Marquette Restaurants

LANDMARK INN
(906) 228-2580

The elegantly renovated Landmark Inn downtown hotel has a first-floor dining room, remodeled for a warmer, more convivial Mediterranean look, and a pub off the front lobby. The Landmark Inn's two fine dining restaurants started out "about 50 years ahead of the times up here," says a retired physician who's no stranger to fine dining in many places. The pub menu has found its market, and the dining room is searching for the right niche in a restaurant scene that's getting crowded. Food has been consistently good.
    The Landmark is a favorite winter weekend and romance getaway for hardworking central Upper Peninsula residents who appreciate good food and a luxurious setting and don't want to spend hours in a car. Check the web site for packages.
    The cozy, convivial NORTHLAND PUB attracts a regular crowd of people who work downtown. It serves a pub menu with a regional theme and everyday prices: signature chiliand French onion soup, a half-pound burger with fries, several other sandwiches ), meal-size salads with meat or shrimp (mostly $7), bar food from calamari to nachos with so many vegetables they'd make a meal, and simply prepared dinners (two steaks, a chicken dish, and four fish, including perch and "Laughing Whitefish"
The main-level CAPERS serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner and is known for seafood. After a redo, it opens in mid June with a Mediterranean look and menu, based on the food of Morocco, Spain, Portugal, and Italy. Check the web site for menu details. No Up North classics here! Whitefish comes Mediterranean-style with feta, Kalamata olives, fresh basil, and tomatoes. Expect sophisticated presentations. Dinner entrées come plated, with soup or salad. Changing selection of 50 to 60 wines. Reservations accepted. No smoking. Open daily. Breakfast 6:30-11. Lunch 11-2. Dinner 5:30 to 10 in summer, otherwise 5:30 to 9. Handicap accessible. Family friendly. Full bar.
    The reservations-only sixth-floor SKY ROOM is now only open for private parties and for one prix fixe dinner a month. Check the web site. No smoking. Open Fri & Sat 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. by reservation. Wheelchair-accessible.
    The sixth-floor North Star Lounge NORTH STAR LOUNGE, a much quieter place than the Northland Pub, offers wines, beers, cocktails, and liqueurs. No food. It's the highest point in town, and the views are wonderful, north across the Ridge-Arch Historic District, and east across the harbor to Lake Superior. The 1928 window openings mean you have to be standing near them to see out and down to the city and lake. No smoking. Open from Tuesday through Saturday, 5 p.m. to midnight. Handicap accessible. Full bar.

The Landmark Hotel is at 230 N. Front at Ridge. Wheelchair-accessible.

TU KALUTHIA CAFÉ AND COFFEE BAR AT PETER WHITE LIBRARY
(906) 226-4326

Healthy, inexpensive, fresh fast food brings downtown workers to the little café at the lower level of the beautiful expanded library. Good cooking is a point of pride for Greek wives, so when Aza Economides (who is not Greek) married a Greek-American, she learned how to produce the classics of Greek cuisine very well. This café space lets her cook for a wider circle of people, yet on an undaunting scale compared with a full-fledged restaurant. Tu Kaluthia (TOO-kuh-LOOTH-i-a), or "Little cookie" in Greek, is her first food-based entrepreneurial venture.
   Not everything here is Greek, but the Greek items stand out. This is an inexpensive place to take children, combined with a visit to the nearby history museum and the comfortable children's sections of Snowbound and discounted Chapter Two bookstores. Sandwiches (mostly $4.75) include a Greek veggie sandwich with feta spread. Soups are $1.50/cup, $3/bowl with bread. Greek salad is $3.75, spinach pie $3. Greek noodles are a customer favorite, prepared with feta, , and Greek olives. So are espresso milk shakes ($3) and a variety of smoothies. Greek pastries like baklava go well with coffee drinks. Other sweets include wheat-free spelt chocolate chip cookies. Also a variety of organic, fair-trade coffee drinks.

On the library's lower level. The front library entrance is on Front Street just south of Ridge. Rear entrance is from the parking lot off Ridge. The cafe is open most library hours except it closes at 7 p.m. evenings. Cafe hours are Mon-Thurs 9-7, Fri 9-6, Sat 10-5. Handicap accessible: rear entrance. Family friendly. No alcohol.

NEW YORK DELI AND ITALIAN PLACE
(906) 226-3032

This popular place is the late-life project of Marquette native Don Curto, who came back to town after a newspaper career in New York and Washington. Inspired by his Italian background, his father's love of food and cooking, and his own wide-ranging travels, Curto, a man of strongly held opinions, can be found sitting at a front table here most days at lunchtime. He has made it his mission to bring the necessities of the broader food world to Upper Michigan. He likes to say that his place is the U.P.'s only Jewish deli. Suppliers to the best Jewish delis in Detroit are the source for real nova lox, sourdough rye bread dense enough to hold big sandwiches together, pastrami and corned beef; respectable bagels; and Dr. Brown's kosher soda.
    Chicken noodle soup ("attacks the mild illnesses") and matzo ball soup ("for the most serious seasonal germs") are always on hand, along with tomato-basil cream soup (the customer favorite) and two selections from chef Scott Sult's repertoire of over 1,000 soups. Soups are $2.95/cup, $3.95/bowl with a roll. Sandwiches average $7.80, served with cole slaw and dill pickle spear. Meal-size salads are mostly Mediterranean-inspired. Bread pudding, brownies, and sour cream coffeecake are made here; cakes are baked to order. Each month the Marquette Monthly features Don's musings on food.
    After five the deli becomes a fine-dining authentic Italian restaurant, "as close as you can get to Italy," says Scott Sult. Now there's a full bar for cocktails, in addition to a huge beer and wine list, all Italian. Each night brings three plated specials, chicken, beef, and fish with appropriate sides, in addition to the pastas. A favorite dish, simple yet interesting, is pasta with red peppers and garlic, all slightly browned. Dinner entrées ($14 average) come with salad or soup.

Front just north of Washington, west side of street. Alley access to lower level of Ridge Street parking ramp. Closed Sunday. Mon -Sat 11-9. Handicap accessible: rear entrance. Family-friendly but seating and tight quarters aren't good for children. Full bar.

VIERLING RESTAURANT
(906) 228-3533

Traveling in England inspired Terry and Kristi Doyle to reinvent an English pub in Marquette. They began in 1985 by buying the 100-year-old Vierling Restaurant, playing up its original back bar and evoking a clubby version of old world elegance. It became one of Marquette's most popular restaurants and meeting places.
    Ten years later they added the Marquette Harbor Brewery. Its full mash system turns out "proper" English-style beers, heavy and malty porters, stouts, and brown ales - no mild beers at all. Takeout customers can buy it in liter glass containers. Beer is also served upstairs by the glass and 20 oz. English pint. The lower-level brewery can be seen in action through windows on Main Street.
    On the main floor, stained glass separates the bar from the dining room, which offers a good view of the harbor. Lunch brings soups, meal-size salads ($5-7.25), sandwiches and burgers. Soups, salad dressings, desserts are made on the premises. For lunch fish sandwiches served 3 different ways are $6.25. A dinner specialty is fresh whitefish fixed six ways: with caper-tomato sauce, plain, Cajun, almondine, with tomato-lemon relish, and often layered with seafood stuffing. "Never a bad meal," say regular customers, who rave about all-you-can-eat tempura-battered whitefish on Friday night. The dinner menu (mostly $12.50 to $16) includes rich dishes like shrimp in Bernaise sauce and light as well as Heart Smart entrées like chicken and vegetarian stir-fry. The wine list has about 80 selections. Reservations recommended on weekends.

119 S. Front at Main, 1 block south of Washington. Kitchen open Mon-Sat 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Closed Sunday. Wheelchair-accessible. Family friendly. Full bar.

UPFRONT & COMPANY
(906) 228-5200

A jazzy, arty restaurant and music club, Upfront & Company now gets good reviews for its food as well as its atmosphere. The restaurant interior itself is a work of art, a contemporary version of Art Deco with bright primary colors, glass block, some instrument motifs, dramatic spot lighting, with a mix of brick patterns and local stones. Most menu items are now versions of simple meat and potato classics (steak, whitefish, pork chops) and vegetarian entrées that don't get as adventurous as signature items like Asian duck salad on greens with Thai noodles and peanut-ginger dressing ($9.95) or creamy wild rice soup with bacon, carrots, celery, and onion ($4.95/bowl). Most dinner entrees are $14-$20, which includes soup or salad, good bread, and vegetables and starch matched to each dish. Vegetarian dishes are $12-13. A 9-ounce filet mignon at $20 is the most expensive menu item. The soup, salad, and sandwich menu is served any time until 10.
    Pizza is served any time. A wood-fired oven gives an extra depth of flavor to the pizzas ($5.95 for a personal pizza) and calzones ($9), both made from scratch. Vegetables for pizzas are roasted, too. 12" specialty pizzas (mostly $12) are unusual: smoked chicken, broccoli, red onions, almonds, and cheese, for instance, or BBQ chicken with cherry BBQ sauce, smoked Gouda, and red onions. Sandwiches, meal-size salads, and appetizers round out the menu. Draft domestic beer is just $1 a glass from 5 to 10 p.m.
    Live music starts around 10. Typical cover charge is $3. There's a dance floor. Check out the website for each month's music schedule of local and out-of-town musicians (some local groups are outstanding), for printable coupons, and for specials like free munchies at 5-7 happy hour Thursday through Saturday.
    Upfront is part of the block-long Rosewood Building rehab/restoration project downtown that has spared no expense. It was made possible by an NMU grad from not too many years ago who owns a cable TV company in Indiana among other things. He loved Marquette so much that he wanted to make it a livelier place for young adults. The project includes handsome storefronts on front just south of Main, offices, the lower-level restaurant, and its beautiful banquet hall overlooking the harbor.

102 East Main, a block south of Washington, between Front Street and the harbor. Open Tuesday through Fri from 11 a.m. to 10 (for full menu) to 2 a.m. for bar. Saturdays 2-2. In summer (from Memorial to Labor Day) also open Monday. Handicap accessible. Not family-unfriendly but not geared to children. Full bar.

PORTSIDE INN
(906) 228-2041

For over a quarter century in Marquette's historic downtown, Portside has combined a family-friendly atmosphere and menu with a full bar and a very pleasant side-yard deck. It's one of the few places in town for outdoor dining. There's even a distant lake view. From 4-7 weekdays is an exceptionally nice happy hour with complementary hot d'oeuvres and $1 glasses of any of the 7 draft beers. Also a wide range of Michigan-brewed beers.
Portside is known for good values, huge servings of Mexican entrées (around $12), pizza, and seafood, from crab legs to pickerel. The pizza has been a perennial winner of NMU restaurant contests. One woman who works downtown and can afford to eat out a lot says it's the only place for pizza, as far as she is concerned. At lunch, sandwiches and salads are around $6. Friday's fishfry offers several selections fresh fron Lake Superior. Root beer and floats are fun for children. Some students come just for the bread sticks with cheesy dip or pizza sauce. From June into October, every Thursday there's live music (mostly jazz-influenced rock) on the deck, weather permitting, with no cover, from 7 to 10 p.m. featuring top local bands.. Reservations taken.

239 W. Washington downtown, next to Mining Gazette. Opens at 11 a.m. Mon-Thursday, at non Fri and Sat. Sunday hours are always noon to 8. Closing hours vary with business cycle and NMU calendar. Usually open to 11 or midnight, later on weekends. Always open until 9:30 weekdays, 11 weekends. Kitchen closes an hour before closing except for pizza. Handicap accessible: side entrance on deck. Family friendly. Full bar.

BABYCAKES MUFFIN COMPANY
(906) 226-7744

The popular downtown cappuccino bar and bakery also offers salads and flavorful soups ($3.89/bowl, $3.29/cup, also by the quart). A big, tasty muffin is $1.50, or six for $7.50. Each day there's a rotating selection of 12 muffin varieties from the repertoire of 80, along with several delicious specialty breads, scones, croissants, and dessert pastries, from brownies and cookies, biscotti, macaroons, and madeleines to tortes, cheesecakes, and tartes. Croutons toasted with olive oil, spices and butter are just $3.85 a pound. Homemade granola is a breakfast option. Bags of it are $4.89/lb. Everything's vegetarian.

223 W. Washington. Open Mon thru Fri 6 a.m.-6 p.m., Sat 7 a.m.-6 p.m. Handicap accessible. Family friendly. No alcohol.

GOPHERS
(906) 226-0900

An old house has become a charming little spot for delicious breakfasts, light lunches and sandwiches, and, in summer, suppers. Homemade cheesecake, fruit tartes, Belgian chocolates, and a distinctive chicken salad ($7.25 at lunch) are also sold from the deli case. Tiny bistro tables seat three indoors and in good weather outside on the porch and deck. Larger groups should reserve one of the two larger tables. Quiche ($3.99/slice) and the "ultimate crepe" (with ham, brie, and caramelized apples; about $7.25) are favorites at breakfast and at lunch, augmented with soup or salad. Espresso, coffee drinks, and a full line of teas from the Republic of Tea invite customers to stop in for mid-afternoon refreshments and dessert. No smoking.

910 North Third, across from Vango's and a bit toward the Dome. (906) 226-0900. Open year-round Mon-Fri 8-8, Saturdays 8-5. Wheelchair-accessible: ramp on side. Not really for children inside. No alcohol.

SWEET WATER CAFE
(906) 226-7009

Sweet Water is a big, light, airy place, totally smoke-free, with a natural look, multicultural menu, and comfortable seating with booths and ample tables. It smells great: espresso brewing, bread baking, spices perfuming the air. From-scratch cooking is the rule: baking, salad dressings, almost everything. Local produce is used when possible. Breads are satisfyingly chewy. Vegans and vegetarians can eat happily here, with several vegan entrées, sandwiches, and breakfasts. Breakfasts, served to 3 p.m on weekends, include winter grain cereal ($6.50a bowl) and the delicious basic breakfast (two eggs, several kinds of seasoned potatoes, toast, bacon, around $8). The lunch menu (currently from $5 to $9 and up), served all day) offers things like hummus and falafil on pita bread; soups; a locally raised beef or chicken filet or grainburger, and inventive salads from $8 to $15. Soup and sides are available any time, as is the lunch menu. Dinners (5-9 p.m.) are mostly $12 to $18. Specials include bread and soup or salad and creatively seasoned beef, chicken, fish, and vegan dishes. Indian curries, chicken or vegetable lasagna, and fresh fish on Friday, baked, broiled, or pan-fried make frequent appearances. Housemade cakes, cheesecakes and cookies, and cappuccino are for dessert. Beautiful china is a treat.
    Owners Ursula Stock and Sean Murray met at Cornell's highly regarded hotel and restaurant school. Later they drove across the U.S. seeking the right place to start their ideal business. It had to have clean water, a college campus, and a population of under 300,000. They loved Marquette and Lake Superior. This onetime dance hall was bigger than they wanted, but they tackled it nonetheless. Reservations advised for groups over four. No smoking.

517 North Third between Ohio and Michigan. Summer hours: late June thru late Sept open Mon & Tues 7 a.m.-3 p.m., Wed-Sun 7 a.m.-9 p.m. Winters opens at 8 a.m., closes at 8 p.m. Sunday. Reservations accepted. Handicap accessible. Family friendly. Full bar.

VANGO'S PIZZA & LOUNGE
(906) 228-7707

A perennially popular campus hangout, Vango's has food that fits student and family budgets. It's a plain place. The main decoration is a big-screen TV. Standouts include an excellent Greek salad ($4.75 and $5.75) and other Greek items, the 14" house pizza with lots of toppings, a healthy hero on pita bread with Swiss and sprouts, and cudighi (spicy pork sausage on French bread). Pizza dough is made from scratch. Typical specials for lunch and dinner are $5.25 to $8.

927 N. Third at Park. Open Sun 12-12, Mon-Wed 11-12, Thu-Sat 11-1. Kitchen closes 1/2 hour before closing. Wheelchair-accessible. Family-friendly. Full bar.

BORDER GRILLE
(906) 228-5228

The Border Grille draws families and college students with its upbeat atmosphere and fast, healthy, inexpensive Mexican-inspired food, especially the signature Border Burrito: a 12" flour tortilla wrapped around sautéed vegetables with diced chicken or steak, melted cheese, sour cream— just $6.24 with Mexican rice, chips and choice of salsa. A vegetarian park ranger recommends the veggie burritos that come with a salsa that looks like cheese sauce. Five different salsas are made right here. Pico de gallo is chunky tomatoes and peppers with cilantro and lemon. There's the medium-hot salsa verde with tomatillos, and the very hot fuego. Good road food: the bite-size pieces of grilled chicken quesadilla ($6.35). Some of the soups, salads, and sandwiches are surprisingly authentic, like the winter black bean with garlic soup. At meal times, the Border Grille can get crowded, but it won't take over 12 minutes to get your food.

180 McClellan at Baraga, just south of U.S. 41 and Shopko. Sign is visible from U.S.41. Open Mon-Wed 11-9, Thur-Fri 11-10, Sat 11-9. Closed Sunday. Handicap accessible. Family friendly. No alcohol.

THE VILLAGE CAFÉ
(906) 226-6881

The Village Café is one hard-working couple's favorite spot for lunch because of its cozy, quiet atmosphere and tasty, satisfying meals. Its popular skillet breakfasts, omelets, and eggs benedict are served any time, as are quiches. Most come with a fresh fruit cup. The memorable cinnamon rolls are more like strudels. Chicken dumpling soup is a signature item. There's always a vegetarian chili and eight meal-size salads ($7.50-$9) made with lots of vegetables. The soup and sandwich special is $7.55. Average lunch check is $7 to $9. The front case shows off the baked goods: several cheesecakes, muffins, and dessert bars, all made on the premises.

1015 N. Third in the Village Shopping Center across from Jack's IGA. Open daily. Mon-Sat 7-3, Sun 8-3. Handicap accessible. Family friendly. No alcohol.

JEAN-KAY'S PASTIES & SUBS
(906) 228-5310

Jean-Kay's is strategically located near NMU, the Superior Dome, and Presque Isle Park - perfect for the north country's ultimate convenience food, the inexpensive and filling pasty. It's a to-go business, with two tables inside. Jean Kay's traditional pasty, developed from former owner Brian Harsch's mother in Iron Mountain, uses cubed flank steak, not ground beef, plus optional rutabagas. Then there's the vegetarian option, using broccoli, cauliflower, celery, onions, carrots, potatoes, peppers, mushrooms, and low fat cream cheese and imitation shredded cheddar in a whole wheat crust. Each is $3.50. A fresh batch of pasties comes out every 45 minutes or so. For mail-order pasties year-round, USDA approved, call (800) 727-2922. Jean Kay's also offers wraps and 13 different subs, from around $3.75 to $5.25, depending on size). Bread bowl salads are $4.99. Pasta salads are sold by the pound ($4/lb). Lisa and Bob Beckman now own and run Jean Kay's.

1639 Presque Isle at the Dome (Presque Isle is the northern extension of 4th St. From May through September open Mon-Fri 10 a.m.-9 p.m., Sat & Sun 10-8. October thru April: open 10-8 seven days. Wheelchair-accessible.

THAI HOUSE
(906) 225-5945

People in Marquette are excited about getting a real Thai restaurant with over 50 dishes where you can specify desired level of hotness on a 1 to 5 scale. Most entrées are around $7 at lunch, $9 to $10 at dinner. Many vegetarian items. No smoking.

1031 North Third. Open 11:30-9 Mon-Fri, Sat noon-9. Wheelchair-accessible. Family-friendly if your children will eat Chinese food. Wheelchair-accessible. No alcohol.

MEMORIES RESTAURANT
(906) 249-8918 249 beef Dave Medows

The nostalgia theme is insistent here, with a jukebox, 1950s movie posters, comic books, and a sports hero room. But the meat really is what takes center stage on this mainstream menu. It comes from Marquette Meats, right next door, owned by Dave and Charlane Meadows. (He's the butcher.) The cheery white and red color scheme is more diner than steak house, and the low prices are kind of retro, too, priced for seniors on a budget or families on the road - for instance, a half-slab rib dinner (slow roasted ribs are the specialty of the house) with bread, cole slaw, baked beans, and choice of fries or onion rings for $7.95, full slab ($11.95). Or the steak dinners—$6.95 for an 6-ounce sirloin, $18.95 for a 1.5 lb. Porterhouse. A 12 oz. prime rib is only $10. The nostalgia theme is insistent here, with a jukebox, 1950s movie posters, comic books, and a sports hero room. But the meat really is what takes center stage on this mainstream menu. It comes from Marquette Meats, right next door, owned by Dave and Charlane Meadows. (He's the butcher.) The cheery white and red color scheme is more diner than steak house, and the low prices are kind of retro, too, priced for seniors on a budget or families on the road - for instance, a half-slab rib dinner (slow roasted ribs are the specialty of the house) with bread, salad, vegetable, and choice of potato or onion rings for $10.
    A two-egg breakfast with 1/4 pound of sausage, thick cut bacon, or Dearborn ham is $5. Here are lots of surprising little touches: jam from Keweenaw Berry Farms, real maple syrup, no charge for blueberries or seasonal fresh fruit on pancakes and Belgian waffles, Dave's special steak seasoning treatment, chorizo in a Mexican omelet, mussels as an appetizer ($7 a dozen), and Nathan's kosher dill spears. Hot dogs and brats (both $4), cudighi and burgers (1/3 pound at least, $5), and chicken salad ($3) all come with choice of fries, onion rings, or potato salad, with soup bar $1.50 extra.
    The adjacent soda fountain in the gift shop has chili dogs, hot dogs, brats, and BBQ pork for $1.50 to $2.25, and shakes, malts, and floats for $2.50 and $3.50. A patio adjoins the soda fountain.

1430 East M-28 just east of where U.S. 41 heads south for Escanaba. Open daily year round. Mon-Thurs 8-8, Fri 8-9 p.m., Sat 8-8, Sun 8-7. Kids' menu. Wheelchair-accessible. No alcohol.

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