Journey to Wonderland

Getting away from the known reminds us that the world is a big complex place.  You don’t have to go very far to find that out. 

Wonderland Distillery got into making whiskey, gin and vodka two years ago and has started racking up accolades for the quality of their products, especially their whiskeys.   Located just off the harbor in Muskegon, Michigan; the distillery recently and unexpectedly morphed into a destination.  One that cuts through terrain many city dwellers don’t know exists. The 3 ½ hour drive to sample Wonderland’s wares included a stop in Saugatuck and revealed a view of the world that was both familiar and alien. 

As picturesque as a fairy-tale hamlet, Saugatuck’s been magnet for artists and weekenders from Chicago and Detroit since the 19^th century.  Winding down curving streets to the center of town, it feels small and knowingly exclusive.   Because it’s after Labor Day, even at high noon the streets are as languid as a lizard on a rock.  Many of the restaurants and art shops lining Culver Street are closed. Most of the sidewalk traffic is headed to The Butler, a bar and restaurant that’s been a fixture overlooking Kalamazoo Lake’s harbor for almost sixty years.  But just like the city, waits to get into one of the only restaurants still open after tourist season can run close to hour. 

With a population that doesn’t quite reach 1000, Saugatuck’s the opposite of something that pulses with industry and diversity.  Homogenous and cloistered, it’s a place where differences stand out.  One group is an exception.  Like Provincetown, Massachusetts, Saugatuck for decades has been a haven for gay people attracted to the area’s natural amenities and its artistic leanings.

People wait so patiently at The Butler because the food checks two important boxes; it’s plentiful and very good.  Classically American with a nod to the region’s specialties; especially fish, it’s menu would be recognizable, with a few exceptions, to diners 100 years ago.

When a restaurant says an entrée’s a signature specialty of the house, it can pay to listen.  The Pan Fried Great Lakes Walleye would be a standout dish anywhere in the country.  Ample, and spooned with lemon Dijon sauce, the fish shared the platter with fresh sautéed asparagus, tomatoes and red skin mashed potatoes.  Extra salt and fat in the form of butter weren’t used to hide or heighten flavors.  A light touch with seasoning let every item on the plate speak for itself.  That characteristic sweetness you expect from perch may have been missing from The Lake Perch Basket, but the fish and generous mound of fries still satisfied and provided tasty fuel for the last lap into Muskegon.

Unselfconscious and stout hearted, Muskegon feels like a working class town that gets done what needs to be done.  Shying away from heavy industry and the environmental concerns it spawns, the move has been to take advantage of the city’s Lake Michigan shoreline through tourism.  Directly to the south is Norton Shores, another small city that’s primarily residential and one that has long focused its attention on the relaxing aspects of the lake.  Cottages, time shares, B & B’s and vacation homes skirt the shoreline. 

As close as they are geographically, the two cities aren’t much alike demographically.  Larger by about 10,000 people, Muskegon is much more racially mixed with a black population of a little over 30%.  Norton Shores is 92% White and 3% Black.  Hispanic population gains have not registered significantly on the southwest edge of Michigan. 

Something of the cosmopolitan could be felt in Wonderland’s bar and restaurant.  Relaxed and cordial, settling down for a late afternoon cocktail and informal meal was automatic.  Whiskey flights and a wide assortment of sophisticated and forward thinking cocktails are available along with bar food that aspires to and succeeds at soaring past expectations.  Comprising blended whiskey, anise liqueur and aromatic anise bitters, cane sugar and lemon expression, the Timber Beast was a cocktail that demanded to be ordered.  It’s a wonderfully intriguing drink, as long as it stays cold.  Rooftop Garden, a simpler cocktail of cucumber infused vodka, lime cordial and orange blossom water is as refreshing as it sounds.  No cocktail is over $10 and you can tell the bar takes as much pride in their mixology as they do at Chicago’s vaunted The Aviary. 

A disappointing charcuterie board, a delicious but deceptive short rib nacho course, duck dumplings that often aren’t available and an outstanding taco tray dominate the food menu.  Prices here don’t intimidate either and can be very wallet friendly.  The short ribs found on the nachos and in the LA -> MKG tacos are both doused in gochujang cheese sauce that transforms them into something magnificent.  Gochujang, a staple in any Korean kitchen, has everything you’d ever want in a flavor enhancer.  Versatile, distinctive and malleable; its use here proved a superb inspiration.  Usually the tray of 3 assorted tacos, plentiful salsa and warm mountain of fresh tortilla chips goes for $12.  Wednesday, it shoots down to $9.  It’s hard to think of anywhere in Chicago that offers artisan cocktails and casual plates of Wonderland’s caliber.  From the looks of it, Muskegon seems to appreciate it local treasure. 

Wonderland Distilling Co.

1989 Lakeshore Dr.

Suite B

Muskegon, Mi  49441

www.wonderlanddistilling.com