Spent three days in July eating along the Lake Michigan coast. Stayed in Michigan City the first night, with lunch at Redamak's in New Buffalo my first food stop. I know there's a big variance of opinion on here over Redamak's burgers. To me, they're just fine, a little more well-done than I might prefer but honestly never dry. It's basically a really good mom burger and the place has such a perfect summer feel to it, I'll keep going back. Tried the calamari appetizer this time ($4 I think), which was good too.
I ate dinner that night at the Duneland Beach Inn, an out-of-the-way spot in Michigan City, which I like a lot as a spot, not nearly as much for the food, which is decent but not worth the money you'll pay for it. Two months later, I can't even remember what I had. But pretty, no?
The next day I drove up the coast, stopping for lunch at Henry's Hamburgers in St Joe.
Henry's was a midwest chain (out of Chicago) back in the '60s; this is the last one left. I'd seen it described as White-Castle-meets-normal-sized-patties, but it's really quite a bit better than that makes it sound. My double cheeseburger had a distinct flavor to it, almost a touch of sausage taste, and yes, better than Redamak's. It was hard to negotiate the massive road construction in St Joe to get to Henry's but worth it.
The weather was perfect for a leisurely drive north and I reached Grand Haven late in the afternoon. Nibbled my way around town: a corn dog (or whatever it is) from Pronto Pup (if you've never tried one, it's free), lake perch from Ray's, a drink at the Bil-Mar. But when I happened upon the amazing-looking Fricano's Pizza Tavern, I knew there'd have to be one more meal later that night. Look at this place!
The neon sign looked even better at 11 that night.
It was just as nice and cozy inside. Originally a boarding house, the building has been a bar since the '20s, and a pizza tavern since 1949. Here's their paper placemat.
My pizza looked great: super-thin crust, but not at all crispy (just the way I like it), unevenly charred around the edges.
It was very good -- and very rich! Yes, I'd had plenty of food already that night, but I can usually polish off pizza with the best of them. Two slices of this one and I was stuffed. I could tell it was a good pizza but I'd like to try it on a healthy appetite to determine just how good.
On my drive back the next day, I stopped at Bob's Processing, outside of South Haven, and bought some of their vaunted bacon -- which I can honestly report lives up to its billing, maybe the best bacon I've ever had. From there, I visited my Auntie Lo in northwest Indiana and attended my high-school class reunion. A very nice mid-summer break.
<message edited by Train on Sun, 09/6/09 7:18 PM>
