[jamesbialas]

I have a few new favorite spots, so it's time to update my LSPR dining guide.

Houghton
--------------
The Library- Get your beer and move along. They're slipping- no more white bean chili and they changed the recipe of the house soup. Plus we always seem to get the one waitress that hates us when we go there. The beer can't be beat though. The Shafthouse stout is the *best* stout I've ever had. The IPA is really good as well.

Suomi Cafe- Good breakfast spot, but bound to be somewhat crowded. Really good blueberry pancackes.

Victoria's Kitchen (Formerly Marie's Deli)- The best breakfast spot in houghton. Good lunch sandwhiches as well. I like the Siberian Turkey with a side of spicy potatoes.

Douglas House (Dog House)- Restaurant is kind of an old folks place. Variety of food, good portions for a good price, but nothing special. The saloon has leinenkugel's on tap at a good price.

Ameurasia- New addition, they are now the in house restaurant in the Franklin Square Inn. They have a huge buffet at a reasonable price. It's the place to go if you're really hungry.

Northern Lights- The bar in the Franklin Square Inn. At one point they had three varieties of Bell's Beer on tap. Occasionally they have some pretty good live music as well.

Ambassador- No beer on tap and no fries served with sandwiches, go figure. Excellent pizza though. I like the garlic chicken pizza and the tostada pizza. Sandwiches are pretty good as well.

Downtowner- Bell's on tap and good happy hour specials. Burgers are alright, but not my first choice.

Ming- Chinese. Better than Ameurasia.

Hunan- Chinese. Not as good as the Ming, but cheaper. You might hear horror stories about this place from the locals, but I like it.

Stanton Township (just outside of Houghton)
===================================

Schmidt's Corner Bar and Grill- My "home base". The best burgers outside of Kenton, don't bother with anything else on the menu. Leinenkugel's Creamy Dark on tap. Good deals during happy hour. Free pool on Sundays.

Stanton Township Fire Hall- I think we're doing a pancake breakfast on saturday. A pile of food, cheap. I'll try and have tickets at registration.

Hancock (my old home town)
=======================

Nutini's- I used to live above the dining room. Guinness on tap. Sourdough crust pizza is excellent. Lasagna is pretty good as well. If Eric Koskinen <sp?> is playing on saturday night, DROP OUT OF THE RALLY TO GO SEE HIM. He plays a mean slide guitar.

Jim's Pizza- If you have to do take out pizza, this the place. Of course, we always get a friend of the owner to order for us, so I might be biased.

Gemignani's- Italian in da UP, eh. Alright Italian food, and the best Chicken Caesar Salad in the Keweenaw. Variety of Leinenkugel's in bottles.

Fallon's Subs- Forget Subway. Better subs and you can get a six pack to go with it. They have coke in *glass* bottles too!

Bleachers- If all the kitchens are closed and you need some food, a good last hope. I had a friend who was obsessed with the spicy chicken balls. They also have electronic trivia. I play under the name "luser".

Uphill 41- Well, no food, but go there on a thursday night around midnight. Cups of Milwauke's Best for 25 cents. And ask Jerry about the chicks line dancing to techno.

My ISP is about to kick me off. I'll follow up with more in a minute.

 

[PORFan]

>Ambassador- No beer on tap and no fries served with
>sandwiches, go figure. Excellent pizza though. I like the
>garlic chicken pizza and the tostada pizza. Sandwiches are
>pretty good as well.

Hey, I cook there! I think I've met you there before...

Anyway, anyone who's in town tomorrow (Wednesday) night come in and I'll make you a pie... Guaranteed best ever.

 

[jamesbialas]

OK.. moving along now.

Kenton
======

U.P. Chuck's- When laying out the Sturgeon River Rally (what, you missed it?) we stopped here for a bite. Now I've had a bruger with the proverbial basket before. You know, fries and slaw. U.P. Chuck's served my buger on a veritable mountain of fries. The burger wasn't bad either.

Calumet
=======

The Michigan House Cafe- Pricy, but large portions. I dare you to finish a "big burrito" and a slice of pie. The fish and chips are excellent. Variety of good beers in bottles and on tap. They usually have live music on friday and saturday nights. Also the only place where the fabled Michigan Tech 4:1 ratio doesn't seem to apply.

The place whose name I cannot remember- At this point we've been at the Michigan House for too long. They're up the street from the Michigan house, but not past the Calumet theatre. The name is pronounced like shooters, but is spelled something like Schuter's. Anyway, unique stained-glass canopy over the bar. Coolest bathroom since the Hut did away with the jetway and wacky sanded, air-hockey-like table game in the back.

The other place whose name I cannot remember- Oooookaaayyy, we've been in calumet too long now, eh? A block or so from Schuter's, I'm not exactly sure where. They have a different derivative of the table game from Schuter's. That's about it. Both Old Mil *AND* Old Mil Light on tap.

Kearsarge
========

The Hut Inn- Again, another old folks place, this time with the most wacky interior design in restaurant I've ever seen. Shingles on the inside? OK. Used to have the coolest bathrooms ever, but they did away with those. What to order? Simple- a Danwich and an apple dumpling with ice cream. No alcoholic beverages, but you won't have room for them after that.

Copper Harbor
============

The Mariner North- Great sandwiches, a good variety of beer and about the only place in town that will be open that time of year.


In room libations
==============

Don't want to go out? No Problem!

Jim's Foodmart (Houghton)- Walk in beer fridge, what can I say? Good place to go for cheap beer, but a good selection of quality brews as well.

Shottle Bop- They get holiday cards from the local frats, what more endorsement so you need? In Hancock, open later than any purveyor of alcholic beverages. A suprisingly good selection of quality beverages in stock, along with the cheap stuff you'd expect.

Keweenaw Co-Op (Hancock)- A liquor store with organic produce. Looking for obscure beers and wines, look no further. A good selection of homebrew supplies as well, but that probably won't help you this weekend.


Enjoy! I've undoubtedly missed a few, I'm sure others will fill in the gaps. If I catch you eating fast food, it better be because eveything else is closed (Burger King will be open until 3AM on Saturday).

 

[jamesbialas]

>>Ambassador- No beer on tap and no fries served with
>>sandwiches, go figure. Excellent pizza though. I like the
>>garlic chicken pizza and the tostada pizza. Sandwiches are
>>pretty good as well.
>
>Hey, I cook there! I think I've met you there before...
>
>Anyway, anyone who's in town tomorrow (Wednesday) night come
>in and I'll make you a pie... Guaranteed best ever.

Ah yes, if PORfan is the guy I'm thinking of, take him up on his offer- his additions to the Garlic Chicken Pizza make it better than ever.

 

[Foghorn]

Other than the Suomi, do you have any recommendations for Pasties? :9

Kent Gardam

 

[Lurch]

>Ambassador- No beer on tap and no fries served with
>sandwiches, go figure. Excellent pizza though. I like the
>garlic chicken pizza and the tostada pizza. Sandwiches are
>pretty good as well.

Who needs beer when you have FISHBOWLS of Long Island iced tea.

I'll see you there.

Lurch

 

[jamesbialas]

>Other than the Suomi, do you have any recommendations for
>Pasties? :9
>
>Kent Gardam

Toni's Country Kitchen in Laurium (near Calumet). I've never actually been there, but I have had quite a few of their pasties. Good stuff.

 

[jblewis]

Ambassador

And if your tastes tend more towards the fruity, there's the fishbowl of "Scorpion"!

JBLewis

 

[Lyn]

RE: James the Connoisseur

I'm printing out the "book" and will keep it with me at all times when frequenting the Keweenaw.

Thanks, James.

I see we need to give you more tasks to take up your idle time, Mr. Scorer. Speaking of which, I just remembered to do the blasted sequence numbers! Running to OfficeMax now..........

 

[Foghorn]

James,

We had generally good results with our dining experiences. We ate at the Library Friday evening. I had a cup of black bean soup that was pretty good. Scott and Joe had the Swiss Cheese soup and liked it. My Black and Blue Burger (black angus and bleu cheese) was decent. The Coppertown Red beer I had was pleasant.

Friday breakfast was a western omelet at the Suomi for me. Not spectacular but good. By the time we returned to Houghton Friday evening at midnight, dinner was Burger King and it was all you would expect it not to be. x(

Saturday morning breakfast was handheld pasties from the Suomi in the parking lot while servicing the car. Very good and very filling. We didn't need to eat again until dinner. Dinner was back at the Library where I had the James Beard Rueben which was good and a basket of onion rings that were plentiful and tasty. Joe had some sort of an italian chicken dish that he loved, thought it was the best chicken he had ever had.

The best unexpected treat was the fresh baked goodies each day from the owner of our motel, the Chippewa in Chassel. A very nice touch.

Sunday morning on the way home we stopped at the Hilltop in L'Anse and picked up a couple of the cinnamon rolls. They are ridiculous! :9

Kent Gardam

 

[Mad Mike]

>Other than the Suomi, do you have any recommendations for
>Pasties? :9
>
>Kent Gardam

Better late than never I give you an Okie's answer to the Houghton pastie question:

http://www.realautosport.com/pics/Beetle/LSPR2002/Pasties.jpg

Halley ...
http://www.realautosport.com