McGregor's School House Cafe offers great road food

I love road food. And no, by that I do not mean the golden arches drive-through. I love to find small-town restaurants and cafes. It's not necessarily that the menu offerings are unique, though sometimes they are. It's just that they tend to be awfully good at what they do, and it usually comes with a big smile.

On my recent trip to the Iron Range, I had the happy incident of getting somewhat lost (um, Anoka? If you're going to close off part of Highway 169? It would be nice if you'd put clear detour signs for people who don't, you know, live in Anoka) and ended up driving north not on 169, but on MN 47, which was scenic. When I got to McGregor, I found this place, the Country House antique and gift shop. But as I hadn't had much to eat that day, the sign about the restaurant was what really caught my attention. Back behind the Country House is this:

The School House Cafe. Breakfast all day and lunch. How could I resist?

The special of the day was liver and onions with mashed potatoes for $4.95, but what I went with was this:

Hashbrowns stuffed with peppers, mushrooms and onions, topped with cheese and sprouts, eggs over easy, and wheat toast. Everything was piping hot, the eggs were perfect, and the hash browns were moan-worthy. No, I did not finish them. The plate was enormous, which means the portion was enormous.

My coffee never made it to 3/4 full before someone refilled it. If I'd had any room after this, I would have tried the pie. Everyone else there was having pie, and someone came in and bought a whole one while I was there. Always a good sign.

Next time.