City Park Grill’s Awesome Coffee

Bottoms Up

By Lynda Wheatley | Dec. 18, 2021

Admit it. The holiday season is fun, but it is exhausting. Somewhere between the building of gingerbread houses, shopping for gifts, and decking of halls, you must take time for you. And while a nap is ideal and, quite frankly, delicious, attaining rest in the place you make your endless to-do lists is an exercise in futility. We suggest an equally invigorating, albeit upright, alternative: an hour perched on a stool before the elegant 32-foot solid mahogany bar Frank J. Gruclich installed in his then windowless, gas lamp-lit Petoskey haunt, The Annex, in 1888. Today, sunlight trickles in and gas lamps (and, well … Frank, of course) are long gone, but as we inch toward 2022, the place — now City Park Grill — remains a respite for the weary (young Ernest Hemingway included). Belly up and take a breather. Your only company need be a snifter of the eatery’s own Awesome Coffee. Made from City Park Grill Blend coffee (specially house-roasted by sister restaurant Roast & Toast), this elegant and toasty upper is enhanced with a rich combo of Grand Marnier, Bailey's, and Kahlua; topped with whipped cream and a whisper of organic cinnamon; and finished with a caramelized rim. Consider yourself restored. Find it at 432 E. Lake St., Petoskey. (231) 347-0101, www.cityparkgrill.com