This silent auction item will be presented for final bidding at our annual picnic on Thursday, August 4th.

Sit down to a hearty, homemade meal, circa 1910!

You and your dining companions will be transported back to a simpler time with cuisine made from scratch on an authentic wood-fired cook stove. You will dine by oil lamplight on locally-sourced food lovingly made from historic recipes while seated in the dining room.  The menu features historic recipes with a focus on seasonal and local foods with homemade cakes, breads, pies, jams, jellies, and pickles.  Help out with the cooking if you like.  Learn how to use a wood cook stove, retrieve refreshments from the icebox, and pull the last dish from the oven. Or just relax and enjoy the parlour amusements, pump organ, phonograph, and games that go along with your Suttons Bay dining experience.

Read a review of our Historic Dinners

Hillside is Yours!

When you book your Suttons Bay dining experience with a Historic Dinner, your group will have the entire homestead to yourself, giving you time to enjoy the amenities, orchards, porches, pump organ, and phonograph. Tour the guest rooms or feel free to linger in the kitchen and maybe even have a little fun cooking with us! Outside you can relax on the porch swing and tree swing, stroll the grounds with views of orchards and rolling hills while the chickens keep you company. There is also a very affectionate cat that resides in the back of the house or outside. If our guests request her company we will let her visit for a while, otherwise she is tucked away.

Menu Selection

Upon confirming the date and details, we will send you menu options planned just for you. Please choose one of the menus. We’ve planned our menus so that all the foods complement each other, but you may pick and choose a bit if you would like. If you have any food allergies, sensitivities, or favorites, please let us know and we’ll tailor your Suttons Bay dining to meet your needs! Dinner usually includes a main course, three side dishes, bread with butter and jam and dessert. All homemade of course!

Drinks

Please feel free to bring wine, beer, soft drinks, or cocktails. We will have glasses laid out for your use. We provide coffee, hot tea, a cold drink like lemonade or iced tea, and of course, water.

Dining Times

You can select the time for the dinner that suits you and your party best. As an example, some folks decide to arrive around 6pm and eat around 6:45 pm. This affords ample time to tour the farmhouse, relax, and socialize without being rushed.