Wimpy's Place in Lexington, Michigan

We spent the weekend in Lexington, Michigan arriving by boat Friday afternoon.  We were planning returning home Sunday but high winds caused  8 - 9 foot waves on Lake Huron, way to big for our boat to handle so we stayed until Monday.  Lexington is a small village, very much tourist based with most activity weekends and very quiet on weekdays.  There is a range of restaurants including two fast food restaurants catering to the tourists who mainly arrive by boat. 

Wimpy's Place is located on Huron Avenue, the only road directly up the hill from the harbor.  It is about mid-way up on the second block.  We've been there several times in the past for breakfast special that is always quite good.   This trip my husband's breakfast was good but my sunny side up eggs were undercooked with a good portion of the white still raw.  It was easily remedied but this is something to be sure to mention when ordering if you like your eggs sunny side up.

We went to Wimpy's for dinner.  Wimpy's is named after Wimpy on the PopThey have a reputation of having the best burgers in town.  We ordered Wimpy's burgers and onion rings.  The onion rings were quite good!

Wimpy burgers are homemade patties fried on a grill.  The burgers are about mid-way between a Happy Meal burger and a White Castle Burger,, and closer to White Castle style slyder.  They are flattened down while frying so the patties are not perfectly round.  You can order them with fried onions and/or cheese.  They are served with a couple of dill pickle slices.  Ketchup and mustard are on the table. 

My husband liked the burgers.  They are quite similar to White Castle burgers but a bit more on the greasier side.  I wan't impressed with the burgers but in fairness I was dealing with a severe allergic reaction to the medication I was taking for an infection so that affected my stomach.  I'll try them again next trip just to see if not feeling well clouded my judgement. 

These burgers would be extremely easy to duplicate at home on a griddle or even fry pan.  I watched her making the patties.  She rolled the ground beef into about 2 - inch balls then placed the ball on the grill (flat restaurant style) and flatten it with a flipper.  The result is a oddly shaped, thin pattie.  Onions if desired,  fry along with the pattie adding extra flavour.  The pattie is placed on a smallish bun then simply served with the minimum of condiments.

Chicken Penne Soup

It is easy to get into a rut when cooking, falling back on the tried and tested family favourites.  One way to break out of that rut is eating out.  Restaurants tend to put a bit of a new spin on dishes that the home cook might not think of simply because they have always made the dish a certain way.  During the summer months we like to boat to Decker's Landing located  the mouth of the St. Clair River where it meets Lake St. Clair.  There are special events as well as various bands playing during the afternoon and evening.  It's a gorgeous spot to enjoy a meal, and watch the sunset over the lake. 

Decker's offers pub grub and full dinner meals.  My husband ordered the soup of the day, chicken soup.  I make a lot of chicken soup, usually chicken noodle and occasionally chicken vegetable soup.  Invariably the pasta of choice is broad egg noodles.  Decker's chicken soup was made with penne!  I thought this was a rather interesting pasta to use in a soup.  Penne with its deep grooves and hollow centre is usually paired with thick, cream based or tomato based sauces.

The soup was in between a chicken noodle and chicken vegetable soup.  Another interesting touch was the parmesan cheese sprinkled on top.  Parmesan cheese is a wonderful cheese for adding that extra flavour.  It really was a nice soup that can easily be duplicated at home.

Stoke's Bay (Sarnia, Ontario)

During the summer months we do a fair amount of boating on the Great Lakes Waterway and smaller tributaries.  This includes Lake Huron, Lake St. Clair, and connecting waterways.  We also often enjoy meals on our dock.  Dining overlooking the water either inside or outside is a wonderfully pleasant way to dine.

Stoke's Bay is located at 485 Harbour Road in Sarnia, Ontario.  The restaurant offers dine in, catering and online ordering as well as private rooms for weddings.  Stoke's Bay is a wonderful, cosy bar and grill with an outdoor patio featuring broasted chicken, barbequed ribs, and so much more.  It has a fun, lively atmosphere with friendly waitstaff.  The food is quite good!  Reservations are recommended.  While there are no docking facilities at Stoke's Bay, the restaurant is across the road from Sarnia Bay Marina making it possible to arrive by boat.  Day docking fees are $20 and reservations are recommended.  If arriving by boat from the United States you will need a valid Nexus or I-68.  Be sure to call Canada Border Services Agency (aka Customs) upon arrival.

Our party of six was promptly seated upon arriving at Stoke's Bay.  We ordered cocktails and appetizers.  One of the appetizers was cheddar and bacon skins served with sour cream ($8.49).  The skins were nicely done, quite tasty.  The potatoes had been seasoned before baking.

Baked potato skins are very easy to make at home simply by cutting baked potatoes in half then scooping out the meat leaving about a quarter inch of potato.  Add a bit of extra flavour by seasoning the skins before baking.

Seasoning Potato Skins Method:  To season the potato skins prior to baking, place on a square of tin foil.  Drizzle with a little extra virgin olive oil.  Sprinkle with seasoning of choice.  I often use Montreal Steak Seasoning or garlic pepper but sea salt works nicely too.  Wrap the potato tightly in the tin foil and bake until tender (about 40 minutes).   Remove tin foil then prepare the potato skins as desired.  Note that potatoes cooked this way can be done in the oven or grill.

Stoke's Bay offers a wide variety of entées served with soup or salad, vegetables and choice of potatoes.  Dinner prices per person range from $11 to $25.  Pictured is the broasted dinner one member of our party enjoyed.  Stoke's Bay is known for their great food, especially broasted chicken.  Broasting is a trademarked method of cooking chicken that combines pressure cooking and deep frying using a specialty foodservice equipment called a broaster.  It is manufactured by the Broaster Company in Beloit, Wisconsin.  The broaster creates tender, juicy chicken with a delectable golden brown coating. 

Steis's Villiage Inn, Lexingon, Michigan

During out boating break last week we enjoyed eating out at two highly recommended restaurants. As mentioned in my post about the food at Cadillac House, harbour towns tend to have wonderful little restaurants. Harbour town restaurants are usually family friendly and casual with reasonably priced food. Steis's Village Inn is located at 5523 Main Street in the picturesque harbour village Lexington, Michigan. It is only a block away from the Lexington harbour. While Steis's is well known for their handmade pizza we decided to go with an appetizer and full dinners. Unfortunately they do not appear to have a website which is a shame but don't let that stop you from visiting!

Steis's Village Inn is packed full of atmosphere. You can't help but like it! It's comfortable and cosy with very friendly wait staff. Their food is excellent and very reasonably priced. Both my husband and I gave this restaurant two thumbs up. It is definitely on our list of must stops on our next boating trip to Lexington.

Hot Spinach Dip

We ordered the hot spinach dip appetizer. This generous sized appetizer came with with a lovely tasting spinach dip and warm pita bread wedges. Hot spinach dip make a lovely, easy to make appetizer at home. Change the flavour by adjusting cheeses used and amounts

Method: Wash fresh spinach. Steam until just limp. Place spinach, about 1/2 c of mayonnaise, cream cheese and shredded cheeses about 1/2 cup each in food processor. Pulse on chop a couple of times. Pour into oven proof serving dish. Bake at 350ºF until cheese is melted and bubbly. Served with warmed pita wedges.

Panfried Walleye

My husband ordered the all you can eat walleye. Walleye is a mild, Great Lakes fish that is sure to please. The meal came with herbed mashed potatoes, tarter sauce, lemon wedge and a generous helping of panfried walleye. Now just look at this lovely presentation. The coating on the fish was much like I would do on any fresh caught fish at home. It is simply dredged in a little seasoned flour with cornmeal then pan fried to a crispy golden brown leaving the fish moist and tender. When my husband was finished his meal another helping of fish came out.

For those who are dieting, fish is one of the best foods you can eat. It is low in calories especially if baked or grilled. Pan frying will add a few calories but not a lot. So lean towards having at least one meal of fish per week.

Broasted Chicken

Broasted chicken is a true delight! It is cooked in a pressurized deep fryer so the meat is very moist and tender yet the outside is nice and crispy. Unfortunately this cooking method cannot be duplicated at home because it includes a special marinating procedure and special equipment only available to restaurants. The special pressurized fryer equipment is called a broaster, hence the name. The end result is the broasted chicken is moister but less greasy than fried chicken. This really is a specialty dish that is available only when dining out.

The meal consisted of a half of broasted chicken, baked potato and baked beans. Now this was quite lovely and well worth ordering. As promised the chicken was moist and tender yet the coating was nicely crisped. For those with smaller appetites they will package up left-overs to go.

Cadillac House - Lexington, Michigan

The weather has been unseasonable cool and wet so we have not been able to do a lot of boating. It's as if Mother Nature is saying I'm going to force you to stay home and not spend money because there's a recession going on, don't you know! My husband has been anxiously watching the extended forecast for signs of a couple of good days where we could go out for an extended stay on Lake Huron. Last Wednesday he declared it safe for departing on Thursday morning and returning Friday night or possibly Saturday morning.

We arrived safely at our destination, Lexington State Dock on Lake Huron. This is a gorgeous, scenic harbour at the quaint, tourist town of Lexington, Michigan. Arriving by boat means you have to walk everywhere you want to go. We have been there before but always talk to the harbour master for his recommendations of great eating spots as they do change. The harbour master will not steer you wrong. There are several small, unique shops to browse through, a few good restaurants and usually a lot of different events at Lexington. Friday night we enjoyed music in the park and Saturday morning while walking for coffee we saw several vendors setting up on the closed street for art in the park. We would have liked to stay a bit longer but had to be home by 1:30 pm for the plumber (long story) so after enjoying our coffee we headed out onto the lake.

Cadillac House

Honestly some of the best food is found in sleepy little towns off the beaten track. Many of these tend to be small pubs and grills with rather non-descript exteriors but lots of atmosphere inside. They are essentially the places you would never stop at unless by word of mouth that hey this is a great place to eat!

The harbour master recommended the Cadillac House at 5502 Main Street in Lexington. This was about a 10 minute slow walk from our boat. This is a historic building built in 1840 as the first hotel in the village. It was rebuilt in 1860 and has remained a hotel with restaurant since that time although it has passed through different ownerships. This really is a must eat at place! The food is good and it has a wonderful atmosphere with excellent wait staff. Oh and apparently it is haunted by a resident ghost but we saw no signs of that.

Whitefish

What was rather interesting about this meal was we met another boater and his son a couple of slips down from us. Well they were going for dinner and we were going for dinner so we ended up going together. I ordered the broiled Great Lakes whitefish. This really is one of the nicest tasting fish there is.

Whitefish is a nice mild fish that really doesn't lend itself to heavy seasoning. It is best broiled but can be pan fried or baked. The broiled whitefish was served with mashed redskin potatoes, sautéed onions and zucchini, lemon wedges and tartar sauce. It did not come with a side salad or drinks.

Lake Walleye

My husband ordered the all you can eat lake walleye. Now this really was a good deal! According to my husband it would be well worth driving to by land. It was a rather unpretentious meal with pan fried walleye served with French fries and sautéed onions and zucchini. As promised it was all you can eat so it really was a good deal.

Our total bill at the Cadillac House was $36.99 with two meals and alcoholic beverages. As meals go this was quite reasonable! The atmosphere was quite lovely and the service was excellent so we enjoyed our time there. This definitely is a must stop at eatery when in Lexington, Michigan!

A Bit of Kitchen Chit Chat

Goodness we have been waiting for the warm weather that has taken forever to arrive this year. Does it ever feel lovely despite the high humidity. It's days like this that I am very appreciative of having the kitchen in the lower level of a semi earth bermed home. Cool breezes off the water keeps the kitchen comfortable most summer days. Even though this is the second smallest kitchen we've had since owning houses, it is by far the most energy efficient.

Mel Burger

Summer weather means boating! Monday we took a spur of the moment boat ride. It was beautiful out especially desirable when boating. After enjoying fun in the sun on the water we stopped at Decker's Landing for dinner. They have a new burger called the Mel Burger. This burger is ½ lb of ground round with bacon, American cheese, iceberg lettuce, sliced onion and Cajun ranch served with fries. That day they had a buy one get one free special. We ordered a side of onion rings as well. The total with beverages came in at just under $24 for two people. The service as always was friendly and fast. The atmosphere was delightful!

Strawberries

Ontario strawberries are ripe for the picking! My husband brought me home a flat. I was astonished that they had gone up to $18 up $3 from last year. Obviously this farmer is taking advantage of other U-picks closing in the area meaning he has a bit of a monopoly. Even the grocery store prices are cheaper! I'm hoping to have our new strawberry bed producing enough next year that I won't have to buy them again.

I made 4 jars of low sugar strawberry jam for the pantry with half the berries using Pomona's pectin as well as reducing the sugar from 4 cups to 3 cups. Using this method I can get the sugar down to 2 cups or substitute the sugar with honey or Splenda® so the next batch will be made using local honey. I also ended up with almost a full jar (forefront) of jam for immediate use. The only downside I find to using Pomona's pectin in unlike regular pectin where it thickens before pouring into the jars so stirring prevents floating fruit, the Pomona's continues to thicken as the jam cools. So there is a bit of floating fruit that won't win a county fair award but simply stirring after opening this gourmet style low sugar jam is sure to please!

Bulk Chicken

A few weeks ago I wrote about Maple Lodge Farms in Brampton, ON. One of our kids brought us home a box of chicken wings and a box of legs with backs attached. Pictured is how the chicken is packaged in a large plastic bag inside a box. I vacuum sealed the chicken legs for longer storage. Vacuum sealing prevents freezer burn during longer freezer storage. I ended up with 10 - 2 piece vacuum sealed packages.

Murphy Inn Restaurant, St. Clair, Michigan

We love to spend summer afternoons boating between and on Lakes Huron, St. Clair and Erie including the smaller rivers and tributaries. Quite often that means docking to enjoy dinner as well. Last Sunday was likely the warmest day of the season so far. We had spent a good portion of the Saturday ripping out and adding a new square foot garden bed. We fully intended to continue working on the vegetable garden on Sunday but by mid-morning it was really too hot, just perfect for boating.

Murphy Inn

We decided to make a trip to St. Clair, Michigan. This is a quaint and pretty little town on the St. Clair River just a bit south of Port Huron, Michigan. There is a lovely little marina on Pine River that is within walking distance of a few good restaurants. The fee to dock for a half day is $5 at the marina and free along the river. Gas and clean-out are available at the marina.

The Pine River and St. Clair River is patrolled by the US Customs and Border Protection Agency. They are stationed out of the marina so it is very common for them to check boats both in the marina and those docked along the river. When arriving by boat in the US you must have valid acceptable identification (Nexus, passport, security driver's license) according to the new rules that went into effect on June 1, 2009. You must call into Customs upon arrival if you are not an American citizen prior to leaving your boat. You must declare anything you are bringing into the US as well.

Murphy Inn located at 505 Clinton Avenue in St. Clair, Michigan is a historic 1836 boarding house that features quality Irish food and lodging. Live entertainment is also featured. To the left of the spacious entrance is the non-smoking dining room. To the right is the pub and pub style dining. Both rooms are tastefully decorated according to the style. The pub features a lot of wood for a cosy, comfortable atmosphere. Happy hour is from 2:00 PM to 5:00 PM Monday to Saturday and all day Tuesday (draft beer only). In addition to that there are daily food specials and food is available for carry-out for a slight extra charge. Murphy Inn like other restaurants in the area is very reasonable priced. They have a wide selection of food sure to please everyone. They are kid friendly complete with a kid's menu also very reasonably priced.

We enjoyed our nice leisurely meal in the pleasant atmosphere of the pub room. The total cost with cocktails was $38.66 plus tip. I really must comment on the atmosphere. Murphy Inn is just a real delight to visit! The staff is some of the friendliest you will ever meet. They are attentive with quick service and never make you feel like you are being rushed out the door. The pub side is a particularly pleasant way to spend a few hours and enjoy the live entertainment. This is one restaurant well worth a stop!

Broiled Cod

Most of the restaurants along the Great Lakes basin and within close proximity to the water offer a good choice of local fish such as lake perch and pickerel. Almost all of them have fish & chips on their menu as well. The dress code for most of these restaurants is dress casual as they cater to the boating community and locals.

My husband ordered the broiled cod (pictured) and potato sausage soup (not pictured) in lieu of vegetables. The meal came with two nice sized pieces of seasoned broiled cod, soup or vegetables, choice of potato and a thick slice of homemade bread for $10.99. This cod was cooked perfectly, nicely flaking yet moist. The seasonings used were not overpowering. Of note was the potato sausage soup that I will be duplicating at home.

Barbeque Chicken

I ordered the Sunday special of all you can eat chicken. The waitress said there would be a little extra charge for all white meat but I didn't mind. The meal came with choice of chicken (bbq, roasted or fried), mashed potatoes, stuffing and coleslaw for $9.99 plus $1.99 for all white meat. The chicken breasts were huge, considerably more than I could eat! I definitely did not have to order extra. The potatoes were homestyle real mashed potatoes complete with peels. The stuffing was just a bit different as it was seasoned with caraway. This is not a seasoning I would have paired with stuffing. The creamy coleslaw was a nice mix of sweet and tang. This really was a lovely meal!