Absolutely nothing compares to waking up to the smell of perfectly crispy bacon wafting into your room.

That was my reality almost every Saturday and Sunday morning — I’d wake up and breakfast would magically be almost ready without me moving a finger.

Simply put, college was a huge wake-up call.

My Saturday morning breakfasts are usually underwhelming, to say the least.

As a sophomore still living in the dorms, I’ll tell you straight up: If I didn’t have to see or eat the typical dorm breakfast of flavorless scrambled eggs, or the same old cereal flavors, I’d be a much happier person.

I quickly learned if I wanted a breakfast envious of that, the only place to go was The Nucleus.

The only problem is we’re all broke college students who can’t afford this luxury every weekend.

And on top of that, you’re lucky if you get to The Nucleus and you’re able to sit down and order immediately.

This makes the breakfast adventure far too long when you feel like you’re swimming in homework nearly every weekend.

And let’s be honest, you probably wasted your morning away sleeping until at least 10 a.m., if you’re like me. The weekend always seems to slip away and breakfast just isn’t prioritized.

Hello, caf food.

This weekend, however, I discovered other places to go besides The Nucleus and it’s worth the time and money if you do it right.

First off, I set a time for me and my friends to leave. Although the idea of setting an alarm for a Saturday morning was unappealing, it was worth it.

I got up at 8 a.m., got myself ready and went to Grand Avenue Cafe with my friends at 9 a.m. sharp.

Grand Avenue Cafe is probably the cutest little cafe I’ve ever had the pleasure of dining at.

The walls are adorned with book wallpaper and each table has a couple old books for guests to flip through while waiting for their food.

To go with the prevailing literary theme (a dream for English majors like myself), there were even dishes named after classic novel titles.

“A Tale of Two Chickens,” “Great Expectations,” “Hamlet” and “The Grand Gatsby” were a few literary dish names.

Though I did not order any of those items on the menu, I enjoyed my eggs benedict thoroughly.

Also, did I mention they had the best cup of coffee I’ve had in what feels like eons?

I’m usually someone who puts a little cream in my coffee, but Grand Avenue Cafe’s coffee was so delicious, I didn’t have to doctor it at all.

If I’m honest, good coffee almost always makes up for a bad breakfast. Luckily, Grand Avenue Cafe had both a good cup of joe and breakfast menu. This Saturday was a win-win.

The only thing I could complain about is the pricing. For just eggs benedict, a side of hashbrowns (necessary for how much food came with my main dish) and coffee, I payed $12. For a college student, this outing is definitely not affordable on a regular basis. But, I will say it was a perfect weekend treat.

Overall, it was one of the best Saturday mornings I’ve had in Eau Claire thus far — grand breakfast, grand coffee, grand company: the perfect recipe for a grand day in Eau Claire.