The Galley Restaurant & Bar

You simply cannot visit Michigan's Upper Peninsula without having a seafood dinner. Sorry but you just have to have one :) You also cannot leave the UP without bringing back some of that incredible fresh caught fish. By far the most recommended St. Ignace restaurant for white fish is The Galley Restaurant & Bar. The restaurant, owned and operated by the Gierlasynski family is located on on property that was formerly a fishery that provided fish to area residents. Their specialties are locally caught whitefish and lake trout.

The restaurant is mid-size, casual dress. We had a lovely table just back from overlooking the lake so next time we will request the table right by the window. The staff was extremely friendly and attentive. Children are definitely welcomed at this restaurant something that is nice to know if you are traveling with children or in our case grandchildren. They are open 7 days a week serving breakfast, lunch and dinner from May to mid October.

Soup or Salad

Meals came with either homemade soup or salad, potato, rice or vegetable and fresh baked rolls. The salad was a basic tossed salad but a bit heavy on the dressing. The salad vegetables were fresh and crisp but it really was a basic salad. I think if they had used mesclun salad greens it would have been a much more impressive salad. On the other hand my husband ordered the clam chowder. It had a nice flavour and creamy texture, definitely worth ordering!

Seafood Platter

My husband ordered the seafood platter ($15.75). It came with local whitefish, perch, shrimp and deep fried scallops. The perch and whitefish were very lightly breaded. Both are such delicate fish that you really don't want a heavy breading on either. The shrimp and scallops was a lightly breaded as well but a little more so making it a nice pairing for the perch and whtefish. The platter came with a baked potato, sour cream, butter, tartar sauce and seafood sauce.

This is a very easy to duplicate meal at home and it is especially good using fresh caught lake perch and whitefish. Perch is almost always pan fried with just a light flour coating. Whitefish when pan fried is done the same way. Both shrimp and scallops can be deep fried but scallops better boiled or baked.

Whitefish

The UP is the place to order whitefish. It is simply divine! I ordered the broiled lemon pepper whitefish ($13.00). I have to tell you this really is the way I would prepare whitefish at home. It came with tartar sauce, a lemon wedge and a baked potato.

Whitefish has a succulent, mild flavour and flaky texture. It is best not to overpower it with too heavy of a seasoning. Lemon pepper is a nice seasoning for broiled whitefish and broiling is my preferred method for cooking this fish. Although whitefish can be breaded or lightly coated as with most fish it really is better without either. A little butter when broiling as well as a dash of fresh lemon juice will enhance the flavour.

Method: Set oven to broil. Lightly butter a shallow pan with butter. Place the whitefish fillet(s) on the pan, skin side down. Brush on a little butter. Squeeze the juice of a quarter lemon on each fillet. Sprinkle on a little lemon pepper (Tone's, msg free). Place the pan about 5 - inches under the broiler. Broil 5 to 7 minutes without turning. Remove when the fillets are opaque and flaky.