Welcome to the UP!
Totally non Michigan sports post.
We are on a family vacation from California. Today, we arrived in the UP. Even though I spent 4 years in Ann Arbor, I never went farther north than Mount Pleasant (which is really neither a mount nor pleasant)
Driving in to Escanaba, I was confused by the car's GPS and so I pulled a U'ie. Totally illegal move and I'm embarrassed. Then turned right on the next street, apparently ran through some stop signs on a side street (I recall stopping) and pulled out on to the main drag again.
I then saw the flashing lights of a police SUV.
Policeman couldn't have been nicer. Asked me some basic questions, do I need help, and then provided me with an escort to our hotel. No ticket.
This likely wouldn't have happened in SoCal.
Welcome to the UP! Good to be back in Michigan.
You watch your mouth when you talk about Mount Pleasant.
August 1st, 2021 at 10:00 PM ^
He's not wrong, though.
August 1st, 2021 at 10:54 PM ^
Yes he is…
I grew up in Harrison. We would escape to Mt. Pleasant to experience civilization. To a 16 year old kid from nowhere, it was pretty awesome. I spent a lot of time at Warehouse Records, Good Vibes, Hot N Now, Pixie, and Hunan House. I think Mt. Pleasant was a big part of getting me through my childhood. People from outside the area don’t quite get it.
August 2nd, 2021 at 10:02 AM ^
I sympathize with your plight as a child raised beyond civilization's end, but I went to band camp in Mt. Pleasant three times in high school, and I would have to concur with the OP.
Granted, I enjoy canoeing down the Au Sable around Mio to this day, but I consider it a retreat to "...the lone prairie, where the coyotes howl..." Bury me not.
August 2nd, 2021 at 10:47 AM ^
I lived in Mt. Pleasant (a very small town just outside of MP) until I went away to grad school. I agree there plenty of good things about it. I never miss out on a stop at the Pixie, getting some good beer at Mountain Town, pool at The Bird, seeing my good friends, etc. I like going back to visit, but I can’t say I miss living there.
I grew up just outside of Escanaba
The UP is a great place. Make sure you get a pastie
But yet you still can’t spell the word “pasty”.
Where we live, strippers wear pasties. A pasty is called an empanada.
August 1st, 2021 at 10:51 PM ^
A slight correction: a pasty is called a pasty. Otherwise you're correct.
August 2nd, 2021 at 10:10 AM ^
What's the point of strippers in a pasties? Just stroll down the beach for free.
Is that wrong? Should I not be doing that?
August 1st, 2021 at 11:53 PM ^
Love a good pasty but when I see that word in print I think it says panty. Tells you where my mind is.
Your mind is definitely down south. Get your head out of the panties.
August 2nd, 2021 at 12:27 PM ^
Exactly what I was thinking. EUP here.
Per Google:
Pasty Spots in Escanaba:
I’m currently in St. Ignace spending my last day in the U.P. before heading back down tomorrow. We hit Kitch-iti-Kipi in Manistique (highly recommended), Pictured Rocks, and ended our extended weekend with a tour of Mackinac Island.
If you haven’t visited, I urge you to get up here and explore. It’s a whole different, amazing world.
I had a similar itinerary this past week - went up to Marquette for 3 nights, went to Presque Isle and jumped off the Black Rocks into Lake Superior, climbed Sugar Loaf mountain, drove to Munising to do a Pictured Rocks boat tour, then headed to Mackinaw, with a stop at Kitch-iti-kipi. If you like burgers, Clyde’s Drive-In in Manistique is awesome - it’s old school where the waitresses come out to the car and the burger was fantastic. Only negatives were that half the bike path on Mackinac Island is damaged from a storm so we couldn’t bike ride around the entire island and that my daughter got sick so we had to cut the vacation short.
August 1st, 2021 at 10:48 PM ^
Have done all of that in the UP and loved all of it. Wife and I are heading to Marquette in September to take a closer look at the city. Considering maybe moving there one day. Anyone have advice for someone thinking of moving up there.
August 2nd, 2021 at 10:27 AM ^
Get used to the snow. They get a lot of lake effect snow off Lake Superior. Pretty good area though.
And make sure to stop at Clyde's in St. Ignace for a burger and onion rings. I haven't been there in over 15 years, but that was always a must stop whenever I crossed the bridge.
August 2nd, 2021 at 12:07 PM ^
I second this and want to add that there's a couple more UP towns where you will find Clyde's Drive-ins: Manistique and Sault Ste Marie.
I haven't been to Manistique but any time I'm in either The Soo or St.Ignace, Clyde's is a must-stop.
August 2nd, 2021 at 12:56 PM ^
For a nice whitefish dinner I recommend Chamberlain's Olde Forest Inn in Manistique. It's right on the lake and just oozes UP charm.
Chamberlin's is in Curtis. You're about an hour's drive east of Manistique. You're confused with the fact it's on Manistique lake.
Thanks for the correction. Been a few years. Curtis is a nice little town, too.
Are the Tally Ho and Shipwreck still open? I've stumbled out of those bars more times that I can remember.
Glad you mentioned the whitefish.
If you are going to the Houghton-Hancock area the best whitefish is sold and served at the Peterson Fish Market.
Up the steep hill on US41 across from the historic Quincy Mine, there's two buildings: one is the fish market (a variety of fresh-caught and smoked fish, I always bring an airtight container to fill with smoked fish to bring home to enjoy); the other a restaurant with whitefish sandwiches to die for.
August 10th, 2021 at 9:54 AM ^
And Bessie's Homemade Pasties as well. Still there after 60 years. Had a delicious beef Pastie last Wednesday. And the Mackinac Straits Fish Company. Best Whitefish I've ever had. St. Ignace is a cool place. Over the Bridge, leave your troubles behind.
August 1st, 2021 at 10:44 PM ^
Will probably do a day trip in Manistique to see kitch iti kipi, suggestions on what else to do there?
Yes! Visit Fayette, a historic ghost town site and living museum just south of Garden. It is a bit out of the way but the history is cool and the location and views are breathtaking. A true UP hidden gem.
August 2nd, 2021 at 10:31 AM ^
It's pretty common to see tourists just walking downtown checking out stores and walking on the boardwalk along Lake Michigan. There's a few pretty nice local restaurants to grab a bite to eat, but there isn't a big touristy focus that other towns in the UP have.
As a lifelong Michigander and someone who loves this state - pasties are not good. Beef stew in a piece of bread. Have had them from multiple places and they’re always bland. Gotta get someone from Flavortown to spice them up.
EDIT: meant to put this under DarkerBlue’s post
It depends who makes them. Some are good and some are bad. Not all pasties have the same ingredients in them.
I always have mine with ketchup because they are just too dry without something. Some people have gravy.
I agree on the ketchup addition. Never gravy.
A proper pasty requires rudabaga in the filling and lard in the crust.
August 1st, 2021 at 10:26 PM ^
Gram's and Dobber's are both solid Escanaba pasties. Sav Mor IGA also makes some killer pasties
August 1st, 2021 at 10:30 PM ^
Everything is better with gravy.
August 2nd, 2021 at 10:19 AM ^
Canned gravy or from a packet?
Agreed. I believe many (most?) of the Mackinaw City / St. Ignace pasty places are tourist traps.
Lehto's Pasties are pretty good though, and moist enough to not require ketchup/gravy (though they come with gravy on the side I think?)
August 2nd, 2021 at 12:14 PM ^
Lehto's is definitely one of the top places for a good pasty in St.Ignace.
Last year, though, on one of my two trips to the UP both Lehto's locations in St Ignace had closed early because they had already sold everything they had prepared for the day. So make sure you get there early or call in your order ahead of time.
August 1st, 2021 at 11:00 PM ^
Having hitch-hiked from Minneapolis to Marquette, and picking up a car to drive to the Bridge, I gotta say the pasty in UP pasty shops—and the ones in London—ain't nothin' like my mom's pasty.
Every ethnic group has its peasant survival "treat". Most outside of said ethnicity view said "delicacy" to be rather meh. My Mennonite/Amish heritage informs me that mashed potatoes and hamburger gravy is the best thing since sliced bread...I'm not going to declare this to be a universal truth.
August 2nd, 2021 at 12:15 PM ^
I'm not claiming pasties are great for everyone (though few ever had my mom's).
Instead I meant to point out that commercial versions, including what's available online, are to home-cooked pasties as McDonald's burgers are to home-grilled. Officially in the same food group, but otherwise completely different.
Native here.
if your pasties have been “beef stew in a piece of bread,” then you haven’t had one.
1, there’s no gravy in a true pasty. (And btw, don’t eat them with gravy. Ketchup is the way to go)
2, the filling is inside pie crust, not bread. If you want a *really* good pasty, make the crust with lard.
3, the secret to a good pasty is rutabaga. If it’s just meat, potato & carrot it’s just potato pie.
4, there’s a little bakery in Ontonagon that’s only open on Saturdays that makes an exceptional pasty. But the ones at Krupp’s in Twin Lakes are acceptable.
August 2nd, 2021 at 12:12 PM ^
Ah, you're in the rutabaga camp.
August 2nd, 2021 at 12:34 PM ^
Rutabagas make two things better: 1) Pasties
2) Three Stooges Shorts
I've never seen the Stooges wearing shorts. Are they made from the same material as NEP (Not Eating Pasties)?
August 2nd, 2021 at 11:15 AM ^
You’ve simply never had a good pasty. Properly made with quality ingredients, they are not dry nor are they bland.
Heading up Saturday to spend a week in Grand Marais.
August 1st, 2021 at 10:06 PM ^
If you happen to drive M28 from Munising to Marquette. Stop in at lakenland sculpture park. Gentleman makes sculptures out of scrap metal and is unbelievable what he can do. Our kids love it
August 1st, 2021 at 10:07 PM ^
Grab some bug spray
August 2nd, 2021 at 10:34 AM ^
The bugs haven't been bad this year. I'm not sure if June being dry had anything to do with it.