Suomi Home Bakery & Restaurant

In case you did not know, Michigan’s Upper Peninsula has a very large Finnish community and influence.  The UP or Yoop is dispersed with many Finnish restaurants like the Suomi Home Bakery and Restaurant.  The building was built in 1869 by Edward Miller initially as a furniture store, then meeting hall for the Knight's of Columbus, before becoming the cafe that it is today in 1967.  Of all the places we have had the opportunity to try up there, Suomi has the best Finnish baked pancake (pannukakku) and Pasty we have ever tasted and every time we are in the area we make it a point to stop in.  Located just off the Keweenaw waterway in Houghton, MI, the Suomi is a typical small, town café.  It has its regulars that come in and the staff seem to know them quite well and speak the Finnish/Scandanavia language with many of its regulars.  Then you have the tourists and visitors like us who find the language very interesting.  The first thing we noticed was the menu being in Finnish with English subtitles.  We got tipped off to try the pannukakku here so we knew we were getting this then Topher saw the Pasty and read its description and just had to try that too so we split the two.  If you have never had them, the pannukakku is their version of a pancake, it is more of a crust-less egg breakfast custard pie.  Almost seemed more like a French toast. It was served with a warm, we have had it with raspberry sauce as well as with blueberry.  The pasty, a legacy of miners from the British Isle, is a puffed, flaky crust filled with beef, potatoes, rutabaga, onion, and carrots. There seems to be a big debate with the local populationon how to order it with gravy or ketchup.  We chose the best way and that is to forgo each and just have it plain.  Still delicious!!! The idea behind them was it was an easy, convenient lunch that could be eaten out of one hand.  If you are ever in Houghton, stop in and try some yumminess!  Trust us on this one and you will be glad you did!