27 August, 2010
03 August, 2010
On the Sausage Trail in SW Michigan
My kids have been all over the world in search of summertime fun, but this year we found good times only an hour away in Southwest Michigan.
We found:
Beautiful Dog-friendly beaches
Lot's of U-pick
A winery trail
And a Sausage Trail.
Now gentle reader you may be saying to yourself "A Sausage Trail? How come I've never heard of that? I'm moving!"
Even though it's very plain to see now, it took me three years to connect the dots and I now only have a rough guide for you. We must undertake further investigation. For now I have mapped out four small shops where they make the sausage on the premises. Here's the 2010 SW Michigan Sausage Trail ver. 1.0 in Beta:
View SW Michigan Sausage Trail in a larger map
1st Stop: Drier's Meat Market, Three Oaks, MI,
When you think smoked meats in SW Michigan, you think Drier's. It's a beautiful shop with all kinds of smoked delicacies. I love their liverwurst, Bonne Femme loves the tub cheese.
If you are anywhere near Three Oaks, you should stop in. Three Oaks is nice place to walk around, other interesting things to see are:
A log smokehouse, on the second floor of the library,
Seifert's Farm Supply (but only if you are getting feed for your chickens or salt for your ice cream machine),
and Dewy's cannon, maybe not so interesting, but the kids liked climbing on it.
Drier's Meat Market
14 S. Elm ST.
Three Oaks, MI 49128
888-521-3999
Driers.com
2nd Stop: Sawyer Market, Sawyer, MI
I wandered into this place looking for beer. In the back is a very nice meat counter where I discovered freshly made sausages and other deli delights. I got some fresh bratwurst and they were very good.
The Sawyer Market also had a good price in beef tenderlion, it grilled up real nice.
Across the street from the market is the Sawyer Garden Center, lots of great produce there, but buy your meat (and PBR) at the Sawyer Market.
Sawyer Market
5864 Sawyer Road
Sawyer, MI 49125
269-426-4646
sawyermarket.com
3rd Stop Falatic's Meat Market, Sawyer, MI.
Warren Dunes State Park is one of my favorite spots to camp. To get there you have to drive by Falatic's. I stopped when I saw the sign advertising pickled herring. The place rates an eleven on the authentico meter, A small cold case, a huge grinder behind it, and the rest of the space is crammed with chest freezers and huge walk-in. The have a lot of sausages, some of it frozen, smoked beef sticks and of course, pickled herring. Definitely worth the stop.
Falatic's Meat Market
12236 Red Arrow Highway
Sawyer, MI 49125
269-426-3224
falatics.com
4th Stop: Bridgman Premier Meat Market, Bridgman, MI. (pictured earlier)
I stopped into this place on our last day, and I wish I had found it sooner. Great sausages for the grill and very nice guys behind the counter. They had a box of old butcher knives behind the register, not really good for buying, but fun to look at. Bridgman is on the way to the wineries we visited, Lemon Creek, Round Barn and Tabor Hill.
Bridgman Premier Meat Market
4352 Lake St
Bridgman, MI 49106
269-465-3533
bridgmanmeatmarket.com
So that's my sausage trail, I'll update it with more details and photos for ver 2.0. In the meantime enjoy the rest of your summer.
Cheers.
