CourtesyofIronBayRestaurant

veggie sides such as duchess potatoes, julienne carrots, squash and grilled asparagus. The restaurant sits at the head of the municipal marina, where there are more than 40 slips for transient boaters available on a first-come, first-served basis. staffordspier.com

Where to Dock: Stafford’s Pier Marina

Lake Huron

Carriage House

Combine a silver- and china-set table next to floor-toceiling windows overlooking the Straits of Mackinac with classic American cuisine, and it’s a recipe for fine Great Lakes dining. The menu at this hugely popular Mackinac Island restaurant, located at the Hotel Iroquois in Michigan, features fresh local and regional ingredients, says Suze Oostendorp. “Our whitefish is sourced from Lake Superior, our produce comes from Presque Isle farms, proteins from a Detroit family butcher, and Detroit City Rye features in our signature Old Fashion Rye.” For lunch, try the Mackinac whitefish sandwich on homemade cheese-dill bread, or the smoked whitefish cakes with mustard vinaigrette as a pre-dinner appetizer. Call the hotel for reservations in advance to tie up at its private dock to dine. carriagehousemackinac.com

Where to Dock: Mackinac Island State Harbor

Lake Erie

Jolly Roger’s Seafood House

The sign outside of this Port Clinton, OH-based eatery says it all: Lake Erie’s Finest Perch & Walleye. Every room in the restaurant offers a lake view, plus a large outside patio dining area is scenic, especially at sunset. “We offer a fast-casual dining experience and specialize in fresh lake fish,” says Edmond Hoty, owner. “You can get yellow perch or walleye as a sandwich over a bed of waffle fries, or as a dinner with your choice of homemade onion rings, waffle fries, or fresh breaded mushrooms, with a side of coleslaw, roll and house-made tartar sauce. We have a breading pit where we bread to order in front of you while you’re waiting in line.” The Port Clinton Yacht Club, with limited guest dockage, is 1.7 miles to the east, with the Portage River Marina a mile and a half farther east. facebook.com/jollyrogerseafoodhouse

Where to Dock: Portage River Marina

Hoak’s Lakeshore Restaurant

From the lakefront patio at this family-owned, Hamburg, NY, restaurant (opened in 1949), the views stretch to the Buffalo skyline, Peace Bridge and Canada beyond. Three special sandwiches are best sellers. the Hoak’s Famous Fish Sandwich (featured at Friday night fish fry), the Original Buffalo Chicken with house-made buffalo sauce and a side of blue cheese, and, as Aileen Hoak-Lange (who owns the restaurant with brother Kevin) calls it, “Beef on Weck. It’s thin sliced and au jus dipped prime rib served on a Kimmelweck roll.” Kimmelweck rolls — hard, crusty and topped with caraway seeds and coarse salt — are a New York State signature. Sandwiches come with a choice of sides, including Hoak-Lange’s great-great grandma’s potato salad. It’s still the same recipe and only a few people have been able to detect the secret ingredient, she says. Dock at the 1,100-slip Buffalo Harbor State Park marina and drive 6.3 miles south on Route 5 to Hoak’s. hoaksrestaurant.com

Where to Dock: Buffalo Harbor State Park Marina

Lake Ontario

Black North Inn Bar & Restaurant

In business for over 150 years and known for its breathtaking backyard lake view, visitors set their GPS to Point Breeze in Kent, NY, to dine here in the summer. “The menu offers local favorites like a beer batter fish fry served with coleslaw or applesauce, and Ritz Cracker breaded deep fried lake perch with basil pesto,” says Kristin Rowell, the owner. “Our beef on Kimmelweck, French dip, and hand-pressed burgers are also specialties.” While here, walk some 30 yards north to the replica Oak Orchard River Lighthouse to find a museum and gift shop. Climb the lighthouse keeper’s ladder to the third floor for a birds-eye view of the lake. A half-mile south on the Oak Orchard River, and a quarter-mile from Lake Ontario, Ernst’s Lake Breeze Marina offers 80 slips. Several charter fishing operations are based here for those who want to catch their dinner. blacknorthinn.com

Where to Dock: Ernst’s Lake Breeze Marina

Rudy’s Lakeside Drive-In

The early April opening of this nearly 80-year-strong, family-owned lakefront landmark is an annual rite of passage. It signals warm weather and eating outside on warm picnic tables is on the way for Oswego, NY. Seafood, fried chicken and burgers are mainstay entrees. Two appetizers offer something different: New York salt potatoes and poutine. The former is bite-sized white potatoes boiled in such briny water that the spuds emerge with a white crunchy coating. “Poutine is a Canadian delicacy, made of French fries topped with cheese curds and covered in brown gravy. We’ll often add some of our house-made Texas Hot Sauce, too,” explains Douglas Appleman, general manager. When the lake is calm, Appleman says many boaters drop anchor in the bay and wade in. Wright’s Landing Marina, three miles to the southwest, provides more than 200 slips, including for transient boaters. rudyshot.com

Where to Dock: Wright’s Landing Marina

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