Essentials: Cherry Pie at the Cherry Hut, Beulah, Michigan
A local institution dedicated to all things cherry
This roadside joint in northern Michigan started as the Kraker family’s pie stand—supplied by their orchards—in 1922. A century later, it has grown into a local institution dedicated to all things cherry. The down-home operation ships homemade jams and salsas. It also has a full dine-in menu, but you could probably make an entire meal out of cherry muffins, a chef’s salad with cherry vinaigrette, a cherry-ade float, and a slice of cherry pie á la mode. You certainly wouldn’t be the first, or the last. —Jeff Ruby
Jeff Ruby is a Chicago-based writer. He was formerly the chief dining critic at Chicago magazine, and his writing has appeared in Esquire, GQ, Time, Newsweek, Men's Journal, and Southwest: The Magazine.