I’d say “in no particular order” but that seemed hard to believe, so instead I decided to create a list in reverse alphabetical order. Honestly, this is because I could not start a list of authentic places to eat with Applebee’s when, I usually practice what I preach, and step outside of the box and try unique local eateries. If you read the main post about our trip to A Weekend in Alpena with Kids: The Whole Shocking Truth, you will see that there was a reason for that choice.
Some of these locations provided the compensation of our meals for us in exchange for our review. As always I strive to provide an honest review for each member of our family.
Nick’s Southside Diner – 2024 US-23, Alpena, MI 
In my search for unique dining experiences for my kids, I stumbled upon some articles that spoke of the fancy tractor shaped pancakes that the chef at Nick’s makes for kids all day long.
My kids enjoy a fun shaped pancake as much as the next kid, so this was a planned surprise lunch on our last day in Alpena.
Our waitress was so nice, but unfortunately she had to break the news to us that they chef that made the fancy tractor shaped pancakes no longer worked there. I have to give them credit, because the chef in the back did his best at making some creations for the kids that they were amused by. I’m guessing that they were nowhere near as elaborate as the “famous” tractor pancakes, since they were about the same creative level that I could have pulled off in my kitchen, but the kids really didn’t even care.
Eating at the original diner counter with the spinning stools was the highlight of their experience, along with the surprise ice cream sundae for dessert. (Fellow Mamas might want to know that our waitress did covertly ask if it was okay for the kids to have the sundaes before she presented them with the question of vanilla or chocolate.)
JJ’s Steak and Pizza – 411 N 2nd Ave, Alpena, MI
When we are on long-term travel assignments, and home cooked meals become a distant memory, one of the dinner items that I specifically seek out at least once a week, is a good salad bar. I am lucky that two of the three kids will devour a salad. Buddy will also devour a steak on any given night as well, so JJ’s Steak and Pizza was a great choice while we waiting out the storm for the night.
The service was good, and the salad bar did not disappoint. The rest of the food was pretty standard for a local family restaurant that carries a menu of steaks, burgers, pasta, and pizza. It is a great choice if you are looking to appease many different appetites.
JJ’s has been a part of the Alpena community for over twenty years. It is family friendly, and has a traditional restaurant seating area in addition to the bar. Turns out we missed out on one of the best parts of the bar decor because we headed straight for the family booth seating. We heard from a friend afterwards that we should have checked out the giant alligator that is perched above the bar.
The Fresh Palate – 109 N 2nd Ave, Alpena, MI
Our first stop in town was The Fresh Palate. In previewing their menu, they looked to have some very fresh natural foods that would be as close to home cooking as you are going to get outside of your own kitchen. This was our 22nd consecutive day of traveling, so to say we needed a good meal would be an understatement. To top it off, I had the grand idea to just let them eat ice cream for lunch as we were departing the Soo, so naturally, they were hungry, ok, Bubba, come to find out, was hangry.
The Fresh Palate has both indoor and outdoor seating. We choose indoor because it was hotter than hot outside. We did however choose a nice widow table so that we could enjoy looking out on the nice downtown area. The kids menu contained food that should appeal to most young kids, and we chose chicken nuggets for Bubba, though he was going through a toddler phase, and hadn’t eaten much of anything for days. Buddy is going through a phase where he thinks he is too big for the kids menu, and Buggie was content sharing a gluten free pizza with me.
Speaking of toddler phases, this is also the trip that Bubba decided that he was no longer going to sit in a high chair, and unfortunately has great fine motor skills, so he had also mastered the little plastic clips designed to keep kids contained. This meant allowing him to sit in a real chair.
Can I just say that our waitress was wonderful, patient and kind. As we were all describing what we would like to eat, we happened to glance over at Bubba, who had picked up the red crayon, and was coloring concentric circles on the back of the (luckily vinyl) chair! Oh good gracious. I was so embarrassed, but she assured me that she would wipe it up after we left. I wish I could say the embarrassment stopped there.
Now, being told he could not deface property, Bubba was not happy with anything. He just wanted to scream. Oye. Even though it was early for dinner time, there were other families in the restaurant eating. I left the older two to hold the fort down at our table, and silently said a prayer that they would hold it together! I just left nine and six year old siblings at a table directly unsupervised (I was just outside on the sidewalk where I could still shoot mom eyes in their direction). My hope was that Bubba would pull it together, and eventually he did, just not as fast as normal. We were able to reenter the dining room when I could see that the food was being delivered. I half expected Bubba to look at it and reject it like he had most real meals for the past month, but even he must have been able to sense the quality of those natural chicken nuggets, apples and grapes. He devoured every bite of his dinner.
Buddy had the Blue Shine, which included blue corn encrusted chicken, rice, cilantro lime corn and guacamole looked amazing. (He was not willing to share any with the rest of us, so it must have been as good as it looked.)
Buggie and I shared the Black Bean Betsy pizza with the gluten free crust, which is a little smaller than the rest of the pizzas (but if you eat gluten free often, you have come to expect this.) It was also delicious, and nothing I would normally order on a pizza, so that was fun!
After dinner the family that was sitting next to us left at the same time. When the father stepped towards me I swore he was going to give me a piece of his mind about disrupting their dinner, but instead he told me he was impressed at how I navigated that situation. He admitted that he thought it was going to go downhill really fast, but he appreciated my swift action to move outdoors to chill out.
Sometimes it is just nice to have a stranger take note that you tried your best under an outnumbered situation. Sometimes dinners just don’t go as you would hope, but the food and service at The Fresh Palate was worth it!
Downtown Scoops – 101 N 2nd Ave, Alpena, MI 
The original plan was to head to Scoops after our dinner at the Fresh Palate, but the food was so good and filling, that we didn’t have room for dessert. (Yeah, that’s right, I would have let my kids eat ice cream for lunch AND dessert. But no one had it in them.)
We made Scoops part of our final day in Alpena, which from a calorie standpoint was probably a good thing, because mmmmm it was good!
Buddy went with a root beer float, since he is my root beer lover. Normally you would have the choice of soft serve or hand dipped, but in this case, their soft serve was out of order, so he had the choice of any of their hand dipped flavors. Their soda float choices all came with a bottle of locally bottled soda. Buddy went with the classic root beer, but there were many bottled soda flavor choices, in addition to any flavor ice cream, so the combinations are almost endless. I can’t remember now what his original choice was, but the employee scooping the ice cream discouraged him (rightfully so), saying that wasn’t going to taste very good, so classic vanilla is what we ended up with.
Buggie is always drawn to the bright colored ice creams, so blue moon was her choice, in a cup, and I think we must have tricked Bubba into the Vanilla with M&Ms instead of his usual rainbow colored ice cream, because it was almost nap time, and I didn’t want to use half a pack of wipes cleaning up his rainbow covered body.
The seating choices are almost as plentiful as the ice cream flavors. For those who want to sit and people watch one of the main intersections of downtown, they have high top window seating. For those who are still under four feet tall, they have a cute little kids table, which was just perfect for Bubba, and he was happy to have his siblings sitting along with him. If we weren’t in a heat wave, the outdoor sidewalk seating would have been a nice choice as well.
Each of my kids left ice cream hanging, which is a good indication that the portion sizes are large, and you are certainly getting a good value!
In addition to the ice cream and local sodas, they also have a great selection of local souvenirs, and fun specialty toys that the kids are certainly drawn to.
Cabin Creek Coffee – 201 N 2nd Ave, Alpena, MI
When your two-year-old knows most coffee locations by heart, and has a great head start on his environmental print recognition of some of the big name locations, you know that you might have a coffee problem.
I don’t see it as a problem at all, and I love to find new local coffee shops while we are traveling. Most of the time we find much more than just good coffee.
The first thing that I noticed when I walked in is the local family run vibe that this place was putting out. Instead of “corporate” t-shirts and aprons, each person had on a Michigan t-shirt of some sort, probably produced by a local vendor. I love a good mitten state t-shirt, so I enjoyed the variety that kept with the local theme, but allowed everyone to express their individuality as well.
It also seemed like many of the people who were hanging out enjoying their food and drinks were locals enjoying their weekend rather than hurried tourists.
Since we were still well within the largest heatwave of the summer, I ordered my “usual” an iced coffee, black, with a shot of espresso. The kids shared 2 different fruit smoothie flavors, and a large cinnamon bun that was served warm.
Other foods available included breakfast sandwiches, scones, cookies, and muffins. Lunch time brings more traditional lunch sandwiches, as well as salads, though you can order a breakfast sandwich all day long.
If you are traveling and need a place to catch up on some work, or just your social media thread, Cabin Creek offers free WiFi to their customers. Cozy booths, and high top tables invite you to stay a while and catch up while refueling before heading back out for more outdoor adventure in Alpena, such as a kayak adventure, or shipwreck tour.
Biggby Coffee – Meijer Parking Lot, M-32
It is no secret, at home, Biggby is my go to. Technically, once upon a time, this was a “local” coffee shop, and is a Michigan made company, so if you are not from Michigan, then, please by all means, you should give Biggby a try. Their regular coffee is good, but honestly their sugary drinks are out of this world!
In this case, we were actually coming out of Meijer from a legitimate shopping trip, when I saw this adorable drive thru. I think it is created from shipping containers, and has no internal sitting area. But if you are looking for a quick coffee fix, then you can’t miss this brightly colored coffee stop right in the middle of the Meijer parking lot.
Applebee’s Grill +Bar – 1468 M-32, Alpena, MI
Though not a local joint by any stretch of the imagination short of their slogan “Eatin’ good in the neighborhood,” Applebee’s came through for me on the very last night of our adventure in Alpena when we unexpectedly extended our trip by a day, which started to eat into a deadline I was up against for a travel client.
Applebee’s provided me exactly what I needed in the moment. Predictable service, and food quality. WiFi for me and tablets for my children.
If you are in a hurry, of just want to keep movin’ down the road, remember that they do offer take out and carside to go.
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If you are considering a vacation or a long weekend trip to Alpena, Michigan, I hope that you will take the time to dive into our other posts that go more in depth into specific topics of our stay:
A Weekend in Alpena with Kids: The Whole Shocking Truth
From Shipwrecks to Underwater Technology with Kids and NOAA
By the Hours – Alpena with Kids: 1, 2, 3…
Rockport State Recreation Area: Where to Actually Find Fossils with Kids
Dinosaur Gardens: Not another dead roadside attraction
