The Narly Whale, Cedarville, MI

 

      Cedarville, MI is located about 31 miles east of the Mackinac Bridge in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.  We camp all over the UP, but at least once a year at Hessel, just west of Cedarville.  It is our nearest town for supplies, gas, and Barb loves the small casino.  Last year we bought several pounds of perch and walleye to vacuum seal and freeze for our winter sojourns.  She LOVES the perch and so do I, but how can anyone love perch more than walleye?   

      

      Although we planned to do the same this year, especially in light of my not drawing a bear tag we wanted to top off the freezer with fresh Lake Huron fish fillets.  The store is The Narley Whale, an unassuming little shop on the main street in Cedarville, most identifiable by its bright blue exterior.  This is primarily a fish market, but while exploring their website about ordering in advance I discovered they also offer take out fried fish and pasty orders for dinner.  Pastys are only available fresh on Wednesday, but available frozen all the time.  

      We always try and keep one night a week on our trips for dining out to explore the local cuisine.  narleywhale.com     Again, because this is a fish market, there is no seating.  

Fish dinners of walleye or perch

Family fish dinners

Pastys

The quintessential UP argument

      They also have a good collection of souvenirs, craft beers, and wine.  We did pick up 7 pounds of fresh lake perch to vacuum seal and freeze for this winter as well as a couple pounds of smelt to smoke later this summer.  

   

7 pounds of fresh lake perch

Smelt for smoking later

      On our 'dine out' night I picked up an order of perch dinner with redskin tater salad, coleslaw, hushpuppies, and tartar sauce to go while Barb had he whitefish with sides.  We found the fish to be tasty fresh but needed some seasoning.  The Red Skin Tater Salad was delicious as was the Creamy Coleslaw. Some of the best we've ever had.  The Tartar Sauce cured all of my seasoning concerns.  Cost for these was $32.  I picked up our fresh fish order on Thursday in order to get it vacuum sealed and frozen.  Another good trip to the UP in the books, next trip we'll be sure to not only pick up more fish here but dine on some tasty meals as well.  We rate this place:

 

"I used to like fishing because I thought it had some larger significance.  Now I like fishing cause it's the one thing I can think of that probably doesn't"

John Gierach

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