Clyde’s Place
6337 Paradise TrailOne more night in Mackinaw City. We had another 14 hour day scheduled for Saturday but Friday was going to be my last night. I wanted to get home and see my family so I chose to drive the 4 1/2 hours once we got back to Mackinaw City around 9:00 Saturday night.
Friday night, we got back to the City around 7:30. I was in the mood for wings. My co-worker was in the mood for pizza so we went our separate ways again.
My plan was to finally go to the Keyhole Bar in downtown Mackinaw City but there was a pretty long wait and in a small crowded building I didn’t really want to be in. So, I looked for some place else.
That some place else took me about ten minutes south of Mackinaw City to Carp Lake.
I was really just looking for wings when I stumbled on a Google listing for Clyde’s Place.
The small bar is calls themselves “The Sportsman’s Choice.” It’s located on Paradise Trail south of Gill Road on Lake Paradise in Carp Lake Township. It’s really dark at night in the part of Michigan so it’s actually pretty easy to drive by if you’re not paying attention. An unlit sign near the road is your indication that you’ve found the right place.
I had no idea what I was getting in to when I left Mackinaw City so I decided not to order ahead.
The bar is a lot like the bars I used to hang out at back in my small hometown in rural Illinois. There are pool tables and dart boards but most importantly, a group of people, all known to each other, hanging out and drinking cheap beer and cocktails.
I sat down at the bar and ordered a Budweiser just because I didn’t really take the time to look at what they actually had. The bartender grabbed me a menu and said he’d never seen me before and he recommended wings or a burger. That’s fantastic. I was already in the mood for wings.
I did a 20 piece order of naked wings with Buffalo sauce. It took about 15 minutes for my order to be cooked up. I killed the Budweiser off pretty quickly and asked for a Two Hearted this time to burn a few more minutes while waiting on my wings.
I asked for my wings to go and planned on just taking them back to my hotel room. When they were brought out, I asked for my bill which was about $31 before tip.
I drove out to this little bar because they had wings and it really was worth the ten minute drive from my hotel.
The wings were super crispy, meaty, and juicy. The Buffalo sauce they were covered in was pretty standard but after not eating all day, it tasted like the best Buffalo sauce I have ever had. There were two cups of Bleu cheese sauce in the to-go packaging. I don’t always dip my wings but after eating about 15 of the 20, I needed to cool them down just a tad.
I will be back to Clyde’s Place. There’s just something about this bar. I hate using the term “dive bar” because it’s really not (to me anyway) but it fits a lot of people’s definition of such a place. It’s kind of an out of the way place that’s a comfortable hang out but also has some delicious food.
SW Michigan Dining 