Munising to Paradise in the UP

[mdg]

This Detroit native / Bay area chowhound will be doing a Great Lakes vacation in late July. The trip includes a high school reunion in the Detroit area, music camp reunion at Interlochen, visiting family in Milwaukee, and a few days in the UP. We'll be staying 2 nights in Paradise and 2 nights in Munising as we explore Lake Superior / Pictured Rocks sites.

I have some pretty good ideas for our other destinations from past experience and Chowhound recommendations, though I may follow up with some specific questions elsewhere. The UP is new to me though; I've never been past St. Ignace before.

Any chowish recommendations here? We're looking for local food here, especially fresh water fish. We can't get anything like great Michigan perch or whitefish in California. So far Muldoon's in Munising seems like a must-do for pasties, and the Tahquamenon Falls brewpub seems to get be well-liked too.

Thanks,
Michael

[Jim M]

Food is pretty basic in this area, but I suggest driving the almost perfectly straight 25-miles road from Seney up to Grand Marais, which is a very pretty lakeside town. Restaurants are variable, but you can certainly get fresh fish at the Sportsman's Bar, then hit the Lake Superior Brewing Company across the street for the local brew.

[yooperprof]

I like the Brownstone Inn, about 10 miles west of Munising on M-28, at Au Train. It's a traditional "road house" restaurant with nice decor and better-than-average food.

While I like the beer at the Tahquamenon Falls brewpub, I've found the food to be underwhelming. A place I like better is Chamberlin's Old Forest Inn, in Curtis, just a few miles off M-28. Great atmosphere, and they always have their planked or stuffed whitefish on the menu.

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Brownstone Inn
Highway 28, Au Train, MI 49806

[mdg]

Thanks for the recommendations! The Old Forest Inn seems a bit far for what we have planned, but the Brownstone Inn and the Grand Marais places look like good bets. Anything else more local to either Munising or Paradise, especially for fish?

Thanks,
Michael

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Brownstone Inn
Highway 28, Au Train, MI 49806

[mdg]

We went to the Brownstone Inn for our last UP dinner. It was great to have fish choices other than just broiled or fried. The Jamaican whitefish was very nice, and the special fried fish combo was well done too.

Falling Rock Cafe in downtown Munising also has a fine smoked whitefish bagel with cream cheese and tomatoes.

Thanks again for the UP tips!

Michael

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Brownstone Inn
Highway 28, Au Train, MI 49806

[mdg]

We're staying on Whitefish Bay now, so we've been ordering a lot of whitefish the past couple days! Today we hit the jackpot with great whitefish at lunch and dinner.

Lunch was at the Tahquamenon Falls Brewery and Pub. All the food was first rate: the fried whitefish sandwich, the buffalo burger, the fries, and the onion rings. The buffalo burger actually came medium rare as ordered - that's a rare thing these days in the USA and much appreciated! The frying job on everything was really superb. The fish and the onion rings both had just the right minimal amounts of tasty batter to highlight the taste of the fish and onions. The pale ale and blonde lager were both good, with a slightly sweeter finish than we're used to from most brewpub beers.

Dinner was at Brown Fisheries / The Fish House in Paradise. This is one of those places that gets the whitefish in from the bay that morning and cooks it simply and marvelously well - exactly what we were looking for! We started with an awesome smoked whitefish dip, and then had a broiled whitefish and a fried whitefish. The super-freshness of the fish really shone through here, making it the best of the trip so far.

Michael

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Brown Fisheries / The Fish House
M-123, Paradise, MI 49768

Tahquamenon Falls Brewery and Pub
Upper Tahquamenon Falls State Park, Newberry, MI 49868

[momskitchen]

I was going to tell you about the Fish House, but you already found it. It's great!

[yooperprof]

Glad that you liked the Tahquamenon Falls Brewpub - I'll have to give the food another try!

[mdg]

Our last meal in Paradise was a great breakfast at the Berry Patch. There were fine pancakes with Michigan maple syrup, and wonderful wild blueberry pie. What a great place!

Munising has been fine so far. We had Muldoon's traditional pasties at the Falling Rock Cafe, and had fresh broiled whitefish and trout at Sydney's. The Sydney's menu looks very uneven, but we had no complaints with the fish. Plus there was a nice draft beer selection including Keweenaw Amber, Frankenmuth Pils, and one of the Bell's beers.

Michael

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Berry Patch Gifts & Bakery
8234 N M 123, Paradise, MI 49768

Sydney's Restaurant
M-28 E, Munising, MI 49862

[momskitchen]

Forgot about the Berry Patch...love that place for breakfast! When my kid goes to Interlochen hopefully in a few years (she goes to Blue Lake now) I will be asking you for your dining recs for that trip!