Roadfood_ Revised Edition - Jane Stern [156]
Don’s Drive-In
2030 N. Hwy. 31 N
231–938–1860
Traverse City, MI
LD | $
Don’s is a real drive-in that opened the year Elvis joined the Army (1958). Selections on its jukebox evoke days of American mid-century car culture in its prime, and the ambience is rock-and-roll: hubcaps and album covers decorate the walls and you can dine inside or in your car, where meals are served to you on window trays. The menu is basically burgers and fries, featuring the old-fashioned “basket” presentation, meaning a sandwich sided by French fries and coleslaw.
The tough decision to make at Don’s is whether to get a hamburger or a brace of Coney Island hot dogs. The burger is thick and juicy; a Coney, topped with chili sauce, is a Midwest paradigm. Whatever you get to eat, there should be no question about the beverage. Make it a milkshake. Don’s blends its shakes to order, either large or small, both of which are big enough to fill at least a couple of glasses, and both of which are thick enough to require powerful suction with a straw. Chocolate and vanilla shakes are good all the time; in the summer, strawberry shakes are made with fresh fruit.
Grand Traverse Pie Co.
525 W. Front St.
231–922–PIES
Traverse City, MI
$
One of the great sensory thrills of the upper Midwest is walking into Grand Traverse Pie Co. For those of us who enjoy eating, the smell in here is more devastating than any rare perfume. It is the unspeakably delicious aroma of baking crust and bubbling-hot fruit filling.
As the name suggests, it is a limited-service restaurant where pies are virtually all that matter. Indeed, other than coffee and a few kinds of cookie, pies are the only thing on the menu, and much cross-counter business is whole pies to go.
Although you can’t come here for a square meal, there are a handful of tables inside and (when weather permits) outdoors, to which you can carry a warm, just-cut slice and appreciate the absolute goodness of a pie that is individually crafted out of raw fruit and sugar in a crust rolled from daily-made scratch dough.
Because northern Michigan is the fruit capital of the Midwest, where apples, cherries, and blueberries are harvested in abundance, the double-crust fruit pies are what we like best. Among the varieties available, most of them named after sights and places around Traverse Bay, are Suttons Bay blueberry, Front Street apple, Lakeshore berry, Union Street peach strawberry, and Long Lake berry cherry. Some thirty varieties are in the kitchen’s repertoire (not all available every day), and in addition to fruit-filled ones, there are key lime, coconut cream, and (in season) autumn harvest pecan and Northport pumpkin.
Gustafson’s
4321 US 2
906–292–5424
Brevort, MI
L | $$
The full name of this alluring roadside attraction is Gustafson’s Smoked Fish and Beef Jerky. It is a gas station and party store that has delicious food that is oh-so-ready-to-eat, but does not offer full-service meals.
Even with your eyes closed, you’ll find it as you cruise along the shore road (we don’t recommend driving this way) because a sugar maple haze from a quartet of smoldering smokers outside clouds the air with the unbelievably appetizing smell of whitefish, trout, menominee, chub, and salmon turning gorgeous shades of gold. Inside, coolers are arrayed with the firm-fleshed beauties, which you can buy by the piece, wrapped in butcher’s paper. Utensils and plates are unnecessary; it’s a pleasure to use one’s fingers to pick flavorful chunks of fish straight from the paper in which they’re wrapped.
Beef jerky is also a specialty of the Gustafson family, who marinate strips of top round for a day-and-a-half, then slow-smoke it over maple for six hours. Jerky is made with a traditional smoky-sweet taste, Cajun-spiced, or barbecue flavored. Vacuum-packed jerky is available through the mail, by the pound.
Michigan’s Upper Peninsula lends itself to waterside picnics. A few chaws of jerky, a moist hunk or two of freshly smoked freshwater fish, a fifty-cent stack of saltine crackers,