Chubby Unicorn
From St. Igance to Traverse City.
I realized I’ve been working on Mackinac Island the week after Memorial Day for about the last ten years.
The last five years, I’ve spent the weekend after that trip in Traverse City.
I hopped on the 6:00 ferry from Mackinac Island to St. Igance on Thursday night after I completed my work from the day. The car was already loaded up and at the Ferry Dock so I unloaded my wagon full of stuff I took to the island then started my trip towards Traverse City to meet my family who was already there.
I didn’t eat along the way other than a slice of gas station pizza. I had a pretty good sized lunch at the job site so wasn’t really hungry. I was just eager to get to my hotel in Traverse City for the night.
We were in Traverse City for the Traverse City Figure Skating Club’s Cherry Classic competition. It’s one of our favorite competitions not only for the competition itself but just being in Traverse City at the beginning of summer and sitting out on the beach at our hotel when we’re not at the Centre Ice Arena.
The skating was kind of spread out this year. I actually missed a good chunk of it because it began on Thursday for us for the first time. Friday, J had one skate then each kid had one skate on Saturday.
J and L got to the rink pretty early on Friday morning while B and I slept in. He wanted to get there around 11:00 to watch some friends skate so we got up and got moving. I dropped him off at the rink then I went to get myself lunch.
I headed towards downtown Traverse City because I wanted to grab a sandwich from the Chubby Unicorn on Front Street near Wellington Street along the Boardman River on the east side of downtown. The small..very small…sandwich shop opened a couple of years ago in a spot that is well known for amazing restaurants in Traverse City. J and I actually ate in this spot way back in 2008 on our very first visit to Traverse City when it was the Cooks’ House. That restaurant moved not too far away and is still going strong on nearby Wellington Street.
The restaurant, as I mentioned already, is very small. When I got there a little after 11:00 on a Friday morning, the line was out the door, but that was only about five people deep. There are no tables inside the building as there’s only enough space for the kitchen and a small waiting area with benches along the walls.
The menu is pretty small consisting mostly of panini sandwiches, wraps, and salads. There is also a breakfast menu and kid’s menu plus a soup or two. If you didn’t do your homework before walking in, the menu hangs on a large board above the bench sitting on the side wall.
I put in an order for the Thick Little Hottie panini. The cost was around $18 and I was handed a restaurant buzzer. There was a pretty decent line of people in front of me so it took a good 15 minutes before the buzzer went off and I was handed my sandwich.
I chose to take my sandwich back to the ice rink to eat. It was getting close to L’s time to skate and I wanted to watch a little bit of the group in front of her. If you do plan on eating at the restaurant, there is an open area next to the restaurant with picnic tables. It was a gorgeous day in Traverse City and this would have been the preferred way to do any kind of dining down town.
The Thick Little Hottie is a Garden Seasoned Baguette with pastrami, turkey, capicola, sharp cheddar, gorgonzola, peppadew peppers, jalapenos, a habanero drizzle, and a roasted garlic aioli. There was so much going on in this sandwich and every single part of it was delicious. I didn’t think anything about the gorgonzola at first but it actually mixed with the peppadew peppers and made a kind of cheese and pepper slurry that was so insanely delicious. There was a lot of meat on this sandwich but it kind of got lost in all of the other things going on. I love a good peppery pastrami and that usually dominates the flavor but here, it was kind of a subtle extra to the bold flavors that showed up in each bite. The sandwich wasn’t really spicy but it did have a good peppery taste with hints of spice occasionally. This sandwich was amazingly good and easily one of the best sandwiches I’ve ever had. I wanted more..so much more when I was done with it.
The sandwich came with kettle chips which is a good side on it’s own but they also threw in a small container of French Onion Dip. I’ve said it so many times, I don’t like onions but I love French Onion dip. Not sure if this is homemade…I assume it is…but it’s delicious and was a great thing to go with a great sandwich.
Chubby Unicorn is one of those places that has been on my list for a couple of years but they’re only open until 3 PM so it was hard to get there when we had full days at the rink. I finally made the decision to just go alone after dropping kids off at the rink. It was one of the best decisions I made last weekend. The sandwich was incredible and it’s a must stop at if you’re in Traverse City.
SW Michigan Dining 