My husband and I decided to take a weekend trip to Traverse City for our 1 year anniversary, our other option was Napa Valley but we decided we wanted to do a road trip rather then fly somewhere. Traverse City is only 5 hours from Chicago so it was the perfect road trip. We left on Thursday and came back on Monday.
When we got to Traverse City we checked into our Airbnb and then decided to walk down Front Street until it was time for dinner. We opted to stay in an Airbnb rather than a hotel because of the accessibility and location to downtown. Also, the hotels were pricy, and we weren’t planning on being there most of the day anyways. The first place we stopped was Cherry Republic, literally a store of cherry EVERYTHiNG from cherry peanut butter to cherry salsa. Next we went to Barrio. We didn’t eat here but the menu looked AMAZING as did the drinks. We just got a beer and queso flight. I would defiantly come back and have a meal here the next time we are here.
We checked out some of the shops on Front Street before heading to our dinner reservation at Red Ginger. This place was recommended to us by a friend, the airbnb host and some blogs about the city as well. I would recommend making reservations a few weeks before arriving to ensure there is a table available. The food was really good and the fish was fresh. turns out they fly the fish in from Hawaii. Explains why it was so fresh.
We started Friday morning at Moresels grabbing some coffee before we headed out to pick up our bikes. After some research we decided to rent e bikes right off the Leelanau Trail which goes from Traverse City to Suttons Bay, the trip is about 17 miles each way. This is where we rented our bike from. We went to Roman Wheel Pizza & Subs for lunch then we went to Hop Lot for a beer before we headed back to Traverse City– not going to lie, the track back was hard since it got a bit warmer.
When we got back to Traverse City we went back to the the airbnb to rest and get ready to go back out. Our first stop was Petoskey Pretzel Co. to grab some fresh pretzels to bring to a brewery with us. We went to Right Brain Brewery, recommended to us by friends. It was a brewery with arcade games and you can bring your own food. On the way to dinner we stopped at Traverse City Whiskey Co., to buy some whiskey.
For dinner we went to Pepenero for dinner, the food was great and the ambiance of their outdoor space was even better! I would 10/10 recommend this restaurant to anyone. Again, this is another place that I recommend getting reservations in advance. We talked to some locals while on the trip and all of them said that Pepenero was better then the other Italian restaurant in the same area. The seafood at Pepenero is also flown in fresh ftom the West coast.
After dinner we went back to Front Street and got ice cream from the famous Milk & Honey. The line was out the door, but it was completely worth it, it was Cold Stone style production with all fresh ingredients. The town closes pretty early on weeknights, but there are more things going on in the summer.
Saturday morning, we went to Peace Love & Little Donuts to get some little donuts before we went up North to Lake Charlevoix to visit my husband’s friend and go out on the lake with his boat. We took the boat across the lake and went to The Landing Waterfront Restaurant for lunch before heading back across the lake.
For dinner we went to The Cooks’ House, which came highly recommended to us by friends. This was a farm to table restaurant on Front Street, and it was very good. Again, you really must get reservation in advance to eat here but everything was amazing. We did not do the tasting menu, rather we got all the vegetarian sides and main and it was roughly the same price as doing 2 tasting dinners. The menu here changes daily/weekly. I honestly have never had such fresh food tasting food at a restaurant before.
Sunday was our anniversary and we decided to spend the day on the peninsula drinking wine. Our first stop was Bubbie’s Bagels before we headed to the tip of the peninsula, Old Mission Point, before making our way down. The bagels were amazing, fresh and warm.
Here is the route we took- although there are also organized wine tours you can get tickets to as well.
This place is beautiful, some history, we came here when we were filming our pre wedding video and we fell in love with the mansion estate castle thing they have going. I don’t love their wine as much as other pleases we went to, but the outdoor seating area is very nice.
This was a very modern place, the food and cheese boards look very good, and we really liked the wine. We became wine club members here; you get 6 bottles every 6 months at a discounted rate.
This place was very modern looking we just stopped in for a quick minute. It was pretty but I didn’t love the wine.
Probably my favorite from the ones we went to. Super cute ambiance and they also had very good seltzers that they made there- fruity and fresh.
5. Brys Estate Vineyards & WineryÂ
The room with the wine barrels we sat in was very cute, the wine was also very good, I bought a bottle of rose from here. We didn’t eat but the food smelled and looked very good.
This is the oldest vineyard on the peninsula. The wine was good and there was a members appreciation going on the day we went, so we were able to have some free food and wine while we were there.
7. Hawkins Farm Cellars
This was the latest open place, the wine was ok, the Thai food was pretty good.
We ended the night at a local burger spot on First Street before heading to bed. Honestly it was the best day. The next morning was our final day in Traverse City before heading home that afternoon. We grabbed breakfast at the Common Good Bakery that morning. This was the same place that The Cooks’ House gets their bread from. After breakfast we went to Moomers Homemade Ice Cream, literally cow to table. The Ice Cream shop is on a farm. On the way home, we stopped halfway to grab some food. We stopped at North Grove Brewers.Â
Overall, the weekend in Traverse City was the perfect amount of time to see everything we wanted, one thing I would have done if we didn’t already have plans on Saturday and Sunday would be to go to the farmer’s market.Â
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