July 18, 2025

Dinghy’s Smoked Barbeque Ribs

Tastemaker
By Lynda Wheatley | Feb. 27, 2021

Dinghy’s Restaurant & Bar in downtown Frankfort was hit particularly hard by the pandemic restrictions. “We don’t have a patio, and the City of Frankfort prohibits sidewalk tables. Because Dinghy’s is a very small restaurant, compliance with the social distancing restriction eliminated almost 75 percent of our seating,” owner Steve Christian told Northern Express. As a result, sales in the last year were down about 69 percent. And yet … Dinghy’s is still chugging along.

Christian credits a bump in takeout orders that followed his investment in better packaging: “We replaced Styrofoam clamshell boxes that cost less than 10 cents each for quality plastic microwaveable boxes that cost 47 cents each.” But we can’t overlook what Dinghy’s puts in them — most frequently, their locally famous smoked BBQ ribs. With two giant smokers in the eatery’s dedicated smoker room, Dinghy’s smokes seven different meats — pulled pork for their BBQ sandwich, tri-tip sirloin for their French dip sandwich, half-chicken, some of the best chicken wings around, andouille sausage for their bacon-wrapped sausage appetizer, and their utterly amazing, uber-meaty St. Louis-style pork ribs, which you can get with their own (and our favorite) sauce, or dry-rubbed.

Can’t decide? They’ll even let you do a half-rack of each (normally $16.99 per half) for the price of a full rack ($24.99). Really though, for your own good and that of Dinghy’s, do yourself a favor and pick up a full rack of each. The improved packaging, we attest, keeps them delicious for days. Find Dinghy’s at 415 Main St. Call (231) 352-4702 or order online at www.dinghysrestaurant.com.

Trending

Three Days of Art in Cadillac

The Cadillac Festival of the Arts kicks off on Thursday, July 17, with the Up North Arts Color Fun Run at 6pm at City Dock. … Read More >>

Adaptive Sailing

For this Beaches, Boats, & BBQ issue, we wanted to give a shoutout to Traverse Area Community Sailing (TACS) and their f… Read More >>

Pond Hill Turns 30!

Pond Hill Farm does a little bit of everything. It’s a brewery and a winery. A cafe and a market. A pizza joint and a … Read More >>

A Weekend for Cyclists

Two big biking events roll through northern Michigan this weekend. Friday, July 18, TART Trails celebrates the Tour de TART,… Read More >>