Great Lakes

By M. B. Roberts — February 2002

More of this Feature • Intro and Gulf Coast • Great Lakes • West Coast • East Coast • Extras
Related Resources • Feature Index
Elsewhere on the Web • Salt Rock Grill • Grand Hotel • Star of the Sea • Bayview Restaurant & Lounge • Portside • The Coach House • Carrol's Creek • Bahr's

GREAT LAKES:

The Grand Hotel
Main Dining Room
Mackinac Island, MI
Phone: (800) 33-GRAND
www.grandhotel.com
Prix fixe buffet lunch: $45; dinner: $75 (includes tax and gratuity)

Where Lake Huron spills into Lake Michigan, this island, completely car-free, takes you back in time. Dock your boat at the Mackinac Island Marina and then take a 10-minute horse-drawn carriage ride to the Grand Hotel, the world's largest summer hotel since 1887. Jackets and ties are required in the dining room.

Claim to Fame: 120-foot buffet.

Nina's (closed until spring)
Beaver Island Lodge
Beaver Island, MI
Phone: (231) 448-2396
Dinner: $17

Beaver Island is the most remote inhabited island on the Great Lakes (year-round population: 450). Find it on upper Lake Michigan, 30 miles due north of Charlevoix. Nina's, like its Beaver Island home, is a bit out of the way. The restaurant is on the water, but actually quite a hike from the public dock (St. James Municipal Dock). Call ahead and someone from Nina's will pick you up and whisk you to this great hideaway.

Claim to Fame: Any of three famous whitefish dishes. Best served with an awesome sunset.

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