I recommend Tony's in Birch Run right of I-75 exit 136 (and the Saginaw County ones of the same name). Large portions, great steak sandwich, and breakfast served anytime.

Saginaw County - Best Chinese place is Hunan's near the Fashion Square Mall.

Grand Traverse Pie Company - it was okay, but overrated to me and overpriced.

Zehnder's - definitely the best of Frankenmuth's many places with their fried chicken family meals. I've taken out of town family and friends there who much loved the food and service.

Greektown - Pegagus and Parthenon are my favorites in terms of food selection and reasonable prices (hope they are still there)

Buffet - best one that is also reasonably priced with good selections is Kewadin Casino in St Ignace for $15 at dinner time (not counting a drink). Most of the other casinos are over priced for their buffets, but I cannot judge if the food is worth the money as I am not willing to fork over $20 plus cost of a drink for the privilege.

Fish - Hill's Bar/Tavern in Shields (on M-46 - Gratiot Road) - they have the fish selections and specials mainly on Fridays and Saturdays, all you can eat, choice of potato too.

Are you a Saginaw resident?!?!?!

Haven't been to Hills in years, but my last visit, from what I recall, did offer a pretty good fish fry.

Must disagree with the Chinese choice. Used to be a regular at Hunan on Bay Road, while it is still good, since the Panda House has new owners, it went from good to great. Rock salt shrimp is to die for, probably their best dish. For the area, the place has a touch of class--live piano player on the weekends is nice, and the ambiance is like no other Chinese place I've eaten at. I wouldn't call it a luxurious restaurant, but for Saginaw, it takes the cake.

Zehnder's or Bavarian Inn in Frankenmuth (I prefer B.I. myself, but it's about the same). Either is a must for out-of-towners...Not sure of the exact numbers, but have you something like 2 of the largest 5 restaurants in the country right across the street from each other. While their chicken is good, go for the family style "5 meat combo" at the Bavarian Inn...All the chicken, sauerbraten, pork schnitzel, smoked pork loin and bratwurst you can eat! (I tell them to skip the chicken and brats, and just bring me that sauerbraten, schnitzel and a little bit of smoked pork).

Any Tony's in the area is okay. I-75/Birch Run is more of a tourist destination than anything with the insane portions, and the pound-of-bacon BLT (as seen on the Travel Channel) is humorous. Tony's on State Street has better food, I think--with Fashion Square being a close second. And I think the best 'steak' sandwich can be found at the Center/Gratiot location. However, with any of them, you're getting gratuitous amounts of food at a cheap price, but the quality leaves a bit to be desired. However, order a banana split at any of them and be prepared to request a wheelchair and defibrillator upon exit. I think it's a gallon of ice cream before the toppings are added.

Unfortunately, true fine dining is hard to find...20 minutes north in Bay City offers a lot of non-chain, quality restaurants...But Saginaw severely lacks such options (unless you consider the 20+ Chinese buffets to be non-chain, quality restaurants). The Willow Tree tries and occasionally succeeds at being a fine dining establishment--with them being located in a mall, it's hard to see past that. But it's about the only place in the area that you can get king crab legs, a decent lobster bisque and a properly prepared prime steak.

Ethnic options are improving with Taboon opening recently, offering middle eastern delicacies. Hello Sushi is not bad for a midwestern sushi joint. Genji Steakhouse has a great atmosphere and decent food, with the option of dining teppanyaki style, in their 'quiet dining' area or bellied up to their sushi bar. Mexican food is abundant with the large Hispanic population.

not too far away is Salt of the Earth in Fennville
www.saltoftheearthfennville.com

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SOTE is nowhere near to Birch Run/Frankenmuth/Saginaw :confused:

was thinking Saugatuck, thanks for the correction/

this was posted in 2006, anyone have info on this place or other Kalamazoo located eatery?

Some of us Chicago based FTers will be in Kalamazoo on Dec 6, looking for a good pub(s) as well, anyone is welcome to join us. See signature below for info.

Posted in DTW for the past year or so and have developed a pattern for eating. Supino's is the favorite for pizza (call ahead for takeout) plus their lemon salad dressing is great. Green Dot Stables is a good cheap option for sliders and fries, but also interesting salads, like kale and quinoa. Roast at the Westin is a meat heaven, but be prepared to spend for it. My all-time favorite is Mudgie's deli - they post their daily soup selection on Twitter/Facebook but also have a preset menu for sandwiches and salads. They also sell McClure's Pickle Chips which have become an addiction of mine.

to clarify, taylorc418 is referring to Supino Pizzeria NOT Sarpino's which is ungodly horrible crappy pizza.

For Pizza, you are seriously missing out if you haven't been to Amar Pizza in Hamtramck. Awesome spinach cheese, curry, spice and ghost pepper pizza!

There was a months long gaffe with a client who thought we were all raving about Sarpino's and couldn't understand why anyone would ever eat it voluntarily. Once it was cleared up, he judged our food choices less :p

Midtown Detroit has a new tapas restaurant called La Feria. It is on Cass Ave a block or two south of Forest Ave. Very interesting menu and the food is outstanding! Very small and very busy, so best to get there early.

For Gyros, Ahmo's in Ann Arbor
Also in Ann Arbor, great deli called Maize and Blue (try the Where's the beef sandwich).
Middle Eastern in Flint - Badawest
Japanese in Flint - Saganos
Japanese in Midland - Genjis

Hubby, daughter and I are traveling to Ypsilanti in a few weeks for one of Eastern Michigan University's college tours. Can anyone recommend a nice Italian restaurant for lunch that isn't too expensive (i.e. no more than $60 for the entire bill and we don't drink alcohol)?

The Tower Inn is very reasonable and reasonably good and very close to campus.

Redsmoke BBQ in downtown Detroit is one of my favorite restaurants on the planet.