Category Archives: Eat

Eat Michigan: Pumpernickel’s Eatery

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Whhaaaat! A weekend post? Enjoy!

Ahhh! This is the last in my vacation re-cap of Michigan and we close up with a food review of Pumpernickel’s Eatery in the heart of Saugatuck! On our last morning in Michigan, we woke up in our bed and breakfast and wiped the sleep out of our eyes and wandered downstairs to the eating area about 20 minutes after breakfast had “officially opened.” We found another couple sitting in the foyer area and the breakfast nook packed with people we didn’t even realize stayed our our B&B! With open rooms on our floor, we were actually shocked to see so many people. Needless to say, we didn’t want to wait around forever and decided to head back up to our rooms to shower and tackle the morning.

We found some breakfast places in the area and decided to back into downtown Saugatuck and check out Pumpernickel’s which is right on the corner in the main drag on Butler St. It’s an adorable little cafe with bright colors and small sit-down area on the main floor, and a larger eating space on the second floor and additionally an outdoor patio. You place your order at the register, have a seat and then they bring out your meal to your table. Pretty easy-peasy.

JP went with the flap-jacks which are served with syrup and butter and I went with The Ordinary which is two eggs, served with your choice of meat (I picked bacon), a buttermilk biscuit and potato casserole … and we both grabbed coffee!

The Ordinary

The Ordinary

All meals are served in a skillet, which is adorable. JP liked her pancakes and said they were really delicious. My meal, on the other hand, was less-than-fabulous. It was kind of cold. The biscuit was microwaved so it definitely didn’t have that fresh, flaky taste to it.  The eggs had little taste to them and the potato casserole was a bit strange – it was like a Mexican Scramble and hashbrowns. The bacon was good, though!

Definitely wasn’t my favorite meal of the trip and I don’t think I’d return here. They seem to really focus on their lunch and dinner menus and have tons of choices of sandwiches to pick from. If I did return, I’d try out their lunch but it wouldn’t be my first choice in breakfast! I hope you enjoyed my re-cap of our trip to Michigan!

What trips have you taken recently? What was your favorite trip to blog about?

Eat Michigan: Everyday People

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When we checked into our bed and breakfast, one of the first things our innkeeper asked was if we had plans for dinner.  Whoa whoa! But she wanted to provide some information on an amazing restaurant in the neighboring town of Douglas where we’d for-sure experience the best food around. She guaranteed we’d love it. After venturing around Saugatuck for the afternoon, we grew hungry and decided to head over to neighboring Douglas (literally a 3 minute car ride) to check out her recommendation of Everyday People Cafe.  Nestled in the main area of Douglas, and across the street for a cute little ballpark area, we arrived to brewing rain and dropping temperatures. We were able to find a perfect parking spot right on the street at the corner – and all parking is free (Dorothy, you are not in Chicago anymore!).

Walking into the restaurant, you enter right into the bar area with a long dark wood bar, and high top tables and chairs scattering the area. It’s dark, and trendy. We were greeted by a hostess who led us to our table in the dining area of the restaurant to the left of the main door. It looked like it used to be a 1950s diner but was transformed into a quaint little area with dark wood booths and white linen lined tables. When I went to the bathroom, I noticed there’s an even larger back area of the restaurant with a cozy fireplace, which you see when you visit their website. They also have a cute outdoor patio area in the back of the restaurant – so it’s a ton more bigger than it looks!

We were greeted by a friendly waiter who was very efficient in his knowledge of the menu and for a second I felt we were under-dressed for the place! It was dubbed as casual dining but it was definitely a little more “fancy” than we’re used to. We felt better when a girl walked in in flip-flops and sweatpants, after us. We weren’t the most tragic looking people in the place.

We skipped the appetizers because they gave us some warm delicious bread with oil to dip it in! But their menu looked amazing – they have a Farm Board with local meats and cheese which is perfect if paired with a glass of vino, as well as a Spanish tapas plate which had rave reviews when I checked in on Foursquare. When we got the entree portion of the menu, JP was torn between several dishes, as they all sounded pretty epic! She eventually settled on the beef tenderloin with “herb whipped Goat Cremery goat cheese, and the bessssst roasted garlic buttermilk and herb mashed potatoes with a demi-glace and steamed veggies. I had a bite of her mashed potatoes and they were drop-on-the-floor delicious!!

I skipped the menu altogether and went with the special for the day which was a pork tenderloin.  It was basically a “hot” but not-hot green chipotle sauce. The tenderloin was layed over a bed of risotto (yummmmy) and paired with a balsamic salad with a chipotle cream sauce on top. It was hands-down one of the best meals I ever had and you bet your life that I ate every single bite!

Pork tenderloin

Pork tenderloin

Although it was dubbed as a casual restaurant, we did find that if you decide to go – it’s best to dress on the “nicer” side of casual. Not that we were completely unfortunate when we walked in there, but a nice pair of khaki shorts and a nice top will help YOU not feel like you stand out amongst the other patrons. We heard that a bachelorette party was arriving a bit after we left, and with the back patio – I could completely see how it would make a great venue for a large party or celebration. The food is amazing…like AMAZEBALLS amazing … and it’s a bit on the pricey side (think: $14-$34 a plate) but you won’t leave hungry and you won’t feel jipped. Definitely try to visit there if you’re ever in the Douglas/Saugatuck, MI area. You will not be disappointed!

Eat (Michigan): Alpenrose Restaurant

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Yesterday, I posted about our adventures in Holland, Michigan at the Tulip Time Festival. When we first arrived, we were starving and quickly were trying to look for a restaurant where we could grab something to eat. While the parade and Dutch dancing were marching down the street, we dipped into a bakery/restaurant called the Alpenrose.  We entered off the main street in which you immediately enter the cafe and bakery. They have sandwiches, sweets and coffee available for purchase at the counter, and then self-seating available at cafe tables or big round tables.

Since we were looking for a sit-down experience, they told us to walk half-way down the hallway after their big round tables where we could be seated for the restaurant, which had an extended menu. They had an expansive seating area in the back of the restaurant (if you entered the restaurant from the side street, you enter directly into the restaurant area) and we were given the option to sit outside on the patio or dine inside. We chose to sit outside to enjoy the gorgeous weather!

The restaurant boasts delicious food with European flair, with the head chef, Helmut Klutt deriving from Austria and putting a yummy spin on things. They had a lunch buffet available at a reasonable price ($11.95) which included salad, soup, two entree choices, deserts and a few other items. Their lunch menu also offered a few appetizers, late breakfast choices which looked really yummy (Mexican Scramble! Hello!), salads, sandwiches and entrees. JP chose a lunch salad, the “Classic Wedge” and the Parmesan cookie on top of her salad was amazing! I picked a sandwich and went with the Turkey Club.

Turkey Club at Alpenrose

Turkey Club at Alpenrose

The sandwich included sliced turkey breast, bacon, lettuce, tomato, Harvarti cheese on a pretzel bun with cranberry relish and a pickle served on the side. Yum to the max! The cheese was melted to the bacon, which was super yummy and the turkey was really moist and tasty along with the preztel bun. The lettuce wilted a bit from the heat of the sandwich, so I ended up taking it off and I didn’t even try the cranberry relish because of all the tasty goodness already on the sandwich.

The food was delicious, and the patio was great for enjoying the weather and people watching. I’d definitely recommend dining at Alpenrose if you’re ever in the area – it’s a yummy treat with Euro flavored food!

Eat: Cooper’s Hawk Winery + Restaurant

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Cooper’s Hawk Winery + Restaurant is a mid-west based upscale chain restaurant which began in a south suburb of Chicago in 2005. It boasts a private on-site winery at each of it’s locations and flies in grapes from vineyards and crushes them on-site to make some tasty homemade brews. Most of it’s locations are in the suburbs of Chicago, but it also has a few other midwest locations in Indiana, Missouri,Ohio and Wisconsin, as well as in Florida.

I’ve heard tons of great things about Cooper’s Hawk but haven’t had the opportunity to dine there before. Last week, JP and decided to have a celebratory lunch marking her first day as an official strictly full-time nursing student.  We’ve had mixed feelings and worries during this whole process, and it was great to just have made a great decision for the both of us and celebrate her focusing on her schoolwork and personal well-being for the next year. After bouncing around several dining ideas, we settled on Cooper’s Hawk because it was somewhere we both wanted to try.

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