Marquette, Michigan (place)

Marquette, Michigan is a small town and doesn't have a wide variety of food. However, there are a few good places to eat. They are as follows:

Owned an operated by an immigrant from Thailand, this unassumingrestaurant is a mandatory for anyone who is in Marquette. It's a small hole in the wall, but the menu offers a lot of great options. All the food is home made by the owner, so the food is authentic and fresh. The egg rolls are incredible as an appetizer and the Pad Thai is a nice main course meal. The Egg Rolls have Cabbage, Carrots, Pork, and a few other vegetables. In a lot of ways, the outside shell of the Egg Rolls are the best part, because they aren't as deep fried as other Asian restaurants. Pad Thai is available in Chicken, Pork, and Shrimp and has a similar taste to other Thai restaurants. However, experimenting with the menu is recommended.

The lady who owns the business is the lone employee. She is always warm and takes pride in the fact that she makes all the food herself, on her stoves. For those concerned, there are no MSG's. For the most part, the owner will always complain about being busy and apologize for being so hectic. However, most anytime is good for pickup. Anticipate that the food will take about 30 minutes to cook, so plan that into your schedule. It is carry out only. The prices are about $5 a plate, so not unreasonable. I'd also suggest donating to her charity bowl on the front counter as the money goes to the poor in Thailand.

The Rice Patty is located 3 blocks down the street from the Superior Dome.

In a little more typical cuisine than Thai, Casa Calabria serves Italian. Casa as it's often times referred to up here, is a higher class restaurant.

There is a room that has a the bar and a big-screen TV for the sports fans. The other room is lacks these features though. For whatever reason, none of the attendants are men, they're all young, college age women. As a matter of fact, most of them are blonde too. Their appetizers are $5+ so they are on the pricy side, especially if you're on a budget. Their meals mostly have 3 sizes: Half-Order, A la Carte, and Full-Order. If you get the half-order you'll probably be okay, as those are substantial sizes. The full-order comes with bread, soup, salad, and other side dishes for the famished. My favorite is their Mushroom Lasagna. There is a ton of cheese on it with good sauce and fresh mushrooms inside with an optional meat sauce. The vegetarian sauce has green peppers and is of a thicker consistency. It comes out on a small plate but the dish is filling. Casa's specialty is probably their garlic bread. If the bread doesn't come with your meal, make sure you order it. They are long pieces of garlic bread that have a great taste. What gives them their flavor is the massive amount of butter used on each one. When you pick it up, butter will drip from the bread into the bowl. By the end of the night, the bowl which the bread came in will be half-full with liquid butter. The half-orders are about $7 a plate, a la carte is $10 a plate, with the full orders being about $13-$14 a plate.

Be careful if the waitress asks if you want a salad. It's not included in your meal and will be charged to you on your bill later.

The service is hot or cold there. At times you will get a waitress who is prompt and responsive. Other times you will wonder where your food is. Getting there during dinner hours will cause you to wait about 30 minutes before you're seated, so try to make reservations.

Casa Calabria is located on 3rd street, across from Planned Parenthood.

Located next to Wal-Mart on US 41, Steer and Stein is a good steak restaurant tucked away where you won't automatically see it. It's a shame, it's a good restaurant.

The atmosphere is typical to that of a steak restaurant. Their main specialty is steak. If you want fish or chicken, you could have that too. Frankly, I've never looked at the menu, I go straight for the steak. The uniqueness of the restaurant comes out when you discover you could cook your own food (chicken must be cooked by the chef for health reasons). They have large, professional grade stoves put aside where you can cook your steak, fish, or Texas Toast. With your meal comes a side of salad and soup which you assemble at their salad bar. I tried their New England Clam Chowder and was very impressed with it. Their salads are made of high quality vegetables, so they're worth eating.

Steaks come with a side of potatoes (mashed or baked) and coleslaw. They are more than happy to cook a steak rare/medium rare as well. I've never had their desserts, but they look good. Their beer choices are decent with imported and domestic available.

Their prices are reasonable at about $15 for a steak. Considering you get potatoes, salad, coleslaw, and soup with your steak, that's a good deal.

The service is quite good as well. The waiters are mostly friendly and prompt with their work. On most nights, you are seated quickly. On weekends during main dinner hours (5-8) make sure you put in a reservation to avoid waiting longer. Parking is quite plentyful but finding the parking lot is slightly challenging coming off route 41, so you may need to turn around if you pass it. Look for the sign with the cow on it.