Swing into Punzel’s Cottage just north of Buckley for lunch and find reserved parking for every brand of Scandinavian. Punzel’s flaxen-haired proprietress, Judy Hauser, has stocked the nooks of her snug cottage with stacks of wool Norwegian sweaters, carved Dala horses, Pippi Longstocking books, Swedish hardtack, pickled herring and everything else that will transport Northern Michigan Danes, Finns, Swedes—and wannabes—back to the motherland.
There’s no menu at Punzel Scandinavian, just a gorgeous open-faced surprise from the garden created by Hauser. Sit under the pergola surrounded by baskets of edible nasturtiums, watch turtles sunbathing in the pond and enjoy chilled fruit soups and Scandinavia’s traditional sandwiches, such as rye hard bread with goat cream cheese, gravlax, dilled cucumber salad, radishes, beet greens, pea vine tendrils, lemon, and fresh edible blooms. Come by in the afternoon for impromptu fika, the Scandinavian snack with warm lingonberry muffins. As always, if you ask, there are guided tours of the garden peppered with folktales and lessons in Norse mythology.
8720 C-633, 5 miles north of Buckley. For lunch reservations call 231-263-7427, punzelscandinavian.com.