Dining in East Lansing is a hard sell when the students are in town, but my desire to try something new overpowered those reservations last Sunday. Angela’s Cafe opened over a year ago in the spot formerly home to the sorely missed Aloha Cookin’, and its distinctive, Balkan-influenced menu options had been piquing my interest for some time.
Angela’s offers breakfast and lunch options, as well as a full menu of cafe beverages, including matcha and espresso drinks. At first glance, it might seem like a normal diner menu, but when you look closer, the ingredients used make things much more exciting.
Instead of regular old pancakes, Angela’s has thin, crêpe-like Swedish pancakes, which are served with your choice of topping, including pistachio Nutella, fresh fruit and caramelized apples. Instead of a Cobb salad, the restaurant has a fennel and cannellini bean salad with feta cheese and olives, and instead of a boring veggie burger, it has a roasted veggie sandwich with plum chutney, brie cheese, zucchini and squash. It also has byrek, a savory pastry filled with meat, cheese, or potato and served with yogurt…