Marquette Restaurants

BORDER GRILL ON THIRD STREET
(906) 228-0100
Same menu as the westside Border Grill.

CO-CO'S
(906) 228-2680
Chicken Curry Salad is a favorite at this restaurant, spun off from Gopher's. So are the superb Valentino chocolates imported from Belgium. They have created a sensation among serious chocolate lovers. The pastries are beautiful, too. Breakfast brings crêpes, omelets, corn beef and hash, eggs and hot cakes. Lunch dishes ($4.50-$12) include quiche, crêpes, sandwiches, burgers, paninis served on chiabatta bread, and very good soups. The chicken salad has a huge following. For dinner there are lunch dishes plus fish, pasta, chicken, and beef entrées, with excellent salmon and whitefish ($19) as mainstays. Gopher's is now a bakery/coffeehouse.

SAI UWA THAI BISTRO
(906) 228-THAI
Owner-chef Sakchai Duangsoithong cooks the homestyle, traditional Thai dishes he grew up with. He uses authentic ingredients and flavorings—no choosing your preferred heat level here. "In Thailand we have spicy and unspicy," says his wife, Donna Boyd. The idea is to layer flavors: sweet, sour, hot, salty, bitter. Many dishes prepared here are seldom encountered in American Thai restaurants. The bistro's name comes from a sausage that's a favorite street food in Thailand. It and a spicier one are served as an appetizer ($7.50) and available parboiled to grill at home. The extensive menu with prices is online. Curries are from $12.50 to $15.50, soups $8/bowl, lunches mostly $9 and under. Americans in search of culinary adventure might try stir-fried ginger swordfish ($17); fresh, crispy vegetables with savory dipping sauce ($8); a popular and very spicy mango salad ($8) Donna calls "exquisite"; and a noodle salad appetizer with shrimp and pork ($9.50). Vegan selections are offered; authentic Thai dishes almost always have meat but are easily adapated.
   Sakchai and Donna met in Bangkok. He was in public health and she was on a med school rotation. They married in 1989, eventually settled in Marquette, and opened the restaurant in 2009. Walls are decorated with original Thai art—tapestries, paintings, dress costumes from hill tribes, and more. Evenings the ambiance changes to "casual elegant" with candles, flowers, and cotton tablecloths. An elegant bar serves Thai Singha beer, Asian-inspired cocktails, wine, and favorite American spirits. There's limited outdoor dining on the small patio in back.

ELIZABETH'S CHOP HOUSE
(906) 228-0900
Marquette's priciest restaurant features very good steaks and seafood flown in from around the world. There's nothing else like it in the U.P. Cool jazz, an Art Deco bar, and white tablecloth dining set a tone of contemporary luxury and romance. The rear dining area and heated, enclosable summer deck look out onto Marquette Harbor. Tom and Elizabeth Wahlstrom build on their long careers in restaurants and customer service, respectively. Most dinner entrées, with soup or salad and side, currently run from $25 to $36. Bone-in tenderloin is the signature dish. Meats include prime rib, 6 cuts of beef (all USDA certified, the top 7% of beef marketed), pork chops, and lamb chops. Lobster tails, jumbo shrimp, and local whitefish are part of the seafood menu. 100-bottle wine list; most poured by the glass. Bartenders are praised for their drink-mixing skills. Reservations always suggested.

L'ATTITUDE
(906) 225-8888
Hip downtown restaurant with view of Lake Michigan. Mixed reviews of service and food on the eclectic menu, although you can count on the good Bruschetta appetizer. —8/2010

LAGNIAPPE CAJUN CREOLE EATERY
(906) 226-8200
"LAN-YAP" means "a little something" in French. The terrific Cajun cuisine at Don Durley's fun, music-filled place includes good bisque, great crawfish nachos, hushpuppies, flavorful salads, and tasty bread pudding. Here are Louisiana classics: fried platters, choosing two among catfish, frog legs, shrimp, oysters, crawfish ($15, with hushpuppies, slaw, and fries); the meat-filled muffaletta sandwich ($7.50-$16); crawfish etoufée with caramelized sauce and vegetables ($15); atchafalaya jambalaya ($12), and more. Portions are generous. Guests are welcome to order family-style or just order sides ($2.75-$4.50). Café au lait and beignets (New Orleans-style doughnuts) available. New Orleans microbrews and specialty drinks. See menu online. Reservations requested for 9 or more. Call for occasional live music with dancing. The most popular dish is bow-tie pasta with stir-fry shrimp, smoked ham, spinach, artichokes, and parmesan. Brisket, andouille, tasso, andouille, boudin, chaurice, and other sausages made on the premises are smoked and sold upstairs at the GRIS GRIS SPECIALTY SHOP at 143 Washington, open Wed-Sat noon-5 and at customers' requests. It also sells hot sauces, spice, beads, souvenirs, beads, and artists' work.

LANDMARK INN
(906) 228-2580
Downtown's elegantly renovated Landmark Inn hotel, built in 1930, has a pub, a dining room that's fine dining but comfortable casual, and a 6th-floor cocktail lounge with food. Now there's a cake case for JOE'S CAKES in the lobby displaying half a dozen varieties of cakes baked downstairs. All are for sale retail. The cozy, convivial NORTHLAND PUB attracts a regular crowd of people who work downtown. It serves a pub menu with a regional theme and everyday prices: signature slow-roasted ribs, a half-pound burger with fries, several other sandwiches, meal-size salads with meat or shrimp (mostly $7), bar food from calamari to nachos with so many vegetables they'd make a meal, and simply prepared dinners (two steaks, a chicken dish, and four fish, including perch and "Laughing Whitefish." 
Opens daily at 11 a.m. Kitchen closes daily at midnight. Among its breakfast dishes, CAPERS serves many inventive kinds of pancakes ($7-$8 with meat side, whipped cream). Dinners (with soup or salad) emphasize local ingredients when possible: produce, whitefish, and grass-fed, no hormone beef as in the market-price chef's cut. Another favorite is duck pie prepared with wild mushrooms, leeks and bacon in a demi-glacé ($19). Changing selection of 50 to 60 wines. Reservations accepted. Open daily. Breakfast 6:30-11. Dinner 5 to 9, Fri & Sat to 10. Full bar. The peaceful 6th floor NORTH STAR LOUNGE offers wines, beers, cocktails, and liqueurs. Food can be ordered from Capers or the Pub. Its two large windows, at the highest point in town, offer grand views across the harbor to Lake Superior. Open nightly, 5 p.m. to midnight.

RICE PADDY
(906) 225-0368

Thai owner Aoy works alone in a tiny kitchen behind the Rice Paddy's cash register. See Matt Ziniel's touching YouTube video of Aoy working and reflecting on her life.

Barely a sit-down restaurant, this very popular Thai take-out has a few stools for diners. Terrific egg rolls ($.95-$1.25) Favorites include crab Rangoon, chicken coconut soup, and Pad Thai, the national Thai dish made with noodles, chili peppers, lime juice, and coriander. Prices are exceptionally low. The spring rolls are outstanding. Owner-cook Aoy Trick goes back to her hometown each year with money to buy uniforms, shoes, and school supplies. 


RUBAIYAT
(906) 228-7800
Many tasty dishes from the Fertile Crescent include Middle Eastern, Lebanese, North-African, Indian, Greek, Armenian, Georgian, Turkish, and Persian. Aza Wolfcale of the little Tu Kaluthia Cafe (see separate entry) helped start this welcome ethnic spot. The $16 Balti Shrimp (simmered in spicy coconut, tomato and chili curry over basmati rice) is one of many favorite curries, from $11 up. There are wonderful curried lentil soup with roasted spices; falafel; tasty Greek feta spread on focaccia; and popular, varied mixed Middle Eastern platters (around $11) with shawarma (shaved meats), hummus, kibbee, and more. Appetizers are $4.50-$5.50. Nice atmosphere and decor.

TU KALUTHIA CAFÉ AND COFFEE BAR AT PETER WHITE LIBRARY
(906) 226-4326
Healthy, inexpensive, fresh fast food brings many people to the little café and food court at the lower level of the beautiful expanded library. Good cooking is a point of pride for Greek wives. When Aza Wolfcale (who is not Greek) married a Greek-American, she learned how to make Greek culinary classics very well. (Later she teamed up with two others to create the acclaimed Rubaiyat restaurant. (See separate entry.) Tu Kaluthia (TOO-kuh-LOOTH-i-a) means "little cookie" in Greek. The Greek items stand out here. This is an inexpensive place to take children. A Greek veggie sandwich with feta spread is among the sandwiches (about $5). Soups are $1.50/cup, $3/bowl with bread. Greek salad is $3.75, spinach pie $3. Greek noodles are a customer favorite, prepared with feta and Greek olives. So are espresso milk shakes ($3) and a variety of smoothies. Greek pastries like baklava go well with coffee drinks. Other sweets include wheat-free spelt chocolate chip cookies. Also a variety of organic coffee drinks.

VIERLING RESTAURANT
(906) 228-3533
Traveling in England inspired Terry and Kristi Doyle to reinvent an English pub in Marquette. They began in 1985 by buying the 100-year-old Vierling Restaurant, playing up its original back bar, and evoking a clubby version of Old World elegance. Later they added the Marquette Harbor Brewery downstairs, seen in action from Main St. Its full mash system turns out "proper" English-style beers, heavy and malty porters, stouts, and brown ales. Most popular and definitely worth a try is their blueberry beer. Takeout customers can buy beers in liter plastic containers or glass growlers. Beer is also served upstairs by the glass and 20 oz. English pint. The main-floor dining room offers a good view of the harbor. Lunch brings soups, meal-size salads, sandwiches and burgers. A dinner specialty is fresh whitefish ($15-$19) served 5 ways, currently grilled, Cajun, picatta with wine and caper sauce, scampi style (beer-battered and stuffed, with 3 shrimp on top), and raspberry with white wine. Also filet mignon, Cajun ribs, and ribeye. Regular customers rave about tempura-battered whitefish on Friday night. About 80 wines on list. Reservations suggested on weekends.

UPFRONT & COMPANY
(906) 228-5200
A jazzy, arty nightclub and restaurant aimed at young people, with a lively bar. Food served any time. Almost every night at 10 (see the website) there's live music and dancing with a $3-5 cover. The hip interior is a contemporary take on Art Deco. Signature dishes are wild rice soup ($5 a bowl), Southwest salad ($9) with chicken tenders and chipotle ranch dressing, and the $9 Upfront Burger on a corn-dusted steak roll. There are $9 pizza or pasta with salad combos. Entrées are mostly $17 and up. Pizza and calzones, served any time, are made from scratch and baked in a wood-fired oven. 12" specialty pizzas (mostly $14-$16) may use basil, smoked chicken, and roasted broccoli, red onions, and more.

PORTSIDE INN
(906) 228-2041
Portside has combined a family-friendly, cozy atmosphere; a full menu with steaks and crab legs; a well-stocked bar; and a very pleasant side-yard deck with a distant lake view. Happy hour from Monday thru Saturday currently features tacos and greatly reduced prices on drinks and $2 pints and bottles. 8 Michigan brews on tap. 
Portside is known for huge servings of Mexican entrées ($12-$15) and especially for its pizza. Most popular are the specialty pizzas like BBQ chicken with roasted red peppers, Thai pizza, and the Angelina with pesto, spinach, cheeses, and more. One downtown worker who can afford to eat out a lot says it's the only place for pizza, as far as she is concerned. At lunch, sandwiches and salads are from $6 to $8. Reservations taken.

BABYCAKES MUFFIN COMPANY
(906) 226-7744
The popular downtown cappuccino bar and bakery also offers salads and flavorful soups ($4.79/bowl, by the quart as well). A big, tasty muffin is $2. Each day there's a selection of 12 muffin varieties from the repertoire of 100, along with several delicious specialty breads, scones, croissants, and dessert pastries—from brownies and cookies, biscotti, macaroons, and madeleines to tortes, cheesecakes, and tartes. Homemade granola is a breakfast option. Bags are $6.29/lb. Croutons toasted with olive oil, spices and butter are sold in bulk. Everything's vegetarian.

SWEET WATER CAFE
(906) 226-7009
Sweet Water is a big, light, airy place. It has a natural look, multicultural menu, and comfortable seating with booths and ample tables. It smells great: espresso brewing, bread baking, spices perfuming the air. From-scratch cooking is the rule. Local produce is used when possible. Breads are satisfyingly chewy. Vegans and vegetarians can eat happily here, with several vegan entrées, sandwiches, and breakfasts. Breakfasts, served to 3 p.m., include winter grain cereal ($6.50 a bowl) and the delicious basic breakfast (two eggs, several kinds of seasoned potatoes, toast, bacon, around $8). The lunch menu (currently from $5 to $9 and up), soups, and sides are served all day). There are things like hummus on pita bread; a locally raised beef or chicken filet or grainburger, and inventive salads, from $8 to $15. Dinners (from 5 p.m.) are mostly $12 to $18. Entrées change every 5 weeks. Specials may include bread and soup or salad, and creatively seasoned beef, chicken, fish, and vegan dishes; Indian curries; chicken or vegetable lasagna; and fresh fish on Friday, baked, broiled, or pan-fried. Homemade cakes, cheesecakes and cookies, and cappuccino are for dessert. Beautiful china is a treat. Owners Ursula Stock and Sean Murray met at Cornell's highly regarded hotel and restaurant school. Later they drove across the U.S. seeking the right place to start their ideal business. It had to have clean water, a college campus, and a population of under 300,000. They loved Marquette and Lake Superior. This onetime dance hall was bigger than they wanted, but they tackled it nonetheless. Reservations advised for groups over four.

VANGO'S PIZZA & LOUNGE
(906) 228-7707
Perennially popular, lots of fun, with late hours, Vango's fits student and family budgets. It's plain and somewhat scruffy. Favorites include the waffle fries, Greek salad, the 14" house pizza with lots of toppings, a healthy hero on pita bread with Swiss and sprouts, and cudighi (spicy pork sausage on French bread). Pizza dough is made from scratch. Typical specials for lunch and dinner are $5.25 to $8. 


BORDER GRILL
(906) 228-5228
The Border Grill draws families and college students with its upbeat atmosphere and fast, healthy, inexpensive Mexican-inspired food draw families and students. The Border Burrito is its signature: a 12" flour tortilla wrapped around sautéed vegetables with diced chicken or steak, melted cheese, sour cream— just $6.24 with Mexican rice, chips and choice of salsa. Also available: veggie burritos with cheesy salsa. Five salsas are made right here. Good road food: the bite-size pieces of grilled chicken quesadilla ($6.35). Some soups, salads, and sandwiches are surprisingly authentic, like the winter black bean with garlic soup. At mealtimes, the Border Grill can get crowded, but it won't take over 12 minutes to be served.

JEAN-KAY'S PASTIES & SUBS
(906) 228-5310
Jean-Kay's is strategically located near NMU, the Superior Dome, and Presque Isle Park— a perfect location for the north country's ultimate convenience food, the inexpensive and filling pasty. Nothing here costs over $5.25. It's mainly a to-go business. Three tables seat 10 inside. There's outdoor summer seating for 15. Jean Kay's traditional pasty, developed from owner Brian Harsch's mother in Iron Mountain, uses the traditional cubed flank steak, not ground beef, plus optional rutabagas. The vegetarian option uses broccoli, cauliflower, celery, onions, carrots, potatoes, peppers, mushrooms, cream cheese, and shredded cheddar in a whole wheat crust. Each is $3.75. Made fresh daily. Jean Kay's also offers wraps and 13 different subs gyros, salads (including bread bowl), and fresh cole slaw. 


UNION GRILL
(906) 225-5564
Right at the south entry to Marquette you can get authentic BBQ prepared in the smoker right outside: pork brisket, chicken, turkey, and corned beef. Sandwiches average $6 to $7. Sides are awfully good: mac and cheese, a vinegar-based coleslaw, olive oil potato salad, fresh pico de gallo on chips. Teriyaki chicken stands out, too. Meats are also sold by the pound from the deli case. Wines sold retail are attractive values, in the $10 range. There's an outdoor patio in summer and a fireplace.

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