Quite some time ago, the men on my wife's side of the family started the tradition of going out to breakfast on Christmas Eve morning. We used to go to a local place that had pretty phenomenal omelets.
Several years ago that place shut down and since then we have been bouncing around from place to place looking for a new restaurant to call our go-to place for this tradition.
Since one of my brother in laws lives about forty five minutes south of us, he suggested we meet somewhere a little closer to him. We were all on board with that and it was quickly decided that we would meet at Tony's I-75 Restaurant.
As you can likely guess from the name, Tony's is located right off of I-75 in the small town of Birch Run, MI. Interstate 75 is one of the major thoroughfares in the United States that runs north to south from Michigan all the way down to Florida. It actually runs into Canada too, but I think the name changes after it crosses the border.
The other real claim to fame for Birch Run besides Tony's is a large outlet mall that brings people in from all over the state.
What makes Tony's so popular is the fact that they use so much bacon. If you are familiar with the Travel Channel/Food Network show "Food Paradise", you have likely seen Tony's and didn't realize it.
I am including the YouTube clip below of their spot on the Sandwich Paradise episode.
They use just about a pound of bacon on every bacon dish they offer. In fact, as you can see in the opening picture, we ordered a side of bacon and you have to order it in 1 pound increments.
Personally, I think it is a bit excessive, but since we were all sharing, it wasn't so bad...
My nephew got to come with the men for the first time this year and he was beyond excited when they dumped this plate of french toast in front of him. I'm not going to lie, he finished the whole thing.
Like a boss!
My father in law went the simple route and got three eggs over easy with sausage links, and toast.
My youngest brother in law went with pancakes, eggs, and sausage patties.
I was leaning towards an omelet, but then I started looking at the menu more closely. First I noticed there was a statement about not being able to order "half orders" of omelets. Then I noticed that was because each omelet was a TWELVE EGG OMELET!
Now, I've had a three egg omelet before and I can attest to the fact that three eggs is more than enough for me. I can't even imagine a twelve egg one.
I quickly shifted gears, but that didn't stop my other two brother's in law from getting the "three little pigs omelet".
I am going to be honest, it wasn't as big as I thought it was going to be. Sure, it filled up the whole plate, but somehow I was honestly expecting bigger. It was filled with bacon, ham, sausage, and cheese. They actually complained a little that the meats weren't more mixed up.
There seemed to be defined sections that were filled with each of the kinds of meat.
I am also a little disappointed that there wasn't hash browns or American fries offered as part of the meal. I am sure we could have ordered them on the side, but most places we have went in the past just include them automatically.
I ended up settling on the corned beef hash and three eggs with toast. I will be honest and let you know now I was a bit disappointed in my meal. I was expecting something a bit more like this:
This was the corned beef hash I got at the Black Bear Diner in Las Vegas, NV. Instead, I got the picture you see above this one which looks more like it came out of a can and was crisped up on the flat top.
The flavors were still pretty decent, but I was expecting a bit more. I don't know, maybe I am just a bit too critical. I was on the fence about getting the six ounce sirloin steak and eggs vs. the corned beef. I wish now I had went with my first instinct and gotten the steak.
That being said, I would probably come back to Tony's if that is where they decide to meet again next year. The food isn't horrible, but is clearly one of those cases where you are going to there more for the awe factor versus the fact that they have really good food.
If you are heading up I-75 passing through Birch Run and you love a good BLT sandwich, you might want to pull in and give this place a chance. Otherwise, I would recommend you keep on going and find something else. There is a great local chain just a little north called Lasko's that does a fantastic breakfast. Between that and some of the Greek diners further south on I-75 you will likely find much better food.
