B & J’s American Cafe

Terrible experience. Came on early on a Saturday. I ordered a salad with chicken, which you would think would be hard to mess up. The lettuce was all brown and wilted the chicken was sooo dry. My coffee was gross and cold. My boyfriend ordered a pizza burger which was the lunch special of the day and the burger was a hockey puck. Over cooked. Fries were soggy. I think the water was the best part of this place. Will not be returning.

We had a quick dinner here after work. It appears that they are still working on the inside but were serving food. The atmosphere is cute and quaint. It looks like a small town diner from the 50s or 60s.
The food is really NOT good. I had a hamburger which basically was the equivalent of McDonald’s, maybe less. My fiancé had meatloaf which he described as greasy and burned.
We could hear the kitchen staff screaming at the wait staff out in the dining room.
Cute place but they need to start over with their kitchen staff.

Sad to relay that as of December 31, 2014, B&J’s has closed its doors, pending the successful search for a new proprietor.

This restaurant has the opportunity to be great. The owner is front if the house and fits with the overall charm wearing a 3 stooges tie. Coffee was good. Food was good but slow because a large group came just before we arrived. Now on the subject of bacon …it was crisp but grocery store bland. Restaurant could use a deep clean and a bit of de clutter.

This old fashioned diner has lots of interesting memorabilia to look at. Unfortunately, the food was just barely ok. There were three people in our party, one had breakfast, the other two had lunch. The breakfast diner received dirty silverware, undercooked pancakes. One of the lunch diners had a Reuben platter, there was not any Russian dressing on the Reuben. My burger was over cooked. The waitress was not very friendly.

Good food, great service. I arrived with my family at two on a Monday afternoon not knowing that they closed at two. We were seated and our order was taken before I realized that they closing, I said something about this to our waitress and she said it was no problem, we didn’t feel rushed or that she was in anyway put out.

–good fries
–good breakfast
–good atmosphere
–gives what it promises

We found this restaurant on Unilocal when we were looking for a small town diner. This place totally fit the bill! The atmosphere was old fashioned and really interesting.
The breakfast was great! There were four of us and we all loved what we ordered. The cinnamon roll was YUMMY! Big enough to share and super delicious.
There was a wide variety of baked goods that you can bring home including breads and pies.
Overall, this was a great find and we will definitely be returning.
This was a stop on our way home from the Blue Chip Casino and it was a good decision to avoid the prices at the casino restaurants and the boring breakfast choices.

My wife and I go to Laporte on a regular basis for dinner at a supper club that we just can’t get enough of on E1000. We went to B & J’s for the first time on a Saturday and it was so good we went back on Sunday. Let me just say we fell in love with this place! It was like I was a kid again in the local diner where everyone knew you by name. The food was VERY GOOD, eggs, sausage, waffle and potatoes were cooked perfectly! Nothing was greasy and the flavor was awesome. Service was also great, we waited for nothing and the café was busy. We travel over 70 miles to Laporte and we will be back here to eat every time we come. One more thing, the banana nut bread was fantastic!

I get the recent hype B&J’s has gotten due to the documentary on La Porte. For views of historic La Porte, friendly staff and owner, and just general ambiance, you can’t go wrong.
I actually are here with Heather H who also wrote a review, but my review of the food is not as kind. I’m not saying it’s bad. I have only tried one menu item so I am only going to review that.
I got a veggie omelet. The egg part of it was good, but the rest of it consisted of canned mushrooms, broccoli I believe was frozen broccoli, and possible canned tomatoes. For close to $ 8, I was expecting better ingredients and more choices.
I’m not saying I know for a fact that my statements of the origin of the ingredients are correct, but correct or not, that’s how the final product feels.
Simply using fresh ingredients would have doubled the tastiness of the omelet.

This is everything I was looking for in a diner. I had two eggs over medium, american potatoes, and rye toast for less than $ 5. Add to that a cup of coffee, good orange juice, and killer ambiance and you have an awesome breakfast spot. Our service started out a little bit cold, but she was very efficient in keeping my coffee and water filled, and by the end was smiling and MUCH more friendly than her initial greeting.
This building has a long history as a restaurant, and the current owners are working hard to preserve that. They have a working soda fountain! I want to come back just to get a soda. The original tile on the floors, wood on the walls, counter with bar stools, and old pictures of La Porte natives really work for me.
This is a pay at the register type place, and we were rung up by the owner, a very friendly man with whom we ended up standing and chatting for probably 10 or 15 minutes. They also apparently bake breads and cookies, and have them up at the register as you are leaving. It took everything I had not to walk away with something delicious like lemon-​poppy-​seed or zucchini bread. It was staring at me from the counter-​top the entire time we were talking to the owner. The cookies were whispering sweet nothings in my ear — but I resisted! I’ll be back for you someday, tasty looking baked goods!

I really enjoy this place. The staff are incredibly welcoming and cheerful, always engaging in conversation. The history is somewhat incredible as well. It was a restaurant since 1915 and has an actual working soda fountain. Visit here 11 times and you’re part of the «Coffee Mug Club» and receive a mug with your name on it to be used when you visit.
Most importantly, however, is the food. It is fresh and delicious. I do not have one complaint whatsoever. It’s just a great local breakfast joint.

The worst dining experience I have ever had. It took over a half hour to get served, with only one other couple in the place. My pancakes were raw in the middle, so they were taken away, and twenty minutes later I was presented with the same pancakes!!! Now twenty minutes was bad enough (on top of the half hour initial wait) but, come on, you can’t recook a pancake! How much effort and expense could possibly be involved with making two new pancakes. When asked this question, the manager had no real answer. A real entrepreneur. I wouldn’t step foot in this restaurant if I were starving and they were giving out free food. Avoid at all costs.
It’s really a shame, because it’s a beautiful place, very carefully restored — too bad they know a lot about restoration and very little about running a restaurant

We visited this little café when we all made the pilgrimage to see Clyde and his Herb Shop. Cute little place. Pretty standard as far as your typical, American breakfast. Service was good and fast and the food was plentiful! We all ordered your typical egg/​hashbrown /​meat breakfasts!

Tucked away in a quaint, almost forgotten town called La Porte, Indiana, lies a piece of history and a true classic. As you make your way downtown, you may take notice of some of the old, worn buildings that still boast the Ma and Pa stores somehow getting by in an era of big businesses, box stores and franchises. All that aside, you get hungry and make a stop into some good old-​fashion history.
Nestled in the heart of La Porte is B&J’s American Café, which has recently become one my favorite spots to dine for lunch. Even the first-​gen Baby Boomers will walk in and feel like a kid again as you soak in the authentic 1940s surroundings, which is more than just a décor. It’s a living memory that defiantly exists among the modern. Listen to Glenn Miller and other big band music faintly playing in the background. Nice touch! It is certainly a nice throwback of the town’s history and its people. Ok, so I got carried away with this review. If you made it this far — please read further.
The food will not disappoint. I love their burgers (I always order the bacon burger platter — comes with beer-​battered fries and cole slaw). In my opinion, they make one of the best burgers around (even better than the overrated Redamaks — yeah, I said it). Another personal fave would be the cinnamon roll. Trust me, it exceeded my expectations (WARNING — if allergic to nuts, be sure to mention that prior to ordering because they put walnuts on top of the roll). The cinnamon roll is large and can be shared (2 people) depending on your appetite. I’ve yet to try their breakfast.
The service — I think it’s an on or off day in terms of service because there has been one visit where the service was not-​so great (waitress not as attentive and food took longer than expected to come out), but other visits where it’s been pretty decent. It beats having the overzealous waiter/​waitress constantly asking you «if everything is ok?» in mid-​bite or while chewing your meal (that gets annoying to me). Overall, service is improving.
I believe this place is a hidden gem that deserves a second look.

Food was great, service was awful. We were there for breakfast and were the only ones in the restaurant that did not have food at the time, and it took over 30 minutes for basic eggs, bacon and french toast. Another guest arrived after us and was served first. Wait staff and other guests were homophobic and unfriendly.
Otherwise, atmosphere was great, and it’s a homey place. Perhaps we were just there at the wrong time. However, based on our experience, I would not return.

This is a little breakfast and lunch café located right in the heart of downtown La Porte in a little storefront. The building that it is located in has quite a bit of history to it. It has been owned and operated as a restaurant in the same family for over 80 years. They have kept the décor consistent with how it looked in the 1940’s. This makes for a very charming atmosphere.
Our waiter was a younger guy and he did an excellent job of taking care of us. The owner also took the time to go around to all of the tables tables to not only check up on everyone but to chit-​chat for a while too. He made us feel welcomed like we were guests in his home.
The highlight of the meal was the kick ass cinnamon rolls. They are baked to order and delivered to your table straight out of the oven: hot, fresh and out of this world. I ordered the Tex-​Mex breakfast and it was rather bland and would have been not so great if not for the salsa they put on top of it. The hash browns were one step above though by actually being sliced potatoes!
Overall, it was a very good experience. The prices here were reasonable. I can see myself coming back here the next time I am out here. Did I mention the out of this world cinnamon rolls???