Syl's Cafe

After stopping to get gas on our way to the Porcupine Mountains we stopped in Ontonagon, Michigan for some lunch. We knew where our hotel was that there weren't many restaurants after you left the "big city" of Ontonagon so we stopped at one of the higher rated restaurants in town. People rave about their baked goods and breakfast, which I was bummed that they weren't serving breakfast still when we went because I am a sucker for restaurants that serve breakfast all day. Our waitress was very friendly and it wasn't too busy; the tables were at about half capacity. The bakery counter is where we sat close to and the entire time we were waiting for our food it made my mouth water consistently. I wish we had had room for dessert because the doughnuts were screaming for us to buy one.

I ordered the Sourdough Chicken Club that came with grilled chicken, bacon, lettuce, tomato, cheese and ranch dressing stuffed inside of two slices of sourdough. I can't remember the name of the sauce that the waitress had suggested I try, but I couldn't get enough of the large sweet potato wedges dipped in what I am calling "crack" sauce, because it was that addicting. My sandwich was a let down for me. The bread was pretty greasy. I know diners like to toast bread in butter or oil on the cook top but I can't stand it. I would rather have naked bread out of a toaster than greasy bread that you can barely stand to hold onto. The bacon was cooked perfectly and super crunchy. My #1 downfall with chicken in anything, especially a sandwich where it is a whole breast like this, is that every restaurant needs to take the time to get the fat off, especially that tendon that goes through the breast. A few bites in and crunch, I was done.

My husband ordered the Grilled Chicken Breast sandwich that comes with lettuce, tomato and mayo and upgraded the bread to a pretzel roll. After he was half way through with his sandwich, we switched halves after my chicken fat incident with my sandwich, and I completely devoured it. The pretzel bun was a great choice, because it left the sandwich feeling fresh and not greasy at all. His chicken was perfect, cooked perfect, and had no fat what-so-ever. I wasn't a huge fan of the mayo but again, it wasn't originally my sandwich, so I dipped it in more of that "crack" sauce and it was delicious!

Hopefully next time we are in the area we will have time to stop again. If I am real lucky we can grab a few sweets out of the counter on our way out because every doughnut, pastry, cookie, cinnamon roll, you name it looked mouth watering. It is a cute little place with pretty decent food, and friendly staff. In a small town like this, finding a gem with good food and great staff is all you can hope for.

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