Where can you find exquisite food at a reasonable price in a cozy restaurant? I recently had the pleasure of dining there, MCL Restaurant & Bakery at 5520 Castleton Corner Ln. As you walk into the building, you see a beautiful red and orange tree that makes the landscape warm and inviting. Entering the lobby, a very quaint off-white couch invites you into the sitting area that makes you feel welcome.
Right off, you can see the personal attention that has allowed the restaurant to remain and thrive for so long. Matt Bridges, general manager of the cafeteria, has been with MCL 33 years.
When asked about his favorite part of the job, Bridges said, “I love people. It has to be a part of your natural personality.”
MCL has been in business for 60 years. Bridges said the company treated him with so much respect and kindness that he ended up staying there.
The menu generally includes succulent stuffed chicken, green beans, fresh chicken salad, fluffy mashed potatoes, fried cauliflower, delicious pumpkin pie, a decadent chocolate chip cookie, and sweet tea. The day I visited the cafeteria, choices ranged from meatloaf at $4.09 and Swiss veal at $4.39 to Cajun grilled tilapia at $4.99 and teriyaki chicken and rice at $5.39. Soup choices included vegetable and turkey noodle with fresh made breads such as cloverleaf rolls, honey wheat and cinnamon rolls, cornbread, rosemary garlic rolls and blueberry-crumb-top muffins.
When asked how MCL innovates and competes, Bridges explained that every year someone asks not “How big can we get, but how good can we get?” Two years ago, the restaurant changed its name from MCL Cafeteria to MCL Restaurant and Bakery.
In addition to offering full service banquets and catering this holiday season, they will sell a meal called “everything but the turkey,” for $64.95. This will include two quarts of mashed potatoes, two quarts of dressing, two quarts of green beans, one quart of cranberry relish, one dozen cloverleaf rolls and one pumpkin or pecan pie for approximately $7.50 a person for a minimum of 10 people.
The bakery is next door to the restaurant; its pie range extends from cherry, pecan, pumpkin, butterscotch, and custard, to lemon velvet cake, carrot cake squares, and custard in addition to sugar, chocolate chip and cherry jubilee.
When you spend your money to go out and eat, you want to feel as though you are getting your money’s worth. At MCL Restaurant and Bakery, you get that and so much more.
For additional locations, visit www.mclhomemade.com.
