I was in Marquette, Michigan trying to keep myself occupied and out of trouble. I guess I really couldn’t get in too much trouble as I did not have a car to explore the area, so I was left to discover on foot. The downtown area is about six to eight blocks of shops, restaurants and bars and very attractive waterfront with marinas, so this Raconteur was afoot for something interesting. I ended up in Marquette just to keep my Bride company as she had some business up there and then later in the week we had more business elsewhere. I had breakfast in a most charming and eclectic restaurant that was established in 1914 and still going strong. Donckers is a confectioner, a home-made ice cream parlor and a restaurant with the old-fashioned counter on two levels with tables on both floors as well, interspersed with all sorts of gifts. I was more interested in breakfast and I ordered their Corned Beef Hash with a couple of poached eggs and rye toast to get me started. The hash was very tasty, but quite a bit different from the more Kosher-style that I am used to back in Detroit, but I would have it again, and maybe the next time stop there for some home-made chocolates and of course some ice cream.

My Bride had touted me on Donckers and she had also suggested another restaurant that she had been to on one of her previous trips without me, and that was Vierling. For over one hundred years there has been a restaurant open that was established by Martin Vierling, it has had different owners, but the name has carried on. Vierling also was home to Marquette Harbor Brewery, but as you can surmise, I was not there to sample beer. I was there to have lunch and I was placed at a nice table with a great view of the waterfront. Since I was by myself, I wasn’t going to have anything fancy and picked out a personal size pizza with three different meats; I guess that I am pretty predictable. I might also add that Marquette establishments do not believe in small quantity when it comes to food, except for in the hotel that I was staying at.

Since I knew what I was going to have for lunch, I had to figure out what sounded interesting for a beverage to quench my thirst, because we all know that water can only go so far. I had found a wine that piqued my curiosity from Cosentino Winery from Lodi and it was a Cabernet Franc and I am very fond of that varietal. THE Franc 2015 was a charming wine from this winery that began in 1980 and they were one of the first designated and licensed Meritage wineries and that wine was called The Poet which began in 1989; I had years ago their 1998 vintage and hadn’t seen the wine offered since. In 1990 Cosentino Winery began THE Series based on a single varietal from their estate and THE Franc was a continuation of this series. The wine was aged for twenty months in a mix of French and Hungarian Oak and had that nose and color of Cabernet Franc that I have learned to enjoy and favor over the years. It was also a wine that I could really savor, in kind of a twisted way as I know that my Bride adores Cabernet Franc as well, but she left me in Marquette to do my own thing. After this wonderful lunch, I proceeded to walk back to the hotel and plan our dinner.