Mar. 19, 2004
The Maple Leaf--A country brunch discovery
People often ask us where to go for brunch, but the ideas that come to mind always seem to be places they've already been. So we've been scouting around to see if we might find something new to suggest, and have we ever found a dandy! It's the Maple Leaf Restaurant in Maple City, a little charmer inside the old red schoolhouse on the western edge of town. We went there for brunch after church last week, and it plain knocked our socks off.

Our last time there, a few years ago, the place was occupied by a restaurant called The Schoolhouse, and we weren't exactly blown away. Well, it's not the Schoolhouse any more, despite what the leftover old sign out front says.  It has been the Maple Leaf for almost two years now, and if the food is regularly as good as the brunch we enjoyed last Sunday, it has a very bright future.

The owner is Glen Noonan, a local farmer and gravel impresario, whose only food-service credentials are that he once owned a bar in town. The culinary credentials belong to executive chef John Hardy, another local fellow who trained at the Culinary Institute of America and also runs a catering business from the restaurant.

The clientele may be heavily local as well. Aside from Noonan's own table, only four others were occupied during the Sunday noon hour. We learned later, however, that the local Lions Club pancake breakfast had drawn all the regulars--including Noonan himself. We were quite happy, of course, to encounter no waiting lines, but we warn you: Once word of this place leaks out of Leelanau, it could be far, far busier.

The Maple Leaf offers a terrific brunch and very pleasant, attentive service by a staff that clearly takes ownership of its job.

We had our choice of browsing a lovely buffet for $13.95 all-we-could-eat, or ordering from a menu of kitchen-prepared omelets and platters.  The buffet was very tempting, laden with scrumptious breads and cheesecakes, bowls of fruit, a nicely varied salad bar rich with fresh-looking greens and toppings, a roast-beef carving station, steam tables heavy with hot sausages, bacon, eggs, hash and ratatouille, and made-to-order waffles and omelets.

You may question our sanity, faced with such temptations, but we chose to order from the menu because we spied two dishes there for which we just have weaknesses. Sherri had an omelet platter of spinach and tomato with Swiss cheese melted on top, and Graydon an order of corned beef hash topped with fried eggs. So few places serve this any more, he likes to order it almost every time he sees it on a menu.

We were both thrilled by all they set before us. Graydon's sautéed hash was freshly made of coarsely chopped corned beef and potato, chopped onion and red and green bell pepper to add color and flavor. The eggs on top were perfectly done and sunny-side up, just as the dish should be. Sherri's omelet was not just gooey cheese and egg, although it had plenty of both, but included a healthy balance of chopped tomato and barely-wilted spinach leaves. Both platters came with fresh fruit garnish and two very thick slices of perfectly toasted and buttered bread--whole wheat in one case, swirled rye in the other.

One mark of a good Sunday brunch is that it serves as a very satisfying main meal of the day--compensating at noon for a skipped or skimpy breakfast, and at the same time making anything but a snack unnecessary in the evening. This brunch met both tests, and was an immensely pleasant way to spend the noon hour.

Our delight in this discovery was all the greater when you consider the price. Our menu-ordered dishes were under $6 each. So even with Graydon's inevitable bloody Mary and Sherri's glass of Chardonnay, the bill for the whole meal, including tax and tip, was about $25.

We also took home a sample of the dinner menu, which already has us anticipating pan-fried yellow perch and some pasta with smoked duck and sun-dried tomatoes, perhaps on one of the nights when live music adds to the atmosphere.

The drive to Maple City was pleasant even in March. Imagine how nice it'll be in May!

DATA: Maple Leaf Restaurant, 172 W. Burdickville Rd., Maple City, 231-228-4688. Open daily except Tuesday for dinner. Sunday: full brunch 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., dinner buffet until 8:30. (Children's brunch buffet $7.95.)