The Tanglewood Inn of Shingleton

The Tanglewood Inn, the restaurant previously known as "The Woodlands" in Shingleton, MI, is now open again under new management. I had only been in the Woodlands twice before, and to me the inside seemed exactly the same. Typical diner style decor, yet everything seemed to be clean.

The menu seems to be new and improved, with many more items that are made from scratch and with fresh ingredients. We ordered the appetizer platter for a starter, and it was the typical good 'n greasy deep fried onion rings, mushrooms, chicken wings and cheese curds. It is hard to judge the restaurant by a menu item such as that, considering the only thing that could go wrong is if they over fried the batter to death. Everything was presented as a nice golden brown, and nothing was dripping with oil.

I ordered a chicken sandwich that was made up of fresh avocado, tomato, grilled chicken, bacon, lettuce, cheese and homemade garlic aioli. There was no fat in the chicken, and everything tasted fresh. I forgot to ask if the bread was fresh or not, but it wasn't stale and was still crisp on the outside and fluffy on the inside. The combination of ingredients made this sandwich delicious.

I was one of the few at our table that thoroughly enjoyed my entree. One of my family members had ordered the ribs, that had very little meat on the bones. Another family member had ordered the French dip sandwich, and two people that tried it described the meat as tasting like carved meat from a pot roast that has been sitting in the fridge for a few days. 

The hit-or-miss meal that we had could be described as "still figuring it out", considering they have only been open since this past October. Only time will tell on whether it is just "newly open" or "new and improved".

Normally I post a link to their Facebook page and or main website, but so far this restaurant has neither. They do have the address and phone number listed on Merchant Circle, and I have recently added them as a new business on TripAdvisor and Yelp, so hopefully with more time there will be more information on this place!

Aubree's Pizzeria & Grill

 

It has been a long time since I have had Aubree's, years in fact. I am impressed at how much the menu has grown in the last few years. Back when I was in college, I only knew it as a pizza place. In fact, Northern Michigan University voted them the number one best pizza in the area. They now have a wide range of food such as wings and hummus, baked mac and cheese, burgers and sandwiches, salads, and pasta on top of the wide variety of pizzas. The first Aubree's was started in 1972 in Ypsilanti, Michigan, and now has 8 restaurants among the Lower and Upper Peninsula. The UP is very lucky that the owners decided to branch out up here, because the food is fantastic!

For an appetizer, my family chose the Coconut Grove Chicken Sticks that came with a side of sweet chili sauce and a mango chutney. The chicken was slightly on the dry side, but when dipped in the mango chutney they were perfect! The coconut and mango together were a very good match. None of us cared for the sweet chili sauce. It resembled a cocktail or tomato sauce, and all you could taste was a strong tomato flavor.

My husband ordered the Coconut Grove Chicken for his main dish. It is pretty much the appetizer above, only a large perfectly cooked chicken breast coated with the coconut. The sides he ordered were roasted red skin potatoes and seasoned quinoa. I had a small bite of everything and it was amazing. The chicken was moist and flavorful.

My mom ordered the B.A.T. Grilled Cheese. The sourdough bread was filled with sliced avocado, tomato, applewood smoked bacon, and creamy boursin cheese. Even if you didn't have bacon in this sandwich, it would still taste delicious. The boursin cheese has the consistency of a cream cheese but the flavors of an herb goat cheese.

I ordered the Bourbon BBQ Chicken Sandwich with a side of sweet potato fries. I am not normally a coleslaw girl, but I decided to order it as listed. I am glad I did! This sandwich is a grilled chicken breast smothered in a bourbon BBQ sauce, topped with applewood smoked bacon, cheddar cheese and a house-made coleslaw. YUM. I love chicken, but I am also really fussy about it. It can't be too dry, and if I end up getting a piece of chicken fat anywhere it's usually game over. The chicken was PERFECT.

I haven't had the pizza from here yet, but regardless, I recommend eating here (or getting takeout/delivery, as we did). The food was delicious. The only downfall we had was that we all forgot that it was NMU graduation weekend, so the delivery time was bumped up to an hour, as well as pickup. But waiting an hour for THIS food was worth it.

Below are the links to their Facebook page, main website, and the menu out of the Mining Journal. I suggest using the Mining Journal menu because the other two don't list what they fully have.

Mining Journal Menu

Aubree's, Facebook Page

Aubree's Main Site

Border Grill

Border Grill has become a very popular place to get fresh Mexican-American style food in Marquette. The first one, that opened up in 1997, did so well that they now have three locations (two of which are in Marquette, and one in Negaunee). Everything is made fresh to order, and they offer many choices like burritos, tacos, salads, nachos, and quesadillas. They also make 7 different types of salsas that are all amazing and fresh, and add a little "zing" to your meal.

One of the newer items on the menu is the Salsa Con Queso. Their version has a melted Monterrey Jack cheese blend, homemade Pico de Gallo, and spicy Fuego salsa mixed all together. It isn't thick like most Queso dips (probably from the different style of cheese used) but it is amazing and a must try. If you aren't a huge chip and dip fan, it is also very good when used as a side sauce instead of the Border or Blanca sauce.

My husband ordered his favorite shrimp burrito, which has sauteed shrimp, peppers and onions, your choice of Mexican or Cilantro lime rice (the above picture has Mexican), red cabbage and salsa Blanca. It almost has the taste resemblance of a good shrimp fajita, and the cabbage gives you the texture "crunch" that was needed. I cut the burrito in half so that you could see what the inside looked like, and that is exactly how it came out, with no photo editing. The colors are amazing and make you want to scarf the whole thing down!

I ordered the Fuego quesadilla that definitely has a kick. It is a cheese-jalapeno tortilla that is filled with melted cheese, salsa Fuego, and red onions that have been caramelized in balsamic vinegar and olive oil. It may sound on the tame side, but every bite I took had either red pepper flakes or jalapeno seeds in it. It was pretty spicy. The odd combination of the salsa and balsamic vinegar onions sounds like it would be a strange one, but it works well together. It is served with a side of Pico de Gallo, sour cream and guacamole.

Border Grill is a great option for fresh food that is made to order. You can tell that all of the ingredients are of the highest quality. The staff is always friendly and helpful. Everyone seems to be trained to not only know everything on the menu, but how to describe certain ingredients with the knowledge that is associated with it. Everything on the menu is very versatile and can be changed to suit your needs. There are many vegetarian options, and they also offer vegan and gluten free options.

The link to their Facebook page and main website are below:

Border Grill, Main Site

Border Grill, Facebook page

Casa Calabria Italian Restaurant

Before moving out of the city of Marquette, MI, Casa is what I grew up with and knew as good Italian food. Realizing now that there are many other choices surrounding the area that serve Italian, this is still not a bad choice when you have a craving for greasy Italian food (not necessarily a bad thing). Casa is one of three Italian restaurants in Michigan that is owned and operated by the Johnson, Barbiere and Fernandez families (they also own 19 restaurants in Wisconsin). That is why if you have ever been to the Villa in Marquette, or Mama Mia's in Ishpeming, you may have noticed some taste similarities.

Many people go for the garlic bread that is freshly baked everyday and then literally dunked in melted butter... (shiver). I am not personally a fan of the garlic bread, but there are a few select dishes that I seem to always revert back to when I order from there. We ended up getting takeout, which is why all of the pictures show the meal in to-go containers.

The Pasta Milano is my absolute favorite pasta dish from Casa. The bow tie pasta is tossed in an Asiago garlic cream sauce and topped with grilled chicken, ham, mushrooms and green onion. It is unbelievable. The cream sauce which is on the rich side goes perfectly with the salty ham and the mild onion flavor from the green onions.

My husband ended up ordering my other two favorite items, which would be the Italian Tenderloin Tips and the Penne pasta with meat sauce. The beef, which I don't normally eat often, is seasoned and marinated in an Italian dressing, and comes in a 7 ounce or 14 ounce portion (the picture above is 7 oz.). It looks like it is grilled with a skewer, and then taken off of the skewer for serving purposes. The steak gets a great char on the outside which makes it juicy on the inside. 

My only complaint (that I forget about every time I order from here) is this.....

Most people probably see a pretty standard  antipasto salad. I see wilted lettuce, DRENCHED in house dressing. I'm sure if you asked they would put the dressing on the side, but it always slips my mind. The texture just becomes chewy and the longer it sits the worse it gets.

I don't have too many complaints versus all of the great food that the Casa is serving up. If you are a steak lover, try the Italian Tenderloin tips. If you love chicken, you need to try the Pasta Milano. And if you don't like or eat meat in general, try the Three-Cheese Shells with the Marinara sauce. There is definitely something here for everyone.

The link to their Facebook page as well as their main website are below:

Casa Calabria, Facebook Page

Casa Calabria Main Site

A & M Cafe

The A & M Cafe (which was once a gas station) is a small diner in Skandia, Michigan. If you are driving past while going 55 miles an hour (because of course you aren't speeding...) it is very easy to miss. Make sure that you look out for this building because I promise that you will not regret stopping here to eat.

A & M takes pride in their home-cooked style of food. And be warned, when they state that they have generous portions, they aren't kidding. Almost every week night they have a specific special, which is listed on their main website on a monthly calendar. When I went there it was between lunch and dinner on Fish Fry Friday, so they had a limited menu.

For an appetizer, my husband and I both ordered a cup of the homemade chili. For those of you that do not like beans in  your chili, this is the one for you. It was so comforting that I expected to find my mom standing in the kitchen had I walked back there. It was filled with meat, bell peppers, small bites of juicy tomato, and smothered with cheese on top. You also have the option of adding raw onion.

For dinner, I ordered the Philly Cheese Steak sandwich served with fries and a dill pickle spear. HOLY wah. Here.....let me show you more of how I saw this sandwich when set in front of me....

It was served on a large toasted Hoagie roll, and was heaping with roast beef, mushrooms, green pepper, onion and lots and lots of Mozza! I tried to eat as much as I could since it was delicious, but failed less than 2/3 of the way through (and this was after not eating breakfast or lunch and Black Friday shopping).

Not once, but twice, one of the owners (we assume) came out to our table and asked how our meal was and brought us the flyer for the monthly specials. We were the only first-timers in the restaurant when we were there. Everyone else was a regular (we could tell by the conversations with the staff) which is always a great sign that the food is good and they keep coming back. This family owned and run restaurant is well worth the stop and be sure and visit when you are good and hungry!

A link to their main website and Facebook page is below:

A & M Cafe, Facebook

A & M Cafe, Website

Root 41

Root 41 Restaurant is a new up-and-coming restaurant that opened it's doors this past July. Formerly known as the Grove restaurant in Beaver Grove, Michigan, two sisters decided to bring new life to this small building. Having years of food service under their belts, and a motto of "Life is for Service", Root 41 was created.

The inside of the restaurant has a modern meets classic diner style. The style of food is considered to be classy comfort food. They have many days of specials, such as the typical Fish Fry Friday's, Prime Rib Wednesday's, and even a Turkey Pot Pie Tuesday's. The best part of the menu? Breakfast is served all day long!

For an appetizer, we ordered the loaded baked potato soup. It was mouth watering. The potatoes were perfectly cooked, and the soup itself tasted almost like a homemade gravy. Not to mention the portion was huge!

My husband ordered the Honey Ginger Chicken wrap. The filling for the wrap was sliced chicken breast in a honey ginger marinade, romaine lettuce, grated carrot, sliced red peppers and tomato. The side was homemade chips deep fried to a perfect golden brown and served with a dipping sauce.

I ordered the Garden Grove omelet, which was filled with mushrooms, peppers and spinach. You have the choice of cheddar or Gouda cheese, and I made the right choice in choosing the Gouda (which I've never seen on an omelet before). The flavors, other than another small pinch of salt, were great together.

As if we weren't full enough from dinner, we decided to share a dessert. It's a good thing that we did end up sharing because the Shortcake was out of control! It is served in a soup bowl with a biscuit at the bottom, massive scoop of vanilla ice cream in the middle, another biscuit on top, topped and swimming in a fresh strawberry sauce, and dolloped with whipped cream. We managed to somehow scarf down about a third of it, and sadly had to leave the rest behind. It is delicious, but you need about 3 or 4 people to finish it.

The drive out here was worth it. The food was amazing, and the staff was friendly. Although the cooks in the kitchen were slightly on the louder side at times, they definitely put out some great eats!

A link to their Facebook page and main website are below:

Root 41 Website

Root 41, Facebook

Jackson's Pit

Places to eat in Negaunee have always been somewhat limited on types of food that is offered. There are a few pizza places, fast food places, pasties, and a bakery. With Jackson's Pit that opened this past July, the Negaunee food world has just broadened it's taste buds!

If you are looking for a place to watch the game, kick back and have a few cold ones, there are numerous T.V.'s around the bar and they offer a 20 tap system that includes 17 Michigan craft brews, and even root beer.

There are many great sounding appetizers on the menu, which include some JP originals such as beer battered mushrooms (using a Michigan craft beer in the batter) with a roasted garlic aioli, and BBQ bacon wrapped shrimp. All sauces are made in-house. My family and I ended up getting the chili cheese fries. They were amazing! Homemade fries smothered in chili and topped with cheese sauce. Next time I visit I will definitely be getting a bowl of chili for an appetizer. It is some of the best chili I have had in Marquette county.

 I have heard from many people that they go to Jackson's Pit just for the chicken wings, and also the many juicy burger choices. They have the most unique combination of ingredients for burger toppings in the area. For example, the Pick Axe burger is Cajun seasoned, topped with applewood smoked bacon, blue cheese, roasted garlic aioli, lettuce, tomato and red onion.

I went for something on the lighter side and ordered the chef salad. Considering the huge portion of chili fries that came as our appetizer, I shouldn't have been shocked that the salad was larger than the size of my head! The salad was made from a fresh lettuce blend (no brown or wilted pieces to be found), sliced turkey, ham, Swiss and cheddar cheese, cucumber, hardboiled egg, onion (which i omitted), croutons and I chose Ranch dressing. It was a great salad, and I could only finish about half of it!

While we were eating dinner, we had the pleasure of listening to a band called the Louisiana Bayou Boyz, who sounded great and played one of my favorite Pink Floyd songs. Be sure to check on their Facebook page to see what band is going to be playing and for any drink or food specials. Jackson's Pit has played it's part in bringing more traffic to downtown Negaunee, and better food to the area by serving fresh and homemade ingredients. And if your GPS tells you that you have reached your destination and you don't see it, look on the other side of the street and you can't miss the sign!

The links to their Facebook page and main website (with the food and drink menu) are below:

Jackson's Pit, Facebook Page

Jackson's Pit, Main Website

Ralph's Italian Deli

Ralph's Italian Deli is located in Ishpeming, MI across from the Ski Hall of Fame. Growing up working in the family business that was right around the corner, I ate here all of the time. It is wonderful old school Italian food and has been given praise by many different magazines, books, and various articles. Not to mention by word of mouth from everyone who has eaten here. It has been family owned and operated for over 50 years, and hopefully will have many more years of business to come.

My husband and I ordered some of our favorite choices the other night for dinner (we usually get it to go). My absolute favorite thing to get from here is the meatball sub. Their meatballs are out of this world. Instead of getting it in sandwich form, I ordered the "snack meatballs", which is two meatballs that come in sauce.

If that wasn't enough (considering it comes with garlic bread and a house salad), I also ordered the cheese ravioli in meat sauce. I am not a fan of the consistency of ricotta usually, but these ravioli are mouth watering.
I personally suggest taking a bite of meatball and ravioli at the same time.

If you are looking for some great Italian food, this is one of the top places in Marquette County that I would suggest going to. If you are in a rush, you can do what my husband and I do and grab some takeout. If you do have a minute to stop and sit, they have a small dining room in the building, along with a small grocery store filled with all of the Italian staples. And if you have a hankering for dessert, be sure and grab a cinnamon roll!

A link to their Facebook page, main website and menu are at the links below:

Ralph's Facebook Page

Ralph's Main Site

Ralph's Menu

Country Grill, Sunday Brunch

My brother and sister in-law, along with my nephew were up visiting this past weekend. As you've read from my previous post on this restaurant, we don't frequent here. My nephew however has a new love for buffets and on Sunday's Country Grill has a breakfast buffet. Four out of five of us had ordered the breakfast buffet. I had to be the odd one out and ended up ordering off of the menu.

I ordered the "Cakes, Eggs and Bacon". Two eggs, any way you want them, two pancakes, and either bacon or sausage, to which I always choose bacon. My over-easy eggs were cooked perfectly. Runny yolk, with no runny whites. The bacon was crispy and not too fatty.

I tried to put my hand close to the pancakes for a size comparison (I have tiny hands.....). The pancakes were about the size of my head, and took up the entire circumference of my plate. I ended up taking half of them home, and I will say, they make for very good leftovers.

This visit gave me higher hopes for this restaurant. (Even though I will still only ever eat breakfast here.) Maybe since we came on a Sunday when breakfast was their main priority, the food was executed better. Whatever the reason, it was a good meal, and no one left hungry.

Country Grill, Facebook page

Red Lobster of Marquette. I could do with or without...

I don't frequent Red Lobster often, considering I think that a lot of the things on the menu is way over priced. This time I got out-voted so we ventured there for a late dinner. I do love the cheddar biscuits that come complimentary with every meal (even though I know how to make them at home now). And for someone like myself who is not a seafood person, they do have quite a few options that are of the "land" variety.

I can't remember what this drink is called, and I tried to look it up online on the menu, but I had no luck finding it. It was a combination of coconut, banana and rum, with a shot of Disoronno on the side, and topped with a dash of nutmeg. It was an amazing drink. A very strange combination but when all put together, it worked.

I am not a huge steak or red meat person but for once it sounded good so I ordered the Wood-Grilled Peppercorn Sirloin and shrimp. The shrimp was amazing and had a nice char on one side to give it a little bit of texture. The mashed potatoes are still my favorite, because they don't mash it all of the way through so you are left with a few chunks in it here and there. Although the potatoes were seasoned perfectly, the broccoli was not seasoned at all. I had ordered my steak cooked medium, because I like my steak with just a hint of pink in the middle, but fully cooked through. It's a good thing that I was in no mood to send anything back. My steak 3/4 of the way through, minus the edges, was mooing still. It was a dark pink, on the verge of purple on the inside. I guess next time I will have to order it medium well, or just order chicken like I normally do.

It's not a terrible place to eat. The staff is always friendly, the restaurant is clean. If it were me, I would have over a dozen choices of places to go before eating here, because to me it is nothing special and just over priced seafood.

A link to the menu and Facebook page is below:

Red Lobster, Main Site

Marquette Red Lobster, Facebook Page

Sol Azteca

When I heard that this restaurant was opening in Marquette, I was elated! Mexican cuisine is my favorite and when we lost the previous Mexican restaurant that was in Marquette i was devastated. Sol Azteca makes everything from scratch and everything I have eaten here has been amazing. Since they are usually packed with a long waiting list around dinner time, my family and I decided to go around 1 PM in the afternoon which was a perfect time to go.

Served with every meal is salsa and fresh chips. I am a cheese addict however, so we always get a large cheese dip for an appetizer, pictured above (not sure if it is Queso Blanco or Queso Fresco that is melted but it is delicious regardless).

For dinner, I ordered the #12 Combination, which included one beef burrito, one enchilada and one tamal. The plate doesn't look very pretty, but the flavor is out of this world. Out of everything on the above combination plate, I would say I could eat a whole truck load of tamales.

If you love Mexican food made from scratch (and no, Taco Bell isn't in the least bit considered "fresh" or "real Mexican"), you should definitely stop and eat here. It has quickly become one of my favorite restaurants in the area.

Below is a link to their Facebook page:

Sol Azteca, Facebook Page

A high five to High Fives!

 

When I first found out that High Fives was remodeling, getting rid of the pool table and opening up a kitchen, I was not very happy. Since I started dating who is now my husband, that was our number one spot to have drinks and shoot pool on the weekends. Well....I have now eaten here twice and even though I still wish they had the pool table, the food is worth coming for.

I ordered the brisket sandwich and it was amazing (came whole, I cut it in half for pictures). It was loaded with pulled smokey brisket and topped with pickles. The BBQ sauce that was served on the side I could have eaten with a spoon. The menu has decent prices, and it's probably the only place in town that serves food that you know is fresh and not out of a bag. Our waitress (who happened to be a friend) was amazing and checked on us regularly. The food took a while to get to us, but we then learned that the cook was new (less than a week) and since the food was delicious it didn't end up bugging us.

This restaurant is worth eating at. It is one of the only few decent places to eat in the town of Munising, and the food is worth it. A link to their Facebook page is below.

High Fives, Facebook Page