There were many things to see and do at the Petoskey Stone Festival, and you can see a complete slideshow at this link, but I confess I was particularly taken with Bubba’s Bar BQ. I decided it really needed its own post.
Bubba, who hails from Wolverine, has perfected the Art of Michigan Festival Fare. His menu is straightforward and comprehensive: BBQ pulled pork sandwiches, housemade french fries and potato chips, deep fried mushrooms, deep fried pickles, deep fried Oreo cookies, funnel cakes, and cold pop. What more could a person want?
Mrs. Bubba and two Bubba Grandchildren are heavily involved in the operation. It is a marvel of almost military precision. Trot up to the window and order your lunch. Granddaughter is extremely good at taking the order, toting up the bottom line, and making change. Mrs. Bubba is busy making sandwiches. The rest of the order is transmitted to Bubba and Grandson, who work the fryers. As you might imagine, they are very busy.
Bubba says that it is important to get the seasoning just right on the fries.
It is important, too, to put the seasoned salt and pepper on the fries and the powdered sugar on the funnel cakes.
I admired the appliances Bubba has collected or crafted for the operation. There is the french fry cutter.
There is the potato chip slicer.
It began as a hand-cranked implement picked up at a farm auction somewhere, but hand-cranking gets old when you are frying up this many potato chips in a day. Bubba replaced the handle with an electric drill, and that makes all the difference.
The results look like something that perhaps you ought not to eat, but one taste and you’re back up at the window ordering a second helping.
The homemade fries and potato chips and funnel cakes were all very well and good, but I have been curious about the deep-fried pickles for a whole year now. I decided to try a sample.
Try a deep-fried dill pickle
It was surprisingly good. The batter was light, almost like tempura, and the pickle was still crunchy and very, very pickly–an excellent complement to my BBQ sandwich. I found that one piece was quite enough, but a full order is 8 pieces. Next year I will plan to attend the Festival with seven friends.
I did not even think of trying the deep fried Oreo cookies, as I am on a health kick.
Torch Lake Views 
Cindy Lou
June 7, 2010
Ahhhhh…..between the pictures and your words, I’m drooling all over myself! Not a pretty thing this early on a Monday morn 🙂
Gerry
June 7, 2010
That’s OK. Wipe it off with your jammie sleeve.
Fee
June 7, 2010
A deep fried Oreo can’t be any worse (and may well be considerably better) than a deep fried Mars bar. Hang on, do you have Mars bars your side of the pond? Let’s hope so .. or this won’t make an ounce of sense.
I do like the ingenuity of the various appliances, it lends an extra touch of character to the food.
Gerry
June 7, 2010
We do, indeed, have Mars bars. Oh dear.
I like the ingenuity too. Bubba’s is all about character. Those kids are growing up learning all about hard work and teamwork. Heckuva combination.
P.j. grath
June 7, 2010
You are pretty funny, Gerry. The idea of a “health kick” that includes deep-fried, batter-coated dill pickles is one for the records. But who wants salad at a festival, anyway?
Gerry
June 7, 2010
OK, I was being a tiny bit ironic. But I’ll tell you what–Bubba’s stuff was fresh, fresh, fresh, and the batter on the dill pickle was very light. It really did make a good complement to the BBQ sandwich. My problem was all the salt. I behaved myself for almost a whole week, then blew the whole thing this morning with an almond bear claw at Sonny’s. But that was in a good cause. We needed to teach Ode and Crystal about bear claws.
Scott Thomas Photography
June 7, 2010
It’s America, we fry everything. Did he do up some fried Peanut Butter & Jelly? It was all the rage at last’s NY State Fair.
Gerry
June 7, 2010
No PB&J, Scott. Bubba is a purist, a meat and potatoes kind of chef. Then you’ve got your dill pickle and your mushrooms for garnish.
flandrumhill
June 9, 2010
I’d never heard of funnel cakes before, so I had to look them up. Now I’m feeling deprived. I can’t imagine anything originating with the Pennsylvania Dutch being unhealthy.
Gerry
June 9, 2010
I don’t know . . . I’m dubious about scrapple.
flandrumhill
June 9, 2010
I had to look up scrapple too. I’m dubious too. All that buckwheat can’t be good for you 😉
Marilyn Anderson
February 7, 2011
Hello, just stumbled upon this and am having so much fun reading things and drooling after reading the menu for Bubba’s. As former Torch Lake Township residents, we are amazed at all the changes since we started out there as newly weds almost 50 yrs ago.
In looking at the menu, and now being “cheese heads” from Wisconsin, you have to try deep fried cheese curds, they are the best, simply delicious, once eaten you will be hooked for life.
The Packers did an awesome job last nite in TX. Dick and Marilyn Anderson, formerly of Kewadin MI