Fudge and Fish

Mackinaw City, Michigan (photo by Larry Page)

From one resort area to another! Two days ago I traveled from Lake Placid, New York, where we stayed for 5 weeks through Canada to Mackinaw City, Michigan to our cottage on the lake.

Although both are, as I said, resort areas, they are quite different from each other. Lake Placid is situated in the Adirondacks between 2 lakes, Mirror Lake and Lake Placid. As you can tell from their names, they tend to be, well placid. Lake Michigan, on the other hand, is always moving, with waves constantly hitting the shore. It's my favorite noise to fall asleep to. Of course it can't beat the sound of early morning garbage trucks in Brooklyn, but hey, you can't have everything.

Both areas are wooded, full of beautiful pine and white birch trees. Both areas have bears and other wildlife in abundance. But Lake Placid is surrounded by the tallest mountains in the Northeast, whereas Mackinaw City is in a fairly flat area. There are some bluffs and big limestone formations, but the nearby ski area would make most true skiers shudder at the puny size of the hill.

Lake Placid is a good deal more upscale than Mackinaw City. In the middle of Lake Michigan, and viewable from my beach, is Mackinac Island. There are more well-to-do summer spots around here, such as Mackinac Island, which I can see from my beach, and Harbor Springs and Petoskey. But Mackinaw City has a grittier aspect to it. Here on my beach you can't see the fudge stores and the souvenir shops, but I kind of like knowing they are there. In equal parts I enjoy the kitchier aspects of the town, while also despising the tackiness of the whole thing. Go figure.

One of the things I am most looking forward to is that I can finally make my favorite trout dish--the one I learned from my long-ago trip to the Pousada de Såo Lourenço in Portugal. I thought for sure that I would find trout in Lake Placid, which is a fisherman's mecca. But it was nowhere to be found in any store and I wasn't desperate enough to go catch it myself.

Here there is an abundance of Lake Trout, along with the famous Whitefish that is also caught here. You can buy both of them fresh or smoked and I love it both ways. At one of the stores in town they even make their own version of Fish 'n Chips, lake style.

Yum. Who needs fudge?