Bright colors aren’t the only thing that makes Good Morning Mama’s Café stand out from other restaurants.

Only a five minute car-ride from Butler’s campus, this café is full of variety, from the menu to the décor.

Catering to breakfast, brunch and lunch, you are sure to find something to eat no matter what time last night’s festivities let you roll out of bed, as long as it’s before 2:30.

The all-day breakfast includes classics like pancakes, French toast and breakfast sandwiches, while also offering many different assortments of three-egg omelets or scrambles.

The vegetarian scramble with fried potatoes was a favorite of my dining partner, who had a fondness for the crispy chip-style potatoes and the freshness of her eggs and vegetables, including mushrooms, spinach, tomatoes and onions.

Topped with basil pesto and goat cheese, it had “real flavor.” I am a fan of spicy food, so I enjoyed the
stuffed burrito sonoma.

A flour tortilla packed with eggs, bacon, chorizo sausage, jalapeno peppers, onions, tomatoes and Monterey Jack cheese, covered in Rancheros sauce and sour cream, the mix of ingredients created a tasty burrito with a real kick-in-the tongue taste. Be sure to grab a glass of milk.

Lunch here starts at 11:30 a.m.

While the main dishes seem as ordinary as any other café’s—soups, salads and sandwiches— Good Morning Mama’s sprinkles them with originality.

If you look past the creative titles you will find interesting combinations like Ry’s Favorite, a salad with tuna, chicken or salmon and toasted walnuts, on top of a mixture of fruit and lettuce, topped with drizzled yogurt, all found in the middle of a ring of cantaloupe.

The sandwiches can be both hot and cold, with classic choices like the jumbo beef hot dog or a Reuben.

In the mood to try something new?

Good Morning Mama’s Café has some items that are far from traditional.

For carb lovers, the breakfast menu offers the pasta mama –whole wheat spaghetti scrambled with eggs, topped with cheese and presented with a side of toast. Take a trip back in time and try the 1940’s, an omelet or scramble with fried spam, onions and potatoes topped with sausage gravy, sure to make anyone’s cholesterol soar.

Although it is a breakfast, brunch and lunch restaurant, beer and wine is offered.

If you need an early morning pick-me-up sip a mimosa; it seemed to be favored by the guests seated around us.

Craving a different kind of energy burst, we chose to go with the traditional morning coffee. I had to add three sugars and a creamer to mine—I wasn’t too fond of the after taste—but for fans of Broad Ripple’s Hubbard and Cravens, it’s your perfect restaurant.

At first sight, the presentation was so nice you didn’t want to ruin it, but it smelled delicious, so we dug in.

The meal sizes are big for the buck, ending the morning with checks around $10-15 per person. You leave the table not only feeling full, but with a to-go box in hand, perfect for any college student.

The atmosphere was fine. I was there at 11:30 a.m. on a Friday—not a prime time for Good Morning Mama’s (which could be the reason the service was so good and parking was easy).

We were able to have a choice in where we sat. With a restaurant/café mixture the seating ranged from inside tables, to a soda shop style bar to an outdoor patio.

Being fans of the outdoors and the perfect fall morning, we chose to enjoy our feast outside, along with a few other customers.

The colors on the inside of the building ranged from vibrant pinks, yellows and oranges, flowing from the inside walls and out for a retro feel. The ceiling was painted bright blue, sure to brighten anyone’s rainy day.

The size of the patio was about as large as the inside of the restaurant itself, surrounded by a fence covered in hanging flowers and encircled by trees, creating a very inviting look.

Good Morning Mama’s Café has been open for about a year. It was originally a gas station in the 1960’s, which gave a whole new understanding to the retro-like approach of the building.

Good Morning Mama’s Café is a restaurant I would recommend checking out more than once, but it’s not necessarily a regular stop for a college student because of the price, and the restauran tends to serve an older crowd.

It is located in a quiet residential community at 1001 E. 54th Street.