Roxane's Smokehouse Restaurant

On our way back from the Paranormal Convention in Sault Ste. Marie, we were starved and stopped for lunch at a restaurant that I had been wanting to eat at and had written down as a "must stop while on this trip". Roxane's Smokehouse Restaurant is located in Eckerman, Michigan and has been in business since May of 2012. They serve slow-smoked BBQ, homemade pizza, subs and hamburgers. From 9AM to 1PM on Wednesday through Sunday, they also serve breakfast. And still have room for dessert? How about some homemade pie or some Jilberts ice cream!

The inside feel is like an old diner, filled with Coca-Cola and Betty Boop items. There are old fashioned bar stools at the counter, and the classic checker style black and white pattern on the floor.

They also have their own line of BBQ sauces that are homemade, and can be purchased by the bottle (to which of course we did). And oh man....those BBQ sauces! They have a mustard style sauce, pictured above on the left. More of a sweet and tangy sauce that is pictured in the middle. And a maple sauce that is on the right hand side. Forgive me for forgetting what the actual names of them are.

I had the Pulled BBQ Chicken Sub. The menu may look slightly pricey, but once the food actually gets to the table you should be able to see why it is priced pretty perfectly. The portion was HUGE! (And that is not a complaint!) The sub was packed with pulled smoked chicken and melted cheddar cheese (or any cheese of your choice). It also comes with a side of coleslaw (which I ate, and I hate coleslaw), and a side of crispy fries. I didn't limit myself to any one BBQ sauce that they had, I tried it with all 3, and STILL ended up taking half of my sub home.

My husband ordered the Beef Brisket dinner, which came with three sides of your choice. The brisket was juicy and perfectly cooked. It is always a good sign to look at the smoke rings that form when places smoke their own meats. And this brisket definitely had some amazing and tasty smoke lines. He ordered the baked beans, mac and cheese and coleslaw for his side dishes. What is not pictured is that he also got a slice of pie with his meal, which he ordered the banana cream pie. I also had to help him taste test the pie, and to no surprise it was also very tasty.

Whether you already live close by, or are driving to or from the Sault Ste Marie area, you should stop here and eat. I have been to Tennessee and have had some great Memphis BBQ, and I am a BBQ fanatic. I promise you that you will not be disappointed!

Roxane's Smokehouse Restaurant, Facebook Page

Kewadin Casino's Dream Catchers Restaurant and the Trail Deli

This past weekend, my husband and I had the awesome privilege of attending Kewadin's 6th annual Michigan Paranormal Convention, otherwise known as MIparacon. For those of you that don't believe in anything paranormal, that is okay. This is after all a blog about restaurants and food.  For those of you that do believe and weren't able to go, the lineup this year was amazing!

The lineup includes, and is not at all limited to the people in the above pictures. Dustin Pari from Ghost Hunters (who painted his face like a member of Kiss), John Tenney from Ghost Stalkers, Andrea Perron, the oldest daughter from the Perron family that the movie "the Conjuring" is very loosely based off of, and Josh Gates of Destination Truth. The bottom picture is my husband and I getting our picture taken with the hit movie Ghost Buster's very own, Ernie Hudson. Niff Groff was also a speaker from Ghost Adventures, and John Zaffis the star of Haunted Collection. And the list goes on (and yes I have many, many more pictures and got to meet everybody). It was an amazing experience and I suggest to everybody who reads this that you get tickets next year and attend. Anyways.....back to the food.

I don't normally remember about room service, or use the opportunity when I have one, but since we were on vacation and the hotel was packed, we ordered room service for breakfast on Friday morning. I believe it was made at their Dream Catchers restaurant. We both ordered the ham and cheese omelet with hash browns and toast on the side. Not only was it very satisfying, and still piping hot from being in the hot box (or whatever you call it), but it was to our room in 15 minutes.

We stopped at the Dream Catchers Restaurant on Friday afternoon for lunch.

For an appetizer we ordered the Thai Peanut Chicken. The flavors were great, and you could taste the soy sauce and what I'm assuming might have been a hint of peanut butter? But this to me was more of a grilled chicken breast with sauce on it, that should have been placed in a salad or left whole and served with side dishes as a main entree. It was a very strange item for an appetizer and not at all what we expected.

For my main dish, I ordered what they called the 'Indian Taco'. They have some items on the menu that are marked with a dream catcher to let you know that it is Native American inspired. It is supposedly a Native American fry bread topped with the usual seasoned ground beef, cheese, tomato, olives, onion and lettuce like you would find on a normal taco. It was also served with salsa and sour cream on the side. It was very tasty, and very filling. The only problem that I had with it, is that it tasted more like a thick biscuit batter and was dry and bread like on the inside. I have had authentic fry bread before, and this tastes nothing like it. But nevertheless, it was very good.

If I was smart, I would have ordered the buffet like my husband did. (I am NOT a buffet girl.) I tried little bites here and there of his selections and I could have eaten a whole pan of that maccaroni and cheese.

Friday night, we ordered a large cheese pizza from the Trail Deli. It was some of the best pizza I have had in a long time. And I was very lucky, because cheese is the only kind that they serve. I think if they were to change that and have more types of pizza, that the pizza would do better than any of the sandwiches or other items that they sell.

This was an amazing trip, full of great people, experiences, and food. Like I said before, I suggest that you sign up to attend Paracon7 next year. I know that we will be there!

Kewadin Casino, Dining
MI Paracon

Joshua James Grill and Chill

While headed out of town this past weekend, we needed to stop somewhere for a late dinner and I found Joshua James Grill & Chill through TripAdvisor on my phone. I looked at the inside pictures, and it seemed to be a nice dive bar that looked clean and like it had a good menu. We pulled up and judging by the outside, had the mentality of "I guess we can give this a shot". We were pleasantly surprised, and it was a great example of not to judge something by what it appears like on the outside.

For an appetizer, we ordered deep fried pickles. I have ordered these at a few other places, and they always deep fry the ones that are cut into circles. This is a much better way to do it, and ends up being easier to eat, just like a french fry. You can pick your choice of dipping sauce, but the automatic and obvious choice is usually ranch dressing.

My husband ordered the Ultimate Turkey Club sandwich, that came with a side of fries. It was a double stacker and looked amazing. He said it was good and very filling, and was not expecting it to be that large! It was stuffed with bacon, turkey, tomato, lettuce and mayonnaise.

I was not terribly hungry, so I ordered the Grilled Ham and Cheese sandwich, with no side (aka, no fries). It was a typical grilled ham and cheese, made with American cheese I'm assuming, but it was very good and perfectly crunchy on the outside, and gooey on the inside.

This restaurant/bar was a great find while on our trip. We normally wouldn't have stopped here, mainly because when you drive by so quickly, it's hard to decipher if places are strictly bars that you may get lucky and serve nachos or frozen pizza, or if it is a bar and grill, that serves some tasty eats such as Joshua James did. It is definitely a place worth stopping!

I couldn't find a main website, or a main Facebook page for this restaurant, but be sure to check out reviews and pictures on TripAdvisor, Zomato and Yelp!

Char's Cafe

After an adventurous afternoon visiting Bond Falls, we decided to take the route through Bruce Crossing on the way home and stop and get lunch. I had looked up Char's Cafe the night before on TripAdvisor and it had great reviews so we decided to stop. 

The outside makes it look and seem as though when you walk in, you will see a dive bar. It was not what I expected at all, and in a good way. Everything was bright white and light blue with country decor. It was like stepping into an old diner. Our waitress was very nice and since we were new, and didn't see any signs anywhere, she told us we could pick our table of choice.

They serve breakfast all day, minus pancakes and French toast after 11AM. I went for something off of the normal sandwich menu which sort of ended up being breakfast anyways.... I ordered the Denver Egg Sandwich, which was almost like a Denver omelet folded up and stuffed into two pieces of bread. It had ham, green pepper and onion on the inside. The only thing I wish I would have asked for, is adding cheese. It was served with a side of chips and a slice of dill pickle!

Every review on every website for Char's Cafe stated that even if you do not have any room left, that you need to try at least one of many of the homemade pies here. We decided to get two slices to go, one of the strawberry rhubarb, and one dutch apple. I am not sure how they made it back to camp an hour away but they did. And lasted about 10 minutes after we got there. They were both tart and fresh. I wasn't a huge fan of the pie crust, but I usually am not a fan of most pie crusts to begin with. The strawberry rhubarb was my favorite.

If you are stopping through Bruce Crossing or on an adventure at Bond Falls, be sure to stop here to get some good food. It isn't a fancy 5 star looking joint, but it has friendly people and food that will satisfy your stomach. And make sure you order pie!

Check out what they have to offer on their Facebook Page!

Char's Cafe, Facebook Page

Sindaw Eats

 

This past weekend my husband and I planned a trip to Bond Falls. I had never been to that part of the UP before, so I went on TripAdvisor to see if there were any good restaurants on the way there and back to get breakfast and lunch. There was a top rated restaurant in Sidnaw, Michigan, (which no offense to anyone, I had never heard of the town before), that serves breakfast from 8:30 AM to 3PM, which is also their hours of operation.

The building, which used to be a gas station, has been made into a very cute, small diner. I overheard the owner telling another table that most of the decor items throughout the inside were donated by friends or customers. They also ask every customer that comes in if they can take their picture for their Facebook page, which is a great way to get your name and business out there. Especially if people tag themselves. If you hate your picture taken, don't worry, you can respectfully decline with no problem!

I ordered the Sidnaw Saute, since I usually always order breakfast if it's offered all day, and it was before noon. You had your choice of meat, which I chose ham, that is sauteed with green peppers, mushrooms, onions and mixed in with a big heap of hash browns. It is topped with two eggs, cooked however you would like (I always prefer over-easy), and comes with a side of toast. It was not only scrumptious, but the portion was perfect, and I actually ended up taking half of the hash home to cook with later. My husband had pancakes that were filled with fresh fruit and served with real maple syrup in the glass jar right at the table.

This restaurant is one of those places that once you eat here or hear about it, you know when you head back to the area that you will stop. The food is fantastic, the owner is personable, attentive and makes you feel like you are eating at their personal dinner table. This is definitely a place to stop if you are driving on M-28, taking a trip to Bond Falls (26 minutes away) or just want somewhere amazing to eat!

Check out their Facebook page and main website at the links below:

Sidnaw Eats, Main Site
Signaw Eats, Facebook Page

Northland Pub

For my sisters birthday, her boyfriend planned  a surprise dinner for her at the Northland Pub. It didn't get off to a good start. Both restaurants in the Landmark hotel told my husband and I that they did not take reservations and that there were none. We finally got a "oh yeah!!" response from someone and were told we were up in the mezzanine. Not to mention she almost spoiled the surprise when my sister and her boyfriend got here and she said something about "are you here for the surprise party". It was also unbelievably chaotic when it came time to order. Which people started doing at random over an hour after we got there because no one had any idea what was going on. The waitress didn't take everyone's order at the same time, so people were eating randomly while other people were still waiting for food or even better, waiting to get their order taken. The food wasn't bad and my sister was surprised and had a good time.

For an "appetizer", which came out after our main course, we ordered the chicken quesadillas. I was told by multiple people to try these and they were definitely tasty. You got a side of lettuce, corn and tomatoes etc, which was kind of awkward when you try to eat it because everything just falls off of the top.

For dinner I ordered the Caprese burger, twice. The first time, I asked for medium well. When I cut into it the entire inside was a deep pink, and for me practically mooing. After sending it back to get cooked more, it came out perfect the second time. The combination of the tomato, burger, fresh Mozzarella, basil and a balsamic drizzle on the top bun was delicious. I wish they would have given you more sauce, or sauce to dip it in but it was still a very good burger.

We randomly come here about once a year because someone ends up having a birthday party. The building and history makes the Landmark a very attractive stop for tourists, but I grew up in Marquette and I'm not a tourist. This isn't usually our first choice for dinner in Marquette, or the 50th considering there are over 100 restaurants to choose from. It is not ever bad food, even if they get it wrong the first time, it always ends up being decent. But the service here is always mediocre at best. They just opened up the Piedmont that replaced the Capers restaurant down by the lobby. The menu sounds interesting enough that we will stop in and try it out. As for the Northland Pub, we will probably just continue to come here when someone else invites us.

A link to their main website is below:

Northland Pub, Landmark Hotel, Main Site

Midtown Bakery and Cafe

If you are looking for a place that serves some of the best desserts in the U.P. (especially in the Marquette, Negaunee, Ishpeming area), look no further than Midtown Bakery. I have used them a few times in the past and always forget now that I live in Ishpeming that they are so close! I have tried out the Bakeries in Marquette and nothing comes close to the innovative flavors and personal touches that they give you at Midtown.

Midtown started their Bakery in 1996, and is home of the "almost world famous cheesecake" (to which they have over 100 flavors). They also serve up soup, salads and sandwiches that are all made to order. If you are living a gluten free lifestyle, they also have options for people with gluten allergies. Catering is also an offered, either in your home or their Bakery, and they also make wedding cakes and offer corporate luncheon accounts.

My husband and I ate dinner at Jackson's Pit just down the street from here and purposely saved room to stop in to get dessert. We couldn't leave with just one, so we picked the top four of what looked good (which was everything, and we stood there for what seemed like forever picking).

My husband is a huge cheesecake freak, so he got what I believe was the Rocky Road Cheesecake. I tried a bite of it and it was amazing. The chocolate was rich, and the peanuts added a nice crunch and change in texture.

We also both picked out one type of cookie and one type of bar. The monster size cookie was loaded with oatmeal, M&M's and chocolate chips. The outside was crunchy and the inside was soft and chewy. We also got the salted caramel bar after tasting a sample at the counter. The shortbread bottom is flaky and the caramel was smooth and silky. There was only a touch of chocolate on top, sprinkled with sea salt to take it over the edge.

Last but not lease was the Banana Chocolate Cake. Oh my goodness. I love everything using fresh bananas and smothering it with chocolate made it even more delicious. Everything that we got was amazing. The only fault I could find was that there was a LOT of chocolate on the banana cake, so I ate it in two sittings rather than one....

This is a birthday cake that I asked them to make for my, at the time, fiance. He loved pool and they made his cake look as close as possible. It was amazing. They even had a hole in the side for the ball return, and for the rack on the other side. The pockets were there, and they made a tiny little chalk. The flavor combination was nice because it wasn't the typical boring combinations to choose from. It was a dark chocolate cake with an orange buttercream filling.
 

Everyone there is so friendly, and make you feel right at home. We have not had the opportunity to try out the soup, salad or sandwiches but it is definitely on our to-do list! I couldn't find a main website for them, but a link to their Facebook page is below:

Midtown Baker, Facebook Page