Eatdrink #42 July/August 2013

№ 42 | July/August 2013 www.eatdrink.ca 35
travel
Beer & Spirits, Michigan-Style
Exploring the Great Lake Bays Travel Region
By JANE ANTONIAK | Photography by BRUCE FYFE
How do you know when your
collection has gotten a bit out of
hand? When you have to build
a tavern to hold it! That’s what
happened to Bill and Elaine Fournier of
Bay City, Michigan. Their love of antiques
led to Bill amassing a collection of beer
steins, which grew so large he created
the Stein Haus beer garden restaurant on
Water Street to house it. With more than
a thousand steins wired onto the walls,
hanging from the ceiling and displayed
on shelves, it’s an impressive spot. He has
another 1,400 steins in storage and he
hasn’t stopped collecting yet. “We started
with a few beer steins and it blossomed
from there,” says Elaine Fournier.
The Stein Haus offers sixteen beers on tap
and over one hundred varieties in bottles
including locally crafted, German and
domestic beers. Add a plate of delicious
schnitzel, red cabbage and warm potato
salad and you are quickly transported to
a German beer garden without leaving
Michigan. “People come here for a good,
social time,” says Elaine. The addition of
live music and a patio makes Stein Haus a
popular destination for all ages.
Bay City is not on a bay, but on the
Saginaw River (where the Fourniers
also run dining cruises out to Saginaw
Bay on Lake Huron). It’s a hip little town
Schnitzel Red Cabbage and Warm Potato Salad
The Stein Haus, in Bay City
with a lively downtown strip featuring
locally owned cafés such as World Café
International Bistro with Lebanese styled
menu items, and St. Laurent Brothers nuts
and chocolate shop where you can buy bags
of candy sure to make you feel nostalgic.
This is all part of the Great Lake Bays travel
region (www.visitgreatlakesbay.org) where
you can “tour the triangle” in your car
between Bay City, Midland and Saginaw.
A perfect stop on the route between Bay
City and Midland is Shari at The Willard
Hillton restaurant near Auburn, where
Chef/Owner Shari Smith, Executive Chef
Jacob Austin and Pastry Chef Maria Austin
have created an exciting dining experience
in “the middle of somewhere.” Don’t blink
or you will miss it and that would be a
shame. The team grow their own produce
and herbs from seed and pride themselves
on serving delicious, healthy food. “Build