Vacations in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan

Houghton

FOUR SEASONS TEA ROOM
(906) 482-3233-
When Andrea Schuldt and her mother, LaVerne Witto, opened this charming little oasis in 2002, they filled a yawning gap in local eating establishments that approached being remotely feminine and not geared to 20-year-olds. Bone china and a retro 40s theme (Big Band music and old family snapshots) create a pretty, relaxing, unrushed atmosphere. Most customers stay an average of 1 1/2 hours. Repeat customers include MTU students and faculty, with a surprising number of men. Some come to meet and discuss things (the ambient noise level allows discussion, not always possible in bars) while others sit and read or bring a laptop. (Two male Ann Arborites posted the glowing reviews on www.teamap.com , a state-by-state directory with map. "If only Ann Arbor had something like this!" they yearned.)
Teas are set prices. All feature fresh brewed looseleaf tea (chosen from 40 varieties) in an individual pot. The "Lady Ethel tea" for lunch ($10.50) is a pot of tea plus soup or salad with quiche. "Full afternoon tea" ($13.50 for one, $21.50 for two) brings pots of tea with three tiers of food: scones, finger sandwiches, and bite-size desserts. "Cream tea" ($5) is tea and scones. "Dessert tea" brings tea with a special dessert. All scones are served warm with preserves, Devon cream, and homemade lemon curd.
Loose teas, teapots, and tea accessories for sale along with chocolate truffles and gifts are displayed in the antique apothecary cupboards in the front shop. Evenings and weekends the tearoom can be rented for showers, parties, and meetings.
606 Shelden, next to City Hall, right by the "Welcome to Houghton" footbridge entering downtown. From Mem. to Labor Day open Tues-Sat 10-5. Otherwise opens at 11 Tues-Sat, closes at different times to accommodate MTU customers: 6 p.m. Tues & Thurs, 5 p.m. Fri, 4 p.m. Wed & Sat. Wheelchair-accessible. Well-behaved older children welcome.

VICTORIA'S KITCHEN
(906) 482-8650
The menu - an eclectic and inspired mix of Middle Eastern, vegetarian, deli fare, and American home cooking - is a godsend for vegetarians or for anyone homesick for the great Middle Eastern restaurants of Detroit. Victoria Williams can turn out meat pies and spinach pies like a good Lebanese housewife. The #1 seller is the Siberian turkey sandwich ($5.80) with homemade Russian dressing, Swiss, and coleslaw, on grilled challah bread). The breakfast special (two eggs with homemade toast and terrific spicy-hot potatoes) is a great value at $2.50. Other breakfast favorites are the Lebanese omelet with sausage in an open pastry shell and stuffed French toast with strawberries and bananas ($4.55). Victoria's can supply a fabulous picnic: Lebanese-style spinach pies (no rich phyllo dough), tabooli, hummus, chicken salad, broccoli-cauliflower salad, and over a dozen other salads. Popular lunch buffets on Wednesday ($5.25) and Friday ($6.50) are worth going out of your way for. The price includes two main dishes, salads and soups, and dessert.
Marie's offers table service both in the front deli booths and the rear dining area with a view of the Portage Waterway. Portions are large, with ample leftovers.
519 Shelden two doors east of the Lode Theater. Mon-Fri 7-4, Sat 8-2, Sun 9 to noon. Family-friendly. Wheelchair-accessible. No alcohol.

LIBRARY RESTAURANT, BAR & BREW PUB
(906) 487-5882
Rebuilt after a fire destroyed its original quirky digs, The Library is now much larger and more impressive, thanks to shiny fermenting tanks by the entrance and its big window-wall with a great view of the Portage Waterway and the mansions of East Hancock. “It's where students would like to eat if they had the money,” says one professor. The bar isn't much of a student gathering place any more, however. He recommends great white bean chicken chili, Swiss onion soup au gratin, fresh catch of the day, and beer fries. Soups and creative seafood specials are very good. The wide-ranging menu is more creative than most in the area. A favorite sandwich is Sicilian steak; favorite appetizers are bean dip, fried shrimp and mushroom hors d'oeuvres.
Downtown at 61 Isle Royale St. (west side) just downhill from Shelden and the light. Kitchen open Sun-Thurs from l1:30-10, Fri & Sat 11-11. Wheelchair-accessible. Family-friendly. Full bar.

SUOMI HOME BAKERY & RESTAURANT
(906) 482-3220
This unpretentious diner is known for its homestyle cooking, low prices, the area's widest selection of Finnish specialties, plus a very friendly atmosphere and constant refills on coffee. The clientele cuts across every social group - town, gown, transplants, fourth-generation locals, tourists. "Great people-watching!" comments one patron. There's a back room for non-smokers, but most of the action is out front, especially when old-timers get together for morning coffee. Breakfast is served all day; prices include coffee. Prices are from 2000. Especially recommended: pannukakku (a custardy, oven-baked pancake with fruit sauce, $3), huge pancakes, homemade pies ($1.60 a slice), nisu toast with cinnamon and cardamom. For lunch there are pasties (under $3), burgers, homemade soups, and daily specials ($4.35). It's a plain place from an earlier era, with lots of old photos and mining and logging equipment on the walls. No credit cards; out-of-town checks OK.
54 N. Huron off Shelden/U.S. 41 downtown. Turn left a block past the light. Mon-Sat 6 a.m.-3 p.m., Sun 7 a.m.-2 p.m. Closed major holidays. Wheelchair access: two steps. Family-friendly. No alcohol.

KEEWENAW BREWING COMPANY
(906) 482-5596
The collegiate hot spot and social pub is the Keweenaw Brewing Company
with cheap, interesting beers and no food at all. The company, started by Colorado beer-lovers, one of whom went to MTU, is the first Upper Peninsula microbrewery to distribute cans and kegs of its products, now available in the Western Upper Peninsula. Read about the story and beers on its web site.
Downtown at 408 Shelden Ave/U.S. 41. Open Mon-Wed 3-10, Thurs-Sat 11-11, Sun noon to 8.

PILGRIM RIVER STEAKHOUSE
(906) 482-8595
A discriminating local diner and a summer visitor both point to the steaks at the as extraordinary. Filets, strips, T bone, Delmonico - there's quite a variety, and there's seafood, too. The prime rib, offered all the time, is the biggest draw. It's $12 and $14 at dinner, which includes soup, salad, and potato. 2001 prices. This steakhouse is about much more than meat: great homemade soups, especially the mushroom soup, "awesome" spinach salad, interesting lunch options, homemade fries, things like bourbon sauce on filets. Dinners, served all day, range from $13 to $24 for the surf and turf bonanza: a half-pound of crab legs and a six-ounce filet. The recent emphasis is on changing specials like whitefish with citrus cilantro or trout Italiano. Friday's seafood platter is a great value at $13. For lunch, there are those excellent soups ($3.25/bowl), a half-pound burger with homemade fries ($6) and other sandwiches, lunch specials, and a very good Caesar salad with chicken or steak ($7). Don't expect elegance; diagonal wood siding and booths give the place more of a cozy ski lodge feel. The new addition has a bar for smokers and adds enough seats to reduce the need for reservations, but reservations for weekends still are a good idea
On U.S. 41 (side away from water), 1 mile south of MTU campus, 5 miles north of Chassell. Mon-Sat 11-10:30, Sun noon to 10. Wheelchair-accessible. Family-friendly. Full bar.

DOWNTOWNER LOUNGE
482-7305
Enter the non-descript front door in the building at the very west end of downtown Houghton and you enter a dual universe: a darkish bar that leads out to a spacious outdoor deck with great views of the bridge, waterway, marina, East Hancock's hillside mansions, and Mt. Ripley. Well-prepared food here, from a variety of salads, burgers, and sandwiches to tasty chili and creamy chicken & wld rice soup. Lots of draft beer choices, only $1 4-6 p.m. No credit cards accepted.
100 Shelden Ave., just before you reach the bridge on one-way Shelden. Parking lot is immediately after the building.

Ambassador Lounge
(906) 482-5054
The historic barroom is the most beguiling in Copper Country. It has its original booths and stained glass windows. Many murals show Germanic gnomes cavorting and carousing by beer barrels in Old World settings, extolling the pleasures of drinking beer in verse and saying things like, "We won't go home til morning!" The artist is thought to have come from Milwaukee, and the paintings were rolled up during Prohibition and discovered much later. Read the story on the menu.
The Ambassador is a favorite student hangout, great for atmosphere and for healthy, moderately priced bar food -nothing fried, just crusty subs, thin-crust pizza, big salads like beef vinaigrette or Italian tuna, nachos and other Mexican favorites. Just don't try to have a conversation of more than four people - it's a convivial place and the acoustics don't help. To sit in the beautiful barroom, you have to put up with some smoke. Big windows in the smoke-free rear dining room look out onto the Portage lift bridge and the mansions of East Hancock. Garlic chicken pizza is a customer favorite; so is the veggie pizza with zucchini, broccoli, carrots, and garlic olive oil. Italian sausage is made on the premises.
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126 Shelden/U.S. 41 near the Lift Bridge, kitty-corner from the Best Value motel. Plenty of parking down along the waterfront. Kitchen open Mon-Thurs 11-11, Fri & Sat 11-12:30, Sun 4:30-11. Wheelchair access: not men's room.