This unlikely combination comes together in a fun, rustic atmosphere at the Tin Star Grill in downtown Evergreen. The present owners bought the storefront that had been a donut shop for 30 years and continue the tradition of serving hand-crafted donuts to the locals and tourists. We stopped-in on a chilly Saturday afternoon in November for lunch before heading down to Lair O' the Bear Open Space for a hike.
They combined this with a barbeque catering business and thus the intriguing menu.
The menu is limited but extensive enough to cover the barbeque basics: chopped beef, pulled pork and chicken. There's a vegetarian sandwich made with asparagus, but I can't intelligently comment on that ("vegitarian barbeque" is an oxymoron to me).
The beef and pork are both smoked to perfect tenderness and without a lot of fatty trash left in it. The buns are basic but the chips are made in-house with a unique seasoning blend that I couldn't get enough of. The sandwiches are topped with fresh cole slaw, which sounded weird to me but was actually really good and complimented the smokey meats and slightly spicey sauce. I loved it and my wife would have had it again for dinner that night.
The atmosphere is rustic. I didn't see any highchairs on the first floor and there is limited seating. More room on the 2nd floor but the stairs are narrow and steep. School age kids will love the casual atmosphere, but you may have issues if you're travelling with an infant or toddler. Children's menu is limited to hamburgers, BUT (and they may hate me for telling you this) they invented a barbeque beef kid's meal when we asked.
Overall the food is great, the atmosphere is friendly (the owners were working the day we were there and they chatted with my wife and I about their business and the town and the Michigan/Ohio State football game) and terrific for older kids. Families with infants or toddlers might want to consider picking up lunch to-go and picnicing across the street at the city park along the bank of Bear Creek.
Enjoy!