106 S. Mitchell StreetIt’s rare but every so often J will give me a recommendation on a place.
A few weeks ago she spent a couple of days in Cadillac for work. About a week later, I was driving through on my way to Mackinac Island. I never really know where to stop on that drive but I always want it to be away from Grand Rapids.
J told me about a brewery in Cadillac that she had picked up a pizza from one of the days she was in town. She had me sold on the word “brewery” although she did say she really enjoyed her pizza.
Clam Lake Beer Company is in downtown Cadillac on Mitchell Street just south of Harris Street. Mitchell is BR-US131 so it’s easy to get to downtown off the highway but it is about a two mile drive to the historic two story Shay Station building which has been around since the 1800’s on the main drag.
The restaurant, named after the original name for the City of Cadillac, has a long, narrow dining room with brick walls covered with historic photos from nearby lakes and a distressed hardwood floor that has been around for a while. The seating up front is one long row of tables that share a high backed leather bench seat. There are more traditional tables once you get passed the kitchen near the back of the space.
The dining room was pretty packed on a Tuesday afternoon during the lunch rush and I didn’t want to take up a table so I just pulled up stool at the bar. Clam Lake has a few of their own beers on tap but they also have several Michigan crafts to fill out the 40 taps.
I picked the Pans Shadow Black IPA which is one of Clam Lakes beers. It’s a solid Black IPA with a fairly low ABV at 7%. I enjoyed the beer but probably wouldn’t drink more than one in a sitting.
The menu at Clam Lake Beer Company is pretty standard pub grub. Burgers, pizzas, sandwiches, salads, etc. I picked the Sunnyside Up off the Angus Burger section of the menu. The sandwich is a 1/3 lb. Angus patty topped with bacon, cheddar cheese, a sunnyside up egg, and honey mustard. The honey mustard was the big surprise on this sandwich for me. I almost asked to leave it off then thought, nah…I’ll try it. It added such a sweet, vinegary touch to the soft, runny fried egg yolk. The burger patty had nice grill marks and was tender and juicy. The sandwich comes with house made chips but I upgraded to fries. They were pretty standard battered fries that needed a little bit of mustard.
My bill for lunch was just over $21 for my solo lunch.
Clam Lake Beer Company was Cadillac’s first brewery and while they have a little competition across the street now, This is still a place worth making a detour off the highway as you make your way “Up North.”