Oct 2013 MICHIGAN Up North 3 - Dinner at the Asylum (Part 2)

We were anxious to get to today's destination in Traverse City, so we did not linger longer. On the way we passed back through Petoskey. There we made a quick stop at the Kilwin's chocolate factory. We had passed it by  several times yesterday and finally could not resist a stop. It was Sunday so no tours available, but there was still lots to chose from for a delectable dessert. Mike got fudge and a bear claw and I grabbed a caramel apple covered with peanuts.

We snailed through the heavy downtown traffic in Charlevoix. Their Apple Festival was in full swing today. We might have stopped, but we were stuffed from lunch and Kilwin's. No room for even a bite of apple or apple pie. We commented that we have overnighted in most little towns along Lake Michigan, but not this one. We put that on our places-to-go list. It is lovely. Lake Michigan on one side and Lake Charlevoix (with an outlet to Lake Mich) on the other side. 

The next little town and another good leg-stretching spot is Elk Rapids. We checked out the Elk River to see our favorite swimming hole. It has a natural slide area where the kids swoop down from the smooth to the mini-rapids part of the river (but not this time of year). There is also a great antique shop in an old garage, an ice cream parlor, and a homey bar here. Because time was of the essence at this point, we opted for a quick walk and then moved on.

The last stop of the day is Traverse City. We love this little town. We always stay at the Park Place Hotel in the heart of downtown. It is old in age, but updated and classic. It has the best top floor bar (ten stories up) with picture windows overlooking Grand Traverse Bay. A nice view any time of year.

We checked in and found ourselves in a different room than usual. We usually get 8, but this time we were on the 9th floor facing a different direction. Nice for a change and we could still see the bay. 

We needed to wet our whistles, so we headed up one floor for happy hour. As lunch had not been excellent we opted for dinner at one of our two favorite restaurants in town--Trattoria Stella (the other being the Cook's House). This is a unique restaurant located in what was previously food storage rooms in the Northern Michigan State Psychiatric Hospital or, in less subtle words, an insane asylum.  

The entire complex is being "re-purposed" into high-end condos, restaurants, and boutique shops. You might think there is a spook factor, but it is very nice and welcoming. We discovered there is an asylum tour available and we will sign up on our next trip to TC. Read more about the history and conversion of this building on Wiki at: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traverse_City_State_Hospital

Much of the menu is dedicated to meat lovers--duck and other patés, wild boar, venison, beef cheeks, rabbit sausage, etc. There is also some really far out stuff (for us) like pork brain, lamb sweetbreads, beef tripe, and pig testa. (I'm not sure what this is but I can guess and it ain't pretty). But I was able to satisfy my pescatarian palate with fried artichoke bottoms, kale salad, white bean soup, and Scottish salmon. Mike had an oyster variety plate, soup, and filet of beef with garlic mashed potatoes. For desert we had sage and lavender ice cream. An odd combo, but really good. Service here is wonderful. Atmosphere is cozy and romantic. This meal more than made up for a so-so lunch.

Back at the hotel, we peered out the window across the city and bay under the night lights of the town and the starry sky. It was a clear and crisp evening and you could see for miles. That night we had a great night's sleep.