There is good reason that I don't remember there being much of a foodie scene in Traverse City years ago as many of the city's restaurants, like the trio on the list below, opened up with in the past half-dozen years.
Here's our latest batch of Traverse City foodie finds:
The Soul Hole-This place, billed as home to "eclectic Southern cuisine" was a must-do on my list. After all, I grew up with a lot of Southern family favorites, and any place that offers shrimp and grits is a must for me!
It also turned out to be a favorite of Tim's sister and brother-in-law who live in the area, so we met them there for dinner.
Tucked along a street in Traverse City's Old Town section, the Soul Hole is a small hole-in-the-wall with great comfort food, huge portions and reasonable prices.
My shrimp and grits were a tasty Creole-style dish, and Tim's oyster po'boy sandwich was actually huge enough to share (ordering a half sandwich might be a good idea, especially if you want to try an appetizer or soup-we'd been warned the portions were large, so we skipped the soup or apps this time out).
I admit I vacillated between ordering the macaroni and cheese entree, which Tim's brother-in-law vouched for, and the shrimp and grits, which is something I can't get at many restaurants in the Detroit area. In the end, it was grits for me!
We had no problem getting a table for four on a weeknight in late September, but I'm guessing once this place gets a liquor license, that will change. Meanwhile, you can enjoy your meal with Southern-style lemonade, sweet tea or coffee from Traverse City's Higher Grounds coffeehouse.
Great for meeting friends for Southern-style comfort food with a twist.
Red Ginger-I heard raves about this Asian-fusion place from many people, and it certainly lived up to its reputation for imaginative cuisine and beautiful food.
Red Ginger sits on East Front Street in Traverse City, right by the State Theater that is home to director Michael Moore's Traverse City Film Festival. That means it is popular and crowded almost any time you chose to go there, although we managed to snag a seat on a weeknight in late September.
We opted for a tuna tempura sushi appetizer, which was the special that evening. Even though I'm not as big of a fan of very rare or raw tuna as Tim, we both enjoyed this fresh and crispy tempura roll to start off our meal.
Dinner entrees included the Vietnamese Shaking Beef that featured melt-in-your mouth tenderloin (Tim's choice) and a Japanese Mushroom "Ramen" featuring prawns and a diver scallop with several different types of mushrooms and wheat noodles (my choice).
Red Ginger also has a wine list with a nice selection of northern Michigan wines, along with beer, Saki and a full bar.
Great place for a date night, and it also seemed popular for meeting with business colleagues.
House of Doggs-I first heard of House of Doggs when Matt Forster did a guest post for me last year, and I finally got to stop in and have a dog there during our last T.C. visit.
Half of the fun at House of Doggs is making your choice at the counter from the wall-mounted menu of dogs that includes the Grand Funk (great name for a Flint-style Coney!), a James Brown dog dressed with crushed potato chips and the Walking Taco dog (my choice that included chili, cheese, onions and sour cream topped with crushed Frito chips).
The other half of the fun is checking out rock-and-blues-infused decor which features lots of great photos and vintage album covers posted along the walls of the long, narrow dining area.
Great for a quick lunch or dinner.
© Dominique King 2012 All rights reserved
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