This Wine Wednesday, we are going back to Bay City, Michigan!

Remember when I noted that there is a winery in every state? Well, Michigan has several! When we were visiting friends in Bay City, we opted for a local wine when dining out. One of the most fun things about traveling is trying local cuisine and produce. When we were in Michigan last September, I picked up Michigan blueberries and peaches to swirl into my morning yogurt. This year, we picked up fresh black raspberries and honey from the Gladwin Farmer’s Market.

When dining out, we always like to try the local brew and vino, too.

We went to lunch with our friend Lisa and her daughter one lovely afternoon to Lucky’s. When I check out their website, I see that they call themselves a steak house. While I don’t remember that about it {I know, I know, it was only a month and a half ago}, I do remember that as far as Bay City goes, this place has more options than your basic local restaurants serving of burgers, fried green beans, wet burritos and pizza.

This long loaf of bread comes to the table in a bag and you can just rip off a chunk. There is some sort of garlicky seasoning on it, too. After everyone got a chunk, I took it out of the bag and put it on bread plate for your viewing pleasure:

My meal included a cup of soup:

I would have never thought to order this soup, but because it came with my meal, I gave it a try. I’m so glad I did! It was one of the best soups I’ve had in a really long time. If we go back, I need to remember to get this. In fact, a big ol’ bowl of it might be the only thing I order. And I’d be satisfied. It may just have inspired me to make the Tortilla Soup from The Homesick Texan Cookbook this fall…

Rob was also very impressed by his soup:

Our friend Lisa ordered an appetizing appetizer as her meal:

Little Kayla ordered from the kid’s menu:

Seriously. That is a kid’s-sized portion?! I can guarantee you that daddy ate most of the rest of it when they took it home!

Entrées at Lucky’s come with soup and a choice of one side item. Here is my order:

Seriously? Only $10.99? The dinner serving is only $13.99. I’m lucky to get a nice cut of salmon for $20 in the Twin Cities! {Usually closer to $30.} For $10.99, the salmon was pretty tasty. And I’m a sucker for a creamy dill sauce. The Cottage Fries, however, were not what I was expecting. I didn’t so much care for them. But that’s okay, I had already had plenty to eat!

Rob’s entrée:

A steak for $9.99? Sure, it was a lunch portion. Still, Rob said he should have never ordered this. He doesn’t normally like nor order this type of steak and he wasn’t sure why he did. So while he didn’t really like it, it doesn’t mean it wasn’t done properly. If you liked chopped steak and canned mushrooms, it’s probably for you! To suit his tastes, Rob should have gone with the Top Sirloin instead. For his side, he chose the Cheddar Mac & Cheese. He adored it’s creamy, cheesiness and cleaned the dish!

And now to the wine. We washed it all down with local one:

Yeah, not exactly the best pairing for Rob’s steak; but it was excellent with my salmon! The funny thing is that we tend to drink red wines most often. But there’s something about local wines in the Midwest that make the whites more palatable. This one was a bit sweet, which we’ve come to expect, too. And since it was during that hot 4th of July week that swept the country this year, this was a thirst quencher!

Leelanau Cellars is located in the Northwest corner of Lower Michigan. Rob and I have often talked about stopping on our drive out to visit family and friends. It just hasn’t happened yet. It looks like such a beautiful area!

Where’s your favorite place to dine with unbeatable prices?

Cheers~
Carrie