This Restaurant Is The Most Fascinating In Michigan, Food Site Says

MICHIGAN — Diners who want both good food and a restaurant that tells a story should head to the Bavarian Inn in Frankenmuth, according to a food site’s inventory of "The Most Fascinating Restaurant In Every State."

Food Love, whose content includes recipes, food news, and opinion pieces, ranked the selections. Some states had more than one restaurant in the ranking. Illinois had three, and Arizona, California, Connecticut, Maine and New York each had two on the list.

Bavarian Inn ranked No. 51 among the 58 restaurants on the list. Editors said:

"You'd be forgiven for arriving in Frankenmuth and thinking you'd somehow ended up in Bavaria – this Germanic-style town reflects the area's German roots," editors wrote.

The website noted the Bavarian Inn is best known for its traditionally dressed waiting staff, who serve up family-style dinners of fried chicken, noodle soup, and wiener schnitzel, often to the sound of a toe-tapping polka band.

The Bavarian Inn has received nearly 12,000 Google reviews with a 4.3/5 score.

"I highly recommend their butter noodles and potato cheese puffs, the flavor is OUT of this world and I would highly recommend to anyone who loves comfort food and German food," one reviewer wrote.

"A once-in-a-lifetime experience. I couldn’t possibly fit enough photos in this post to represent the magnitude of all of the shops the Bavarian Inn has below the restaurant," another reviewer wrote.

The ranking was put together based on user reviews, awards and accolades, and first-hand experience by members of the Food Love team.

“There are countless restaurants in America that tell a story – whether it's because they were beloved by presidents or film stars, because they reflect the state’s own fascinating history, or because they were the birthplace of a dish that went on to become iconic,” Food Love wrote.

Tennessee’s Prince’s Hot Chicken in Nashville topped the ranking. The restaurant is best known for its spicy fried chicken, which "was invented after Thornton Prince’s scorned lover tried to take revenge on him by adding a significant amount of chili and spice to his favorite fried chicken,” the site said. "Far from hating it, he loved it – and he spent his time perfecting the recipe before opening his own restaurant."

Rounding out the top five were:

No. 2 Gianni’s at the Villa, in Miami, Florida, housed in the mansion where fashion designer Gianni Versace lived – and died.

No. 3 Katz’s Delicatessen in New York City, founded in 1888 and featured in films and television shows, including the famous Meg Ryan scene in “When Harry Met Sally.”

No. 4 Golden Steer Steakhouse in Las Vegas, Nevada, whose famous diners have included Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra, Joe DiMaggio and Natalie Wood.

No. 5 The Griswold Inn In Essex, Connecticut, built in 1776 to house shipyard workers who worked on the first warship for the American Revolution and steeped in local and national history since.