During the 1800s, Mackinac Island was a center of the Great Lakes fishing trade, with shoals of lake trout and whitefish pulled out of the Straits of Mackinac and re-shipped to urban markets. Although the island's Arnold Line Dock and adjacent Coal Dock were built in part to serve fish shippers and remain in active use to this day, commercial fishing has ceased on Mackinac Island.
Since the 1880s, Mackinac candymakers have made and sold fudge to visitors. These days, there are five fudge companies on the island: Joann's, May's, Murdick's, the Murray Hotel, and Ryba's. Much, but not quite all, of the fudge sold on Mackinac Island is made with traditional ingredients and in fealty to the traditional labor-intensive process for making this confectionwhich involves oxidizing, or paddling the fudge on a slab of marble. During the process, the cooked fudge slowly cools and hardens into a loaf-shaped, semi-circular log.
Carriage House at the Iroquois Hotel, (http://www.iroquoishotel....). This restaurant offers an excellent opportunity for al-fresco dining.
