Hey ARF family! My family of 4 plus mom is looking to get up north for the Cherry Festival. Anybody have a place they'd recommend for reasonable lodging? We don't have to be on the water, but it'd be nice. Willing to drive in from the West or East arm, or stay in town. If anyone has a place they're not using & wants to make some $$$ that'd be great too. Thanks in advance! Please feel free to e-mail me.  

Regards,

Aaron
Wood1 here on ARF
Wood on MGO

07/05/2016 - We have our rooms all set, just looking to take in some decent dining. Some local spots would be great, different from the same ole same ole. Definitely going to Moomers a time or two! We really liked going there when we were up for a soccer tournament last year!

Cherry Festival starts July 2. The airshow has the Blue Angels this year. TC is gonna be busy.

Yeah, was talking to mom & now it's Cherry Festival from the 7-10 instead of being somewhere on the water up north over the 4th

Gotta eat!

Tons of good places up there to eat, you'll find more than you can look through on Google.

A fav of ours is the Red mesa Grill, they have some unique entrees there.
http://www.magnumhospitality.com/redmesa/

The Mackinaw Brewing Company is good too, they are right downtown.  Good BBQ and great beers.

The Reuben at Mackinaw Brewing is fantastic. The beer cheese soup at Northpeak is delicious. There's far more good food up there than you'll be able to eat.

I would second Red Mesa. Mmm mmm good.

We were up last year for a soccer tournament & were on a much tighter budget. Still on a budget, but have time to take in some local food this time. Plus, I've got to take my mother somewhere nice. So I'm looking at restaurants from local shack with good food, to a great steak & about anything good in between. Thanks all!

North Peak Brewing,  The Blue Tractor and the Jolly Pumpkin are some of my TC favorites.

It's a bit of a drive from downtown but The Boathouse is absolutely to die for good.

Seconded, including Mission Table at Jolly Pumpkin as well.

Ham Bonez or Bubba's are great breakfast places.

No offense to the OP, or anyone else, but it's funny.  I live there, and have a week of forced vacation that week every year.  I stay as far from that shithole as possible.

Ya know......for being the "Cherry Festival"..... in the "Cherry Capital"......go find a cherry tree, there may be a few scraggly ones left here and there, but that's about it.

I've never eaten at any of those places mentioned, but Traverse strokes itself over all those fancy, snooty, expensive places to eat yet they don't even have a White Castle.

This year I went to the lake, and got to watch a bunch of city chimps trash the place with absolutely no regard to those of us that actually live here.  Lake is full of trash, oil slicks, weeds are torn up, and a total absence of any etiquette on the water.  No wonder really, why we've been infested by nearly every invasive species there is.  But why would they care?.....they get to pack their shit and go home.

Don't even get me started  on ORV's, and forest fires, and those fucking sky lanterns.

And I thought I had problems with the Ann Arbor area.....I will admit that I haven't been in downtown A2 but a handful of times in the last 10-12 years, and have no regrets really. Not my kind of people, and I'm not an art fair kind of guy. But damn if somebody just doesn't seem happy with their life. No offense.

Saw lots of orchards & vineyards last year, but that was on a rushed schedule, revolving around 4 games in a soccer tournament. This year was about taking it slow, enjoying the scenery, showing my mother some of the things my family & I had seen before & enjoying some quality time. We ate food we'd never thought about, prepared in ways we'd never heard of, and loved it! TC and the surrounding areas have some of the best food I've had in years, with the best scenery to boot.

Red Mesa was excellent! I spent half my life in TX where all kinds of Latin foods are made, but I was surprisingly impressed with Red Mesa. Apache Trout Grill was awesome, with an awesome view during our +/- hour long wait. Trattoria Stella served up a mean boar! And Old Mission Tavern hit the spot after spending the day on the peninsula, and getting a little wet at Mission Point out in front of the lighthouse. And no trip is complete without Mooomers! Having a Cracker Barrel in town was nice too (had to have some simple comfort food). The closest one to A2 is about a half hour away.

Thanks for all the suggestions! My family greatly appreciates it!

There's 1 at 94 & Belleville Rd.

Yup. That's 28 mins from me, without traffic. I'm right on the border of Dexter & Ann Arbor, close to Baker & 94

Visiting northern Michigan (populated primarily with people of German, Polish, Finnish, Scots/English, etc. descent) and eating Mexican food and/or NYC deli-style microbrewery sandwiches and such = you're doing it wrong.

Just sayin'.

Glad you liked Red Mesa. It's on our list every time we get up there. Just seems unexpected, and they execute some unquie stuff really well.

It's tasty, which is all I care about, and just a small fraction of the overall offerings. *shrugs*

I'm sure it's fine but it's just funny to read some of these recommendations. It's akin to telling people visiting Maine to ignore lobster and try some BBQ place instead. Or visiting El Paso and opting for some Chicago-style pizza joint chain instead of eating local Tex-Mex. It sorta raises an eyebrow.

I live in TC and pass robust cherry trees everyday. Went to the festival a couple of times, had fun seeing Billy Idol and Cheap Trick. Billy was better if anyone cares.

Wish I would have seen this post earlier I would have suggested Bubbas, great food and some of the best burgers in town.

Honestly.....where are the cherry trees at? I've only seen scraggly old remnants of used up orchards.. Some off Cass rd., and some off Hammond......but nothing worthy of being the capital of anything.

Is there anything by Fife Lake near 131?

Smaller orchards on South Garfield, Hoch Road, Potter Road, or head up the peninsula just past east bay boat launch several orchards in that area.

I'm not saying there aren't, usually not that far west, getting away from the lake and bays I think it is too cold.