Fingers Crossed — Restaurant in Leelanau Township

My wife and I decided to take a drive and found the garage for lunch on Saturday in January. I was not expecting much but as soon as I walked in I could smell that they smoked their meats on premises.

Waitress was very helpful and polite. I was informed that they had 2 Reuben specials left as well as a number of other smoked specials. We started with some sweet potato chips with homemade aioli, they were very light and airy, great appetizer.

I hit the Reuben and my wife ordered the pulled pork sandwich. My corned beef was so tender it was falling apart, hands down best Reuben I have had, and I have sampled a lot! My wife’s pulled pork was amazing. I think I had as much as she did! We had stopped at Hop lot on the way up the previous evening and I had ordered their pulled pork sandwich. I have no problem saying the garage’s pork made hop lot look like amateurs and that pork wasn’t bad.

Bottom line, you can’t go wrong with this restaurant. I wish I didn’t live 4 hours away or I would visit the garage more often! Can’t wait...

My group of 14 and I had reservations since January.. I checked in a few times to confirm and even called this evening to see if we could change the time by 90 minutes. The lady was extremely nice and said that was fine. We went in and they were confused - they thought we were coming tomorrow night... Noooo... Had messages through messenger since Jan! The older man was very rude and said they didn't take reservations and they again, thought it was tomorrow night. He continued to argue with me so I said maybe we should just go elsewhere. He said, yes you should. I was very calm and trying to figure out why there was such a huge miscommunication and this guy was only concerned about not accepting reservations. I showed him messages since January and he wasn't interested. We went to Tucker's and they were awesome! Very accommodating (and we will be here again tomorrow night for our original reservation). A few other reviews stated they had the same issues, so don't bother with the garage. Keep walking...

Call this 3.5 stars. We have been coming to Northport a few times a year for over a decade. Boy howdy are things changing fast! Never thought we would have to say goodbye to the old Garage. It had always been a reliable spot for affordable lunch and dinner, and it felt like an Up North bar and grill should feel: comfortable, relaxed, and a little bit sticky.

The food at the new Garage is AWESOME, don’t get me wrong. Legit good BBQ (and we know good BBQ - my husband is a KC native). But it’s pricey and the selection is limited. The music was WAY to loud (grumble grumble, I know) and the decor is weirdly upscale and bland for a BBQ joint. It just doesn’t make sense.

Drinks were great, service was great, so maybe I’m just a curmudgeon and miss the old vibes. My recommendation? Grab some takeout and carry it over to the marina park with a six pack. That’ll feel like the Northport we...