Blue Water Grill and Bar
918 S. Huron AvenueLast night in Mackinaw City and I had just worked a 14 hour day on the Island. I was exhausted. My co-worker was exhausted. He chose to go to the hotel and go to bed. I had to find something for dinner though. I was hungry.
I used Yelp to look at what was around me. As I found out in a hurry, Mackinaw City really isn’t that big. There are plenty of restaurants though, so it came down to who had a menu online and who was closest to my hotel.
I chose Blue Water Grill and Bar on Huron Avenue which is also M-23 on the south side of Mackinaw City as you’re leaving town. It’s right near the long row of hotels that line this portion of M-23.
The restaurant has a nautical theme as you would expect. There is some connection to Arnold Mackinaw Island Ferry Line, but I’m not sure what it is. There was a lot of memorabilia from the ferry. There is a fairly large parking lot on one side of the building and you walk through a patio to get to the front door.
The inside of the restaurant seemed a little small to me. There is a dining room and a bar area. I had the hostess seat me in the bar area so I could watch the end of a baseball game and just be out of the way. They were getting pretty close to closing time when I wandered in, so the bar was empty when I sat down. I took a booth just because it would be more comfortable than sitting at the bar.
The hostess set down a menu and a drink list. The tap list looked pretty good. They had some offerings from Cheboygan Brewing just down the road and Petoskey Brewing. Unfortunately, that tap list wasn’t recent. They didn’t have any beers on tap yet this year and only had a couple of the bottles that were listed. One of those was Arbor Brewing’s, Sacred Cow IPA. I sipped on that while I put in an order for an appetizer. Remember, I was hungry.
I started off with the Irish Nachos. This large plate is overflowing with home made potato chips, cheddar cheese, bacon bits, and chives. The chips were the show stealer. They were crispy on the outside and soft and chewy on the inside. The plate was almost large enough to eat as a meal. I polished them off just as the waitress was bringing out the rest of my meal.
The menu features an array of fish and other creatures from the water…including alligator tail which was the special that night, but I, of course, headed towards the turf side of the menu.
I ordered the 1/3 lb Black Angus Burger. The burger only comes with lettuce, tomato, and onion, so I added on cheese and bacon to round it out. I asked for the burger medium and it came out a little more on the medium well side, but it was still pretty juicy. The roll had a home made feel to it. It was heartier than a typical white bread bun. The sandwich came with a side of fries which were a little surprising. I thought they’d be fresh cut like the chips, but they seemed to be more of a generic food service type fry.
The bill for my meal was right around $20 and I walked out as the waitresses were closing up shop for the night. To end the week in Mackinaw City, I was looking for a hearty, solid and I found it with Blue Water Grill & Bar.
Irish Nachos
1/3 lb Black Angus Beef Burger w/Cheese and Bacon w/fries
SW Michigan Dining 