Still looking for a place to have dinner with your valentine this weekend?  The Rock House in Houghton is offering some dinner specials: In addition to filet mignon there’s a chicken breast stuffed with spinach, artichoke hearts and a blend of cheeses.  If you want to add some surf to that turf, they’ll be happy to give you shrimp in lemon butter as an add-on to any meal.

Probably not the lowest-fat dishes ever concocted, but Valentine’s Day only comes once a year, right?  Besides, once you’re done you can go next door to the Mine Shaft and work it off with a few frames of bowling.

It’s nice to see some new options on the Houghton dining menu, perhaps enough to tide us over until De La Terre French bistro opens in Lake Linden in the spring.

Update: We did actually eat dinner there tonight, though none of the three people in our group ended up having the Valentine specials.  Two of us had dishes that featured flat iron steak (one a salad with candied walnuts, gorgonzola, romaine and roasted tomatoes, the other a more standard steak with veggies and rice).  The third person had a cheeseburger.  In every case the meals were fine, even pleasant, about what you’d expect from a restaurant attached to a bowling alley and arcade.

What wasn’t pleasant was the wait – it took about 30 minutes to get our three meals, and of course by that time they were no longer completely hot.  True, the restaurant was busy (as was the Mine Shaft), which is absolutely great to see, but it’s the kind of thing that will drive Houghton diners away if not corrected.  We get very used to not having to wait for anything around here, it’s one of the advantages of small town living.  The Rock House can do better; we’ll check back soon to see whether the timing issues have been resolved.

Jazz fans, you’ve now got a place to find great music on your Houghton radio dial.  If you like jazz, then The Other Eric Hall Show on Michigan Tech’s radio station, 91.9 WMTU, is not to be missed.  The show runs on Sunday evenings from 6-8 p.m. and offers a wide variety of jazz, blues and other instrumental music, along with some tongue-in-cheek “commercials” for local businesses.  Artists heard on recent shows include Bill Evans, Herbie Hancock, Miles Davis and John Scofield.  Pretty straight-ahead, pretty great.

Too bad the show only runs two hours – its host, Eric Hall, clearly knows his stuff and often peppers the program with interesting background on the artists, their tunes, or the time period in which they were written.

It’s great to see this new addition to the radio music scene in the Copper Country; we hope it’s around for a long, long time.  And if live music is your thing, you can keep abreast of the many live music concerts of all kinds that happen in the area every weekend on the Keweenaw Music fan page on Facebook.

Support local music in the Copper Country!

It’s sad to say, but summer’s clearly giving way to fall in the Upper Peninsula.  The leaves are starting to turn, the nights are getting cooler, the days noticeably shorter.  Worse than any of that, we just discovered an amazing frozen yogurt stand — on its last day in town until next summer!  

Merry Berry Frozen Yogurt sells a sweet-tart, fresh-tasting version of the icy concoction that is absolutely refreshing and delicious (like Pinkberry, for those who are familiar with the popular chain).   When we visited there was a choice of passionfruit or “plain” yogurt, with a wealth of toppings including fruit sauces and chocolate chips — 100 percent delicious and grown-up tasting, though the 11-year old we had along loved it too.

The brainchild of a West Coast native and former Chassell, MI resident spends her summers in the Houghton area, the yogurt is sold out of a large trailer that is something like an updated, slightly less mobile version of a traditional ice cream truck.   If all goes well she’d like to franchise the trailers and spread yogurt cheer far and wide, and if there’s any justice in the world she should have a chance to do that.

In the meantime, we’ll be counting the days until Merry Berry’s trailer appears again in Houghton next summer.  PS for Merry Berry: We’d love it if you’d leave us a comment here and let us know the date you’ll be back!

It’s official, the Mine Shaft and Rock House Grill & Tavern in Houghton are open again, complete with go karts, mini golf and more (from the Web site):

• 18 state-of-the-art bowling lanes
• Over 40 interactive video and prize games
• 18-hole putting golf course
• Go-kart racing on the Huron Creek Speedway
• Private party/meeting room
• Leading-edge audio/video system, featuring 25 widescreen TVs

Initial reviews for the complex are great, and early concerns that the updated Rock House’s menu wouldn’t match up to the restaurant’s previous version also turn out to be premature, at least based on what they’re offering.    There’s even some pretty good wine on the list at the high end, and a full selection of cocktails.

The Mine Shaft’s Web site says the facility’s grand opening is planned for Sept. 18-20.  That’s a busy weekend in Houghton, with the annual Parade of Nations and the Michigan Tech football team’s first home game so there should be plenty of people around town to make the event a success .

Despite the slight delay on the grand opening, reservations are being taken now for parties at the Mine Shaft, “the largest bowling center in the Northwestern U.P.” (a pretty singular distinction, if ever there was one) and they’ve announced the addition of tailgate parties, bowling leagues, and the like.

It’s great to see the Mine Shaft back, now go patronize it!

With this post we introduce a new section to Home Sweet Houghton, Quick Bites, in which we’ll offer brief reviews or suggestions on where to go for a good meal in the Keweenaw.  The peninsula is a little short on fine dining establishments, but there are plenty of great places to get a tasty meal and if you’re a fan of breakfast you’ll feel right at home.  Whether it’s French toast, pancakes, eggs or sweet rolls the diners and similar establishments in the Copper Country offer an embarrassment of riches.

Suomi Restaurant

My favorite is still Suomi Restaurant and Bakery in Houghton for Finnish French toast, made with a Finnish egg bread called nisu, and pannukakku, which is often called a pancake but is really more of a baked custard.  Visits there, particularly during the winter, are a fun distraction for our family, and Suomi’s become a regular stop for us when we have guests in town – a delicious meal, loads of local color and a guaranteed introduction to the Yooper accent (PS: Don’t miss the meatball sandwich if it’s lunchtime).

This past weekend, however, it was time for a field trip and the decision, on the occasion of a birthday, was to head 40 minutes south of Houghton to the Baraga County township of L’Anse, which is home to the Hilltop Restaurant and its famed sweet rolls.  Recognized by readers of the Detroit News as the #2 sweet treat in the state of Michigan, these things must be seen – and tasted – to be believed.  It was the first time I’d ever been brought a knife with which to slice a sweet roll, but the minute the pastry arrived at the table the logic in the knife was evident: One roll can easily feed 3-4 people.

www.sweetroll.com

According to the restaurant’s Web site they bake these rolls fresh all day, so you’re guaranteed to get a fresh one whenever you go.  Never mind the calorie calculation, these things are decadent and delicious (I did the math but trust me, you don’t want to know.  Ok, if you really want to know leave a comment to that effect and I’ll tell you.).

They’re best eaten warm from the oven and dripping with frosting at the restaurant, but failing that they ship anywhere in the U.S. twice a month.  If you’re in the area though, do yourself a favor and stop by.

The Mine Shaft under renovation

If the traffic on this blog is any indication there’s a huge amount of interest around the Keweenaw in the report in June of the planned reopening of the Mine Shaft entertainment complex in Houghton by the end of the summer.  Now it looks like it may only be a matter of days before the arcade comes back to life in all its noisy glory.

Here’s the evidence:

1) For weeks there’s been a “Coming Soon” sign on the outside of the building, but today that sign is gone and the parking lot is filled with pickups and other cars that presumably belong to construction workers inside.

2) A look at the Web site of the Trifecta Management Group, which is taking over the operation, lists the logos of the Mine Shaft and its companion Rock House Grill and Tavern as being “Now Open,” (scroll down on the page), although the corresponding links to the Mine Shaft and Rock House Grill & Tavern Web sites are not yet live (Update: As of August 25th both sites are live, though the link from the Trifecta Web site to the Rock House page is not working.).

3) There was some news in the Houghton Mining Gazette last week that the Mine Shaft’s permit was transferred from the previous owners to a new company, KMPD, Inc., and some small updates have trickled out over the summer with respect to signage and a liquor license for the business.

4) In probably the biggest development, a sign on the Mine Shaft’s door today notes that interviews are being conducted all week for new staff (great news for the Houghton Hancock area).

Despite all of this apparently good news we haven’t heard an official update since the initial announcement in early June.  How about it, Trifecta, can we have an update on the timeline?  I know a lot of kids who are ready to get out there and play minigolf before the snow flies.

What do you think?  Is the return of the Mine Shaft to Houghton a good thing?  What will it take for it to succeed this time around.   Leave a comment here and give us your thoughts.

UPDATE: WLUC, the NBC affiliate for the Upper Peninsula, reports  that the Mine Shaft will reopen August 24.  Changes being made to the facility include updated furniture for a trendier look and removing a dance area from the restaurant so it’s exclusively for dining.

Great news!!

Houghton and the Keweenaw Peninsula have a reputation for being a winter paradise, but that shouldn’t be taken to mean that things slow down in the summer.  It seems that just as the warm weather arrives the outdoor festivals kick in: there are two this weekend alone, and that doesn’t include the huge Bridgefest shindig next weekend, which celebrates the “birthday” of the Portage Lake Lift Bridge, which connects the communities of Houghton and Hancock and is the gateway to the Keweenaw Peninsula.

More on that later … this weekend it’s pasties and art on the menu.  First off, Houghton and the Copper Country Community Arts Center are hosting the annual Houghton Spring Art and Music Festival, which brings what you’d expect: art, music and food to Houghton’s old-timey downtown.  One of the highlights of the weekend (at least from this Boomer’s perspective) is a performance that is the culmination of a rock camp that Houghton native PJ Olsson of the Alan Parsons Live Project has been running with music and dance students from the area.

The sun shines brightly on Houghton Michigan's downtown. (Photo credit t.shirbert. See more of his fabulous UP photos at http://www.flickr.com/photos/tshirbert/sets/72157603597599982/)

One of the great things we’ve found about living in Houghton is the ease of access to opportunities like this.  There isn’t as much going on in this small town as in a large city (it stands to reason), but when special events like this come along it’s actually possible to get involved and you don’t have to “know somebody” to make it happen.

All Hail the Pasty

Ten miles or so to the north, the town of Calumet is hosting Pastyfest ‘09, this year’s version of the annual homage to the pasty (pronounced PAA-sty, not PAH-sty or PAY-sty, lest you look like an outsider), the Cornish meat pie that fed the miners who brought copper out of the surrounding hills a century ago.  Calumet was once the center of the Upper Peninsula mining industry, so it’s fitting that Pastyfest would be there. The event features all things pasty, the Pasty Walk, Pasty Parade, a pasty bake-off, etc.  There’s a nice video from Pastyfest ‘08 if you want to learn more.  Quintessential Americana (You can’t make this stuff up.).

Events like these will go on throughout the summer in the Houghton Hancock area, as well as the rest of the Upper Peninsula.  What’s your favorite Upper Peninsula summer happening?

Big news greeted me today when I pulled our weekend edition of the local newspaper, the Daily Mining Gazette, from the mailbox: The Mine Shaft, a bowling/arcade/restaurant/go-kart/mini-golf/etc. complex that shuttered mere months after our arrival, will be back by the end of the summer.

This is fantastic news because, as the new owners of the complex correctly identified to the Daily Mining Gazette, the Houghton Hancock area needs more entertainment (though there is no shortage of outdoor activities -more on that in subsequent posts).  Besides, the Mine Shaft was just a really fun, family-friendly place to hang out that was unique in the Keweenaw.

Good luck to new owners Trifecta Management Group.  They reportedly have a lot of experience making properties like this successful, and I look forward to seeing — and enjoying — what they do with the Mine Shaft.