Spikes Keg 'O' Nails

While on the way back from lower Michigan heading to the U.P., my husband and I stopped in Grayling for some lunch. Before even reading on the history or the menu of Spike's Keg 'O' Nails, the outside looked like such a dive (in a good way) that we took a chance that paid off. For a brief history, it opened on May 29, 1933 the day after prohibition ended and the name was picked out from a contest. Famous baseball stars and boxers were customers of that time, and he was a pillar of the community. Be sure to read more information of him on their main website. This little building definitely has some history behind it. (Who would have thought by looking at it?)

For an appetizer we ordered one of my favorites, which if you're a cheese addict like me, is always cheese curds. They were amazing, like cheese curds usually are. The breading was crispy, the cheese was squeaky and melted, and was even better dipped in ranch dressing.

There were many options on the menu that looked amazing, such as the pulled pork, but my gut (literally I suppose..) was telling me to go for the 'Spike's Patty Melt'. I had upgraded to the pretzel bun, but the waitress apparently forgot because when it came out, it was on rye bread. A mistake well made because the rye bread gives this sandwich an extra flavor that would have been missing with the pretzel bun. It was topped with grilled onions that were soft and almost caramelized, and melted Swiss cheese. This is one of the best patty melt's I have ever had. My burger was cooked perfectly, the onion rings that I got on the side were amazing with really thin fried batter on the outside. Whatever dip they give you (I can't for the life of me remember) to dip the sandwich and rings in is the perfect match.

Spike's seems to be one of THE places to eat in Grayling. We arrived and there were only two tables filled, but by the time we left, every seat, including the bar, was packed. If we lived closer, this would definitely be on the rotation of places to eat!

Spike's Keg 'O' Nails, Main Website

Auburn Country Oven

While we were visiting family in lower Michigan, we stopped at Auburn Country Oven for dinner one night. And wouldn't you know it, breakfast is served all day! When I read that on a menu, I literally never go further than the breakfast pages. They may have the best chicken dish or be known for their stuffed cabbage, but it doesn't matter, because, breakfast.

It was a tiny place on the inside. My only complaint during the entire experience here is that most of the tables are what feel like 4 tops maximum. The tables were very scrunched. We had 5 with us and barely had any room to move. The decor was pretty cool though. There were two levels in the vaulted ceiling that had colored rope lights that kept changing. They also had a few TV's, to which Jeopardy was on. Kind of a strange choice but maybe people working there just get bored and watch random stuff on TV. It was pretty late by the time we ate dinner. There was no rush and only about 3 tables filled, us included.

I ordered the Western omelet, which just happens to be my favorite omelet of all time. The portions at this restaurant are out of this world. My omelet was huge. It was packed with gooey cheese and cooked green peppers and diced ham. The hash  browns were exactly the way I like them; crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside. It was a perfect breakfast dinner to round up the chaotic day. I highly recommend this restaurant and if you are the opposite of me and actually eat dinner at dinner time, my husband ordered the ribs which looked good, and his uncle ordered the stuffed cabbage which smelled delicious.

Ken's Cozy Cafe

 

While we were in town for a funeral in Shelby Township, Michigan (I know, not the best reason for a vacation or trip, only positive that comes out of funerals is seeing family you haven't seen in forever), we needed something delicious for breakfast before heading to visit family. I always do my planning before trips and have a list of higher rated restaurants in the area and Ken's Cozy Cafe was highly recommended by many. Talk about a tiny place, with an impressive speed for getting customers in, fed, and out in a timely manner.

We both ordered the 2x2, which is two eggs and two pancakes. My husband ordered two over-medium eggs with pecan pancakes, and I ordered two scrambled eggs with chocolate chip pancakes. Holy wah, the pancakes are huge! They literally take up the whole circumference of the plate! And of course we both ordered a side of bacon, because everyone loves bacon, or anyone that matters anyways! The pancakes were amazing. They were so soft, and had a slight cake flavor to them. I was able to finish one, and took the other one back to the hotel. And talk about inexpensive. The 2x2 is a whole whopping $6.75.

This little restaurant really impressed me. The staff was so busy that I was impressed with how tentative they were in refilling coffee and checking on customer satisfaction. I would suggest going at a slight off- time because they are really busy. We went around 10 AM and they were still packed. Ken's Cozy Cafe is definitely a place worth repeating.

Paul's Superior View Restaurant

While in Silver City and staying at the AmericInn Lodge & Suites, my husband and I decided, especially since it is really the only restaurant in the area, to dine at Paul's Superior View Restaurant.

The aren't lying when they say superior view. The view from our table in the dining room was amazing. Even though the weather was overcast, the lake still looked beautiful as you watched the waves crash on the shore. We waited about 20 minutes to get beverages, and it took about half an hour to order our food. Once the food finally did come, some of it was definitely worth the wait.

My husband ordered the Lumberjack Chicken. It consisted of a chargrilled chicken breast with sauteed mushrooms, onions, bacon and topped with melted white cheddar. All of it sat on top of a bed of rice pilaf and came with a side of vegetables. The veggies looked like they were from a frozen bag and mixed with melted butter. The chicken however, was amazing. I stole maybe two bites from him....and everything went perfectly together. I was able to get a little bit of everything on the fork and it was delicious.

I ordered the baked ravioli. I wasn't as impressed with mine as with my husband's. The cheese ravioli was supposed to be topped with Mozzarella and Parmesan and then baked. The ravioli was really good. It tasted like it could have been homemade. But the cheese seemed like it was melted under a warmer and the yellow cheese threw the taste of this dish all off.

Mozzarella and Parmesan go very well together, but this seemed to have been a cheese mixture with either Colby or Cheddar, which changed the flavor of everything. I ended up scraping the cheese and most of the sauce off and just enjoyed the ravioli. This I think is a little bit of false advertising in the menu on their part because this is not at all what the description was.

I will say that the portions you receive are very large. We both ended up taking food back to our hotel room. The waitress we had was really nice. She seemed more like the manager, and I did notice throughout service that there was a lot of tension between the staff. Visible arguing and snickering behind backs was very noticeable. We were also only one of four tables that were seated and our entire dining experience took over 2 hours! Luckily, we were in no rush. I would definitely come back and try this restaurant out again. Hopefully it was just a fluke service for the staff on why it took over 2 hours but there were many things on the menu that looked amazing.