Small town of Falmouth, MI, offers several pleasant surprises

Wonderful surprises in a small town. That’s where you often find them.

While traveling in Northern Michigan, we visited our winter Florida neighbor Dennis Daniels, who lives just outside of Lake City. His wife, Jean was visiting family in Ohio, so when time for lunch came around, he suggested a short road trip to Falmouth.

I once ran a road race in Falmouth, MA, but wasn’t aware there was a Falmouth in Michigan. However, the Michigan version is just as scenic as the Atlantic namesake.

Dennis suggested we wait a few minutes before heading out to lunch. “Right now, they’re busy with the farmers,” he grinned. “Let’s wait a few minutes...And there is a dairy right across the street.” He wasn’t kidding.

With a population of less than a thousand, the small town has a wonderful restaurant, specializing in home cooked (and baked) food. The place is Duane’s. and the food isn’t fancy, it’s great. The places bakes it’s own bread, pies, cookies and other pastries.

Another surprise is behind the restaurant, it’s Ebel’s General Store, which has been around since 1920. Today, Ebel’s located in a modern building with large basement, and if the store doesn’t have it, you don’t need it. You can buy anything from a tractor, to clothing to an extremely large selection of meats and foods. There is a large selection of jerky sausages, including one variety containing locally grown cherries.

If you ever are in the area, a trip to Falmouth is well worth your time. Your taste buds will like it as well.

And after we said goodbye to Dennis, we stopped briefly in Lake City at a local shop that makes pasties. a northern Michigan specialty. It’s sort of a pie filled with meat and vegetables. The shop had several varieties of pasties, and the lady working in the store recommended one with rutabaga and beef.

It was a fun day visiting a friend and neat small town places.