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    By Hand and Fork

    4.1 (129 reviews)
    Closed 7:00 am - 3:00 pm
    Updated a few days ago

    By Hand and Fork Photos

    BY HAND AND FORK ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Casual
    Dogs allowed
    Outdoor seating
    Good for groups

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    Haystack.
    Mark K.

    Looked up breakfast places and this got good reviews. Didn't realize till I looked at the menu that this is a chain and I've been to another location before. (I did wonder as I pulled in, the name and the blue coloring seemed familiar.) I usually like to try new places and not eat at chains. But I loved that place, and I loved this one, so it was fine. Big menu, with all the usual options plus some good twists. I was tempted by several things, but went with the basics, their haystack: a biscuit with sausage gravy, two eggs, hash browns. Came out pretty quickly. The gravy is from a can, which is a bit sad- they could bring it up to the level of the rest of their good pretty easily. I mean, I've made sausage gravy. It's not hard or expensive. Still, it was fine on this breakfast platter. The eggs were cooked as requested, and the hash browns were and gave the whole thing a nice texture contrast. When I asked for hot sauce I was offered three choices, always nice (though they should just leave some on the table.) Service was great the whole way through. Prices are reasonable. The place is bright and clean, decorated in a "country" theme. Someone said it is upscale and it is, a bit, for a breakfast place, but not fancy or stuffy. And not expensive. I came at 8am on a Saturday and worried it would be packed, but it wasn't, though when I left at 830 it was definitely filling up. Glad I accidentally found a place I'd already tried and liked. I don't know how big the chain is, but it seems pretty welcoming and not corporate. I'd come back, to any location.

    Omelet
    Chloe T.

    This is the best breakfast & brunch meet up spot in Muncie! Ball State students and mocals all love it. Their service is always good and quick. You never have to wait long for food once you're seated. There are many tables and lots of staff, so they are able to fit a lot of people and get people seated quickly. It's cute diner vibes on the inside and they also have a nice covered patio out back where people sit as well. The food is always good! I have eaten there many times and it has always been tasty. Their pancakes are the best I have ever had. They are so soft and I love the taste of vanilla in them!

    Mimosa sampler. Lots of juice; only enough sparkling wine for two decent mimosas. Skip the flight; order a la carte.
    Carl D.

    After nearly a month on the road, I decided it was time to treat myself to something besides the breakfast the hotel provides, so I headed off to Muncie and a restaurant called, "By Hand and Fork," in search of a meal and a mimosa (or two). I arrived to find a place that looked like a former Denny's... but with a VERY full parking lot, which was promising and yet intimidating. "No matter," I said to myself because it was, after all, a day off. Walking in the door, I was greeted and seated almost immediately; a pleasant surprise. My server came right over and took my order for their "Flight of Mimosa": a split of sparkling wine with three smaller carafes with juices of your choice. I picked OJ, cranberry and papaya. Others including pineapple were also available. For my entre, I chose the Smoked Salmon Benedict, which I expected would be eggs and Hollandaise atop cooked, smoked salmon. SURPRISE! The smoked salmon was more like a gravlax, which was not what I expected but delicious! It came with either hashbrowns or fruit, and I went for the potatoes. All freshly prepared and tasty in what must be the area's largest kitchen because, despite the large and growing Sunday morning crowds, food was coming out quickly! One observation and one criticism. The observation is that it isn't as up-scale as you might expect if you visited its website before heading out for Muncie. It's a little bit Hobby Lobby-kitschy, with signs on the walls with the slogan of the moment, but it's clean, staff is friendly, and they keep things looking tidy. My criticism is the flight of mimosas. If you make your mimosa half sparkling wine and half juice, there's only enough sparkling wine for TWO drinks, not three you might have assumed because you had a choice of three juice. And for $15 for the "flight," that seems wrong. If you want a mimosa or two, you'll do better to order them by the drink rather than the flight. At $12.99, the smoked salmon Benedict was a very good deal. No complaints: hot fresh and flavorful. What more could you ask for? The extensive menu has other offerings like chicken and waffles, corned beef, eggs, pancakes, and a range of desserts. It's only open until 3 p.m. but if it's breakfast or lunch you crave, "By Hand and Fork" gets my nod of approval!

    Chicken and Waffles
    Tim C.

    TL;DR Huge portions. Be patient. If eating breakfast, go for egg dishes and avoid the Chicken and Waffles. Stopped in on a Sunday shortly after 10. Put our name in and was told 10-15 minute wait. 30 minutes later we were seated. I ordered the chicken and waffles which weren't good. The waffles were supposed to be spicy and they weren't. The chicken was tough and dry, difficult to cut with a butter knife. The flavor was ok. My fork bent under load while trying to cut. The menu hyped them up to sound very than they were. Others in my group liked their skillets. The server was super pleasant but slow. Everything was slow, from coming to our table to bringing our food and drinks to the check. The entire dining experience was an 1:20. Oof. My butt go sore sitting there. Man, I wanted to like this place, because my son raved about it. Perhaps I just got the wrong thing to eat and went on an off day. They serve Pepsi products.

    Fried Green Tomatoes and Bacon Eggs Benedict with Hash Browns

    Wonderful food, speedy service, and the ambience is only hurt by ads in the menu, solid place to eat. Menu is oversized however.

    This was our 1st time eating at this restaurant and it's my birthday today, Nichole was our server and she took our food orders she was very knowledgeable about the menu that we had questions about and she was very helpful and very professional of the service that she was providing us all. Our food was amazing and delicious we will definitely be back to this restaurant again. This restaurant reminds me of eating at my grandma's house the atmosphere of this restaurant was like we were at home with grandma

    Chicken fried steak.
    Carolyn W.

    As usual, By Hand and Fork delivers. Wonderful, high quality food and great service. The seasonal mimosas are not to be missed! When you want real diner breakfast and/or lunch make the trip. You won't be disappointed.

    Chicken and Waffles
    BigMackAttack

    Not bad, service was very good. My chicken was a bit dry, but the waffles were nice and fluffy.

    S'mores waffle

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    16 days ago

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    1 year ago

    Food was great and ambiance was good. We were there for graduation weekend so it was busy but the line moved quickly.

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    2 years ago

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    1 year ago

    The gyros are horrible. Not sure what they use for meat but my wife and I both agree It doesn't come off a spit that's for sure.

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    1 year ago

    For senior discount meals. Good portion and reasonable prices. Easy parking . Good for breakfast or lunch.

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    1 year ago

    Super service, great peanut butter pancakes with sausage patties and iced mocha coffee, went with family.

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    2 years ago

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    2 years ago

    Only sentence. Food was delicious. Will have to try it again. Always too late as it closes at 3:00pm!

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    4 years ago

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    Page 1 of 4

    Ask the Community - By Hand and Fork

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    By Hand and Fork - tradamerican - Updated July 2026

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