Sugar Bowl Restaurant and Call of the Wild Museum, Gaylord, MI - REVIEW

Field trips to Northern Lower Michigan are always fun. The Undercover Divas love to travel to areas where the air is clean, fresh, and smells of a pine forest. So on a recent trip, we visited the Alpine Village of Gaylord, Michigan. We stopped at the Sugar Bowl,one of Gaylord's Landmark Restaurants. Nestled in the heart of Alpine Village, it has been operational since 1919, and is loaded with lots of character.

Located at 216 W. Main Street, in downtown Gaylord, it is only a short drive from the I-75 freeway. There is limited parking on Main St. but preferred parking is in the back with a back door entrance to the restaurant. Upon entering, we passed through a hallway full of historic photos, newspaper clippings, and menus from previous years, telling their own story of the history of not only the Sugar Bowl, but other landmarks in Gaylord.

Before entering the dining room, we noticed an antique shop entrance within the lobby and glanced inside. We saw lots of interesting items from dishes to books, statues and many other items from years gone by, and priced reasonably. Definitely a place we will visit next time we are in town and have the extra time.

Upon entering the Sugar Bowl restaurant, we were escorted to our table and given an extensive menu with breakfast, lunch and dinner items. One Diva ordered the German plate, which included Wiener Schnitzel, warm German potato salad and the authentic German sauerkraut. The dinner also came with coleslaw, all for $8.99. It smelled delicious and she said it was some of the best German food she has eaten in quite some time. I had the “Luncheon Special” three-cheese and tomato grilled sourdough sandwich, that came with a small salad and their homemade raspberry vinaigrette dressing for $7.29. Mighty fine!

The food was tasty, but portions weren't generous. Quality was superb but prices were a little high. All things considered, made from scratch food and featuring home style breakfasts, tasty sandwiches for lunch, and great German food (a few Greek choices and lots of American dishes, too) make this a good dining experience. The Sugar Bowl provides a welcome alternative to all the typical fast food restaurants. It is a step up from a family diner, with some fun, local history thrown in for good measure. The Sugar Bowl is open daily from 7am to 9pm. 

Special Attention: If you have extra time while in Gaylord, check out the Call of the Wild Museum. See beautiful displays of whitetail deer, the majestic elk, moose, black bears, Alaskan brown bears, polar bears, timber wolves, coyotes, raccoons and more. You will learn about their behavior and habitat and listen to the wolves howl and the elk bugle! The museum is rich in Michigan history with two projected image displays about early Michigan fur trapper, Joseph Bailly, telling about his life in the deep forest of Michigan during the 1800's. Bavarian Falls Park is located right next to the museum and is where you will find Adventure Golf, Go Carts and Krazy Kars. Location is on S. Wisconsin Ave. in Gaylord. Take Exit 282 from I-75 and go East.