be a problem at a lot of restaurants, but Golden Harvest hit this one out of the park.

J’s step dad got a cinnamon swirl french toast.  His breakfast came with hash browns and choice of meat as well.  He got the home made sausage patty as well, but opted for the mild.  He cut off a piece for me and even the mild sausage had a little kick to it.  He really liked the french toast as well saying that it was very rich and filling. 

The bill for the four of us was just under $40 and it could have been the only meal we ate all day.  Bring cash though because they don’t accept credit cards or checks.  The waitress leaves the ticket on the table as soon as she gets done writing down the order.  When you’re ready to pay, you just take it to the cash register near the counter.  Golden Harvest was incredible.  Not only is the atmosphere incredible, but the food is legendary.  The whole meal was an experience that everyone living within a hundred miles of Lansing needs to experience at least once, but really multiple times. 

It took about an hour and a half from the time we parked the car until the time we paid the bill.  When we pulled up, there was only a wait of two parties.  By the time we left, the line had grown exponentially and the wait was probably going over and hour.  Fortunately, it was a nice day and the Golden Harvest is completely worth the wait..no matter how long you wait outside.

We really need to get this place on Diner’s, Drive-Ins, and Dives.  E-mail the producer at DDDinfo@mac.com and tell the producer why they need to stop in Lansing!

This is part of the line at 12:30 waiting to get in to the Golden Harvest for breakfast on a Sunday afternoon.