Round About Caffe
6040 S. 12th Street I’m famously not a coffee drinker. My caffeine addiction is Pepsi. I’ll occasionally drink a coffee and I’ll pretty much always drink a coffee beer, but I don’t have to get up every morning and hit the Starbucks drive through on my way to work.
I’m always a little bummed that I’m not a coffee drinker. There are so many great cafe’s around town and I’m always hesitant to go in. A lot of them advertise light lunch fare but it always feels weird to me to go to a cafe and only get a sandwich.
I was in Portage last week for a doctor’s appointment. I had told work I was taking a half sick day and I’d be in around noon. My appointment was over pretty quickly and I still had a little time so I decided I should probably grab lunch before heading in.
It was kind of out of the way but I noticed a new cafe on the roundabout at 12th Street in Portage. We don’t go that way very often by the boy is playing in a fall baseball league at West Portage Little League. I was curious about the location and what they offered…so I kind of double backed from the doctor’s office to see what they’re all about.
Round About Caffe is located on the southwest corner of the roundabout at 12th Street, Texas Drive, and Milham Avenue. The building used to be a State Farm office before becoming the cafe earlier this year. You can access the parking lot either from 12th Street or Texas Drive.
The café is a pretty large space. There’s an order counter for drinks when you first walk in the door.
There’s not a lot of seating in the building which is somewhat surprising. They fill some of the space with a small selection of pantry items. I like this set up because it would let me buy a pop if I wanted to. It’s much more of a relaxed space than most typical coffee places.
I struggled to see the food menu when I walked in so I asked about as I ordered a Cold Brew for myself. I figured I should probably at least try a coffee. I think the thing that’s typically turned me off as a coffee drinker is the hotness. I’m more likely to drink an iced coffee or cold brew and I figured I might as well try something out of my comfort zone.
The food menu was actually behind me. There’s a pick up counter at the kitchen window. The food menu is actually there. I still ordered at the front counter but had to turn around to see what they had to offer.
Typically, cafe’s have lighter lunch options. Salads, cold meat sandwiches, etc. This is not a typical cafe They have a full on kitchen with burgers and deep fryers.
I ordered myself a double cheeseburger and added on jalapenos and BBQ sauce. They were a little confused about me not wanting the usual lettuce, tomato, onion, but I went with my Five Guys order instead.
I didn’t expect much with a burger coming from a coffee joint but holy cow was I blown away by this burger. The two patties were super juicy and kind of crumbly with a salt and pepper crunch from the griddle. The meat was held together with a gooey layer of melted cheese. The bun was a soft yet firm and held all the burger juices and BBQ sauce together. I was quite surprised how good this burger was.
I added on an order of Garlic Fries which were pretty expensive coming in at $6. Like the burger, I was surprised by the quality. The fries were perfectly cooked skin on fries with a garlic seasoning and cilantro on top. They were delicious but the price seems a little high just to add garlic seasoning to them. They were super tasty though.
The bill for my meal was right around $20.
The thing I’ll say for Round About Caffe is that it’s a little surprising. I was expecting more of a traditional coffee house vibe and that’s not at all what it is. The food was really good. It’s a quick counter service place with more like what you’d get a a casual or fast casual restaurant. They’re only open until 2 so that doesn’t really work with our baseball schedule but it’s also not that far from home when I crave a tasty burger.
SW Michigan Dining 