On the first warm weekend of the year, this one happened to be in March, I took off work early to get some hiking in and hang out in the outdoors. Since there were a bit of activities around Pokagon State park and the town of Fremont, I knew I could find a great tenderloin and make a blog out of it. So as Fremont anchors the blog, I actually will be writing about all over northern Steuben County on the far northeast part of our state.
The Tenderloin
Along the sprawling glacial basins southwest of Fremont is a build-up of residential lake houses and neighborhoods. Here you can find slew of bars and restaurants that offer up drinks, good food, and in some instances – the classic breaded pork sandwich known as The Tenderloin. Club Paradise is one of those such places we found during our visit. Yes! No pre-frozen garbage patty thrown in a pot of oil here. You get a fresh, lightly battered succulent loin patty with a thick toasted bun. It’s oversized, and because the meat is so tender, it flops over the bun on both sides. I was able to get my favored topping for it – a cup of spicy buffalo sauce. Perfect for spreading and/or dipping. The place, itself, has a whole laid back margaritaville feel to it. It feels like you are on vacation while enjoying your meal. We had a table by the fish tank, so the lighting is a bit off on the tenderloin pic – a bit more blue and orange colors and shadows in it. But rest assured, when you order a tenderloin at Club Paradise, you are getting one of the best versions of Indiana’s finest sandwich.
The Town
I don’t think you can get a true feel for the town of Fremont unless you stop in at The Bull Pen Cafe for breakfast on a Saturday morning. The regulars come in to socialize and start their weekend; it seems like everyone knows everyone else’s name. And, of course, they were welcoming to a stranger who was looking for an appetizing breakfast to start his day checking out the area. It couldn’t have gotten any better when the smoked sausage and eggs came out. The sausage was split and caramelized on the grill, eggs cooked with the yokes still gooey, and the potatoes were nice and crisp. It was fitting start to the day and a perfect little place to have on Main St in a small town.
Up here near Fremont is the Indiana-Michigan-Ohio tripoint. You can stand in three states at the same time. Although it seems like you are seeking out an apparent meaningless point of attraction, it can be satisfying to get there and it really makes you aware of where your place on the map is at. I’ve been to the four corners monument in UT/CO/NM/AZ back in my teens. It did seem like a whole lot of nothing in the middle of nowhere. Well, the IN/MI/OH tripoint is also a whole lot of nothing in the middle of nowhere. Due to a combination of factors including the Toledo War and the movement of Indiana’s northern border to get more water access at Lake Michigan, it is not located at the upper northeast corner of Indiana. It’s a couple miles south – so you get a “pie” of half Indiana, quarter Michigan, quarter Ohio. At this tripoint there is a rock serving as a monument that acknowledges the intersection. If you walk around 130 ft south in the middle of the road, a box sits in the ground. Stand on that and take a pic – boom – 3 states at the same time. Although this time of year the box seems buried under the mud from the dirt road from the storm the night before. I didn’t want to go digging (I had been there before) so I just got a nice pic of the landscape between the states. It’s interesting to see that Ohio is lush farmland, while Michigan is neglected prairie. You know… it’s just a spot to visit. And when you look at a map of the USA, you can point to the exact spot and say, “I was right there at one time.”
In downtown Fremont there is an ice cream stand called DJ’s Tempting Treats & BBQ. Walking up to the window I asked for their specialty and they suggested the lemon soft serve. Now, you see here… I’m not a huge fan of lemon. They’re usually the last to get eaten in a package of Life Savers or Skittles. But in the ice cream form at DJ’s, it was great. Bright yellow and with a tall twist, it is worth a stop travelling on 120 to get a treat. I will say though, don’t order an ice cream cone on a windy day – even if it is cool outside, it will melt fast! It’s something with the friction of the wind against the surface area of the ice cream, it had me grabbing for extra napkins and I ended up with sticky hands and yellow drops on my sleeves and pants. A cup would have been better that day, but it was well worth it as then I wouldn’t have gotten the great picture of the cone as you see in the pic.
Satek Winery sits right outside Fremont and is open every day for some free samples. You can come inside at the bar and choose from various flavors and sweetness to help you pick out the appropriate brand of wine to take home. Open since 2001 they are the first one in northeast Indiana and one of the first 8 in the whole state. Although the grapes are sourced offsite, all of the fermenting, flavoring, and bottling is done in the small building on site. They were able to give me a tour of the facility and I got to see the vats as well as the machinery to fill and cork the bottles. I picked up their classic “101 Lakes Red” which is their signature semisweet red wine that’s been around since the beginning. I also picked up a new one called “Jackpot”. It is a bit dryer, but has a taste of cherries. If you don’t drink wine, the number of varieties and selections can be a bit intimidating at the grocery store. You run the risk of paying full price for a flavor that you may not like. Coming out to a place like Satek you can ask questions, have them make suggestions and, most importantly, try before you buy.
We go to a little different coffee shop this time in our Fremont blog. Amanda Lee Coffee is located inside the outlet mall in the corner of Interstates 90 & 69. It’s also not open for breakfast!?? OK… so the shop is contractually bound to only open when the mall opens. The good news is that you could still get that main street hometown feel and locally sourced coffee bean for drinks in a commercial district. Everything from the comfy couches to sip your drinks to the crafts for sale made by local artists makes this a great place to get your caffeine fix and relax. Keep an eye out for the pinboard on the wall where people mark their hometowns when they come to visit. Being off the expressway, they get a lot of traffic from around the world. Although I doubt the people were serious when they pinned places in northern Alaska, Siberia, and the outback of Australia.
This is the second time I’ve stayed in an inn in an Indiana state park (lots of “in’s” there). The Potawatomi Inn in Pokagon State Park has been welcoming visitors for almost 100 years. The original 2-story structure is still standing and they have added-on to the hotel as well as modernized the rooms over the years. I booked a small room in the old hotel, but got upgraded to one of the newer rooms (in no way am I complaining). The place is more of a resort than just a place to lay your head for the night. Although the room was pretty basic, there are plenty of activities to do on the grounds. You can hang out on the sun deck overlooking the lake, splash around in the large enclosed pool, head to the beach area and rent a kayak or canoe, or dine in Lakeview Restaurant, the original hotel eatery. What I found most fascinating is relaxing in the original hotel lobby in the old structure. It has been restored to the appearance of the original inn. You can find people hanging out on the couches by the fireplaces playing games or just enjoying a bite to eat while surrounded by the history.
The first warm weekend of the year I like to head outside and go on a long hike. Pokagon is one of my favorite places for that. The area is shaped by the glaciers which give it rolling hills and deep lakes. Being March, the leaves haven’t started budding - taking away the green color of the scenery, but that allows you to see more of the landscape. Some of the state parks have hiking challenges, in my Rockville blog a couple years ago I tackled the 5 mile Turkey Run Challenge. Pokagon offers the 8 mile Hell’s Point Challenge. I had already completed this challenge, and it is the first hike of the year, so I just went on a 4-mile hike from the hotel to the signature feature of the park – Hell’s Point. Formed from a waterfall in the glacier that transferred sediment to a cone that remained when the ice melted, it is the highest point in the park. You can tackle this from the front climbing wooden stairs or ascending a gradual slope from the backside. I’m going to be brutally honest about Hell’s Point though – there is nothing to see there. I’m sure at one point the trees were shorter and you had some magnificent views of the landscape, but today there is just a porch, a sign, and the side of a thick forest. Even now when the leaves are gone, you still only get a background of brown branches. Pokagon still is though one of my favorite places to hike, and with the newer trails you do get elevation changes and sites to see, but unless you have a time machine handy, prepare to be disappointed by the views of Hell’s Peak.
Fremont and northern Steuben County is like a little resort area. It is nice place to spend a weekend with their nature trails, unique lodging, food and drink. Even the activities I didn’t get to like being on the lakes, shopping, and the giant toboggan at the park. While enjoying the area be sure to take a break and stop to enjoy one of the finest tenderloin sandwiches in the state.
by Michael Tomko
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