Pictured is the Fried Catfish Poboy dish from Skeetown Tavern in Muskegon. (Photo provided to MLive by Martin Yant)Martin Yant

MUSKEGON, MI -- Skeetown Tavern offers a menu full of food items made from scratch and knows how to serve it fresh to the Muskegon area.

With an array of homemade roux, stocks, sauces and reductions to complement the dishes, Executive Chef Martin Yant makes sure the community gets a bite of southern cooking each visit.

Skeetown even serves alligator, representing the chef’s time spent in Louisiana.

The tavern, located at 1308 W. Sherman Blvd., is best known for its award-winning savory steak and hearty soup by Yant himself.

Yant, 53, first learned to cook Cajun foods when he was in grade school, after moving from Muskegon to Louisiana in 1983. During his teen and early adult years in Louisiana, he worked at his mother’s restaurant, El Camino Restaurant and Cantina, before taking a break to pursue other interests in 2007.

According to Yant, his love for cooking took him back to the hospitality scene at a corporate restaurant in Louisiana, further inspiring Yant to come back to Muskegon to pursue more culinary opportunities in 2010.

Yant said that his parents’ idea to mix TexMex flavors and a steakhouse menu was what unintentionally inspired the seasonal menu at Skeetown Tavern because of how he was raised to cook Cajun foods.

“If I kind of sit back and look at it, Skeetown is a good replication of my mom’s restaurant in Louisiana,” Yant said. “The smells, sights and sounds have always been something that it’s hard for me to get away from. I grew up with it.”

Skeetown Tavern used to be a simple bar before Yant helped the owner Todd Harmon morph the place into a tavern with hearty foods.

One of the menu items that stands out from the rest is a dish fresh from a Louisiana farm. The savory fried alligator meal ($15) is brined in buttermilk and hot sauce, hand-breaded, and served with a cocktail sauce on the side.

The dish is described as having fresh flavors, with a shrimp-like taste and a similar texture to chicken.

“It is almost like a novelty item,” Yant said. “Not many people can say they have eaten an alligator, but it’s something that we’re used to down south. So I thought I would try to introduce it and see if the Muskegon area would give it a shot, and they have.”

Besides the novelty items, Skeetown is best known for its hearty gumbos and handmade tacos.

Another tasty item on the menu is Skeetown’s Flautas ($8), made of chicken, bacon and cheese wrapped in a tortilla before it’s fried to perfection with a pineapple salsa to dip into.

Besides the unique TexMex items, customers can get a classic burger with a twist called the Roadkill ($16), which consists of a huge 14 ounce burger patty smothered with sautéed onions and mushrooms in a savory bourbon sauce, topped with melted mozzarella, and served with a salad.

As far as drink specials go, adults over 21 can enjoy Skeetown’s 16-ounce Bloody Marys, frozen daiquiris and margaritas in-house or to-go for $10.

“Everything is from scratch,” Yant said. “We have a large, varied menu. We are just trying to hang our hat on it being a scratch kitchen.”

Hours for the tavern are Monday through Friday, from 3 p.m. to 9 p.m. and noon to 9 p.m. on Saturday. For takeout and delivery, call (231) 755-6818.

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