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