Heading up to Coloma/St. Joe area for a couple of days, so I thought this thread could use a bump.

Looking for somewhere to have an anniversary dinner on the water, can be as upscale or casual & no particular menu items, although yellow lake perch would be a plus. Just good quality eats, drinks & service!

Grand Mere is solid, tho I expect more for the prices when I go. Still solid. Old school supperclub-ish vibe, imo.

RyeBelles looks interesting - never been.

If you are a Facebook user, the "Southwest Michigan Food Reviews" group will have some up to date recs to help you pinpoint possible contenders. I've posted questions in there several times - they are a fun group.

Just a quick warning - make sure the place you are considering is open on that particular day. Lots of early week closures in the area.

There's another place I wanted to try when we were there last, not too long ago, but I forgot the name, and I'm not sure it was ON the water, but it had a great lookin menu - I seem to remember things like Kimchee and pork belly. If I can remember it, I'll look it up and see if it's on the water.

Clementines is always brought up by locals as a solid choice for casual on the water, maybe I've been there too many times, but I find it kinda blah. I would only stick to the daily specials there.

ETA: "Timothy's" was the place I was thinking of.

Thanks for the reply & suggestions. I actually did see something about the facebook group & although I've been off FB for years now, I was able to view some of the posts as it's a public page. And yes, I noticed your posts on there... sounds like you've had some fun trips up there!

We're rather adventurous eaters (ok, I am the adventurous eater & cook & he just goes along with it). I've always wondered about Timothy's as well, however it's a bit further south from where we're staying in Coloma than we'd like to travel for dinner, considering we'll be indulging in a celebratory bottle of vino a/o cocktails;). We do spend time down in the Union Pier/Bridgman/Lakeside/Three Oaks area & further north as in South Haven & up into Pentwater/Ludington, but for some reason have always skipped over this particular area, so I'm not that familiar with it as well as others.

I've also been looking at Grand Mere, so that might work & they have lake perch for my husband. Clementines Too is a possibility, but for some reason it keeps reminding me of a Michigan version of Popeye's in Lake Geneva.

Tosi's was at the top of our list, but as you noted about checking for hours, they're closed on Wednesday:(!

The Mason Jar for breakfast the next morning looks interesting.

We'll definitely be stopping by Falatics Meat Market on our way home to pick up some of their melt-in-your-mouth porterhouse steaks to grill up once we get home & finish up our staycation! If you've never been there, I highly recommend this wonderful family-owned market. We usually bring a cooler & stock up when we're up that way. It looks like they're still doing preordering and pick up at the back door for safety since it's such a small shop

Cheers:)!

wineaux wrote:Clementines Too is a possibility, but for some reason it keeps reminding me of a Michigan version of Popeye's in Lake Geneva.

Here's my opinion of Clementine's:
The rotating daily specials are freshly prepped for each day's service.
The rest of the menu is mass produced, foodservice stuff. If the day's specials don't excite, then I'd probably be looking for a safe choice, like a burger. Absolutely LOVE their website name tho: https://www.ohmydarling.com/too.html

It's been a few years, but I'll add a good word for Grand Mere's perch. "DOOOO IIIIIT"

Hi- I grew up on a farm outside of Coloma. I just spoke to my sister that took over the farm after my father died, and she said there is no restaurant in Coloma she would recommend. There are a few restaurants in downtown Coloma that she does go to, but nothing she would recommend for an anniversary dinner, and none of them are on the water. I think there is maybe one restaurant on Paw Paw Lake, but she would not recommend it. I asked her about Sister Lakes, and she said there were no restaurants she would recommend there. When I mentioned perch, she suggested Clementines. She has been to Grand Mere, and she says it is really good. It is over near Stevensville. If you want really good Mexican though, there is a restaurant on the corner of M-140 and Napier that all her Mexican help love. You get off at the Watervliet exit and so South to Napier to get to it, but it is strictly take out. They are located in a gas station. They also have a sit down restaurant and a grocery store on Pipestone in Benton Harbor right W of Napier

My Sister says she is going to start upicking peaches on 8/7, but she has her own peaches right now at her fruit stand which is Fruit Acres which is right at the I-94 Coloma exit. Hope this helps, Nancy

Thank you all for the rec's... we're going to shoot for Grand Mere Inn as the lake perch is calling our names! Clementine's will be Plan B in case Grand Mere doesn't work out.

Nancy, thanks for the tip on the Mexican place. We LOVE authentic Mexican, so might end up doing that for breakfast at the gas station instead of The Mason Jar! And we were planning on picking up some peaches on the way home & am excited to go to your family farm to buy some from your sister. What a sweet story!

The name of the Mexican restaurant is called La Perla. Their tacos are supposed to be to die for. Their take out place used to be located in a gas station, but I just noticed that it has been converted to a convenience store, but La Perla is still there. That location is at 8080 Napier Rd. at the corned of M-140. Their sit down place is located at 1231 Pipestone near Napier and I-94 The two restaurants are maybe ten miles apart. There is also supposed to be a really good Mexican restaurant in Lawrence which is at exit 50 off of I-94.

We ended up with a perfect day/night! A little off-topic, but Silver Beach was really nice! We've been to numerous other Michigan beaches and this one is a true gem!

Grand Mere Inn was amazing... we didn't make reservations since we stayed at the beach a little longer than expected, but they were so nice in accommodating us with a window seat with a beautiful sunset in the distance. We did sit at the bar & have a drink while we waited and they pour drinks just like I do (a little heavy-handed)! We had the crab-stuffed mushrooms as an app and the perch/ribs & perch/blackened swordfish combos for dinner. Everything was delicious & the service was top-notch! Such nice people (employees & patrons)!

Nancy, we did get a peck of your sister's peaches & some jams, blueberries & corn, all delicious! LaPerla was definitely a hit as well. Lunchtime was a little busy, but we were able to grab a couple of Dos Equis from the market while we were waiting for our tacos (chicken, carne asada & al pastor) & guacamole. Great salsa verde too... we bought a container to bring home.

Coloma is such a cute little town. Hoping to make it back up there again & explore what it has to offer!

Thanks to all for the suggestions!

Hi- I am glad you had a good time. One of the farmers at the Evanston farmers market also highly recommended Grand Mere today. Another farmer from Coloma, recommended 221 which I have not been to, but is supposed to be in downtown St. Joe. She said it is a little fancier than Clementines.

The first weekend in August in Coloma is usually the Glad Peach festival which takes place in downtown Coloma. Last year they did not have it because of the pandemic. This year the committee met in February when things were still bad in Michigan, and they decided to call it off again. Hopefully by next year, they will be able to have it again. There are a lot of people in Coloma though that haven't gotten vaccinated my sister tells me. Thanks, Nancy

Niles, Michigan: Wegner's Lakeside.

LOVED IT.

I'd call this a mix of old school bar/grill with a blend of them trying to upscale the food. Lookit the menu if you have interest in the area, and assume a decent amount of the food will be pretty good, but not earth shattering. Light wood floors, big bar, plenty of tables inside, bathrooms reek of cigarette smoke, outdoor deck with several tables, across the street from a small lake, burgers, sammiches, and fish fry on Fridays, but the menu has a bit more than nachos and onion rings, a few things we tried that we'd easily get again:

Fried Brussels Sprouts with Balsamic Glaze:
Well prepped. Surprisingly good.

Spicy Deep Fried Green Beans:
FAR spicier than we thought they'd be. These were probably from a frozen foodservice bag, but a very good quality one. The breading was way too even to be homemade, (imo.) Not knocking it at all. I'd easily get these again. Loved these.

I went with the AYCE Friday fish fry. It wasn't a local perch or bluegill, or anything (although they did have perch and bluegill on the menu, just not AYCE.) It was cod or pollock - I don't recall, but it was fantastic. A tad greasy, but a comically huge first plate. No chance I could even finish the first plate. I have a feeling they piled it on so I wouldn't ask for more. No chance I wouldn't order it again if we were there on a Friday. Service was fantastic - homey - friendly. They were out of a bunch of things at the bar and in the kitchen, but our server was friendly, and kept us informed. This is exactly the type of place I imagine when trying to find a midwestern - Friday fish fry, neighborhoody, bar&grill joint. We tried to go last year when we were staying in Stevensville for a weekend, but they were far too busy, so we earmarked it. Not disappointed at all.

I think it's about a 30 minute drive from the Lake Michigan shoreline towns in the area, so I'm not sure if I would make the trek if I were staying close to the beach, since there are so many other places to try. But, if I were staying a little bit east of the beach towns, Wegner's Lakeside would easily be a place I'd target. Not refined or fancy, but fun, lakeside, bar/grill, with a teeny/tiny bit more on the menu than you might think.

https://wegners-lakeside-bar-grill.business.site/

The Deck BBQ& Beer in Muskegon is really in a spectacular spot among the dunes and designed to showcase the horizon with a long elevated boardwalk (including grownup swings). I can picture it being slammed with business on concert nights, but it is super-pleasant for lunch.

I found the brisket passable, more of the unctuous burnt-end-pot roast style (simultaneously oily and dry) but well-flavored, but the sides and sauces were really strong: beach slaw with cilantro, pit beans, lime-cilantro rice, tangy pickles, pickled red onions. All was really better than it needed to be for the privilege of the view, and not overpriced if you can avoid the $7 parking daypass and walk over from further into town. The Bloody Mary is a hilarious meal in itself with giant smoked turkey leg garnish and full beer sidecar.