Famous Dave's

After taking a tour of the Hermitage, Home of President Andrew Jackson while down near Nashville in November, we were all unbelievably hungry and wanted to stop somewhere to grab some dinner. I'm a sucker for good BBQ and have never been to a Famous Dave's (I live in the UP of Michigan, give me a break!), and of course I want to visit somewhere that slathers half of their menu with BBQ sauce, I would be crazy not to.

For an appetizer, we ordered two different things that looked mouth-watering on the menu. The picture on the left is of their "Burnt Ends". They weren't as burnt as I thought they would be. I love char from BBQ or when they let the BBQ sauce caramelize until almost black on the edges. These were pretty tasty pieces of Brisket though. They were tossed in a sweet and zesty BBQ sauce and also came with a side of pickles, pickled onion, and shoestring onion rings.

The picture on the right is of their BBQ Nachos. The crispy chips were loaded with beans, Famous chili, jalapenos, their "Rich and Sassy" BBQ sauce, cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, sour cream etc. You can choose your meat and we decided to go with the brisket. It was such a weird combination that it worked fantastically. So good in fact that I was told I need to try and re-create these at home.

I ordered the "Two Meat BBQ Combo", which comes with your choice of two meats, two sides and a corn bread muffin. For my meats, I ordered the BBQ roasted chicken breast and the Texas style brisket. The brisket was smoky and tender and amazing. You could see a nice pronounced smoke ring and a little bit of char on the outside crust. I wish I would have ordered something else instead of the chicken. It wasn't bad, but for some reason in my mind I was hoping or thinking it would be pulled chicken off of the smoked breast. The meat was slightly dry, and I hate dealing with chicken bones but I doused it in different kinds of BBQ sauces that they have at the table and it was good. For my sides I ordered the mac and cheese, which was gooey and cheesy like it should be, and the garlic red-skin mashed potatoes. I am also really picky when it comes to cornbread because although it's supposed to be slightly "crumby", I still like it to be sticky enough that it holds together when you try and eat it. This corn muffin did just that.

I don't remember what my husband ordered exactly, I just know that I think his eyes were bigger than his stomach in this case, bless his little heart. It was two slices of bread topped with brisket, ribs, corn bread muffin, corn on the cob, potato wedges, baked beans, and coleslaw. He ate a pretty good chunk of it, which I was impressed with, and ended up taking the rest home, along with about half of my brisket that was left. I don't like coleslaw normally but I stole a bite of his and it was really creamy and not overwhelmed by mayonnaise. 

 

For dessert, we ordered the bread pudding that was doused in a pecan praline sauce and served with vanilla bean ice cream. Yum!

How did we fit in any kind of dessert you ask? I really have no idea. I do know we ended up practically rolling out of the restaurant but at least we had a 45 minute drive in the car afterwords to process this giant meal. My hometown that I grew up in is slowly expanding in the stores and culinary world department and if we ended up with a Famous Dave's (which is pretty far fetched), I would not be sad in the least. My stomach might hate me, but man would it be worth it to have a BBQ place like this!

Famous Dave's Facebook Page
Famous Dave's Main Website

Don Pancho

While helping renovate a house for my sister-in-law in Kentucky, we had to get the heck out of the house and into the real world, even if just for a meal. She asked what my preference was and I told her one of my favorite cuisines is Mexican food. When she used to live in Kentucky, she and her friends used to go to Don Pancho's frequently, and so it was decided. The Don Pancho in Oak Grove, which is the one we went to, is one of four locations. The original opened in 2002 in Clarksville, Tennessee. In 2004, they opened the second restaurant in Jackson, TN, a third location in Ashland City in 2006, and then finally a fourth location in Oak Grove in 2007. They have plans of continuing to expand to other areas in the near future.

For an appetizer, we ordered the cheese dip. It was amazing, and cheesy? I don't really know how else to describe it. I don't know if it was made with melted Queso Blanco or Fresca, or if they used a white cheddar like some other Mexican restaurants use, but it was a damn good cheese dip. We went through a whole basket of chips and then some.

My sister-in-law and husband both ordered the Armando Special. It is a grilled piece of chicken topped with white cheese and ranchera sauce (they forgot to add the cheese sauce to  my husband's). It came with a side of mixed veggies, rice, guacamole, pico, sour cream and shrimp on a stick. I tried a bite of my husband's chicken and it was really good. The only catch is that he got his fifteen minutes before we got the rest of our food. The waitress kept coming to our table and apologizing for the wait, but he waited as long as he could to start eating his before it was technically cold, and we still were waiting on our dinner.

I ordered the Monster Chimichanga with chicken. Monster size you say? Challenge accepted. It came topped with a white cheese sauce, salad, guacamole, pico and sour cream on the side, and a side of rice and refried beans. I'll hand it to them, it was pretty big. It came wrapped up inside of a 12 inch tortilla shell. They say it was "deep fried" but mine wasn't crunchy, or greasy, so I'm not complaining on the latter half of that situation.

Don't mind the red sauce, it's just salsa that I added on top. The picture gives you a better view of the inside mixture of the chimichanga that had sauteed onions, and what I believe was spinach? Regardless of what the green stuff was, it was a great chimichanga. I'm proud to say I finished a little over half of it and took the rest to go.

For dessert my husband ordered the special which was a Snickers Burrito (or chimichanga?). I stole a bite from him and it was well, very rich for starters but how can you go wrong when you wrap snickers up in a tortilla bundle and deep fry it? It was topped with whipped cream, a caramel, chocolate and cherry drizzle, and a maraschino cherry.

Us ladies decided to split the churros. They were light and fluffy and topped with the same toppings as the snickers burrito. Perfect sweet ending to an already massive meal.

As far as the service goes, our waitress was wonderful. She answered our questions while ordering without being condescending, and frequently apologized for our food taking very random times to get to our table. Someone in the kitchen was either overwhelmed by orders (we were one out of four tables because it was past 8 PM when we got there), or something was messed up and they lost our ticket for a while. Whatever the scenario was, it was a delicious meal and I almost had to roll myself out of the restaurant.

Don Pancho's, Main Site
Don Pancho's, Oak Grove Facebook Page

Mikado Japanese Steakhouse

The first night we got to Kentucky to visit my sister-in-law, we decided to go to a new Hibachi restaurant in Oak Grove, Kentucky. It had pretty good reviews and I love Hibachi, mainly because I get to see everything they are putting into my food.

Like my favorite restaurant in Green Bay, Wisconsin, they served a small salad with ginger dressing and a soup for a starter. The soup however, was a broth with small pieces of fried tempura batter. It was a decent soup, as far as broth soups go, and I love the ginger dressing on the salad.

All three of us ordered Hibachi. I was kind of disappointed with our chef, because he had absolutely no personality. He did the lava coming out of the stack of onions deal, but not a whole lot else. He didn't flip the shrimp tails, he didn't pretend to put pepper in people's drinks, nothing. My sister-in-law tried to joke with him to get him to loosen up, but that didn't work. He was nice, but no showman.

I ordered the chicken and shrimp hibachi. The shrimp, chicken, veggies and fried rice were all amazing. I don't know what people's fascination with 'yum yum' sauce is but I find it odd. It is too much like a mayonnaise flavor and doesn't at all remind me of any Japanese flavor that I've ever had. Although I appreciated the  noodles (instead of the bean sprouts, which I would have preferred), but the yum yum sauce was off putting.

This is not the best hibachi restaurant that I've been to, but it wasn't bad necessarily either. My meat was great and I still had that gingery mustard like sauce to dip into. If we go back to Oak Grove I think we will try to find the hibachi restaurant that we had our engagement dinner at. The whole reason you go to a hibachi place is to be wowed and dazzled, am I right?


Mikado's Main Site

Charlie Parker's Diner

Ready for another Diners Drive-ins and Dives restaurant? We were! On our trip down to Kentucky, we stopped overnight in Springfield, Illinois and found out about this little beauty. Great for breakfast and lunch (open 6 AM to 2 PM most days), and located in a Quonset hut of all things! They have received numerous awards since the air date on Diners Drive-ins and Dives, and have been published in many magazines and articles. This truly is a unique place to visit!

When we arrived, it was of course breakfast time and absolutely packed. The waiting area was tiny, but they take down your name and number and you receive a text when your table is ready, so we got to wait in the car. This small building is packed with signs, neon lights and a few famous faces on the walls. I attempted to take a few photos of the decor (and I apologize, because it was so packed and crowded that I didn't use flash for any photos in this post).

Now onto the food.....and I yet again apologize for the quality of the photos but I didn't use flash while in the building.

My husband ordered the Bacon Waffle and a side of Biscuits and Gravy. I tasted a bite of each. The gravy wasn't over salted, had the perfect amount of crumbled sausage and was very creamy in consistency. The biscuits were dense, but in a gooey good way. At home, bacon is usually one of my go-to items for pancakes and waffles, so of course a waffle is always better when you add bacon to it!

This is what I ordered....I know I know, it looks like a plate of hash browns with bacon sticking out. But here's a better picture after I scraped some of the hash browns over to the side...

This, ladies and gentlemen, is the smaller version of the "Breakfast Shoe", otherwise known as the "Breakfast Pony". It is an over easy egg on top of toast, with bacon, smothered in a cheese sauce, and topped with hash browns. A shoe would be double the egg and toast. It looked a mess but was like fireworks going off inside of my mouth! The pony version was so filling I couldn't even finish it. I don't even want to know what size of plate they would have to put this on for the shoe version!

This is a must stop! If you want to preview some great food to eat here while you are planning your trip to visit, be sure and check out the episode on Diners Drive-ins and Dives from 2007. Otherwise, a link to their main website and Facebook page are below!

Charlie Parker's Diner, Main Site
Charlie Parker's Facebook Page

Weezy's Bar and Grill

While on our car journey driving from Michigan to Kentucky, we hopped onto old Route 66 to grab a bite to eat for a late lunch. I used the RoadTrippers app to figure out what was near us and the restaurant with the most stars that popped up was Weezy's Bar & Grill. It looked unique and wasn't gas station food so we were ready to try it out. 

We sat up front in the bar area at a booth. The waitress kindly told us that they just received a call that a bus party of 30 would be coming in for a quick celebratory birthday stop before hopping to the next bar. We didn't mind and didn't feel like moving. They were fairly loud, but it was a birthday gathering after all involving booze. The decor in the bar was awesome. There were Route 66 signs all over the walls and definitely had that theme throughout. 

For an appetizer, we ordered the Jalapeno Cheese Ravioli. We were both slightly hesitant because neither of us like super hot things, and for the most part jalapeno isn't bad when the seeds are removed. These were amazing. If I lived near this area, I would order this for my main meal. It is more like a jalapeno flavored cheese that the ravioli is stuffed with, and has just the right amount of kick. 

My husband ordered the Ham and Cheese sandwich on a pretzel bun, with a side order of sweet potato fries. I got to taste a bite, and the pretzel bun, which soft pretzels are one of my favorites, was delicious.

I ordered the Philly Burger. The burger, that I ordered to be cooked at medium, was cooked perfectly. No pink in the middle and still very juicy. It was topped with melted cheese, caramelized onions and green pepper, and served on toasted bread. I subbed the fries for onion rings that were golden brown, crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside. It definitely hit the spot.

The only negative point that I have to comment on, is that the bathrooms (even according to my husband in the men's) were pretty disgusting. The food is delicious, and worth coming for, but wait and go elsewhere to use the restroom if you need to. It was some of the best "bar" food that I have had in a long time. The were also voted in the top ten restaurants on the old Route 66 (check out the link below).

Weezy's in top 10 

Weezy's Facebook Page 

Vango's Pizza & Cocktail Lounge

Vango's has been a staple in my family as one of our takeout places since as far back as I can remember. It is one of my dad's favorite restaurants in Marquette so I can say I have tried many different items on the menu over the years. Vango's is one of the oldest pizza joints in Marquette, in fact, I've heard stories from family members about how they used to make the pizzas and flip the dough in the front glass windows (way, way back in the day).

One of my favorite items on the menu is the Cajun Chicken salad. I have no clue why, except maybe since I've ordered it so many times over the years it has become like a comfort food for me. It is just a few items literally thrown together. A mound of mixed lettuce is topped with shredded cheddar cheese, grape tomatoes, sliced Cajun seasoned chicken, and served with a dressing of choice (always Ranch) and pita bread. It's really nothing special, but still a staple for me.

My favorite, FAVORITE dish from here is the Spanakopeta. I love Spanakopeta and not very many places in the UP that I have been to serve this dish. It is Phyllo dough packed with spinach, rice and feta cheese. Normally the dinner version of this is served with cottage cheese. However....

I ordered it as part of the Greek Combo so that my husband and I could try something different on the menu but that I would still get my little slice of Spanakopeta heaven. I really wish I would have just ordered the Spanakopeta. The stuffed grape leaves I gave all to my husband because the meat was overcooked and they were not at all appetizing. I dipped a spoon into the "lemon egg sauce" and I did taste lemon, and not a whole lot of lemon, in a sauce that is consistent with congealed chicken stock. I can't even describe the confusion in my mind while taste testing this, but it was not a pleasant experience. The Spanakopeta slice was of course as amazing as it usually is.

Vango's seems to be a hit or miss but is usually for the most part good food. Usually the order gets messed up in some way when you order out (which is all we usually do when we get food from there), but most of it is still worth it. They also serve up some amazing pizza, great gyros, and the waffle fries with the ranch dip is amazing. It is definitely a Marquette staple and has a lot of history.

Vango's, Main Site
Vango's, Facebook Page

Bambu Asian Cuisine

A few weekends ago we went to a surprise party in Houghton, MI. Everywhere on the main strip was packed, since it was a Saturday night, there was a home hockey game, and let's be honest the many many Tech students. We went up through town past the bridge, and decided to stop at Bambu Asian Cuisine, that I didn't even know was there because from the outside of the front of the restaurant, it doesn't even look like a restaurant. Although it does have a great weird industrial kind of architectural detail, but other than a sign by the parking lot entrance, there was no sign on the actual building that I could see. The lot was also packed, but the wait was supposedly only 15 minutes long and we were already running behind. Lucky for us, we only waited about 5 minutes and were seated.

For an appetizer, we ordered the steamed dumplings. I don't know what my deal is lately but I have been on a dumpling kick at every oriental place that we've been to. They are filled with ground pork and vegetables and are made in house. The side sauce was a spicy garlic ginger soy sauce. The dumplings were very good, and I will be attempting to recreate the dipping sauce because it was packed with garlic and ginger.

My husband ordered the Orange Chicken. What I like here is that you get a lot of food, but the way that they serve it to you makes it feel like a beautiful plate of food, rather than a trough that you very scarily shovel food into your mouth from. The chicken was very good, with a light breading on the outside. There was a great kick from the peppers in the sauce and a pronounced orange flavor, which funny as it may seem you usually don't get when you order orange chicken elsewhere.

My main course came out and was beautiful. I ordered the Chicken Pad Thai, filled with onion, carrot, egg, and bean sprouts in a Pad Thai sauce and topped with chopped peanuts! The peanuts gave the dish a great crunch and the sauce (which I ordered an elementary spice level) had just enough kick. The bowl doesn't do the size of this dish justice. This is not a normal soup bowl....it is like a dinner plate, that someone has curved all of the edges on. I ended up taking half of it home with me, which I am not complaining about because it made great leftovers!

My only negative comment about this place, other than the fact that they could use a sign up higher on the building, is where the waiter and waitress station was located. On the first floor, in the middle of the room, and I mean LITERALLY in the middle of the room, is the station. We happened to be sitting right across from it so I got to watch the chaos that was the staff (and completely not their fault). There were almost four to six collisions from people not being able to see around the station and four people trying to fit in a space made for one person, just to get to the kitchen or the other side of the restaurant. There are scuff marks all around this thing where you can tell people have had to quickly move out of the way and ended up briefly as part of the wall, or just plain walking into the thing. It is the strangest set-up I've ever seen. I'm sure when it was put there they had the thought process of "it's in the middle of the restaurant and conveniently located" but it is more of an accident waiting to happen.

The restaurant is beautiful on the inside, the noise level for a Saturday night was pretty tame and the food was delicious. Some of the best Asian cuisine I've had in the U.P. so far. If you can find it (or if you live here and know where it is, us persons from out of town had slight difficulty), it is worth the stop!

Bambu Asian Cuisine, Facebook Page
Bambu Asian Cuisine, Main Site

Lawry's Pasty Shop

I was never a lover of pasties growing up. I think it has to do with the pie crust, or flaky crust that is used because I would always only eat the filling when we used to get them in Marquette. When my husband and I moved to Ishpeming, the closest restaurant to us is Lawry's Pasty Shop, so one day I thought, heck, why not right? Taste buds change all of the time. Well, although I still don't usually have a CRAVING for them, Lawry's is the best place in the Upper Peninsula, so far, that I have ever had a pasty from.

This, is what a pasty should look like. We usually get the large ones (17 oz.) but they do make 12 oz. and mini pasties also. The inside of them stays so moist and the potatoes are always cooked perfectly. No need to doctor them up, just throw the usual ketchup and mustard on them and you are good to go.

My favorite thing from Lawry's, is actually not even a pasty at all (although they are great). It would have to be the BBQ Pork sandwich. Their rolls (from scratch like everything else here), are soft and the pork is packed with flavor. Did I mention this sandwich is practically the size of an adult's face? It is huge! They have many kinds of sandwiches, and I have heard the pizza is also fantastic.

And you can't forget about dessert! They always have a few cookie choices and their cinnamon rolls. Let me show you a picture for a size comparison to a stick of butter...

THAT is how huge these cookies and cinnamon rolls are. My husband and I usually end up splitting the cookie, and the roll, well, that usually lasts a few days or gets brought into work for some help.

Since 1946 they have been serving up the best pasties in the U.P. Some will try to argue with you and tell you that the pasties from their hometown are better. They are wrong. Although there is a Lawry's in Marquette, I grew up eating them from a few different places. The only time we had Lawry's though is when my dad used to bring them home after work from the Ishpeming location. I have even tried pasties from Munising, Sault Ste. Marie, Houghton, etc. and I am still going to stand by my statement of Lawry's in Ishpeming being the best.

Not from around here and feeling left out? No worries! Lawry's ships their pasties to those less fortunate to be a few blocks away, like I am. There are multiple kinds and sizes for sale to ship, so don't wait to try the best pasties in the U.P.!

Lawry's Main Site
Lawry's Facebook Page

Darrow's Family Restaurant

On our way back North from our Lower Michigan trip (just in case I need to help clarify again, Northern Michigan is ABOVE the bridge....as in the Upper Peninsula [-: ), we stopped for dinner in Mackinaw City. Neither my husband or I have ever really explored the city that much, and Darrow's had amazing reviews on TripAdvisor so we decided to stop.

For a starter, my husband ordered the Soup of the Day, which happened to be Cream of Potato. I was special enough to get to try a bite, and it was a very good soup. It had a consistency that was just slightly thicker than a broth, but still creamy.

For dinner, he ordered the Apricot-Bourbon Chicken Breasts. The chicken is sauteed in butter, and then glazed with their homemade apricot-bourbon sauce. The apricot gives the sauce a nice fruity tang. It is served with a scoop of stuffing and a side of vegetables of the day, which was green beans.

I ordered one of my favorite styles of chicken, which is the Cordon Bleu. Their version is an inside out one, but it was a healthier version because instead of the ham and Swiss being stuffed inside the chicken, and then the outside of the chicken being breaded, there was no breading and it was served open faced with no added grease. They also top the chicken with a honey mustard sauce. My dinner was also served with a scoop of stuffing and green beans.

We both wanted a piece of their homemade pie, but wanted to split one. We ordered the Dutch Apple, and not only did they bring us our own forks, but they cut the piece of pie in half, gave each of us a scoop of ice cream, and served it to us on our own plates for the same price as one piece of pie to share. The homemade pie was delicious. Apple pie is my favorite, and the crumble on the apples put it over the top!

Unfortunately, this restaurant is seasonal, and I saw on their Facebook page that they closed for the season today. When they open back up in the Spring, you will have had plenty of time to stare at the  menu and drool over pictures of their yummy food on TripAdvisor, Yelp, Zomato, or whatever site you use to look up places to eat (those just happen to be the ones that I use and publish on).


Darrow's Family Restaurant, Main Site
Darrow's, Facebook Page