First stop was the farmers market in the small beach town of south haven. Pretty busting farmers market, I picked up home cured bacon and grass fed free range beef shank to make a red wine beef stew. Only snapped this picture but also got lots of fruits.
Peaches were ok. But the blue berries and cherries were excellent along with the amazing Michigan sweet corn. Definitely highlights of our home cooked meals in Michigan.
A small Mexican restaurant off the main strip of south haven. Our Mexican friend rated it a 6.5-7 out of 10 but it was still solid and definitely not bad.
Best things were the platillos and something I got called a Hawaiian quesadilla which ended up being bacon, pastor, hot dogs, grilled onions and pineapples, queso, with onions and cilantro, and mustard and ketchup in a heavily griddled quesadilla. Looked kinda weird and off putting at first but it somehow worked flavor wise. Reminded me of the greasy yet tasty hamberguesas you can buy at a puesto in any small town at night in a lot of small Mexican towns or street corners where they put everything on a burger.
Pennyroyal provisions at the edge of Saugatuck. Cute garden, they had a nice coffee stand and you can purchase something to drink while you wait there. They can have a wait because it’s highly popular and there aren’t many really good options in the area. We had a great meal there but we waited almost 40 min for the food, the vegetarian sandwich was a highlight.
crocodile palace at little fleet traverse city. Little fleet is a collection of food trucks along with a beer garden. It was popping with drinkers and eaters and is super family friendly. I generally find food trucks to be pretty disappointing and this was no different.
We also had a tex mex place that was super forgettable they sold pretty bad pupusas and overloaded hotdogs.
Crocodile palace was ok. The cold noodles reminded me something an aunty would bring to a potluck but with a bit too much salt. Wife liked the chicken wings but definitely not that great and not worth the accolades the lao wais heap it with both in publications and on places like Reddit.
Stop in to little fleet if you want a beer and feel free to grab a bite but set your expectations properly
Thanks for the tip we are back in LA but when I’m in gr again I’ll check it out.
South haven is a great little beach town doesn’t get the hype of grand haven or Saugatuck but it has a large beach that is highly walkable and a pretty cute downtown area. Although the restaurants are probably better in the two aforementioned towns. Grew up going there in the summers as it was the closest to us.
Umbo was quite skeptical about the billing of traverse as a food destination. Figured the food would be like the food truck place Midwest hip but not great. However is was surprised. Execution was high and all the food was excellent. They just recently opened and they bill themselves as traverse’s first raw bar and seafood house. They have oysters flown in regularly.
We opted for the tasting menu which was corn focused as Michigan has great sweet corn in the summer along with some ala carte veggies. The only miss was the tortilla on the tuna taco even though they were freshly made with masienda heirloom corn. Everything else was a delight.
Most memorable dish by far and maybe my dish of the year was their caviar white choclate sesame dessert. Never would’ve imagined caviar with ice cream but I worked and I could eat 5 bowls of that. Only sweet caviar combo that has ever worked this well and not felt gimmicky was the banana pancake caviar from angler.
Charles and Reid traverse city. Again another slam dunk meal. This Detroit style pizza was better than dtown pizza in LA which has an few awards. Great chew and rise crusty cheese frico with pillow inside crust. Great balance of flavors on the pies.We got a large and a small and the family which does not consist of big eaters aside from me ate the whole thing. That’s how much we enjoyed this pie. Go early or do as we did and order for later to pick up they sell out daily.
oak wood burgers. Solid burger and excellent fries they even make their own ketchup. I feel like the homemade ketchup died with the aughts burger craze and could never beat heinz in flavor or texture. However their ketchup was very good.
Bubbies bagels - maybe best bagel I’ve ever had? Both times I had it, they were still warm and fresh. They have a sign that tells you that they don’t toast bagels. Crusty on the outside and soft but chewy on the inside. Fuck those fake LA “bagels” this is a real bagel (i actually really enjoy la bagels, but this is an east coast bagel done right). Paired with their veggie cream cheese that has dill cucumbers and carrots and it’s a match made in heaven.
After traverse any meal was gonna be a let down. Mackinac island is great for the family but the food scene is lacking. Seems to be for the Disneyland/cruiseline crowd. But whatever is lacking culinarily is made up with both charm and uniqueness of the island no motorized vehicles just horses and bikes, cute shops and beautiful scenery. Stopped by ice high house decent bbq ribs and brisket nachos.
After checking out the food scene in Traverse City, any meal here was honestly gonna be a bit of a letdown. Don’t get me wrong, Mackinac Island is absolutely amazing for a family getaway, but the food options here definitely feel like they’re tailored for the Disneyland or mega-resort crowd — very touristy, generic, and predictable, unlike the thrilling and dynamic experience you get at an https://tropical-casino.com/online casino.
Yes i totally agree we weren’t expecting much and were prepared for subpar disneylike food. We were just hoping to get away with something passable and not being gouged 3x the normal price for that and I think we were able to achieve that.
