A toast to Toaste

The day after my birthday, I was still in the mood to treat myself, despite having enjoyed a decadent meal the previous evening. I turned 40, so I felt that multiple days, if not weeks, of celebration were in order. My friend and I realized that Toaste, a cafe in East Lansing we’d long wanted to visit, was open that day and that we were both available (an unprecedented occurrence).

Toaste offers sandwiches, soups, cafe drinks and desserts. Sounds pretty simple, if not boring, but don’t be deceived by a first, cursory glance. Almost everything is made in house, and even if the options sound familiar, the ingredients and the quality thereof are different from what you’d find at most soup-and-sandwich spots.

The drink menu alone leaves you spoiled for choice: strawberry-cream matcha, a dalgona (Korean toffee) latte and an iced banana cream caramel latte are just a few options. Sandwiches include a kimchi tuna melt, a jambon beurre (Kerrygold butter, fig jam, French-style ham, pickled jalapeño, truffle mayo) and an egg club, served on Japanese milk bread (shokupan). The “honey Toaste” desserts, also made with shokupan, come in several flavors, including strawberry, apple pie and banana pudding.

It’s a nightmare for someone with decision paralysis, but there are far worse problems to have. And, despite this being my first visit, I’m pretty confident you could choose anything and not be disappointed. I opted for a sparkling peach-Earl Grey drink and the half-and-half deal with an egg club and a cup of the creamy tomato soup.

As I said before, the quality of ingredients was unmatched. The shokupan was cloud-like and slightly sweet — a perfect vehicle for the airiest, richest egg salad I’ve ever had. The egg club comes with ham, but I ordered it without so my vegetarian companion could enjoy a taste, and though I’m sure the ham is an excellent addition, I was perfectly content without it. The pickled carrots I selected as a side were the perfect complement, along with the bright, creamy soup.

This combo, minus the drink, will cost you $12.50, which I consider a great deal in general, let alone for something like fresh-baked bread. (I tried my friend’s sandwich and can confirm the focaccia is excellent, too). It’s a treat you can help yourself to at any time, for any reason.