Munising

FALLING ROCK CAFE AND BOOKSTORE (906) 387-3008 Sandwiches ($6.50) are made fresh to order with bread, bagels, and meats and cheeses from Marquette's New York Deli, where Don Curto successfully pursued his vision of bringing a real New York Deli, with genuine boiled bagels, sourdough rye bread, and acceptable corned beef, to the Upper Peninsula. New York Deli also supplies the soups ($3.50 a bowl). 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 and espresso, cappuccino, lattés, and other coffee drinks, plus regular coffee for a dollar a cup. For more about Falling Rock, 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. 104 East Munising/M-28 downtown, just east of Elm. (906) 387-3008. Open daily year-round. Summer hours (from about Mem. Day thru Labor Day: 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., except Sun from 9 a.m.. Fall through spring hours: Mon-Fri 10-6, Sat 10-10. tWheelchair accessible.

DOGPATCH (906) 387-9948 Dogpatch has been a year-round visitor favorite for decades, especially with snowmobilers. Some locals say the food is usually consistent, but it's possible to have a disappointing meal. Still, 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 and homemade fruit cobblers. There's not much for vegetarians except the salad bar. (The Dogpatch/L'il Abner theme goes back to the hillbilly comic strip, scripted 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 www.lil-abner.com.) On Superior at M-28 in downtown Munising. Generally open from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. in season. Closes in April. Call for off-season hours. Handicap accessible. Family friendly. Full bar.

SYDNEY'S and the SHARK BAR (906) 387-4067 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. Another plus: no smoking in the dining room, only the bar. There's a full menu, with steaks for dinner and prime rib Saturday night, and a lunch menu 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, about 30% cherry hamburger, the invention of butcher Ray Pleva in Cedar, Michigan, a neighbor to Leelanau County's cherry orchards. Owner Peggy Cromell insisted on pinboned fish when she opened, and eventually the local fishery bought their 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. Fresh lake trout or whitefish on a lunch plate with fries, a cup of soup, and slaw is $8 in 2005; a larger portion 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 $7 with coffee, dinner is $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 bred in Munising --- but she has always liked kangaroos and wanted to have fun with something different when she opened Sydney's in 1993. Her latest fun thing: a 20-egg omelet challenge, free to anyone who can eat the whole thing. To oblige her local regulars and guests at the Day's Inn next door, Sydney's never closes. 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 10 or 11 p.m. in summer, at 9 p.m. otherwise. Limited menu available at bar almost until closing. Kitchen open until 9:30 p.m. or so in off season, to 1 a.m. in summer. Very family-friendly. Wheelchair-accessible. Full bar.

COUNTRY CONNECTION (906) 387-4839 People who ordinarily wouldn't set foot in an old-fashioned bar such as the Country Connection rave about the pasties ($4.50 with slaw or gravy) and 1/3 pound burgers ($2.75). The home-cooked food here is eclipsing the alcohol, anyway. "We're progressing it into a restaurant," says Phyllis Brock. Country Connection still is a bar, and it's one big space, so expect some smoke. She owns the downtown spot, originally a roller rink, with her husband, Chum. Breakfast is served any time if it's not too busy. Lunch brings soup, specials ($5 to $6), fried chicken baskets ($6 for 3 pieces). For dinner there's whitefish, fried or broiled ($9) and ribeye steaks ($10.50). Dinners come with soup, salad, and potato. Friday fish fry ($8-$9.75) brings out the salad bar, too. There's an outdoor patio. 208 East Superior between Maple and Birch, 2 blocks west of the strip. Kitchen open Mon-Sat 9 a.m.-closing, Sun noon-closing. Handicap accessible. Family friendly except for smoke. Full bar.