Quite a distance....but oh, SO good!

I have posted on here about the Haywire before, but this will be one of those frequently visited while in the area kind of restaurants. When you find a place that serves food made with fresh, and I mean FRESH ingredients, and it tastes amazing on top of it, you tend to want to go back.

This is what I mean by having fresh ingredients.....This picture was the view from our window. Many birds and bird feeders to watch, including a few humming birds that came to visit. And a peak at the huge garden out back. As you can see in the above picture towards the left, there are a few pumpkins and I hope that I get a chance to go back out there when the fall desserts start coming! Yum!

 For an appetizer, we got my favorite thing in the entire world, cheese curds. Normally we get Ranch dressing to dip them in, but you don't even need it. They weren't dry, the cheese was gooey and melted on the inside, and the breading wasn't too thick, but still had a good crunch.

My husband and brother-in-law both got the soup of the day, which was chili. I was sad when it showed up with no cheese on top, because I am a cheese fanatic and always top my chili with it, but after taking a bite I was pleasantly surprised to realize it didn't even need it. There was a little bit of a kick to it, but it is after all chili, it's not supposed to be bland. I am glad however that I got to try a bite before Tom doubled the volume with cracker pieces. This was one chili that was good left alone as is without anything added in.

My husband ordered the chicken and biscuits. I was sneaky and grabbed a bite and the flavors tasted like a homemade thick chicken noodle soup on top of soft homemade biscuits. I don't like gravy, and don't usually eat things with peas if I can help it, but it was very good.

For my main course at lunch I ordered the slider basket. The meat for the sliders was very good. Cooked to about a medium, and somehow the patties were soft on the inside, and had a nice crunch and crust on the outside. They were slightly on the dry side, but as soon as they were dipped in sauce they were perfect. They are served on homemade buttermilk buns that are amazing, and topped with your choice of cheese (I chose pepper-jack) and a pickle. I substituted my fries for the homemade onion rings, that were also, like everything else, delicious.

For a side with the slider basket you normally get coleslaw, which they were all out of. That was fine by me, because for one I hate coleslaw, and two they had homemade applesauce. Since even though it isn't technically fall yet, it has been roughly 40 degrees in the morning when I wake up so I consider it to be fall, and anything with apples hits the spot.

For dessert Tom had ordered the chocolate cream pie. I didn't get to try it, but he said it was delicious and practically licked the plate.

I ordered the mint chocolate brownie for dessert. I could only eat about half of it, but I was surprised I could stop at all. Mint and chocolate is normally the last flavor combination that I would order, since I am not a huge fan of mint. It was almost fudge consistency, and the chocolate frosting I could have eaten by the spoonful.

If you eat here and leave hungry.....then I would consider you to have a strange palate. I have yet to order anything that tasted bad. And I'm sure my stomach hates me when I come here because I pretty much pack as much food as I possibly can into it before I feel like I need to roll out of the building. I know that it is in an odd location, but I really am surprised that it isn't packed the entire time the doors are open. Eat here....you won't regret it!

Derocha's 41 Steakhouse and Sports Bar

Last week I ate at one of my husband and I's go-to restaurants, Derocha's Restaurant & Sports Bar, or as most people call it 41 Steakhouse. Located on US 41 in technically Champion, MI, this restaurant has pretty decent food (and is about 3 minutes away from our house). The menu is decently priced, and they always have good specials, especially on the weekend. I'm not a big seafood fan, but they have a really good land and sea buffet on Friday's.

For an "appetizer", I ordered the French onion soup. It was delicious. A little bit on the salty side, but the bread and onions cut into that a bit. You have the choice of with or without the bread and cheese, but who are we kidding, French onion soup wouldn't be the same without both of those items on top.

For my main course, I ordered the blackened chicken salad. When I think of blackened chicken, I think of charred chicken. I'm not sure how they came up with the name for the salad, but it was pretty tasty. More of a Cajun style salad. If I could change one thing, other than it's name, would be that there was a whole lot of fennel seeds in the spice rub for the chicken. Some people may like it, but I hate biting into a crunchy fennel seed and then being able to taste nothing except a hint of licorice. The portions are huge, and unless it's all you ordered I don't think anyone could finish it, but I would rather have huge portions and take the leftovers home, than leave anywhere hungry.

The staff is always friendly, and everything is clean. The sports decor around the restaurant is fun to look at, most of it all being old antique sports memorabilia. You can also eat at the bar side and enjoy a good meal while watching the game on TV with a cold beer. Definitely a place worth visiting.

A link to the Facebook page is below:

Derocha's 41 Steakhouse, Facebook

Desi's Family Dining, breakfast to Mexican food

Who loves Mexican food? This girl. I have eaten here a handful of times while being down in Oscoda, MI and they have two of my FAVORITE types of meals, Mexican, and delicious breakfast. The first time that we stopped here to eat during this trip was for dinner.

For an appetizer, we ordered the chips and cheese basket. Every inch was covered in rich nacho cheese sauce. We were so hungry that the plate didn't last very long.

For dinner, I ordered a combo platter. On this huge plate filled with food, was a chicken chimichanga, smothered in cheese sauce and topped with lettuce and tomato. Next to that was a hard shell ground beef taco, topped with lettuce tomato and shredded cheese. Under the heap of lettuce in the back is a Mexican potato cup, that consists of a hollowed out baked potato filled with taco meat, and topped with the usual toppings. Served on the side is refried beans, and Mexican rice. Believe it or not, I somehow finished everything but some of the beans and most of the potato. It was amazing.

The next morning, we went there for breakfast so that we didn't have to cook anything. All of us but one ended up ordering an omelet.

I ordered the Western omelet minus the raw onion. It was good, and served with the classic breakfast hash browns (and you will NEVER catch me ruining them with Ketchup.... yuck!). So far I have eaten here on separate occasions for breakfast, lunch and dinner and it has all been wonderful. You should definitely stop here if you are out by the Dam Store (and yes, that is actually the store name)!

The Bavarian Bakery and Restaurant

This restaurant, in Oscoda, MI is another place that I have visited in the last 5 out of 6 trips to the area. I have yet to have a bad breakfast here. They have a bakery when you walk in that makes amazing bread (that is the only thing I have tried so far from the bakery). The restaurant is always packed but we somehow never seem to wait long to be seated.

I ordered the Farmer's Omelet, minus the onions of course. The eggs were cooked perfectly, and the cheese was melted almost into pure liquid. The vegetables were soft and cooked through, which is how I like them in omelets. The breakfast potatoes were good. Crunchy on the outside and a nice golden brown. They lacked seasoning, but with a little bit of salt and pepper added they were sufficient. I ordered the omelet with white toast, but after tasting a bite of pancakes that someone else had ordered, I think I will end up getting those next time (they were amazing!). 

Hopefully on my next trip down, I will be able to stop for breakfast once again. I have yet to have a bad meal here, and as you have noticed by now, I love almost every place that serves breakfast all day! 

Mmm Mmm BBQ! at Mancino's Pit Stop

This is one of my favorite places to eat while down in Oscoda, MI. It is what you would call an unexpected flavor in a unique location. This restaurant is located in part of a gas station, and has probably one of the best smelling parking lots that I know of, because a large smoker resides in it. I have been here a few times in the past now, and even through owner changes, the food still tastes amazing. The service was...special to say the least, but she was a very friendly waitress. Not the brightest, or had that great of a memory, but was friendly.

I have had subs here in the past and wanted to try something different, so I opted for a salad. If you are choosing this salad thinking you are staying on the lighter side of a meal, you would be wrong. And I do not mean that in a bad way. It is piled high with smoked turkey, apple wood smoked bacon, smoked ham, cheese, tomato, croutons, and I added honey mustard dressing. The fact that there was lettuce in there somewhere made me feel better about eating three kinds of meat on top. I was only able to finish half of this and took the rest back to camp with me. 

If you are in the area and are craving some delicious smoked meat, or you happen to need to fill your car with gas and are hungry, this is the place for you. Great subs, great salads, and great BBQ!

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

Mancino's Pit Stop, Facebook

Mancino's main website