Terry’s Place

Fine French Food Complements Enterprising Chef’s Other Dining Endeavors

Terry Left is a man of singular vision.

“Restaurants are all I’ve ever done,” he said from his headquarters in Charlevoix.

Left owns Charlevoix’s popular Villager Pub — a story of its own for another day — and the quietly sophisticated Terry’s Place, which he opened 33 years ago, in 1983.

UPSCALE AMBITION

Left worked in restaurants as a youth, “always as a cook,” he said. He never worked as a waiter or busboy because it was the food part of the food industry that had gotten into his blood, even early on.

“After high school, I went to CIA (Culinary Institute of America)

in New York State and got my associate degree in 1977,” Left recollected. “Then I went to Florida International University in Miami for restaurant management.”

After he finished at FIU, he stayed in Miami, eventually becoming the executive chef at the legendary upscale eatery Cafe Chauveron. The Chauveron, now closed, would eventually find its way into Left’s most ambitious restaurant effort.

FRENCH FORMALITY 

In 1981, Left opened Great Lakes Fish and Chips in Charlevoix, which he soon expanded into the Villager Pub. Next up was Terry’s Place, in the same building, named to impart a casual flair, as if you were just dropping by Left’s house for a friendly dinner. But, don’t think this is a simple sandwich stop; Terry’s is a gourmet destination, inspired by what Left learned at the Chauveron. He even borrowed several ideas from the old Miami restaurant’s menu.

“The Pub is great, but I’m actually much more into formal dining,” Left explained. “It’s just the kind of cooking I really like to do. And after working in fine French dining in Florida for such a long time, I really wanted to bring that experience up to northern Michigan.”

Locating his venture in the same building as the Villager Pub, Left — who now counts 80 employees on his restaurant’s roster — opened Terry’s with an eye toward vintage elegance. He kept the room’s natural brick walls and tin ceilings, instilling a calm mood with pale vanilla walls, faux windows and shutters with trailing vines, landscape paintings, cafe seating and flared pendant lights hanging from the ceiling.

While classics like filet mignon and shrimp provenÇale are available, Left and his executive chef Paul Bradley take advantage of Charlevoix’s proximity to the lakes by centering most of the menu around fish.

STANDOUT SIMPLICITY

Starters include escargot baked in garlic butter, and mussels steamed in white wine. Then the fish choices begin: whitefish from local John Cross Fisheries, plus walleye and perch, all arrive fresh and are pansautéed to order, served up four ways: meuniere (with lemon beurre blanc sauce), almondine (lemon beurre blanc and almonds), Robinson (olive oil, garlic and parsley) and Grenoblois (lemon beurre blanc and capers.)

If it seems simple, that’s because it purposefully is, in order to maximize the flavors and freshness of the fish. End your meal with one of Left’s chocolate or Grand Marnier souffles, allowing you to experience all of Left’s northern Michigan interpretation of French gourmet fare.

“We may not have a water view or anything like that,” Left said, “and we haven’t changed our menu much in years, but we’re still very busy. My food is my drawing card.”

is located at 101 Antrim Street in downtown Charlevoix. Open Sunday–Thursday from 5–9pm, Friday and Saturday from 5–10pm. Appetizers start at $7; entrees $25–40. For more information, visit terrysofcharlevoix.com or call (231) 547-2799.

Lori Silva with Terry’s Restaurant owner Terry Left.

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