Cheap Eat'n: Whitefish Inn of Curtis, Mich.

Cheap Eat'n

This week's restaurant selection for Cheap Eat'n takes us to a little place with a fantastic waterfront view and great bar food in Curtis, Michigan.
Curtis, perhaps best known for the "biggest little parade in the U.P." for the Fourth of July or home of the Fish & Hunt Shop, is tucked between Big Manistique Lake and South Manistique Lake in the Eastern U.P. The Whitefish Inn, in downtown Curtis, is well worth the 40 minute drive from Manistique or Tahquamenon Falls.
I'll be honest. If you read the online reviews of this place, you probably wouldn't go there. Customers claim they've had slow service and that the atmosphere is dark.
But my experience of being there several times over the last several years is one completely contrary to what's out there in cyberspace. Perhaps new management has something to do with it.
Customer service has always been good when I've visited. I think perhaps whoever wrote about the slow service was a City Mouse and didn't really understand U.P. "take-it-easy" culture.
As for a dark atmosphere, obviously the online reviewer didn't look out the sliding doors at the gorgeous South Manistique Lake views. Customers may choose to eat outside overlooking the lake on the patio.
In the winter, customers can cozy up to the fireplace or watch the game on one of the several TVs. Last November, my husband and I soaked up the Packers/Lions rivalry as we snacked on appetizers.
Have the kids along? They can play ping-pong or pool or listen to the juke box while waiting for your order.
I have found that the Whitefish Inn is the perfect Curtis restaurant experience, giving out-of-town visitors a chance to interact with locals while chowing down on luscious burgers and fries, some of the BEST perch and whitefish caught locally, good Mexican entrees and a local favorite- whitefish dip with chips. 

Photo courtesy of WikiMedia

And did I mention the prices? They are very good at giving a lot of food for very little money. On a trip there last week, my husband and I ordered a bowl of steaming hot chili, two large iced teas, a HUGE wet burrito smothered in cheese, and a lightly-breaded perch sandwich and fries basket. It came to just under $25. We both were very full by the time we left.