Favorite Things Friday: Traverse City Eating

As I mentioned earlier his week, we were just up in Traverse City for the week. Sadly, we are on our way home (I'm writing this post from the car while Matt drives).

One of my FAVORITE things to do in Michigan, besides visiting family, would be eating! Traverse City is actually FULL of amazing restaurants with super fresh local ingredients. We took full advantage of the yummy foods and ate out almost every day for both lunch & Dinner (with a few breakfasts also)

Here is a breakdown of where we went...

The Omelette Shoppe: Met an old friend for breakfast here. I grew up with him in Virginia and now he is an Air Force recruiter in Traverse... what a SMALL world

Matt said that this is one of the best breakfast locations in town and he was right! 

Cuppa Joe: Went here with the kiddos for breakfast one morning while Matt did some work and a conference call. They had SUPER yummy breakfast burritos. Emma was especially a fan!

Hunter was being particularly difficult this morning and wouldn't even try anything.

The Towne Plaza: This place was so good that we went here for Lunch AND dinner!

For lunch I had a duck leg! AMAZING! For dinner we had a ton of appetizers (Escargot, Duck stuffed Quail, Beet salad) and for my main dish I had Pork shank. It was HUGE! When I ordered it my brother-in-law declared that there was no way that I would ever be able to finish it... I am a little ashamed to report that I ate it ALL!

This was my fresh beet salad!

Blue Tractor: We went here with Matt's grandma for dinner and it was great.

The fried pickles and Whole Hog Quesadilla (pictured above) were the perfect starters and I had beef brisket for dinner! Matt and Hunter both had the pulled pork and I was totally guilty of stealing some from Hunter. It was MONEY!

The highlight for Emma was the HUGE ice cream sandwich

When we go back next year we will be sure to order some mac and cheese. I've heard from multiple people that it is the best ever! I mean just look at this selection...

• three cheeses and herb bread crumbs 
• smoked chicken, mild chiles and jack cheese  
• ham, peas, smoked gouda and crispy onions 
• bbq pulled pork with smoked gouda 
• smoked sausage, whole grain Dijon mustard cheese sauce and jalapeño chips 

Yes please!In fact I think that we will need to go with multiple people and do a mac and cheese tasting. That sounds like a dream.

Harrington's on the Bay: the view was Great and Hunter had a blast looking at the fish tank and all of the fish on the wall.

I had a fish taco and Matt had a Sunrise Burger. If you put a burger with egg on your menu my hubby will order it!

Georgina's: This whole in the wall is about to literally bust out with a larger location but I was happy that we had a chance to have the full experience of this LITTLE restaurant with only 18 seats we almost took over the whole place for lunch one day.

The menu is split down the middle Asian and Latin. While I was not a fan of my Shrimp Pad Thai. I did like Emma's taquitos and Matt enjoyed his Asian BBQ.

Tuscan Bistro: Matt's mom took us out for dinner one night, without the kiddos, for his birthday. This was the perfect little spot for dinner. Matt's brother actually use to work in the kitchen here and his mom occasionally works here as a hostess.

Hands down this is the best place in TC for traditional Italian food. We had a yummy Eggplant stuffed with herbed ricotta cheese for an appetizer and for my main dish I had Orecchiette with broccoli rabe, sausage, red pepper flakes & Pecorino Romano cheese. Matt had Rigatoni tossed with prosciutto & baby peas finished with a parmesan cream sauce.

There are big portions so I love that we had the option for a half size... Because of course I needed to save room for bread pudding!

Trattoria Stella: and to save the best for last! This restaurant holds a very special place in my heart and Matt and I go here EVERY visit up to Traverse City. It is our date night

Located in the basement of Building 50 the old State Hospital the atmosphere is interesting with the brick walls and the feeling that you are in a haunted location.

The menu is updated daily and the offerings are mostly local. In fact, in the menu the night that we went the chef was preparing many of the dishes from animals that he won from the local 4-H auction.

For an appetizer we had Pacific Octopus with Calabrese Sausage, smokes shallots, rice bean, and tomatoes. It was amazing and I would eat this every day if I could. For my entree I had Long Island Duck- slow-cooked leg, hard-seared breast, candied almond & pumpkin risotto, basil pesto, crisp butternut squash, with a five-hour sauce.

YES PLEASE!


So excited that Traverse City is becoming such a foodie location!