Michigan eat · Eating in Michigan
All Destinations | Europe | Asia | North America | Africa | South America | Oceania | Hotels
Eating in Michigan
Eating in Michigan
If you're planning a trip into Michigan and you want to check off the "must-eat" local specialties, then there are four things you really should be sure to try while you're here. Interestingly, they're all centered around the northern parts of the state, so if you want to try them in their homeland, you'll want to be sure to visit the area from Traverse City to the UP.
The pasty (which rhymes with "nasty", not "hasty") is a traditional food in the Upper Peninsula, made with meat (usually beef), potato, onion, and sometimes rutabaga, wrapped in a light dough with a crimped edge. They originated from Cornwall, in southwestern England, and were brought to the area by Cornish miners who emigrated to the UP. The miners' wives would take everything that was left from the Sunday dinner, chop it up and wrap it in a semicircular pastry case, for their husbands to warm on their shovels and eat for lunch. These days, you can find pasty shops along highways in the UP, although their hours of operation may be limited.
Michigan produces rich, creamy fudge, made from milk, sugar and usually chocolate, although you can find vanilla, peanut butter, mint, praline, cranberry, and many more flavors. The most famous fudge in the state has been made on Mackinac Island since 1887, still by hand, shaping and cooling it on marble slabs, right there at the shop.
Not surprisingly, lake fish is popular in Michigan, particularly whitefish and lake perch. Most restaurants in Michigan that offer seafood will have at least one of the two somewhere on their menu; you can find it broiled, fried, smoked, made into salad, or planked on cedar with whipped mashed potatoes piped around the edge. Lake fish are most commonly associated with Lake Superior, so you'll find it more prominent on menus in the Upper Peninsula.
Michigan produces over 70 percent of the tart cherries grown in the US, as well as around 20 percent of the sweet cherries. The main cherry-growing region in the state is around Traverse City, where you'll find a cherry festival every July. Cherries, particularly dried ones, get added to some dishes to give them local flair; you may see restaurants offering a "Michigan salad" that includes dried cherries.
But although these four foods are most commonly associated with Michigan, they're by no means the state's only specialities.
Cudighi ("COO-duh-ghee"), a sausage-patty hoagie served with mozzarella cheese and tomato sauce, is relatively popular in the Upper Peninsula. It was brought to the area by immigrants from northern Italy who moved into the Iron Mountain region, around Ishpeming and Negaunee, and is flavored with sweet spices like cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg.
In southeastern Michigan, a popular treat to celebrate Fat Tuesday and the beginning of Lent is pączki ("poonch-key"), which are baked annually in the Polish village of Hamtramck in metro Detroit. The version made in Hamtramck are like large fried jelly doughnuts, covered in powdered sugar or glazed, and most commonly filled with custard, fruit or chocolate, with plum being a particularly popular flavor.
Aside from cherries, Michigan is a surprisingly prominent agricultural region, well-known for a variety of products:
Michigan ranks third in the nation's production of apples , which fill the grocery stores to overflowing when they're in season.
The western side of the state, near the shore of Lake Michigan, is a prolific region for blueberries , growing 45 percent of the nation's total. They're not as ubiquitous on menus as cherries, but if you're in the region during the blueberry season (July through October) watch for roadside stands and "U-pick" farms in rural areas.
Michigan's morel mushrooms grow wild throughout the state, but are particularly common in the northern Lower Peninsula. Locals often go mushroom-hunting, and Michigan morels are sought-after by chefs statewide. There's a morel festival every May in Boyne City and Mesick.
The growing season for the small, sweet Michigan strawberries is short, but worth taking advantage of. There's a national strawberry festival every year in Belleville.
Perhaps less enticing, Michigan ranks second in the nation's production of celery , mainly around Kalamazoo. There's even a celery interpretive center in the area, where you can learn about the region's celery farming heritage.
Maple syrup has been produced in Michigan as long as Native American tribes have lived here, and it can also be found in the form of maple candy.
The Most Frequently Asked Travel Questions about Michigan
Where To Stay & Best Hotels in Michigan - updated Apr 2024
SAVE up to 75% on Last Minute deals! Search for discount Michigan hotels, motels, apartments, hostels, guest accommodations and vacation resorts. Book now and pay at the hotel. Instant email confirmation!
>>> SEARCH FOR DEALS <<<
WHERE TO TRAVEL NEXT IN 2020
Michigan Travel Guide from Wikitravel. Many thanks to all Wikitravel contributors. Text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0, images are available under various licenses, see each image for details.