I goog'd the distance between Canton, Ohio and Muskegon, MI.....6.5 hours of drive time. It was clear across the state of Michigan. We decided to do the entire trip, there/eat/back, in one day. Jon wanted to be home to hang out with friends that evening, so that was our plan :)
We rented a car the night before, and went to bed that night earlier than normal. Jon set his alarm for 3:45 a.m. on Saturday, and basically had to drag me out of bed by 4:00 a.m. We hopped in the car, and headed towards Michigan. Around 7:00 a.m. I called Papa Bear's to see how late they were open, and if they served the Grizzly all day long. *We were not able to make contact with the restaurant prior to our trip, so fingers were crossed it would work out.* The lady said they were open until 2:00 p.m. on Saturdays and cook the Grizzly the entire day. She asked if we were coming from out of town (probably based on all my questions at 7:00 a.m.!). I told her we were on our way already driving from Canton, Ohio and she squealed with delight that we were driving all that way for their food. We discussed our arrival time so she could get things ready for us.
I slept for most of the trip...thank goodness Jon was able to wake up and drive :)
We arrived at Papa Bear's around 11:00 a.m. Here is what we pulled up to....
...that's right.....A HOUSE!
We pulled into the parking lot to find the husband of the family sitting on his Harley waiting to go for a ride. When we got out of the car he said "long way to drive for some food, but glad to have you here", then rode off. I guess he had been waiting to see if the caller from that morning would actually show up!
We walk into the back of the house and are instantly greeted like we are celebrities! They led us to a table that had 6 chairs and a sign that said "reserved" on it. They weren't sure how many of us were coming, and wanted to make sure we had a table :) How thoughtful!
We sat down, ordered drinks, then ordered the Grizzly, which was marked on the menu to feed a family of 6 - 8 people. Meet "The Grizzly", a 10 - 12 pound hash brown stuffed with ham, bacon, sausage, and cheese. We opted out of the veggies and the sour cream. Due to ours being all meat and cheese, it weighed closer to the 12 pound mark.
The quaint house had been decorated with "grizzly" decor. The person who greeted us on the Harley was the influence behind the name, the painting, and the restaurant...he was Papa Grizzly.
Painted on the "family room" wall
We were brought out this huge plate of food, and let me just say.....it was the most flavorful, delicious breakfast food we have ever eaten. Jon could not get over how tasty the bacon was. Turns out they get their meat from a farm in the same area and have a local butcher process things for them. To sum up the trip...below are pictures of the food, and the happiness and fullness it brought :)
Getting ready to dig in!
First bite....oh sooo good!!!
Jon seeing how much it weighs
First peek into the meaty goodness :)
I went for the go diagonal approach....Jon went for eating from one end to the other...
Taking a break mid eating to take a picture!
Contemplating if it's even possible to finish....
picture taken after the last bite was eaten
WUSSSSS!!!!
SOOO full....but man those leftovers were delicious.
This has now become known as trip we will take yearly so we can share this deliciousness with our friends and family. Let us know if you 'd ever want to join us on our yearly trip :)
