Mike’s Place: Northeast Ohio’s best weekend brunches, breakfasts

KENT, Ohio – Our brunch and breakfast series continues as we check out Mike's Place. Here’s a look at what to expect:

Location + hours: 1700 S. Water St., Kent, 330-673-6501. Hours: 6:30 a.m.-10 p.m. Monday-Thursday; 6 a.m.-11 p.m. Friday; 6:30 a.m.-11 p.m. Saturday; 7 a.m.-10 p.m. Sunday. It's a breakfast-served-all-day-place.

Menu or buffet? Menu. A very big menu.

About the place: Imagine a college apartment in an old house that has been added on repeatedly, a rabbit warren extended here, there and everywhere. Throw in smells of bacon and you have Mike's Place, which has been around since 1987. It's at the southwest corner of Ohio 43 and 261 just north of Interstate 76. It's about 40 miles southeast of downtown Cleveland.

About the menu: Get a cup of coffee and prepare to read a while. I think we'd be hard-pressed to come up with a menu that has more offerings than Mike's Place. There's about 100 items; most are under $10. From all sorts of hearty breakfasts to "Pour Some Syrup on me" items and omelets, the variations are as long as a novel. Speaking of, owner Mike Kostensky IS an author.

Honors: Mike's Place was once voted No. 1 by Kent State students for the Best Place to Go After a Hangover.

About the food: We tried the "My Favorite," a take on eggs Benedict but with bacon and tomatoes, with a healthy dose of cheddar sauce and hash browns. The country fried steak breakfast is a pair of eggs your way served with hash browns. The CFS is blanketed by very mild tasting homemade sausage gravy, and the dish comes with biscuit or toast.

Don’t miss: The creative names for dishes. "Joe Mama's Extreme Waffle," "Mommy I Have a Tummy Ache and Should Have Eaten at Home Sandwich" and "ET Phone Home PB Cakes (Reese's Pieces in two pancakes)."

Nooks and crannies: Walls are covered with everything from lighted beer signs to license plates to funny sayings ("A yawn is a silent scream for coffee") and more. We ate in an actual bus - a 1947 bus with steering wheel intact.

Have a brunch spot you’ve wondered about and want us to visit? Email me.

Previous eats: Northeast Ohio breakfast-brunch spots we’ve tried:

1815 Tavern - Aurora

111 Bistro - Medina

35 Brix - Green

Akron Family Restaurant - Akron

Alley Cat - Cleveland (Flats East Bank)

Austin’s Wood Fire Grille - Brecksville

Barrio - Cuyahoga County (multiple locations)

Bay Diner - Bay Village

Beau's on the River - Cuyahoga Falls

Big Al's Diner - Cleveland (East Side)