Stubbs Sweetwater Grill

Oct. 18, 2006

Stubb’s Sweetwater Grill keeps Northport local residents and visitors well fed and well watered as it has been doing for the last 13 years. Owners Darren and Meghan Hawley purchased what was once a simple tavern in 1994.  Since then, the couple have turned into a comfortably casual establishment with a charming northern ambiance and an affordable menu that features both local and international dishes.
Stubb’s is only a block from the Northport marina as you drive into town. Open for both lunch and dinner, guests can choose to be seated in either the front section -- dark and cozy -- or in-season, dine in the light and airy back porch.  
If you just wish to meet with friends sans dinner, Stubb’s is a great place for drinks at the bar and you may select their much sought-after tapas.  
Having dined there in every season, including after the Fourth of July fireworks (crazy, fun and hectic!) to late fall and winter when things are more laid back, Stubb’s always comes through with delicious food, well prepared and well-presented with excellent service.
For starters, try Stubb’s scrumptious Fried Manchego Cheese with imported olives and a spicy marinara sauce; or Thai Dragon Rolls, stuffed with Asian pork sausage and cabbage. For the seafood devotee, try Stubb’s Steamed Prince Edward Island Mussels dressed over with a garlic, white wine, tomatoes and parsley sauce. Other appetizers include Coconut Shrimp; Roasted Tomato and Olive Crostini; and chicken quesadillas. 
On our last visit over a leisurely lunch, we delighted in shitake mushroom soup, a creamy delight served with oyster crackers along with Reuban sandwiches.  All of Stubb’s soups are made fresh daily.
“Starting this fall we have daily lunch specials,” said Meghan Hawley.  “For only $5 we offer a choice of sandwich or a hot entrée, beverage and a large yummy cookie.  You can cal ahead and carry out or dine in.”
Darren’s “Tavern Fare” selections include Jack’s burger –cooked to order – a one-half pound of grilled ground beef. Or try the Tavern Burger, Olive Burger or American Burger.  Jack’s is made with cracked pepper, fresh garlic and flamed with Jack Daniel’s whiskey.  The olive burger is served with imported olives and your choice of cheese.  Or opt for a simple basket of fish and chips or chicken fingers, or battered cod or chicken finger sandwich.  Tasty, too, is buttered noodles with parmesan cheese.
The Black Bean Vegetarian Burritos are popular and filling, served with grilled peppers, onions, rice, black beans and smothered with Monterey Jack cheese.  Or try crispy and tender beer-battered perch with French fries, coleslaw and the chef’s own Remoulade with lemon wedges.
Stubb’s also offers Sweetwater Specialties dining choices. My companion and I tried a nightly special, Chef Hawley’s Wild Mushroom Chicken.  We were completely delighted with the tender and moist grilled breast of chicken served with wild mushroom cream sauce over linguini with crisp yet tender veggies. 
At the higher-priced end of the menu (and nothing is priced over $25), is the Black Pepper and Garlic Crusted Delmonico Steak with shitake mushrooms – at 14 ounces maybe we will order that next time to split. Other menu entrees include Parmesan Crusted Whitefish, Five Spiced Ahi Tuna and Shitake Stir Fry, Canadian Snow Crabs, Potato Crusted Great Lakes Walleye, Sautéed Chicken with Prosciutto and Sage, Roasted Ducking, Eggplant Marinara, and Penne a la Vodka.
Local, national and imported wines are featured on Stubb’s wine list.  The local wines, priced between $21 and $28 per bottle, include Shady Lane’s Serenity, Leelanau Cellars Tall Ship Chardonnay Bowers Harbor’s “Unwooded” Chardonnay and Pinot Grigio, Gill’s Pier Sauvignon  Blanc and L. Mayby’s Fizz. The Hawley’s feature California wines. Four Vines “Naked” and Butterfield Station and Steele Chardonnay’s “California Curvee,” and Sierra Vista Fume Blanc. Or select Casa Silva Chardonnay from Chili. Domaine Wachua Gruner Veltiner, Austria and Villa Giada Moscato d’Asti from Italy.
Stubb’s Chef Hawley, said by many to perhaps be “Northern Michigan’s most unrecognized culinary artist” – perhaps due to the end-of-the-peninsula location of Northport. Hawley graduated from the Culinary Institute of Arts and came to Northport with what he says is a “modern, no-nonsense approach to American cooking.”  Stubb’s offers upscale catering as well and has served over 35,000 persons over the last six years.
“We are very proud to be here – so many restaurants close their doors after a few years.  We just keep putting our heads down, doing our job. Making our customers happy makes us happy,” Meghan said with a big smile. “We have a great team helping us too!”


Stubb’s Sweetwater Grille is located in downtown Northport at 115 Waukazoo.   Phone: 231 386-7611 web site:  www.stubbsrestaurant.com   Winter hrs from 11: A.M. to close, Tuesday – Saturday (closed Sunday and Monday during winter hours).  Open year ‘round for special catering events.