I love Toast & Jam. Great menu and absolutely love the creme brulee latte. Hot & Iced!!!read more

Holy moly -- so much food! We visited Toast & Jam on a Saturday morning and were seated right away…read more I started with the Birthday Cake Latte (made sugar-free), and it was huge, delicious, and perfectly balanced. I ordered the Southwest Skillet next, which was another generous portion -- I was full after just a third of it and had plenty to take home. The jam selection for the toast was amazing. They offered carrot cake, piña colada, and mixed berry. I'm not usually a carrot cake or piña colada person, but I was impressed by the creativity. The mixed berry was my favorite! Service was wonderful and attentive. Thanks for a great visit!

Excellent service, was seated quickly. The server was very friendly and the food was great! Best…read morebreakfast food in Merriville. I had the French toast combo with eggs and potatoes. Very filly with generous portion and lots of options on the menu.

Needed a local breakfast spot while heading to mammoth caves and discovered Brothers…read more The staff was friendly and a restaurant was clean. When we stopped, there were a large numbers of locals, as you could tell with the friendly interaction between servers and patrons. The food was flavorful and well prepared. I've been to numerous restaurants and they can never seem to properly toast an English muffin. I have to say that the staff at Brothers did it perfectly. Good color on both top and bottom. The only negative was the size of potatoes used on the skillet. They were huge and not properly proportioned to the rest of the ingredients. If they were smaller they could have been crispier, taking the dish to the next level. Overall, better experience than some of your national chain restaurants

Cafe Stelios in Merrillville on Broadway was an awesome experience. It feels family owned, and that…read morewarmth really comes through the second you walk in. The atmosphere was comfortable and inviting, and I loved that they took the time to decorate so nicely for the holiday. The inside was done really well and made the whole place feel even more welcoming. The service was undeniably great. The girl handling the coffee told me "my pleasure" when I asked for a half cup on my refill, which stuck with me because it was such a small but genuine touch. Our waitress was also very easygoing and pleasant, and she made the meal that much better. The coffee was spectacular, and the food was outstanding. The waffle was absolutely magical. Everything about this visit made me want to come back, and I already can't wait to try lunch next time. Definitely a spot worth checking out.

This café isn't terrible, but it's definitely not great either -- and that's why it's getting two…read morestars instead of more. The atmosphere is nice and the place looks like it wants to be a solid neighborhood spot, but the execution just isn't there. The coffee was mediocre at best -- not awful, just bland and forgettable, especially for a café that clearly takes itself seriously. Drinks came out lukewarm and lacked flavor, like they were rushed or poorly measured. Service was polite, but slow and unorganized. Nothing outright rude, just a lack of attentiveness and urgency that makes the whole experience feel sloppy. Prices don't match the quality, which is probably the biggest letdown. I'm giving it two stars instead of one because the space itself is decent and there is potential here. But until the coffee improves and service tightens up, it's not a place I'd go out of my way to return to.

I Love me some Angie's Everything is Delicious if you can eat it I love my chicken and waffles…read more It's definitely my Go-To Spot for any Occasion. The Service is Awesome.The Ambiance is Comfortable Family Feel like being Home.

Wow. Absolutely thrilled we found this place. My wife and I have honestly been trying to find good…read morefood in NWI and we definitely found Angie's to be incredible! My wife had chicken and waffles, our daughter had the kids pancake (Mickey shape!) and I had the Shrimp and Grits - and you know I had to pair it up with some Cajun sausage mixed in too. Food was spectacular! We couldn't stop raving about the fried chicken. Honestly we found it on par with Roscoe's in LA - certainly better than LoLo's in Phoenix and Houston. Service was top notch as well. They really made sure we were well taken care of! We loved the fun Easter decorations as well. You can tell the owner takes pride in their restaurant. Breakfast, lunch, they do it all. Will be coming back for sure.

I've had take out from here, but this was my first dine in experience. What a cute place. It's…read moresmall, with about 7-8 tables. It was busy on a Saturday night. The decor is bright & lively. Murals painted on 2 of the walls. Great vibe & energy. Friendly service & very attentive. We had chips, salsa & guacamole. The guac was $10. Huge serving. So smooth & mild. It came with pico de gallo. I loved all of the salsas too. My grilled shrimp tacos were amazing. The slaw & chopped mango was fresh & flavorful. The green sauce it came with was so delicious. Had a hint of lime. My husband got the last order of pork tamales for the night. He loved them. Beans & rice were great also. Can't wait to try more off the menu. But I'm already craving those shrimp tacos again.

Food is great here. I had the pork tamales with rice and beans. Chips and salsa were good. Salsa…read morehad a really good kind of smoky taste. I would not recommend dining here if it is super cold outside since, they have one entry door and when it opens it lets all of the cold air in. Also, this is probably good advice for any Mexican restaurant - do not wear clothes here that you don't want to smell like Mexican food. That goes for your coat too. You will smell like Mexican food if you enter this restaurant.

First time here with the family-in-law. A party of 9, which means we were already behind schedule…read moreand someone was complaining about the temperature. Thank goodness for Sarita! She was so amazing and attentive, she managed to keep us all fed and watered before the generational disagreements could escalate into a full-scale food fight. Everyone genuinely enjoyed their meal, which is proof Sarita is a sorceress. We will absolutely be making this a tradition every year we're in Indiana. Next time, I'm asking Sarita if she's free to officiate our family's Thanksgiving dinner, too.

Food at Sophia's was pretty good. We only had to wait 10 minutes to get seated at 10:30am on a…read moreSunday. It did, however, pick up around 11 and there was a full waiting area! Our waitress was really sweet and had a great sense of humor too. She was good about checking up on us and making sure we got everything we needed. Will probably be back sometime!

Went here and was very pleasantly surprised, huge menu. Friendly and quick service and the Greek…read morestyle pork's are an absolute must try. Greta flavor and melted in your mouth tender. My eggs were scrambled perfectly and I request my hashbrowns burnt which you can see in the photo the were well done to perfection. Prices are very reasonable too. Clean dinning area and bathrooms. The grand park cafe will be my go to joint whenever I'm in merrilville. Tried all the rest finally found the best.

Yeah. Four stars. I think that's a good rating…read more Got a Marie's Veggie Skillet without the broccoli. Just didn't feel the broc that morning. The curtailed Skillet was really yummy, if a bit oilier than I needed. But that's the way normal people like these things. So that's what I got. The toast was deliciously done, and beautifully buttered. The coffee was plentiful and adequate (we are coffee snobs - this is not snobby coffee, but not at all terrible). The service by Brittany C was nearly outstanding (Thanks!), cheerful and attentive. The store was clean, parking easy, bathrooms good. Go there. And then go to the Albanese factory for some candy. (Turn right, go a couple of miles. You'll see it on the right.)

A few months ago I was for some reason wanting to go to a pancake breakfast and/or a chili…read morecook-off. I can't say why; maybe just that they seem quaint? Anyway, somehow I found out about this one and I put it on my calendar. And I'm glad I didn't talk myself out of going to it, as it was a something to do and I had fun. This was the inaugural year of this particular chili cook-off. It's an official event in chili cook-off circles; there's an actual organization that establishes rules for these events, and acting as an official event means that the winner gets to advance to another competition in Myrtle Beach, I think. The cost to the public was a $5 entrance fee for unlimited samples. They gave you There were at least 25-30 folks here competing and providing samples of their chili. While there were some I liked better than others, there wasn't a bad sample in the bunch. They had different categories for competitors to enter, and they also could enter a salsa. There were a few green chilis represented, which I think were my favorite, and a white chicken chili. I saw some unexpected ingredients in a few--chickpeas, potatoes--both excellent. There were at least a couple that I wished I could have bought to bring home because they were so good. People were friendly, and happy to have folks give their creation a try. There weren't a huge number of folks there, which was unfortunate. I hope that after we left more folks arrived so that they can keep it going for another year. This was held at a union hall with a huge parking lot so no problems there. If it takes place next year I'll be back.

It was early Saturday morning on January 10. A delivery person showed up at my door with a dozen…read morebeautiful, vivid red roses and a balloon that read "Happy Birthday." The roses were fragrant, beautiful and huge. They lasted until January 19th, and I enjoyed them every minute! Frankly, I was impressed with the size and overall arrangement of the flowers. Family and friends who contacted me via FaceTime to express birthday wishes also loved the beautiful roses. I hope to receive more flowers from Merrillville Florist and Tea Room in the future.

This is a really cute place and the staff is very friendly. I did not love the food, unfortunately,…read moreand it is missing some of the elements of a good tea room experience. They had no clotted cream for the scone and they only make a particular flavor of scone each month. You can't just get plain scones. The cream is listed on the menu. The scone and the pumpkin bread were both good. Using cheap tea bags is not good though. All they have to do is use a teapot with a diffuser and you can even let it steep at the table, like they do at Joe's Bread in Chesterton. You can also buy better quality tea bags if you are cutting corners. I had the early grey chicken purse, pot pie soup, and the salad. The dressing was sweet, raspberry. Some may like it but it was not for me. The food was extremely salty. I love salt, and this was tough. The pot pie soup has potential with less salt. I did not end up liking the tea flavor with the chicken but the quality of the food was good. I did not try the desserts.

Honestly, this might be my new overall fave coffeeshop in the region. Crown Point is about a half…read morehour drive for me, but it was worth it to give this place a try. My husband had the Doncaster - Salted Butterscotch Oat Draft Cold Brew, and I had the Voodoo - Peanut Butter Chocolate Espresso Latte ($6.50 each). Both were very tasty although my husband's needed a good stir since a lot of the flavoring had settled at the bottom. I was looking at the paper menu when I ordered, so I thought the Gold Rush ($9) was a really interesting bagel when it's actually a bowl of oatmeal. A bit disappointing. My husband had the Avocado Toast ($9), a solid breakfast option. The interior is very nice with ample seating. Can't wait to make it out to CP again and have another opportunity for coffee at Fluid.

Another amazing visit to my favorite NWI coffee shop. They always hit the mark and today was no…read moreexception.