Traverse City, MI - good eats?
I'll be staying in Traverse City for a day with my husband and in-laws on the way to Mackinac Island. All the previous posts on dining in this city are at least 3 years old from my search.
Just wondering if any of you can update this topic with some good recs on where to eat? We are not looking for upscale fine dining, but some place to get a tasty, medium-priced meal in a casual setting, around the $20-25 per person price range.
Thanks for any tips!
spectra21
Jun 20, 2007 11:18AM
Amical (http://www.amical.com). Strongly recommended.
I would not-so-strongly recommend North Peak Brewing, too.
If you've got any desire for a family-style breakfast place, I've got a soft spot for Mabel's.
-g
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Oh, Mabel's is stll around! My family and I went there in 1993 when I was at Interlochen. We loved it. I hope it hasn't changed.
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My wife and I were there for two nights in October last year and had two great meals. Amical and Trattoria Stella.
Both great.
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Last fall we had a nice lunch at the Cullinary Institute - can't remember the exact name of it, but anyone up there would know. Very nice service and within your price range. You may need a reservation??? Maybe someone else will post more on this. We also scheduled a tour of the training area after lunch, which was nice and informative. Their lovely dining room overlooks the lake. I'll be up there in August and hope more recommendations will appear here.
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Ok , I saw you price range , but may I humbly suggest Scalawags ? A chain sure , but a chain that exists pretty much in Northern Michigan only . Their specialty is fried whitefish , but they do many other local freshwater species very well too , most everything is fried but fried real good . Think Long John Silvers if John only knew the local fisherman captains by name , and they brought fresh fish caught locally every day . It's a good light hearted fun place for lunch . If you try it and like it , there is one in Mackinaw City as well , they are both very good for what they do .
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If you can't make it Up North there is now a Scalawag's in Rochester Hills, on Rochester Rd between M59 and Auburn.
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You should not pass through Traverse City without stopping at Don's Drive-In for either a raspberry or cherry shake -- or better yet, both. They use real fruit. My wife and I go to Charlevoix every year by way of TC and always stop at Don's.
The other place I like is Cousin Jenny's for pasties. Good, but not a must stop like Don's fruit shakes.
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I just got back from running the Bayshore Marathon in Traverse City in late May, and I have a lot to say about the food in the area.
Sorry for the scattered thoughts...I'm at work and typing as I think of them...
The Omellete Shoppe, and specifically the one on Cass not Front Street was a nice little breakfast place that I'd recommend.
I ate at Hanna Bistro twice. Once for lunch after the marathon, and once for dinner Sunday night. On sunday they have a roasted chicken dinner special for all of like $8, and it wad delicious. I really enjoyed this restaurant because it was fairly priced, pretty good, and incredibly laid back. If it were in St. Louis I would go often. It's on Cass right next to the Omelette Shoppe.
Trattoria Stella looked good, and we drove over to it, but it just never worked into our plans.
Though highly recommended Bower's Harbor Inn was incredibly expensive for what it was, and really, I found it to be quite terrible. I wanted to leave the minute I sat down, but it was my wife's choice, and post marathon I was in no shape to walk around arguing at length.
There are about three coffee shops on every block in Traverse City, but they all pretty much suck if you really like coffee. What a shame! The best that I was in was Espresso Bay. There were a couple that looked like they were going to be good, but their espresso machines were filthy and I couldn't even order because of it.
I didn't care for either brewery. North Peak was the better of the two however by far. There stout was pretty terrible though.
Grand Traverse Pie Company (a small chain) had a really good chicken pot pie, but their sandwiches weren't to great. obviously the pie was also good.
Moomer's Ice Cream - local ice cream joint with interesting flavors. I had carrot cake...delicious!!!
...there are a couple more delis/sandwich places we went to in Traverse City right on Front Street, but I can't for the life of me recall the name of them. I'll have to see if my wife remembers.
...and if you have time, in Leland there is a bakery called Stone House and it was one of the best bakeries I've been to nationwide. Awesome sandwiches, pastries, scones, breads.
...and Petoskey was a super neat day trip from Traverse City as well, also with some good food and shops. We went to Roast & Toast which we enjoyed.
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Thanks to all for your feedback! I can't wait to check some of these places out and will report back on the stand-outs!
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Actually, last I knew Stone House bakery is run by a former Detroit lead newsman/editorialist/respected journalist, who is married to Alice Waters' sister.They were a the front of the artisanal bakery efforts here in the Great Lakes State.
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He's still the guy. I briefly read an article about the news anchor portion, but the Alice Waters part I did not know. That's very interesting.
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I had recently had a Cherry pie from The Grand Traverse pie co. They are just frozen pies. The entire inside was raw flour while the top crust was perfectly cooked. Completly inedible and they obviously did not bother to thaw the pie before baking. I sent them an email and they didn't even respond.
While it is north of TC Friske's has excellent pie.
http://www.apples-cherries.com/index....
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Be sure to check out "310" . Its a Tapas restuarant located on Cass.
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Hi all, due to a travel hiccup, we didn't arrive in Traverse City until very late at night, so we only had time to eat breakfast before heading up further north to Mackinac. We ate at Mabel's, which is a family-owned diner with tasty and hearty breakfasts. We had some delicious omelettes, which were tasty and generous, and the pancakes and waffles with fresh fruit. A very enjoyable meal with friendly service.
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Thanks to everyone for all of these great suggestions. I'm heading up to TC for a few days at the end of the month, and you've already taken care of all of the work for me in terms of finding great places to eat!
Now for my dilemma: I'm traveling with a New Englander who I've turned into a Pastie lover by virtue of my own homemade Pasties. S, I definitely want to get some while we're at least near Pastie Mecca! I was thinking of stopping at Albie's in Gaylord on our way up, but I've never been there and was wondering whether anyone here knows the place. Are they any good, and if not, where else should I go instead?
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We have cottages northwest of Traverse City on the Leelanau peninsula and know the food places pretty well. For good eats in a delightful setting try the Blue Bird restaurant in Leland, about 23 miles north of Traverse City. It has a very informal bar area with good casual food and a dining area reknown for its salad bar and tasty dishes including whitefish. But for a truly memorable dining experience, I recommend making a 45 minute drive north of Traverse City to Elsworth, a very unlikely place for an outstanding gourmet meal presented beautifully. The restaurant is Tapawingo. Tiny town. Beautiful location. Superb food at a price you would expect for that. We take the long drive from out cottage at least once a summer.
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Seconded on Tapawingo. Could very well be Michigan's best restaurant, period.
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Tapawingo is WONDERFUL, and worth the trip from Traverse City. I haven't tried many places in the Detroit area, so I can't speak to a statewide claim, but it's easily the best restaurant in western Michigan.
Also excellent, and in Ellsworth, is the Rowe Inn.
More info:
www.tapawingo.net
www.roweinn.com
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I was in Traverse City not too long ago, and had a wonderful dinner, absolutely delicious (and not terribly expensive), at Hanna. As they note on their website, specializing in "fresh food simply prepared". You'll find more info (including a menu with prices) on their website at www.hannabistrobar.com
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We were there over the long weekend and had some really good food - top honors to Trattoria Stella in the old Building 50 complex. It's the area's old mental institution that's now being repurposed into restaurants, galleries, condos - a really neat place. Stella's features lots of local farms and products on its Italian-leaning menu and has a great wine list also. This is definitely the kind of place I wish we had more of in Michigan (especially SW) as I love to support local farms.
Don's Drive In was a lot of fun for burgers and especially the real strawberry milkshakes. Cousin Jennie's steak pasties were good also. Hanna Bistro had a great whitefish entree, and we returned on Sunday for the chicken dinner special which was satisfying after a day at the beach though maybe most appealing for its price.
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We were in TC last week for a few days, and tried several places mentioned in this thread. I have to say the cherry milkshake at Don's is not to be missed (from the real fruit grouping on the menu). Mabel's is outstanding--the corned beef hash (ordered my Mrs. johnb) seemed to be house made, and the hash browns were crisp and really good. I had the "stuffed" hash browns which is one of the two "favorites" highlighted on the menu and they were superb. We also tried the Sunday eve. roast chicken special at Hanna. It was well worth the price, tho I must report my chicken was a bit underdone.
We also stumbled into a place I haven't seen mentioned, called Ham Bonz or something like that--a true chow type place, a shack, hole in the wall. Located at the SE corner of Garfield and I think 14th. Run by a very nice fellow from Mississippi who seems to appreciate good food. Their specialty is a pulled pork sandwich. It was very good, big, and finely pulled pork with sauce already mixed in, which sometimes can be deadly but this was good, not too sweet as it often is. About $7 IIRC. Well worth a stop.
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I'm clearly way behind here but I feel like I have to put in a plug for the sandwiches at Folgarelli's Market. Front St., just west of the main downtown drag. The sandwiches are definitely pricey but worth it for a once-in-while indulgence. My favorite is The Godfather; roasted peppers, prosciutto, pesto, capicola on an Italian roll. Delish.
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