Freshwater Tavern Gladstone Michigan

Why Freshwater Tavern made the SteakMap list

There is wagyu on a menu in Delta County, which is not a sentence you get to write often. Freshwater Tavern is in the Terrace Bay Hotel on P Road in Gladstone, a few miles north of Escanaba, and it is one of very few places in the Upper Peninsula cooking at this level.

The UP is enormous, thinly populated and a long way from anywhere. A scratch kitchen out here is a genuine commitment, and this one is worth planning a drive around.

The beef

Wagyu is the headline. Underneath it is an aged Angus steak wrapped in bacon and served with caramelized sweet onions and gorgonzola cream — a big, unapologetic northern preparation that suits the room.

The two cuts worth knowing about beyond the steaks are the kalbi beef tenderloin and the bison meatloaf. Kalbi is a Korean marinade of soy, pear, garlic and sesame, and finding it on a tavern menu in the UP tells you the kitchen is not just running the standard supper-club playbook.

The rest

Everything is made from scratch. Fried perch is on the menu, as it should be this close to Little Bay de Noc, along with a tavern burger and fried brussels sprout chips.

The bar is a real one for the region — an extensive bourbon list, local wines, and a dozen craft beers on tap brewed in the Upper Peninsula. The dining room looks out over the water, with alfresco seating in season.

Prices

Freshwater Tavern does not publish a full priced menu online, so SteakMap has no verified figures to quote.

See every wagyu steakhouse in Michigan, or read the guide to the best steakhouses in Michigan.