Munising Restaurants

FALLING ROCK CAFE and BOOKSTORE
(906) 387-3008; fallingrockcafe.com

Sandwiches ($5.50 and up) are made fresh to order with bread, bagels, and meats and cheeses. The smoked whitefish bagel on tomato and onion is a specialty. Soups, hot dogs and bratwurst round out the menu.
The old-fashioned soda fountain here is the social hub. It serves Jilbert's ice cream cones; shakes, malts, and sundaes; and espresso, cappuccino, lattés hot and iced; and other coffee drinks, plus regular coffee. For more about Falling Rock history, books, and crafts, see the downtown point of interest.
Customers can play board games, bring their laptops to use the free high-speed wireless Internet, and relax and read on several sofas. Year-round concerts (donation requested) are Saturday nights at 7. (—May, 2008)

104 East Munising/M-28 downtown, just east of Elm. (906) 387-3008. Open year-round. Summer hours 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., except Sun from 9 a.m. Fall through spring hours: Mon-Fri 10-6, Sat 10-10. Wheelchair accessible.

MULDOON'S PASTIES
(906) 387-5880

The menu consists of three kinds of pasties (currently $5): traditional with beef and rutabagas; chicken; and veggie with broccoli, cauliflower, and two cheeses. Good crusts stand out. They come with gravy and cole slaw. There are tables inside, in the yard, and on the deck.

1246 West M-28, near the Shipwreck Tour dock, about a mile west of downtown Munising. Open much of the year, starting mid-May. From late June thru mid-Oct. open 7 days, 9-9. Off Sun & Mon in winter. Call for seasonal hours. On vacation mid-March thru mid-May. Wheelchair-accessible.

THE NAVIGATOR
(906) 387-1555 ; eatonthebay.com

Munising's only restaurant with a view of the bay and Grand Island is in an attractive, nautical corner spot, with lots of natural light, right downtown. Breakfast any time, with many entrées including omelettes, skillets, homemade sausage and gravy, and steak and eggs (around $9.) Meat loaf, lasagna, and roast turkey are prepared on the premises. too, as are Angus burgers and soups ($3.50/bowl). Mushroom beef barley, when available, is a favorite. Sandwiches mostly $6-$8. Kids' meals, seniors', and vegetarian available. The popular Friday fish fry features lightly breaded beer-battered trout and whitefish (currently $10) from the lake, and haddock $1 more. Good ribs—$16 a half rack, $20 for a full rack. Liquor license coming — maybe. (—July, 2008)

M-28 at 101 E. Munising Ave. downtown at the clock/temperature sign. Open summers 7 a.m.-10 p.m. June thru Oct. Reduced winter hours. Call Wheelchair-accessible.

DOGPATCH
(906) 387-9948 (906) 387-9948; dogpatchrestaurant.com

Dogpatch has been a year-round visitor favorite for decades, especially with snowmobilers. Many locals say the food is usually consistent, and the staff is always friendly. This is a place with a full menu and a pleasant atmosphere where you can get a drink with your meal. The 26-item soup and salad bar is another plus. There's fresh fish (currently $14 for whitefish and Friday fish fry) and homemade fruit cobblers. Not much for vegetarians except the salad bar.
The Dogpatch/L'il Abner theme that dominates the décor, web site, and menu, goes back to the hillbilly comic strip, written and drawn by Al Capp from 1934 to 1977. (Capp himself was Jewish.) For old strips and satisfying background on L'il Abner, Sadie Hawkins, and their creator, visit lil-abner.com. Separated smoking section. (May, 2008)


On Superior at M-28 in downtown
Munising. Generally open from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. in summer ,'til 9 in winter. Handicap accessible. Family friendly. Full bar.

SYDNEY'S and the SHARK BAR
(906) 387-4067; sydneysfamilyrestaurant.com

Local people and repeat visitors appreciate Sydney's for its consistent food, excellent fresh whitefish and lake trout, good service — and because it's always open, breakfast, lunch, and dinner, 365 days a year. There's a full menu, with steaks for dinner and prime rib Saturday night, and a lunch menu available all the time, with sandwiches and homemade soups available all the time.
Among various burgers is a menu item hardly ever seen in the U.P.: the heart-smart cherryburger ($6.25 with choice of potato) made with Plevalean, hamburger with 30% ground cherries. It's the invention of butcher Ray Pleva in Cedar, Michigan, a neighbor to Leelanau County's cherry orchards.
Sydney's owner Peggy Cromell insisted on pinboned fish when she opened. Eventually the local fishery bought its own pinbone machine to get her big fish business. So now Sydney's — and every other restaurant in town — can get really fresh fish, locally caught. A fish sandwich is $7, Fresh whitefish at dinner with potato and an all-you-care-to-eat salad bar is $12, fresh perch is $14. (The soup and salad bar alone is $7.)
Vacationers in a hurry like the breakfast and dinner buffets in summer. Breakfast is around $7 with coffee, dinner is around $14 to $16, depending on that day's entrees. (For children 6 to 12 it's half off, 5 and under free.) BBQ pork ribs on Thursday, the Friday seafood spectacular (all three local fish plus crab legs and other seafood), and Saturday's prime rib increase the cost. Every day's buffet brings a chicken, fish, and beef entrée, plus vegetarian lasagna. Children can get a small portion of most any menu item—a big plus for parents who don't want their kids to survive on fried chicken strips and French fries.
Year-round there's a local kaffee klatsch at and after breakfast. The $7 "Bonser special" is big—three eggs, two strips of bacon, 2 sausage links, hash browns, and juice.
Peggy has never been to Australia — she's born and raised in Munising — but she has always liked kangaroos and wanted to have fun with something different when she opened Sydney's in 1993. Another plus: no smoking in the dining room, only the bar. (—May, 20008)

On M-28 just south of Day's Inn in central Munising. (906) 387-4067. Opens at 6 a.m. always. Dining room closes at 9 in the off-season, to 10 or 11 p.m. in summer. Limited menu available at bar almost until bar closing. Very family-friendly. Wheelchair-accessible. Full bar.

GOLDEN HEART RESTAURANT
(906) 387-5445

Golden Heart is mostly Chinese with 17 Thai dishes. The locally popular dishes here like sesame chicken are often breaded and deep-fried, then served in sweet and sour sauce. But there are healthier choices, still a bit heavy on the oil, like cashew dishes with snow peas or Chinese vegetable dishes. For kids who are picky eaters, there are egg rolls and chicken rice soup. Lunch dishes are $6 to $7, dinner dishes from $9 to $14.

Downtown at 202 East Superior at Maple, across from Main Street Pizza and a block south of Subway. Open daily year-round. Mon-Sat 11-9. From spring thru fall, open Sundays from noon to 8. In winter, open Sun 4-8. Handicap accessible: tight quarters but only one step. No alcohol.

CHERRYWOOD LODGE
(906) 387-5400

Up the hill in Wetmore, three miles east of Munising on M-28, the Cherrywood is part of the Best Western motel complex. It has a pleasant, history-minded atmosphere, ample natural light, and a varied menu in its dining room with fireplace and in its lounge. Same food, prices and owner as Dogpatch downtown. Smoking in lounge only.

On M-28 three miles east of town in Wetmore. It's open seasonally, usually from summer through color season, and again in snowmobile season. Hours: 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. on winter weekdays, later on weekends. In summer it's closed for lunch, open 7 a.m. to 11 a.m. and 5 to 9 for dinner. Call to confirm hour. Handicap accessible. Full bar.

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