Towne Plaza

Northern Swag Gathering at Towne Plaza

For this particular post, we thought we’d share some perspective from a few of our Northern Swag contributors.  After all, aren’t three opinions better than one? 

Brian:

I love pork. I love its greasy, fatty awesomeness. There have been periods of time in my life when I abstained from meat consumption and each of those times ended with a pork smorgasbord. Towne Plaza’s menu is what I would describe as pork-centric. It’s actually shocking that I didn’t eat there sooner than I did, but as a general rule I try not to consume 10,000 calories in a single sitting, so I waited until I was physically forced to go eat lunch there by my boss, Kim.

All of the pigs are purchased locally, from a farm in Cadillac, and prepped in the back of the restaurant, which is impressive. My lunch did not disappoint. I had the BLT; seared pork belly, aioli, tomato, micro greens, on a baguette. I added fried eggs for $2, bringing the total for my sandwich to $13. Certainly on the pricier side, but worth every penny.

I had dinner at Towne Plaza recently as well and ordered the quinoa salad, which included; beets, cucumber, red onion, chevre, almonds, lemon, & olive oil. Also delicious, certainly on the healthier side, and at $9, not overly priced.

There is no draft beer on tap as of yet, a situation I hope is remedied soon. The bottle selection is a little on the boring side, but since they always seem to have 1 or 2 bottles of Short’s, I don’t have to go thirsty (yes, that is a picture of my beer I had during lunchtime, be jealous). I can’t personally speak to the wine and spirits offered.

Also worth noting, they serve breakfast until 2pm, which is awesome.

Kim:

When I heard the restaurant replacing Stonehouse Bread on Cass and State (less than a block from my office) was a pork place, I started to doubt the lucky powers of my tofu rabbit foot.  For the past twenty years my diet has varied between either vegetarian or pescatarian, and I should come clean and admit to owning a t-shirt featuring an adorable pig with the quote “Please don’t eat me.  I love you”.

Left Foot Charley

Not many outdoor patios compare to that of Left Foot Charley, a local “urban winery” nestled in the Village at Grand Traverse Commons.  With plenty of room, tall trees for shade, a sandbox for kids, and a view of the Village grounds, bocce ball courts and Pleasonton Bakery, it’s hard to beat.  With some Swag contributing members residing on the West Side, we are always happy to support a location in our hood.

Started by Bryan Ulbrich when he initially helped rejuvenate a friend’s struggling Riesling vineyard, Bryan went on to create 200 cases of his first wine under the LFC label that year. He and his wife later opened their current location in 2007 and continues to impress with their high quality white wines and deliciously refreshing hard ciders.

Sandwiched between the Underground Cheesecake Factory and Higher Grounds Coffee, Left Foot Charley boasts plenty of space at their large ‘sit in’ diner style bar top – though on this particular day, we did decide to enjoy the beautiful weather and refreshing adult beverages while relaxing on the large outdoor patio.  We are big fans of the welcoming staff at Left Foot Charley and if you’re a fan of dry whites, the LFC pinot gris is a personal favorite.

The food menu is limited to four or five small plates, none of which will provide a full meal, so consider heading to nearby Stella’s for dinner afterward. Want some loose wine or cider for the road?  Take a growler, a great bang for your buck (especially on the refills @ $12)! Just make sure you bring your mobile growler bike case. (seriously, I want one of these).

Fire Fly Cafe and Lounge

Photo Credit: Nick Perez

After much harassing from my fellow Swaggy contributors of my penchant for Umbros at home, and my lack of blog contributions, I hereby present you with my first blog post for Northern Swag. Through my role as the Digital Janitor, I mostly keep out of view and make sure things run smoothly around here, while also contributing photos when I can.

Admittingly, this would have likely been a review of another downtown establishment, except for the fact that there was an hour plus wait to get into most of the main downtown restaurants. I thought Cherry Festival and Film Festival were over? Guess us locals have to wait until after Labor Day to reclaim our town. So for now, indulge away Mr. and Mrs. Tourist, we do appreciate your added economic contributions.

One place that seems, at least for me, to be off the radar a bit is Fire Fly Cafe and Lounge, situated along the beautiful banks of the Boardman River. Though they”ll probably forever be known as 310 to me. (Anyone actually know why they changed their name?) They’re mostly known for their small plates, or tapas, as well as their sushi and steaks. I’m not sure I’ve ever had anything there other than the tapas, because there are so many to choose from. Currently, they range anywhere from $8 to $14, or you can get three for $30. For the record, Fire Fly was also busy, they just have more seating I believe, and we were able to sit outside without too much issue.

Part of the TC Food group of restaurants, and much like their other downtown establishment Bubba’s, Fire Fly also offers a daily special. Tonight happened to be “Half Off Martinis and Mojitos” night which went perfectly with our assortment of calamari, tuna tartare, crab cakes, roasted pork tacos, coconut curry and filet mignon skewers. Remember, these are small plates folks. There were four people there, I swear it wasn’t all for me.

Happy Hour is everyday until 7 PM and includes a pretty good selection of Michigan craft beer, which is always a plus for me.

If the weather is nice, I highly recommend sitting on the sidewalk patio along the Boardman River as we did tonight, and take in the surroundings of downtown.

So thank you busy downtown Traverse City restaurants, I’m glad your hour wait got me back to a great dining spot of Traverse City.