Where to Eat This Summer: 8 Restaurants to Try in NoMi

These are the spots to be to try when the sun is shining

By Northern Express Staff & Contributors | July 22, 2023

Italian-inspired cuisine. Classic Irish fare. Spanish tapas. Authentic sushi. Asian-French fusion baked goods. Small plates packed with local flavors. Texas-style BBQ. Polish favorites.

We’re traveling around the world and across northern Michigan with these eight restaurants, each of which pairs perfectly with a summer evening, a breeze off the water, and a glass of the good stuff. Here’s where we’re eating this summer.

Spring & Porter | Petoskey

The co-owners of Spring & Porter, Alyssa Harrold and Tommy Kaszubowski (who is also the executive chef), are entering their second summer for Spring & Porter at the site of the former Villa Ristorante Italiano, which operated for 45 years prior to closing in 2021.

Villa Ristorante Italiano was—you guessed it—an Italian spot, and Kaszubowski’s menu remains Italian-inspired while making its own mark.

“I love the flavors of Italy. Italy has about the best diversity of food you can find anywhere. So I really like using that, but not traditionally,” he says.

He jokes that there will probably never be a lasagna on his menu, nor seven pasta dishes, but Kaszubowski is committed to having a “touch of Italian” to elevate what he sees as a locally-focused menu that allows him to be creative in the kitchen all year round.

On the Menu
“For staple things, it’s been the spaghetti Bolognese and the halibut on risotto,” he says. “Those are two staple sellers which I’ve been known for over the years.” On the Villa side, Kaszubowski has kept a version of Pane con Aglio—essentially garlic toast ciabatta with roasted peppers, four cheeses, and balsamic vinegar—that “sells like crazy.”

Frutti di mare items that jump off the menu include oysters on the half shell and the Georges Bank Sea Scallops. Landlubbers can opt for the Pesto & Fontina Crusted Chicken Breast, a thigh cut with red bell pepper fondue and potato gnocchi, while vegetarians will enjoy the Arancini (crispy fried parmesan risotto) and the Cheese Platter with a variety of cheese, fruit, nuts, and spreads.

New for this year is a revamped craft cocktail menu, though that’s not to say that wine is an afterthought. “Alex [Czinki, previous owner of the Villa] purchased amazing wines, and we’re very fortunate to have that be our backdrop for our wine cellar,” Kaszubowski says.

Find Spring and Porter at 887 Spring Street in Petoskey. (231) 347-1440, springandporter.com

Patrick Doud’s Irish Pub | Mackinac Island

Fourth-generation Mackinac native Andrew Doud and his wife, Nicole, have always embraced their island heritage. Together, they operate the historic Doud’s Market—aka “America’s Oldest Grocery Store”—which they took over in 2007. They’re also the brains behind The Doghouse (an al fresco hotdog stand) and the Little Luxuries gift shop, which has just entered its fourteenth season. Opened this summer, their latest venture—Patrick Doud’s Irish Pub—offers tasty bar-style eats served up with a side of the history that makes Mackinac Island a destination.

The eatery is named after local icon and Edwardian architect Patrick Doud, whose carpentry chops left a permanent mark on the modern landscape of Mackinac Island.

He’s also a great-grand uncle of Andrew’s, so when the time came to name the business, an homage to Patrick felt like a no-brainer. “He was a real man who did some pretty neat things,” Andrew explains. “[It] was a name we thought people might recognize.”

On the Menu
The space offers pub-style fare with a homemade twist. “There’s a wonderful simplicity to [that kind of cuisine],” Andrew explains. “That’s what we’re going for.”

Helmed by executive chef John Armstrong, the kitchen cranks out tavern favorites (think hearty hand-helds and ale-infused stews), alongside several signature dishes that touch on traditional Irish flavors.

Of these, the Oysters Galway is a clear standout. “Not many pubs have oysters,” says Andrew, “so that’s a twist we’re excited about.” The recipe is inspired by one from his family’s ancestral Irish city and involves oven-baking a half-dozen oysters until they bubble with butter and garlic.

Other menu highlights include a Celtic seafood chowder, which they’ve packed with mussels, salmon, and clams, as well as a fish and chips preparation that features crunchy beer-battered cod.

Behind the bar, Guinness reigns supreme, along with four other Irish beers and a selection of popular Michigan brews, including the pub’s signature Patrick Doud’s Ale, crafted by Les Cheneaux Distillers of Cedarville.

Find Patrick Doud’s Irish Pub at 7304 Main St. on Mackinac Island. (906) 847-4012, patrickdoudspub.com

The Social | Lake Leelanau

First came Nittolo’s Pizza in 2021, then—only a month later—the restaurant’s seafood arm. Powerhouse Speakeasy joined the ranks in May 2022, and now the fourth brainchild has launched. Meet The Social, the latest addition to Chef Eric Nittolo’s restaurant empire.

The Social shares the same stunning 1938 Belgian-import mahogany bar and dining room space with Powerhouse Speakeasy (but on different weekly schedules) and is all about the tapas—as well as the sharing and conversation that goes along with them.

“I’m not changing for the American palette,” Nitollo says. (And we will all be better for it.) To that end, he took two of his eight children to Spain, where they ate their way through tapas in Barcelona, Valencia (birthplace of paella), Mallorca, and Sevilla.

“[The Spanish] live differently,” Nittolo tells us. “In Spain, life is a party.”

On the Menu
The menu is small by some standards—just a dozen choices—but covers a lot of Spanish territory. While Nittolo expects “about half” of the items to become favorites, he can’t yet say which ones will win the popular vote and become permanent fixtures. “Will they eat a lot of paella? Yes. Mussels? Yes. Cheeses? Yes.” But, he adds, “time will tell” what eventually becomes the house favorites.

We’re having a hard time guessing too. The mussels with chorizo, saffron cream, and toast and the paella with saffron rice, prawn, mussels, and calamari seem like solid bets. But what about the crusted bread with fresh tomato puree, olives, and paprika garlic mayo...or the octopus with roasted pepper mayo and pickled cabbage? Will there be an underdog candidate in the oxtail in Rioja wine and tarragon with potato puree?

There’s also date salad, sea bass ceviche, prawns, and more. Not to mention a rotating selection of desserts. The Social will be perfect for diners who like smaller portion sizes, and Nittolo hopes that the 20s and 30s demographic will think of it as the place for happy hour.

Find Nittolo’s Seafood and Pizza, Powerhouse Speakeasy, and The Social at 104 Main St., Lake Leelanau. (231) 994-2400, nittolospizza.com

The Dojo | Traverse City

“My mom always told me to stop playing with my food,” Brent Shafer jokes while explaining how he got behind the counter at The Dojo, his new space at the Long Lake Culinary Campus where he slices sashimi, shapes sushi, and rolls maki by hand.

Shafer opened the doors early last December, and the space immediately became a dining destination for sushi lovers willing to go beyond downtown TC.

“I enjoy being creative and working with my hands,” he says when asked about what the main appeal of sushi was. “I enjoy really tedious projects, which is weird. I’ve trained a lot of people to do sushi at prior jobs, and you can sometimes see it in their eyes—once they realize that ‘this is a lot more work than I [thought],’ more than just twisting it up. I thrive on it.”

On the Menu
The Dojo’s menu is in the Goldilocks zone of not too big, not too small, just right (and very fairly priced) for the eight-seat space: A few simple sides, including miso soup and seaweed salad, and then an assortment of maki rolls, sashimi, and nigiri.

You’ll find your classics, beloved for their simplicity, including tuna rolls, cucumber rolls, and avocado rolls—“Normally I have an avocado hosomaki every morning … I don’t know what it is but it really just calms me,” Shafer shares—alongside some interesting maki choices including ones filled with carrot, mango, or asparagus.

The uramaki menu and the chef’s specials step things up a bit, with familiar options like the Dragon Roll or the Philadelphia Roll, plus fun selections like the King Kombu roll, the Seven Spice Tuna Roll, and the Seared Salmon, all of which see the benefit of a quick blast from a blowtorch. No shame if your tastes skew to the less adventurous side of the menu, though.

“I like to have a California roll every day—you probably wouldn’t expect that,” Shafer says.

Find The Dojo at 7738 N Long Lake Road in Traverse City. (231) 590-4366, chu-toro.net

Merlyn’s Patisserie | Traverse City

When Anna Kucharski and her brother Jun Dupra—the owners of Merlyn’s—moved to Mancelona from the Philippines, they brought their love of cooking with them. “It’s a cultural thing,” Kucharski says. “We grew up around cooking every day. Learning how to cook when we were young, you eat what you make.”

Merlyn’s Patisserie primarily sells their goods at the Sara Hardy Farmers Market, in addition to their online orders. Dupra says the market has been an excellent way to share their Asian-French fusion pastries with customers.

“I don’t know if you can get these kinds of pastries anywhere else in Michigan,” Dupra says. “It’s something different, and people like it.”

On the Menu
The bakery is best known for its cornerstone creation, the Supreme Croissant. Its shape looks similar to a cinnamon roll, but its taste is all buttery croissant, with the addition of the flavor they’re selling that week, like chocolate and kalamansi (a lime-like fruit from the Philippines) meringue.

For the more standard, arc-shaped pastry, you’ll find classics like chocolate, ham and cheese, almond, and mixed berries and cream. But it’s the brilliantly purple ube croissant (pronounced ooh-beh) that folks around town seek out. Ube has a taste that’s been described as nutty, vanilla-like, and similar to sweet potato.

Also on the menu: milk bread, a soft, fluffy, Japanese-style bread made with milk, flour, sugar, and yeast. Its versatility makes it perfect for sandwiches, French toast, or enjoying plain.

And then, of course, there are the macarons. A few of their flavor options include pistachio-raspberry, strawberry-chocolate, and yuzu-Earl Grey tea. “We like incorporating those Asian flavors, so we like mango, coconut, and yuzu. Yuzu is a Japanese lemon,” says Dupra.

From there, the menu houses treats to delight any baked-goods enthusiast, with eclairs, cookies, tarts, donuts, and other breads and desserts, including some savory items for when your sweet tooth has been satisfied. (Think Japanese sausage bread, Korean garlic bread, or the BA*ES muffin with bacon, sausage, Asiago cheese, and a whole soft-boiled egg baked inside.)

Find Merlyn’s Patisserie pastries at the Sara Hardy Farmers Market this summer or by placing a pick-up order on their website at merlyns-patisserie.square.site.

on the eDge tapas | Charlevoix

Veteran chef Darlene Kline is depending on small plates to realize her big dream. Small plates lend themselves to a communal eating style, with dishes being shared and taste-tested among all diners in the gathering. Typically, several tapas are ordered so there’s something for everyone.

“Think of it as dining at Grandma’s, where every dish gets passed around,” explains Kline. “Each order comes to your table every 15 minutes or so. We have a lot of fun here, and it’s like you’re at my dinner table. And our food is always made with fresh, locally-sourced ingredients. We believe only fresh ingredients can make great food. Our mission is to deliver you one of the best meals you’ve ever had.”

“Seventy percent of our meals are gluten-free,” adds Kline, who cooked at the Horton Bay General Store for 13 years before opening on the eDge tapas. “And our meals are pan-fried, not deep-fried. My deep fryer is empty—doesn’t even have the pilot light lit.”

On the Menu
When we visited, the restaurant was featuring its eDge Salad with fresh greens, sun-dried tomatoes, artichoke hearts, Cippolini onions, Marcona almonds, asiago cheese, and Castelvetrano olives topped with a house dressing.

Seared Lamb Lollipops with crispy capers and a vegetable du jour are popular with guests, as is Dee’s Smoked Whitefish Pate, which features sauteed bell peppers, roasted jalapeño, and cilantro with tortillas.

The Salt and Pepper Shrimp comes with a tangy habanero jelly that some diners mistake for honey. The shrimp are breaded, then pan-seared to perfection. The result is a tasty treat made even better by a dab of the jelly. Another edgy choice is the Drunken Frog Legs, which are fried in a Bourbon pan sauce and served with a bed of lemon quinoa with toasted pumpkin seeds.

Beef eaters won’t see burgers or steaks on this menu, but they will find Sage and Oregano meatballs bathed in a flavorful gorgonzola cream sauce. They pair well with Patatas Bravas, oven-fried Yukon potatoes topped with a spicy red sauce and roasted garlic aioli.

Find on the eDge tapas at 100 Michigan Ave in Charlevoix. (231) 437-3432, ontheedgetapas.com. 

Primos BBQ | Cadillac

Jason Towers first got into barbeque as a hobby. In 2017, he was working at a large dairy farm and opened a barbeque food truck as a side gig. Towers and his business partner hoped to cater an occasional event and maybe donate some of the proceeds to charities.

But it didn’t take long for the demand for barbeque to exceed what their “hobby food truck” could provide, and Towers and his partner decided to open a brick-and-mortar location. Although they started Primos because of a passion for smoking meat, opening a barbeque joint in Cadillac turned out to be a good business decision that filled a gap in the market.

“There’s not a lot of barbeque in northern Michigan north of Grand Rapids, at least in the style that we do,” Towers tells us. “People were really excited about being able to get brisket every day.”

On the Menu
Brisket is definitely one of the most popular menu items at Primos. It’s also a signature dish of Texas-style barbeque, which tends to emphasize beef over the pork offerings that are popular in other regional barbeques, such as Carolina-style. Texas-style often incorporates a heavier, tomato-based sauce, but that’s actually one of the ways Primos BBQ does things a little differently.

“Our meat is not all sauced up,” says Towers. Primos prefers to keep it simple and pure, using two or three spices before smoking the meat. Afterward, customers can add sauce to their own liking. “We let the meat and the smoke do the talking.”

The pulled chicken is another stand-out dish that sometimes flies under the radar but happens to be Towers’ favorite. “It’s not heavily smoked…it’s just really nice, flavorful, and tender chicken.”

A unique item on the menu is the Primos Parfait, made up of a choice of either pork or beef layered with two sides (slaw, smoked mac-n-cheese, baked beans, or smoked cheesy potatoes) and served in a parfait cup. You’ll also find classic BBQ staples like ribs, wings, and pulled pork, plus sampler and family meals that give you and yours a taste of the menu.

Find Primos BBQ, Willow Market & Meats, and The Greenhouse at 916 S. Mitchell St. in Cadillac. (231) 779-1575, willowmarket.com

Polish Countryside Kitchen | Cedar

Thomas Koch, owner of Polish Countryside Kitchen in Cedar, was born and raised in Hamtramck, a little city just a few miles outside of downtown Detroit. He says he was blessed growing up surrounded by family and great food. “I’ve had a love for the same things most of my life because it’s what my childhood was made of. I can still taste the love in every bite.”

Eventually he and his wife, Kathleen, decided to move north and acquire their own farm in Cedar. It didn’t take them long to realize how rich the community was with Polish culture, and the Kochs saw a need for Polish dining in the area. They never imagined it would be them, given how busy they were, until their food truck idea became a reality.

On the Menu
Koch says that by far the most popular dish that they sell is the Polish Platter. It gives you a sampling of most of the items the food truck serves: Polish sausage, stuffed cabbage, pierogi, dill potatoes, sauerkraut, and a slice of rye bread.

The goat burgers also do very well on the menu. It’s served “burger style,” with a beet horseradish spread, grilled onions, and pepper jack cheese, topped with a slice of tomato on a butter bun.

“If anyone knows me though, I do like to have a few surprises throughout the season and last year we offered a few weeks of cutlets, smoked ribs, and half chickens smoked and then deep-fried in Mangalitsa pork lard,” Koch adds.

He also admits to loving a great Coney dog, so he offers a Polish veal casing hot dog topped with homemade chili, onions, and mustard. He says that the customers really seem to enjoy them.

There is one item though that the customers hesitate to try, but always love it when they do: kiszka, aka blood sausage. “I serve it with crisp purple cabbage with onion, tomato, and rye bread,” Koch tells us. “If my six-year-old is there, she will tell you that is her favorite thing to eat, along with the apple pancakes we serve.”

Find Polish Countryside Kitchen at 8994 S Kasson in Cedar.