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

Blimpie, 50 years of Delicious

One of my favorite places to get subs from, other than Subway, would have to be Blimpie. Before moving to Ishpeming I had never really eaten here. Now my husband and I get subs and salads from here frequently. Although you do get more sauce and topping options at Subway, the subs at Blimpie are completely different and unique. They also have different bread and bun options here that you won't find at Subway.

The above sandwich is the Buffalo Chicken Panini grilled sub. I always ask for the original, minus raw onions. This sub is layered with sliced buffalo chicken breast (and yes, they actually slice the meat fresh, in front of you), provolone cheese, tomatoes, hot sauce and Ranch dressing. I always get it on the Ciabatta bread which gives the outside a great crunch.

One of my new favorites would have to be the Turkey, Bacon and Cheddar sub on the pretzel bread. The pretzel bread is AMAZING. I am a huge fan of soft pretzels regardless. The sub is layered with oven-roasted turkey, crisp bacon, smoked cheddar cheese, tomatoes and instead of getting the spicy mustard sauce that normally comes on it, I opted for the chipotle mayonnaise. I also added lettuce and pickles. Yum!

 They also have amazing soups. My two favorites are the chili (first and second picture above), and the cheddar broccoli (above right picture).


If you are in Ishpeming and have a craving for a good sub or hot soup (especially now that it is Fall, and for us practically Winter), stop in and grab some Blimpie subs! They also have a drive-through. The main website with the link to their menu is below.

Blimpie main website

Blue Plate Diner

While I was packing to head home from our Rhode Island trip, my husband was more than willing to go pick up dinner (and get out of packing). We ordered takeout from a restaurant right down the street from our hotel, called Blue Plate Diner. The building looks beautiful (picture taken by my husband). The pictures on the website of the food is what made us want to eat from here. It's home style comfort food, made very elegantly. Unfortunately from driving around in a car and being in to-go containers, my pictures aren't as great. The food looks more like the whole container got shook up and down but the taste was still amazing.

For an appetizer, we got the "Garbage Fries". Waffle fries covered in cheddar cheese, homemade beef chili, salsa, guacamole and sour cream. They were unbelievable! These have to be the best loaded fries that I have ever eaten.

.......remember when I had said that the container looked like someone shook it? Yes...this is the one I was talking about....but I tried a bite of it and it was melt in your mouth tender. My husband ordered the Slow Roasted Beef Brisket, served in a red wine sauce, with root vegetables and mashed potatoes (which you can KIND of see...under that hot mess). Don't let the picture fool you. It really tasted amazing!

I decided to try the Pasta Carbonara. Perfectly cooked pasta with sauteed bacon (there was quite a bit of bacon fat that I picked off, that part wasn't as pleasant), ham, garlic and peas all tossed in a Parmesan cream sauce. The combination of everything was good. I wish that the Parmesan sauce had more of a salty kick to it rather than tasting more like a bland cream sauce, but it wasn't bad. I would probably try something else from the menu next time, but eventually I would circle my way back to this dish and order it again.

Apparently it was loaded carbs night in the hotel....that or maybe we were just really sad that our vacation was almost over. The food here is delicious, and I would love to go back and eat in the restaurant because as far as the website shows, the decor is fun and bright. And the food will probably look 10 times better on the plate when served gracefully, rather than bouncing around in a car. Definitely worth trying, and it makes me wish we had one closer!

Below is a link to their Facebook page and main website:

Blue Plate Diner, Main site

Blue Plate Diner, Facebook

Patti's Pierogis

While on our Rhode Island trip, we had almost an entire free day (we were pretty busy while there). We decided to go and see the Lizzie Borden house in Fall River, MA. It was only about a half hour drive or so from where we were staying. Whether you believe in the supernatural or not, I did get a pretty cool ghost picture while there, and it was (and I know this will make me seem creepy, which I guess I somewhat am) actually very cool and interesting...and fun. I love a good ghost story, even if the situation is tragic.

We were also told that we need to stop at Patti's Pierogis while in town and then I realized that I had seen that episode re-run not too long ago on Diners Drive-ins and Dives. So of course, now we HAD to go. And boy, did we eat our fair share....had we not had to board a plane the next day, and wanted to try something else for dinner that night, we would have gotten takeout to bring back to the hotel.

 With your meal, you get a basket of amazing bread to eat while you wait. We went one step further and ordered one of my favorite things in the entire world for an appetizer, the potato pancake. Made with mashed instead of shredded, this pancake was moist and fell apart in your  mouth. And of course, we had to order it with the typical (and in my opinion, only way to eat it) sour cream and applesauce.

There were so many kinds of pierogis that I had an unbelievably hard time choosing. So I decided, since you can mix and match, that I would pick my top six that I wanted to try. Lucky for you (and sorry for the picture overload on this post), I happened to take a picture of every one!

Above left picture: Pizza

Above right picture: Macaroni and cheese

Above top picture: Broccoli and cheddar

Above bottom picture: Onion, potato and cheddar

 Above left picture: Chili

Above right picture: Mashed sweet potato, with toasted marshmallow

And what's that.......you have dessert pierogies? Yum!! We decided to go with the Apple Rum Raisin and the Peanut Butter Cup. They were both amazing with a great crunch on the outside and a soft, packed with flavor inside.

 Above pictures: Peanut Butter Cup

Above pictures: Apple Rum Raisin

If you are in the area, or stopped to check out some spooky Lizzie Borden ghost stories, then you should make it a point to stop here and eat some delicious food! A link to their main website, that also has the video from Diners Drive-ins and Dives, is listed below. There is also a link to their Facebook page. 

Patti's Pierogis, Facebook

Patti's Pierogis, Main Site

La Forge Casino Restaurant

The day after the wedding that we attended in Rhode Island, was a "join us on our first day as husband and wife" brunch. Technically, we didn't eat off of the main menu at this restaurant. However, the buffet was amazing, and the view was just as nice. The restaurant is connected to and part of the International Tennis Hall of Fame & Museum. The building used to be an old Casino also, which the picture of the gorgeous tile work is shown below.

If I am ever back in the area, I will need to stop in and eat here for a normal meal. The pictures that people have posted and reviews that were given about the food here make it sound amazing. 

Becky's BBQ

I won't lie, I had written this restaurant down on my list of "to eat at" because of the fact that my name is also Becky. And it just so happens that I love BBQ. But after visiting and reading the background story of the business, I almost feel honored to have eaten their food.

(Photo from their main website, link listed at the bottom of the page)

This is a picture of Becky, of Becky's BBQ. In 1998, Becky and her husband Bob opened this restaurant. It was her dream to bring delicious real BBQ to the area. In 2004 she passed away from cancer, and the rest of the family has made it a mission to keep her dream alive by feeding people. 

 Not only does it feel homey when you walk in, but it literally is a house, to which part is converted into a restaurant. The dining room is small as is the kitchen, but the smells that come out of the tiny kitchen are mouth watering. We decided to get something to go, since we had a wedding to make it to in about 2 hours. We both got the BBQ Pulled Chicken Lunch Plate, that came with a side of corn bread, and another side of your choice. I got the corn as my side. Mmm mmm mmm...... I could have eaten about 10 times the amount of chicken.

This family is serving up some amazing BBQ, in a most unexpected area. Help spread the story and dream of Becky, and tell everyone you know who is visiting or near the area to eat here. You will not regret it, and neither will your taste buds. 

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

Becky's BBQ Main Site

Becky's BBQ Facebook Page