Road Tips

Shipwrecked Brewery and Inn - Door County

One more place we went to during our visit to Door County this last summer was to the only brewpub in the area, Shipwrecked Brewery and Inn in Egg Harbor (see map).  We'd been looking around in some of the shops and I wanted to take a look inside the pub and maybe have a beer. 

The building which houses Shipwrecked Brewery and Inn has a little bit of history behind it.  It was originally built in the late 1800's as a pub house for many of the sailors that came to Door County to transport goods.  It became somewhat infamous in the 1920's when Chicago gangster Al Capone used to frequent the place.  Local lore is that a series of tunnels under Egg Harbor allowed Capone to escape capture a number of times. 

The place changed hands a number of times until 1997 when investors bought the pub and turned it into Door County's first and only brewpub.  They also refurbished 8 guest rooms on the upper floors of the building to serve as an inn. 

We were told by the bartender on duty that day that, supposedly, Shipwrecked has a number of ghosts that inhabit the building.  One of the ghosts is said to be the illegitimate son of Al Capone who was reportedly hanged in the attic of the building so he wouldn't talk to federal investigators moving in on Capone.  The bartender told us that a number of people who believe in the supernatural have stayed in the inn over the years and have supposedly seen these spirits. 

The general manager of Shipwrecked Brewery and Inn, Ed Downham, has said that he lived in a attic for a number of years after the building was refurbished and he never experienced any ghosts.  But he said that for those who do believe in the supernatural, it's an interesting place to stay. 

The outside dining area was nearly full as we walked into the bar/restaurant just after noon on a beautiful day in Door County.  The bar area was completely empty, save for the bartender.  I took a look at the beers they had to offer.  It wasn't much - they only five different types plus a seasonal India Pale Ale that they were out of that day.  I ended up getting the Captain's Copper, a full-bodied English style ale that had a nice finish.  The bartender said it was similar to their India Pale Ale, only not as hoppy.

Cindy ordered up one of their Bayside Blonde ales, a light beer with a nice malty flavor.  I had a taste of hers and I actually liked it a little better than the Captain's Copper.

Shipwrecked beers go through a seven step process, not unlike other brew pubs.  The bartender said that all the brewing is done in the basement of the building and space is a problem.  He said, "I think the brewmaster (Rich Zielke) would like to do more beers, but he doesn't have any where to expand."

The bartender, in his 50's, explained that he helped out from time to time in the daytime.  He said his normal job was working at the kite store just down the street that he owns with his brother.  Then in the wintertime, they go to Hawaii for four or five months.   "We've been doing that for years.  It's like a perpetual summer for us."

God, I love perpetual summers. 

He said he's friends with the owners and as soon as the Shipwrecked brewery is closed in early November, it's time for them to close up their shop.  He said, "We'll come back from Hawaii about the time the brewpub opens back up in the Spring."

The decor in the Shipwrecked pub is whimsical and fun.  It has a nautical theme to the place with fishing nets hanging from the ceiling.  The bar top and table tops were an industrial stainless steel that looked like they could stand up to incessant pounding by a hammer.  I suppose it cuts down on graffiti and people carving their initials into the wood, but it looked a little out of place in the bar area.  

Here's the sign showing the way to the bathrooms.  It looks like the little guy is screaming, "Outta my way!  I've gotta shit!"  

We had a eaten a late and very filling breakfast, but I did want to take a look at the menu while we drank our beers.  The food at Shipwrecked Brewery is typical of most brewpubs I've been to - mostly sandwiches, burgers, appetizers and a few entrees.  The bartender said they have great barbecue at Shipwrecked ("Best in Door County", he said) and I found that they have St. Louis style ribs, pulled pork sandwiches and beef brisket sandwiches.  I would have liked to have tried the brisket, but given that we were full and the many options of good restaurants in the area, I decided to pass.

There is a main dining area of Shipwrecked Brewery just off to the side of the bar area.  There were only a couple people in there having lunch when we were in there.  We ended up finishing up our beers and headed out.

The beer at Shipwrecked was OK, nothing special.  I would have loved to have tried the India Pale Ale, but it was not to be on this trip.  I'm guessing when night falls upon Door County, the bar area probably gets hopping.  I'm not certain I'd want to be spending my nights in the inn above the bar, given the probably noise generated by the brewpub, but it was a nice place, nonetheless. 

Scaturo's Baking Company and Cafe - Sturgeon Bay, WI

On our way out of Sturgeon Bay after our stay in Door County, we passed a quaint little place that we thought we'd try for breakfast before we made the trip across the state of Wisconsin to Minneapolis.  Scaturo's Baking Company and Cafe is a little roadside place just west of the downtown area of Sturgeon Bay (see map).  We thought we'd give it a try. 

Robert and JoAnne Scaturo open the restaurant every day at 6 a.m. and feature a full menu throughout the day.  Most of the items they serve at dinner feature Italian dishes and they even have an item on the menu that for $10,995 you can learn to speak Italian  and also learn about the Italian meals you'll eat during the lessons.  It sounded kind of fun.   

Scaturo's Baking Company and Cafe is not very big.  You walk into the front door and the bakery is to the left.  A room on the right actually looks like it had been added on to the building.  There's a front dining section and a back dining section in the dining addition.  We took a seat in the front section in a booth. 

The breakfast menu is pretty strong with a number of oven-baked frittatas, quiches, French toast, and other breakfast favorites.  You can also choose from a number of baked breads, rolls and pastries for breakfast, as well.  They had a number of omelettes to choose from including an Eastern omelette consisting of ham, Swiss cheese, mushrooms, onions and tomatoes; a Western omelette that had ham, cheddar cheese, green peppers, onions and tomatoes; and a Mexican omelette that featured sausage, cheddar cheese, onions, peppers, sour cream and salsa.  They all sounded pretty good. 

Cindy was really interested in the quiche they had on the menu.  The quiche that day was filled with ham and spinach.  She couldn't resist that, so that's what she ordered.  A side of fruit came with the quiche. 

An omelette sounded good, but I wanted to "make my own".  I asked the waitress if I could do that and she said, "Sure!  We do it all the time."

I saw they had Italian sausage as part of the the Italian omelette on the menu, so I ordered up an omelette that consisted of Italian sausage, mushrooms, and cheddar cheese.  She said, "Ooo... That sounds good."  I got a side of bacon with the omelette. 

It took about fifteen minutes for our food to show up.  We both got toast made from their homemade sourdough bread.  The omelette was very, very good.  The sausage had great flavor to it, the mushrooms were fresh and not canned, and the cheddar cheese, was, well - we were in Wisconsin.  Can cheddar cheese suck in Wisconsin?

Cindy really liked her quiche.  The ham was cubed and the spinach was very fresh.  She was really happy we stopped there for breakfast. 

We took a quick look in the bakery as we were getting ready to leave, looking to see if there wasn't something that we absolutely couldn't live without.  Actually, there was a lot of goodies to choose from, but we will-powered ourselves into not buying anything for the road.  Next time.

I love finding little places like Scaturo's for breakfast.  I could tell a lot of the locals like the place, as well.  My adage is if the locals like it, it's good enough for us.  The food was very good, the ingredients were fresh and it was a pleasant dining experience.  Man, there's just so much to choose from in Door County when it comes to restaurants.  Scaturo's Baking Company and Cafe did a very fine job in keeping up with the other great places to eat in Door County.l

The Inn at Kristofer's - Door County

As our stay in Door County went on, we seemed to find even better and nicer restaurants to eat in.  One place that we passed a number of times during our travels up and down the peninsula was The Inn at Kristopher's in Sister Bay (see map).  It intrigued Cindy enough that she wanted to have dinner there. 

The Inn at Kristofer's began in 1993 when Terri and Christopher Milligan opened the restaurant, wanting to use Midwestern foods made in a French culinary style.  (Terri Milligan is pictured at the right.) The restaurant is elegant with white table cloths, a large Steinway piano in the dining area and floor to ceiling windows looking out into Sister Bay and beyond into Green Bay.  They have a smaller private dining area on the second floor that had a great view of the bay, as well. 

We were casually dressed as we drove up to The Inn at Kristofer's.  Cindy was apprehensive that we may get turned away in our shorts and casual shirts.  As we pulled up, she saw an older company in the front window - the man was in a navy blue blazer and tie, the lady was in a dress.  Cindy said, "Oh, God.  This place may be too formal."

I pulled into the parking lot and I said, "Cindy, our money spends just as well as that guy in the sport coat.  Do you want to go in or what?"

She sat there for a second and she said, "Well, I guess all they can do is say that they have a dress code and not seat us."

I said, "They'll seat us."

As we were walking into the restaurant, a family of five, including three kids in shorts and sandals, walked out.  The mother had a sun dress on, the father had khaki shorts and a polo shirt on.  I knew we'd get seated - if they had space. 

We stood at the host stand for a moment and the host - in a full suit and tie - came over to greet us.  I asked if they had room for us and he said, "Well, I can either seat you here (at a table close to the stand), or it would be a 20 to 30 minute wait for a table up by the window."

Actually, the table that was open wasn't all that far from the window.  I said, "Well, this is fine, here."

As we were being seated, Cindy said to the host, "We didn't know if we could get in dressed as we are."

The host said, "Door County is pretty casual.  As long as you have a shirt and shoes on, we'll take you." 

I was somewhat embarrassed Cindy said that.  After the host left us, I said, "Cindy, you're making a much bigger deal about this than need be.  You shouldn't worry about how we're dressed when we go into a restaurant.  And if they don't want to seat us, it's not the type of restaurant we want to eat at, anyhow."

Our waitress, Sara, came by and introduced herself.  She was very busy and said she'd be back with us momentarily.  In the meantime, the host came over and asked us if we'd like anything to drink.  I thought a Scotch would taste real yummy at that point and I asked if they had a MacAllen 12 year old single malt.  The host said, "We're only a beer and wine restaurant, sir."

I was incredulous.  "Really," I exclaimed.  OK, so I just got a beer.  Cindy wanted wine so she got an iced-tea for the time being while we looked over the wine list.  Sure enough, I looked around the place and there wasn't a bar in sight. 

As I said, the menu at The Inn at Kristofer's consists of a somewhat traditional Midwestern fare that is inspired by French culinary recipes.  The menu mainly consists of fish and seafood items, beef, lamb, wild game and poultry dishes.  While the menu isn't large, it was varied enough as to where you had some pretty diverse choices.  

While I was looking to get a bottle of red wine, Cindy said that she wanted white that evening.  I found a bottle of the 2005 Sonoma-Cutrer chardonnay that I thought we'd try, so I ordered that.

Cindy wanted seafood and she ended up ordering the grilled salmon served with a saffron reduction and fresh corn salsa.  I was having trouble making up my mind as to what I wanted, but I settled for the grilled tuna - a tuna steak brushed with olive oil, herbs and garlic and cooked medium rare.  We each got dinner salads before the meal. 

While we weren't next to the window, we did get a good glimpse of the bay as it changed from daylight to twilight.  The lights in The Inn at Kristofer's were subdued and you could see outside pretty easily as the day changed to night.  It was a beautiful evening in Door County.  In fact, the weather was just beautiful the whole time we were there. 

Our meals showed up soon after we finished our salads.  My tuna was cooked perfectly.  I loved the garlic-herb taste along with the tuna.  I need to try that on my tuna at home sometime.

Cindy really liked her grilled salmon.  She gave me a bite of it and it was very tasty.  The corn salsa was a nice compliment to the seafood dish. 

All the while we were in The Inn at Kristofer's, we saw a variety of people coming and going.  Some were dressed very casually, others were dressed up.  Most of the people that were dressed up were much older.  I told Cindy, "See?  You really didn't have anything to worry about."

She said, "I know.  Sometimes I get a little weird about it."

The Inn at Kristofer's was excellent.  Each place we had dinner in Door County was excellent.  My credit card was smoking after we left Door County, but we had a great time and ate a lot of great food.  I was pleasantly surprised at the number of very good restaurants in the area.  The Inn at Kristofer's was no exception.  In fact, it was the best place we ate at while we were in Door County.  And don't worry if you feel like you're under-dressed.  Your money spends just as well as the people who are dressed up. 

The Inn at Cedar Crossing - Sturgeon Bay, WI

Our first meal when we got to Door County was a late lunch at The Inn at Cedar Crossing in downtown Sturgeon Bay (see map).  We didn't really know much about the place as we just got into town and we sort of stumbled upon this place.  It looked nice from the outside and we decided to stop in.

The Inn at Cedar Crossing is a combination inn and restaurant.  The hotel part of the place features nine themed rooms and suites.  The restaurant, on the main level, is one of the better places to eat in Door County.  The Inn at Cedar Crossing is also listed on the National Register of Historic Places.  

The building dates back to 1884 when it was built at the corner of Cedar and Cottage Streets (now 3rd and Louisiana) in Sturgeon Bay.  Over the years, the building has housed a clothing store, a soda fountain, a drug store and doctor's offices.  In the mid-80's, Terry Smith renovated the building and turned it into a small inn and restaurant.  In the early 90's, Smith sold the inn and restaurant to Steve and Kathy Hellmann.  In this New York Times article from 1999, the Inn at Cedar Crossing was called the best restaurant in Door County.  Nine years later, I don't quite know if that's true, but we were willing to give it a try.  

Actually, for about 2:30 in the afternoon, we were sort of surprised to see the amount of people in the quaint and cozy dining room.  It was well over half full with families, couples and small groups of women having a late lunch.  We were sort of amused by a family who sat next to us - it was a mother and father, probably in their 30's, with a baby in a carrier and a two year old in a high chair.  Both parents had their lap top computers out and were e-mailing or looking things up on the Internet.  Cindy said, "If that was you doing that while we were on vacation, I'd crown you."  

I said, "I'd hope you'd crown me with the computer."  

We got our lunch menus from our waitress and I ordered a Coke and Cindy got an iced tea.  The food at The Inn at Cedar Crossing has an American/Italian flair to it.  You can get any number of traditional sandwiches, but they also offer pasta dishes at lunch.  They also have salads, steaks and an interesting roast duck confit on the menu for lunch.  I wasn't all that hungry but I wanted to get something. 

Three or four things caught my eye for sandwiches.  Their basic burger with Wisconsin Havarti dill cheese was one.  But I wasn't really in the mood for a burger.  One other sandwich I looked long and hard at was the Reuben - slow roasted corned beef topped with Wisconsin Swiss cheese and sauerkraut on homemade dark rye bread.  They really do make great Reuben sandwiches in the state of Wisconsin.  And they also had a pastrami on homemade grilled sourdough topped with a horseradish Brie cheese.  Man, my stomach is doing jumping jacks as I write this! 

I ended up, however, with the tuna melt - albacore tuna mixed with capers, onions and tomatoes topped with Wisconsin cheddar and Havarti dill cheese and served on homemade sourdough bread.  

Cindy had a similar problem figuring out what she wanted.  She ended up getting a soup and half-sandwich lunch special - a bowl of chicken and wild rice soup with a half of turkey and swiss on homemade sourdough.  

It didn't take long for our sandwiches to make it out to us.  And since it had been about six hours since we had breakfast, we were ready to eat.  My sandwich was very good.  The tuna was light and the mixture of capers, onion and tomatoes gave it a great flavor.  The combination of the cheddar and Havarti dill didn't overpower the taste of the sandwich.  And the sourdough bread was very, very good. 

Cindy liked her soup and sandwich.  She especially liked the chicken and wild rice soup.  She offered me a bite and it was very good. 

Our bill came to a little over $25 bucks with tip - sort of expensive for lunch, but it was very good.  Before we left, I took a look at the dinner menu to see what they featured.  It wasn't much different than the lunch menu - they took some of the sandwiches off the menu and added about 8 more main entrees.  Some of the entrees sounded pretty good, but nothing really jumped out at me.

Now, in doing some research for this entry, I found out that the Inn at Cedar Crossing had a very interesting breakfast menu.  Had I known they had an extensive breakfast menu, we probably would've gone back there for breakfast.  A couple things that jumped out at me while reading the menu on line was an andouille sausage burrito, as well as beef brisket hash.  And I'm always a sucker for fresh blueberries on pancakes topped with real maple syrup.  But I really perked up when I read about their Hazelnut French Toast - homemade brioche bread that's dipped in a hazelnut liqueur and egg batter, grilled and served with hazelnuts on the top.  Yow!

Actually, our experience at the Inn at Cedar Crossing was pleasant.  The food was good, service was good and the ambiance was fine.  I don't know if it's the best restaurant in Door County, but for our first experience for food in the area, it sure didn't suck. 

Donny's Glidden Lodge Restaurant - Door County

When we were finishing our dinner at Schartner's on the Shore that one evening, a family of four people came in and said they were hungry and tired of looking for a restaurant that came highly recommended to them.  I heard our waitress talking about the place to them and I asked her when she came back to give us the bill what restaurant were they looking for.  She said it was Donny's Glidden Lodge Inn that was located on the other side of the peninsula from Schartner's (see map).  I figured that if this family was looking for a place like that, we needed to see what it was all about.

Donny's Glidden Lodge Inn is part of the Glidden Lodge, a very nice hotel on the south shore of Door County on Lake Michigan.  The restaurant is actually not part of the lodge, but privately owned.  We soon found out that Donny's is one of the top places to eat in Door County.

The Glidden Lodge has been serving vacationers to Door County since 1937.  The restaurant has been in existence since the 1960's.  In the 90's, Donny and Rita Zellner bought the restaurant after running their own supper club for over 15 years in a small town south of Door County.  They specialized in both steaks and German food.  In 2005, Donny and Rita retired and leased out the restaurant to their son, Tim, who was the bartender at the restaurant; and Andy Mueller, a young chef who had worked at lodges in the northwest part of Wisconsin.   Tim and Andy did away with the German food, offering only sampler platters on Wednesday nights, and sticking to mid to upscale recipe items.  Steaks and seafood are the main items on their menu. 

After a winding, 20 minute trip down the very scenic Glidden Road, we came up to the Glidden Lodge on our right.  We pulled into the parking lot at Donny's and went inside the stone-walled restaurant.  We were met by Tim Zellner and he told us it would be a couple minutes before they were able to clear a table for us in the dining area.  We took a seat in the bar area, which featured a large stone fire place, a small bar and a couple televisions.  It wasn't long before a waitress came and got us and sat us in the smaller of the two dining areas in the restaurant.  

This picture is a panoramic view of the main dining area at Donny's.  It truly looked like a north woods establishment made with stone walls, wooden ceiling beams, hardwood floors and tons of windows to look out onto the lake while you're eating.  It was elegant, but not very pretentious at the same time.  We felt very comfortable wearing our shorts in the place. 

It turned out they were serving prime rib that evening and that's what I ordered up.  Cindy got the seafood special that evening - a whitefish platter with a lemon dill sauce.  Boiled potatoes and vegetables came with Cindy's, while I opted for rice with my prime rib.  Along with the meal came a very good salad bar that featured in house dressings and a very good homemade chicken noodle soup.  The waitress explained to us that a number of years ago Donny took out the salad bar and put in additional seating in place of the buffet.  She said that some long-time customers were so upset, they boycotted the place until Donny brought back the salad bar.  Within months, the seating was gone and the salad bar was back. 

Not long after we finished our salads, our main entrees showed up.  My prime rib was a perfect medium rare, a nice full juicy cut.  Cindy's whitefish platter was also plentiful, and the lemon dill sauce was very, very good, but also very, very rich.  I was overly happy with the meal. 

Cindy wasn't able to finish her fish because of the richness of the sauce and the large portion she was served.  The waitress, however, didn't hesitate in asking us if we'd like to see the dessert menu.  Cindy was about ready to explode and decided against it.  I wanted to see what they had for dessert just for kicks and while some items were tempting (the homemade cherry pie, among others), I declined on additional food after downing a good-sized prime rib. 

With some wine for dinner, the bill at Donny's came to about $120 bucks for Cindy and I, including tip.  The waitress was friendly, efficient and had a great sense of humor.  We thoroughly enjoyed the meal and the ambiance at Donny's Glidden Lodge Restaurant.  It was definitely a very good meal.

The Washington Hotel - Door County

As I said in my entry on Monday, when we ventured out to Washington Island, we had lunch at The Washington Hotel, a hotel, restaurant and culinary school.  Cindy found the place on line and was reading about it.  It had to be the first place we stopped once we got onto the island. 

The Washington Hotel was built in 1904 by Captain Ben Johnson, one of the many ship captains who came to the island during the height of shipping on Lake Michigan.  He fashioned the hotel to be not only a place where his fellow sailors could come to get a warm bath and comfortable bed, but as a place where tourists would visit and relax.  Over the years, The Washington Hotel became the social center for island resident hosting weddings, parties and events.  In 2001, the hotel underwent a makeover that restored the Washington to its original 1904 floor plan. 

The Washington Hotel also boasts its own culinary school.  This is what piqued Cindy's interest the most.  The professional chefs at The Washington Hotel Culinary School provide cooking lessons primarily focusing on making meals from local produce.  They have scheduled cooking classes that are open to the public, or they will do private cooking classes, as well.  

The head chef and proprietor at The Washington Hotel is Leah Caplan who is a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America.  Caplan champions the use of locally raised and sustainable foods in her cooking.  She's somewhat famous for her six course meals she serves nightly through the summer, all made with indigenous foods from the Door County and Washington Island areas.  This includes fish caught from the lake, beef, chicken and pork raised in Door County, and fresh vegetables and grains grown in the area.  The menu changes on a regular basis due to availability of fresh meats, fish and sustainable foods. 

We got to the Washington Hotel a little after 1 p.m.  There is a nice outdoor seating area that would have been nice to eat in, but all the tables were full and they didn't know how long it would be before one opened up.  We ended up going into the dining room of the hotel and taking a table in the corner. 

The dining room had a definite early 20th century charm to it.  It featured large tables draped in white table cloths, sturdy chairs and a hard wood floor.  Large windows that looked out onto the deck where the outside seating was placed allowed for a lot of natural light to come in.  We were the only ones in the dining room, which was fine with us. 

Our waitress, who said she was a full time college student in Green Bay and who was working there for the summer, came out with menus printed that day.  Because the chefs at The Washington Hotel use only local produce, the menu is sort of "catch as catch can" on a daily basis.  Most of the lunches are from leftover foods from the evening before. 

The Washington Hotel bakes their own bread in a large wood-fired brick oven, one of the very few in the whole state of Wisconsin.  They also bake a lot of their main entries in the brick oven - including homemade pizzas - giving the food a very distinct and natural taste. 

We got a basket of homemade brick oven-baked wheat bread (wheat is the predominant grain grown on Washington Island) and we both ordered a glass of wine.  I got red, Cindy got white.  Most of the choices on the menu that day were sandwiches.   One of the more interesting ones was the Washington Hotel BLT - unprocessed Door County bacon, with tomatoes and lettuce grown on the island.  It was served on a homemade focaccia bread.  Cindy got that for her lunch.  It looks pretty yummy, doesn't it?

I got the open-faced shaved prime rib sandwich topped with Wisconsin Gorgonzola and placed on a homemade slice of bread.  Before the cheese was placed on top, they warmed the sandwich in the brick oven.  For sides, they offered us both a homemade German-style potato salad they had left over from the dinners they served the night before.  Although the presentation was nothing to look at, the food sure looked good.

And it was good.  My shaved prime rib sandwich had great flavor to it.  The Gorgonzola cheese offered a nice after taste to the beef.  And Cindy really liked her BLT.  She's been really high on eating natural and homegrown foods as of late.  She was certainly not disappointed with her sandwich. 

Our bill with tip came to about $40 bucks.  No, it certainly wasn't cheap, but the food was good and the experience was very nice.  Cindy was happy and that's all that mattered.  Besides, we were on vacation and we wanted to splurge a bit.  The Washington Hotel was a great destination on Washington Island.  If you ever get to the island, be sure to stop by and have something to eat.

A Day on Washington Island

At the very tip of Door County is the small village of Northport.  Well, I use the term "village" rather loosely because there's really nothing at Northport other than a small restaurant and the terminus for the Washington Island Ferry that takes you across to Washington Island.  Cindy wanted to spend a day on the island, so we did just that.

Washington Island is located six miles off the Door County peninsula.  To get to the island, the ferry takes you across some straits called the "Ports des Morts" (Door of Death).  Years ago, shippers used to try to cut some time off on their travel to and from Green Bay by cutting through the straits.  The currents coming from Lake Michigan that collided with the currents coming from Green Bay made the passage way very treacherous, causing many ships to collide with the rocky shore of several small islands in the area.  Hundreds of ships are on the bottom of the straits and the area is now a very popular destination for scuba divers each summer. 

It's not cheap to get to Washington Island.  It's $11 bucks a person and another $24 bucks per car round trip.  The trip takes about 30 minutes.  Here are the cars lining up for the ferry that runs about every 30 minutes in the summer months.  We were seventh in line for the trip across to the island.

After we got on board, we settled into our seats on top of the ferry.  It was a beautiful mid-August day and we were looking forward to experiencing the lake breezes as we went to the island.  They really squeeze as many cars on to the ferry as they can.  The ferry can also accommodate large semi's, delivery trucks and other commercial vehicles.  On our trip across, they hauled 25 cars.  Figure one car and at least two people per car and that's a minimum of $1150 bucks per round trip for the ferry line. 

The ferry stays open year round as a number of people live on Washington Island all year.  There's a little less than 700 people who make their home on the island.  Many of the residents are decendants of Icelandic origin.  Washington Island has the largest concentration of Icelandic heritage residents than any other place in North America.   In fact, it's one of the oldest and largest communities of Icelandic heritage in the world, outside of Iceland, itself. 

Washington Island is, indeed, a small community with a number of shops, restaurants, hotels and business services located there.  Its also has it's own school system and city services.  One of the first things we did was to find the Washington Hotel (above left) and have lunch there.  Look for my post on our lunch at the Washington Hotel coming in a couple days.

Washington Island is mostly rural with a number of small wheat farms that blanket the open fields between the trees.  This picture is from atop Mountain Tower, in the center of the island.  Actually, it really isn't a mountain, but a somewhat large hill with a viewing tower on top.

Here's a picture of the tower.  Cindy didn't want to climb up it, but I did.  It was about 60 feet to the top.  Cindy was able to make it up the first 20 feet before her fear of heights set in.  I have to tell you, it was a monumental pain in the ass to get to the top, especially for a guy with a bad hip and who is horribly out of shape.  

But to even get up to the tower, you had to climb these steps.  It was about a 175 foot climb up these bastards.   You can't even see the bottom of the steps from the top.  Thank God they had little rest benches about every 50 feet.  I figured that if I could make it up those steps, I could make it the next 60 feet to the top of the tower.  I did, but it nearly killed me.   

All through Washington Island they had some pretty neat little roads to travel on.  I think we went down every road while we were there.  This picture was down a little road that looked like it was enveloped in trees.  We encountered a lot of bicyclists out roaming the island and taking advantage of a great summer day.

Also taking advantage of a great summer day were a number of swimmers at Schoolhouse Beach.  Schoolhouse Beach is unique in that there is no sand on the beach, but large smooth white rocks that are easy on your feet to walk on.  In fact, Schoolhouse Beach is only one of five beaches in the world that has this type of rock for the beach.  The others are in Mexico, France, Sweden and Norway.  The harbor Schoolhouse Beach is on is about 100' deep, making it a popular mooring spot for vessels that traveled to the island in the 1800's. 

Here is a picture of the white stones they had on the beach.  There were signs saying it was against the law to take the rocks from the beach, but it didn't say anything about flinging them into the harbor as we saw a number of kids do while we were there.  The constant surge of water coming into the beach must bring back a lot of the rocks that are tossed out into the harbor.

It was getting late in the afternoon and we thought we'd better head back to catch the ferry before the last one left for the mainland.  We just missed the 5:00 p.m. ferry, but were the first ones in line for the 5:30 departure.  The last ferry leaves for Door County at 6:00 p.m. during the summertime.  There was an attendant there who we were talking to about the ferry service.  I asked her what happened if we were to miss the last ferry to the mainland.  She said, "You'd be spending the night on Washington Island." 

I said, "Does it happen a lot?"

She said, "Oh, yes.  Much more than you'd imagine.  Time just gets away from some people when they come out to visit."

She said a lot of people will sleep in their cars right here waiting for the first ferry in the morning.  She told us, "We had a situation a couple weeks ago where a family of six missed the ferry and the father refused to get hotel rooms on the island since he already had rooms back in Door County.  So he made his wife and kids sleep in the van."

I said, "OK, let's say that you missed the ferry, but you have to get back to Door County because you're having dinner with, say, the President of the United States.  Is there an emergency ferry service that can get you across?"

She said, "No, not an emergency service ferry.  You'd have to take one of the Washington Island ferries.  And if it was just you they were carrying, it would cost you $450 dollars."

I said, "Wow!  So, I guess it is a good thing to pay attention to the time and the ferry schedule."

She said, "That's a good rule when you come out here."

The girl, who was in her early 20's and had just graduated from college, was a native of the island.  I asked her what it was like to grow up out here.  She said, "I suppose it was like growing up in any other small town across America.  Yeah, we couldn't just get in the car and go shopping in Green Bay, but we had a lot of the things we needed brought out and sold in the stores."

She said that while it was great to grow up there, she was ready to move on.  She had accepted a position in Minneapolis for a job there that would begin in September.  She said, "Yeah, I'll miss it here."

Then she stopped for a moment and said, "For a little while, at least." 

Washington Island - neat place to visit for a day.  But it was one of those, "Been there, done that" kind of destinations.  If we go back to Door County, I won't be clamoring to head back out to the island.

 

Three Guilty Pleasures of Door County

While one is in Door County, there's all types of temptations that tourists can fall into, food wise.  We ran into three different places that we found to be just unbelievable and also very fattening to the waistline. 

The first place we found was the Door County Bakery (see map).  Actually, Curt Campbell from the Oilerie told us about this place.  He said, "It's the best bakery in Door County, by far."  The owners, Don and Jean Thompson, make breads, pastries and a locally famous chocolate cake called "Ports des Morts" (door of death), named after the small strait between the Door County peninsula and Washington Island.

The Door County Bakery is also famous for their Corsica loaf, a large French loaf made with olive oil and sesame seeds.  They make it in about six to seven pound loafs and then will cut off how much bread you want.  The girl offered us a taste and it was outstanding.  We ended up taking a couple pounds of the loaf.  Since we were traveling, she wrapped it up in foil and plastic wrap.  We kept it in the refrigerator back at the hotel and in the cooler when we were traveling.  But by the time we'd gotten back home to try some, it was pretty much done.  The girl said that it freezes well and if we get back there, we'll have to get it the day we're leaving to go home.  Unfortunately, we moved around for about a week with it unfrozen.  Oh, well.  Live and learn.

The Door County Bakery also has a large selection of pastries to choose from.  We'd had breakfast earlier in the morning and weren't hungry for anything like that, but the stuff they had in the counter definitely got me drooling. 

The Door County Bakery also has a deli and a small gourmet store on the other side of the building.  Cindy and I said we were going to come back and get a sandwich made with the Corsica bread at some point, but we never did.  Next time.

Behind the Door County Bakery was a building that housed a museum/art studio run by WGN Radio personality Spike O'Dell known as The Back Door Studio.  O'Dell, who grew up in the Quad Cities, collected coffee cups of famous celebrities or politicians he's had on his show over the years and had each person sign the cup.  He put them on display in this building.

Here's a shot of some of the coffee cups - both porcelain and Styrofoam - that O'Dell has collected from his guests over the years.  It was kind of neat and sort of hokey at the same time.  But there was sure of lot of 'em to see.

One thing that I didn't know about Spike O'Dell is that he's a pretty accomplished artist.  Cindy sort of knew that he was an artist, but I was just incredulous.  "Spike O'Dell did THIS?!" I exclaimed more than once looking at the artwork he had for sale in the building.  I was amazed at how good he was with a paint brush.  I've listened to O'Dell on WGN for quite some time and I never knew that he was an artist. 

The second place we found that became an instant guilty pleasure for us was Jorns' Sugar Bush outside of Egg Harbor (see map). Jorns' is a family operation that collects and processes it's own pure maple syrup.  We'd seen a billboard while we were out driving around regarding Jorns' and Cindy wanted to go see the place.  We went down a county road and literally drove right by the place.  It was nestled back in behind a farm house surround by a lot of maple trees.  We doubled back and drove into the driveway.

Roland and Donna Jorns are well into their 80's and Roland continues to process maple syrup like his grandfather and father used since the mid-1800's.  Jorns has over 1200 trees that he can tap each spring for maple flow.  During the height of the flow, he can process about 600 gallons of maple syrup a day. 

We made it into the shop and and the Jorns' daughter came out of the processing area and said, "My mother will be out here in a minute.  Feel free to look around."  We found a number of different sizes of maple syrup in bottles and containers, as well as homemade jellies and jams from Door County. 

Donna Jorns gingerly made it out to the small shop and greeted us as she walked in.  She was actually a pretty interesting woman to talk with.  She said her husband has been gathering and processing maple each year for 80 years, since he was a small child in grade school.  She said, "This was his grandfather's land, then it was passed along to his father, who passed it along to us when he passed away."  It's been in the family for about 150 years, she said. 

Donna Jorns told us that they have a lot of seasonal workers in the spring that come out and gather the sap buckets for processing.  She said, however, that finding help has been sort of tough lately.  "Kids are different now a days, " she told us.  "We used to have kids lining up to come out here to work years ago.  Today, it's so bad that we can only tap about a third to half the trees we have because we don't have enough seasonal help to gather the sap."

We ended up getting some of their syrup (a quart), as well as some jam.  Mrs. Jorns told us that she sends maple syrup all over the country.  She said, "When you run out of this, just call us and we'll send you some more!"

Cindy makes the greatest pancakes in the world and I have to tell you, with the Jorns' maple syrup on top, it makes them even better.  Jorns' maple syrup may be the best pure maple syrup I've ever had.  We will be calling them for more at some point. 

And last, but certainly not least, of the holy trinity of guilty pleasures of Door County, was Wilson's Ice Cream Parlor in Ephraim (see map).  This old fashioned restaurant and soda fountain has been serving tourists and residents in Door County since 1906.  We were told by our friends, Scott and Marcia Schroeder, that we had to stop at Wilson's during our trip to Door County. 

Wilson's is open seasonally from late May thru late October.  They're famous for their ice cream which they serve large amounts of each summer.  And when they dish it up, they dish up large amounts for each customer.  Here's a picture of Cindy eating her ice cream cone - a one scoop cone - that was so large, she had them put it in a small bowl so she wouldn't lose any of it. 

Wilson's has a long and rich history, which began when Oscar Wilson moved his family from Milwaukee to Door County in the early 20th century.  The Wilson family ran the place for 55 years before selling out in 1961.  The ice cream parlor/restaurant has gone through a series of owners and changes over the past 40+ years with current owners Roy and Diane Elquist updating the inside by adding air conditioning and screening off part of the outside seating areas.  Wilson's is a plum job for a number of high school and college students each summer.

I actually didn't order any because I was still full from lunch a couple three hours earlier.  But Cindy had eaten light in anticipation of ice cream later in the afternoon at Wilson's.  I had some of Cindy's and their ice cream was good.  Not the best I've had, but good.  We went back one other time after dinner at a nearby restaurant, but the line was so long and there were so many people hanging out that we decided to pass on stopping for ice cream at Wilson's. 

In addition to ice cream, sundaes and specialty drinks, Wilson's also has a food menu consisting of burgers, sandwiches, appetizers and salads.  I heard while we were in Door County their char-grilled hamburgers were pretty damn good, as well.  We may have to go back sometime to try those out. 

We were pleasantly surprised with the variety of food - and how good it is - in Door County.  But the three temptations - Door County Bakery, Jorns' Sugar Bush and Wilson's Ice Cream Parlor - all contributed to the guilty pleasures we found on our trip to Door County. 

Schartner's on the Shore - Sturgeon Bay, WI

After we witnessed the authentic fish boil at the White Gull Inn, Cindy and I decided to go out for a nice dinner.  We got back to our hotel in Sturgeon Bay and picked up a number of menus from the front desk, checking to see what the area restaurants had to offer.  We decided on a place just walking distance down the street from the hotel.  When we returned the menus to the front desk, the girl asked, "So, where are you going?"  After I told her our choice, she said, "Oh, my gosh!  I'm sorry, you guys.  I should have pulled that menu out.  That place closed up earlier this year.

We ended up looking at the menus again and settled on a little supper club just outside of town called Schartner's on the Shore (see map).  The girl said she'd never eaten there, so she wasn't familiar with the place.  We decided to give it a try.

We pulled into the parking lot around 8 p.m. and there was only a couple other cars there.  Actually, the "on the shore" part of Schartner's is a misnomer.  They're about 200 feet from the lake, across the road.  In fact, you can't even see the lake from the place as there's a bunch of trees in between.

Schartner's is a typical north woods supper club with pine paneling, a large bar and pictures all over the wall.  One thing that I noticed right off the bat, however, is the large amount of St. Louis Cardinals memorabilia on the walls.  It was actually pretty interesting to see what they had on display.

The owner, Willie Schartner (right), a congenial man in his early 50's, greeted us and told us we could sit any where we wanted.  We took a larger table near the kitchen to get away from a rather boisterous group of diners on the other side of the restaurant. 

Schartner's on the Shore has been around since 1986 when Schartner, a local realtor, and his wife bought Leo's Tavern and Restaurant from Leo Hinkle who had ran the place for 35 years prior.  Before Hinkle bought it, it had been in business for 30 years prior to that.  So this marked the 88th year the place had been a bar/restaurant.  That's pretty impressive, if you ask me, for a north woods establishment.

It was a slow night for Schartner's on the Shore and there was only one waitress working.  The Green Bay Packerswere on television that evening playing a pre-season game in nearby Green Bay.  Schartner was glued to the set behind the bar, even though it was  pre-season game. 

The menu at Schartner's features your typical Door County staples - white fish, steaks, chicken and pork chops.  We both wanted steaks so Cindy got a New York strip while I got the rib eye.  We both ordered house salads and got potatoes for our sides. 

While we were eating our salads, the group of people on the other side of the restaurant got up and left, leaving Cindy and I as the only ones in the restaurant.  This afforded me a chance to get up and look around at the Cardinals memorabilia Schartner had on his walls.  It turned out that Schartner used to play a lot of baseball in his earlier years, including playing semi-pro baseball in the Door County area. 

During a break in the Packers game, I asked him, "OK, how did a guy who lives in Door County get to be such a big St. Louis fan?"

He said, "I used to be a big Milwaukee Braves fan until they moved to Atlanta in 1966.  I was so devastated by the move, that I vowed I'd never be a Braves fan again.  I decided to become a Cardinals fan because I really liked Bob Gibson and those teams in the mid to late 60's." 

I told him that I spent an afternoon at Bob Gibson's home in Nebraska a number of years ago (see that story here).  He said, "Really?  No way!"

I told him the basic circumstances of me being with Gibson and he just sort of looked at me in a funny way.  Then he clammed up, went back to watching the game and barely talked to me the rest of the time we were in there.  I figured he'd want to know more about my visit with Gibson. It was sort of weird, to say the least.  I don't think we even got a "Thank You" from him when we left.  Maybe he was jealous, or maybe he thought I was full of shit, I don't know.  But he certainly had an impressive display of Cardinals memorabilia, the best I've ever seen outside of the greater St. Louis area. 

Our steaks showed up and they were cooked to perfection.  The cuts of meat were large and tender, they were juicy and flavorful, and even the cheddar cheese cover potatoes were very good.  Since we were the only ones in there (until right before we finished our meal), she was very attentive to our needs.  

With drinks and tip, the bill at Schartner's on the Shore came to about $55 bucks.  It really was a good experience as I just love these type of north woods supper clubs.  If you're a Cardinals fan and want to see some great baseball memorabilia, or if you're looking for a good steak at reasonable prices, Schartner's on the Shore is a great place to go.  Just don't tell Willie Schartner that you spent an afternoon at Bob Gibson's house.

(Update - Willie Schartner sold the restaurant to Eric and Marja Johnson in 2009 and they changed the name to The Cabin of Sturgeon Bay.  It appears from their menu that they have a lot of the same items to choose from when it was known as Schartner's on the Bay.)

Al Johnson's Swedish Restaurant - Door County

In a land where stores and restaurants scream "Tourist Trap" with little to no shame, we ate in probably the biggest tourist trap restaurant in Door County, Al Johnson's Swedish Restaurant in Sister Bay (see map). 

Al Johnson's has been in existence since around 1940 with Johnson being kind of the "jack-of-all-trades" in the restaurant - owner, cook, bottle washer, bartender.  Here's a picture of Al Johnson.  He's the bald-headed guy on the left.  In 1960, Al met his future wife, Ingrid, who helped turn the restaurant into what it is today.  She introduced a number of Scandinavian dishes to the menu, she helped change the decor so it had more of a Scandinavian ambiance to the place, and they added a large gift shop full of knick-knacks from Door County and from Sweden, Norway and Finland. 

But the biggest attraction at Al Johnson's is not the food, but the family of goats grazing on the roof.  That's right - there's a bunch of goats on the sod roof of Al Johnson's, just hanging out, eating grass and posing for pictures from the countless number of tourists who come to Al Johnson's daily. 

The first goat was put on the roof in 1973 by a friend of Al Johnson's who was playing a practical joke on him.  Johnson had put sod on the roof in the style of Scandinavian farm houses that were built into sides of hills and would allow for animals to graze on the roofs of the homes.  The friend fell off the ladder breaking his collar bone, but the goat stayed. 

The goats come out in the morning on nice days and stay until about 5 p.m., grazing and laying in the sun.  OK, yeah, it is an odd sight to see goats on the roof.  But this also tells me that if they have to rely upon goats on the roof to get people to come to the restaurant, then the food must not be all that outstanding. 

It was 1:30 when we checked in with the hostess at Al Johnson's.  She said it would be a 20 minute wait for the two of us.  Normally, I would have said, "Screw it."  But we were told by others who had gone to Door County that we had to eat at least once at Al Johnson's.  It was more the experience of being at Al Johnson's and not necessarily the food. 

Once we sat down in the dining area, we got our menus and looked over what they had to offer.  The menu consists of traditional Swedish food, sandwiches, full dinners and breakfast that is served all day.  In fact, we saw more than one table near us where the diners were having Swedish pancakes for lunch. 

Earlier this summer, Cindy and I went to Bishop Hill, IL, a small Swedish settlement that is a sort of tourist destination.  We'd been there a couple times before and hadn't been there for quite some time.  I don't think there's much to the place (that's why I've never written about it), but Cindy has some affinity for the place.  We went to a restaurant in Bishop Hill to have lunch and I ordered their Swedish meatballs.  When the lunch came out, I was served a bowl of noodles with five little meatballs, each about the size of a large marble.  And they had the gall to charge me $11.75 for the meal.   It was so pitiful that we actually laughed about for days and weeks on end. 

Of course, Al Johnson's had Swedish meatballs on the menu, and I ordered that for lunch.  They had a soup and sandwich special during the lunch hour for $7.95 and Cindy ordered a bowl of the tomato bisque soup and a half of turkey sandwich.  I was certainly expecting to have a better experience with the Swedish meatballs at Al Johnson's than I did at Bishop Hill. 

Nope.

When the waitress brought my lunch out, I just sort of stared at the plate.  Cindy looked down and started to laugh.  Sitting on noodles were five small meatballs.  Oh, they were larger than the ones at the restaurant in Bishop Hill, but for $12.25 for the entree, I was expecting either more meatballs or more size to the five I was served.  I just shook my head and dug in while Cindy snickered from across the table.  I came to conclusion that Swedes must be really chintzy.  (Wait!  I have Swedish heritage in my family tree!)

Cindy loved her soup and thought was sandwich was fine.  The taste of the Swedish meatballs was good, but the portion served was nowhere near the worth of the price.  There's many other better places to eat in Door County. 

OK, we'd been had by a tourist joint in Door County.  We figured we'd get boned a couple times while we were there.  We went to Al Johnson's, saw the goats, had the food, browsed through the shop and got the hell out of there.  That's one less place we'll have to go to when we go back.

The Oilerie - Door County

Most of the businesses found in Door County are usually tourist traps filled with cheap t-shirts, stupid knick-knacks, and gobs of cherry jelly and jam.  However, one place that we found turned out to be one of the most interesting places we've ever visited - the Oilerie in the village of Fish Creek (see map).

The Oilerie bills itself as America's first olive oil bar.  While traveling in Europe five years ago, the Oilerie owner Curt Campbell (above) was struck by the number of little olive oil boutiques that offered their customers samples of various olive oils before they bought.  Some of the oils were infused with lemon, garlic, raspberry or other flavorings.  He thought it was such a novel idea that he looked into the concept when he returned home.  During his research, Campbell found that no one was doing a olive oil boutique such as the ones he found in Europe.  Within six months of his visit to Europe, Campbell and his wife, Amy Jo, opened the olive oil boutique.

As you enter the Oilerie, you'll find tanks of olive oil sitting on table tops.  Customers are encouraged to sample up to a dozen different types of olive oils.  Many of the olive oils come from Spain, Italy and Greece.  The Campbell's say they've traveled to each of their olive oil vendors to meet the people who make the oil they sell.  

The samples are served in small paper cups.  Campbell says that he doesn't serve bread with the oil because the flavor of the bread would block subtle differences in the taste of some oils.  The staff at the Oilerie were more than happy to let people try a number of different types of olive oils.

In addition to olive oils, the Oilerie also features a number of different types of balsamic vinegar.  One of the balsamic vinegars they featured was a 25 year old variety.  I have to say it was probably the best balsamic vinegar I've ever tasted.

It turned out that we were literally out of olive oil at home.  I forgot to pick up a half-gallon of Italian extra virgin olive oil from Caputo's in suburban Chicago when I was in there the week before.   So we needed olive oil. 

With the help of one of the Oilerie staff members, we picked out a number of different types of oils and balsamic vinegar (the 25 year old stuff).  They fill the oil into 16 ounce dark green bottles that helps preserve the longevity of the oil.  They then take your selections into the back room and stamp out a metal plate that signifies what type of oil or vinegar it is, along with a date, and they affix it to the bottle. 

Well, we went a little nuts in there.  In addition to a bottle of the 25 year old balsamic vinegar, we got a couple bottles of Spanish olive oil, some basil infused oil, garlic infused oil and lemon infused oil.  We also got some plain Greek olive oil - all of which was extra virgin in nature.  And we ended up getting a couple extra bottles of Spanish olive oil for Cindy's daughter.  It took them a little while to get everything together, bottled, sealed and the plate made for the bottles. 

While we were in there, a news crew from a television station in Green Bay was there talking with Campbell and filming parts of the Oilerie.  Click here to go to the site where the Oilerie was featured on the television report.  Then in the top right hand corner, click on the blue arrow on top of the video to see the report.  About halfway through, look for the large handsome guy in the background looking around the place waiting for his order to be filled.

Along with some spices we picked up, the final tally came to just under $150 bucks.  Yow!!  That was an expensive trip to America's first olive oil bar.  But Cindy was so impressed with the place that she even talked to Curt Campbell about franchise information.  (The second Oilerie - the first franchised by Campbell, will open later this year in suburban Milwaukee.)  I honestly don't know how well it would go over in the Quad Cities and I don't have the money to invest in a place that I don't know what the future may bring.  Still, the Oilerie was a great place to go for anybody who enjoys cooking like I do.  I'm sure I'll be back some time.

 

Snug Harbor Inn- Sturgeon Bay, WI

Snug Harbor Inn in Sturgeon Bay (see map) is where we stayed when we were up in Door County.  Owned by Jon and Patti Hanson, Snug Harbor Inn has over 300 feet of water front property along the bay.  The rooms go from simple hotel rooms to suites to cottages.  They also have boat rentals at their marina.  Cindy wanted to get a boat to go out in the lake for a day, but I didn't want to try and go out somewhere I wasn't all that familiar with.   

Our room was pretty basic - a queen sized bed, fridge, microwave, TV and DVD player.  The bathroom was pretty small with a shower.  I tried to get a room that faced the bay when I made the reservations, but none were available.  So we got a street side room where we were able to park in front of the door.  Plus, we weren't going to be in the room all that much other than to sleep, so it really didn't matter if it was on the street or on the waterfront. 

Cost of the room was $89 a night.  We had to make a one night deposit on the room and the balance was due upon arrival.  I'm sure it was so if you found other accommodations in Door County, you couldn't get your money back. 

Not that Snug Harbor was a flea bag hotel.  The rooms were OK, but nothing special.  The Hanson family was friendly, helpful and overly accommodating.  It was a very comfortable place to stay.  It's just that Sturgeon Bay is sort of at the far end of the action in Door County and we found ourselves driving 20 to 30 minutes to go to restaurants and other attractions in the other towns. 

And that was actually a minor hassle.  There really wasn't anything all that close.  The downtown area of Sturgeon Bay was a healthy mile and a half walk from Snug Harbor, so it was always a car ride to go somewhere.  Cindy and I decided that we'd like to stay some where more in heart of Door County next time, but once again, that doesn't reflect badly on the Snug Harbor Inn.

One morning, Cindy got up early and went for a walk around the area.  She took her camera and got some good pictures of the waterfront area around Snug Harbor.  This is a picture of the harbor just as the sun was coming up.  The weather the whole time we were in Door County was somewhat cool with low humidity, something nice for mid-August. 

Cindy has a great eye for detail, something that I definitely don't possess with a camera.  This is a picture of one of the docks near Snug Harbor with the fog settling over the bay.  She's able to see minute details and gets good pictures with her little camera.  I try to capture the big picture. 

Here is a family of ducks feeding in the water near the bank of the bay.   Unlike some places we went to in Door County, the ducks and geese didn't seem to be that big of a bother at Snug Harbor Inn.  The grass along the shoreline was definitely void of goose poop.

Here are a number of sailboats moored in the harbor.  Sturgeon Bay is known as a ship building town and they have a couple of large plants that make yachts that vary in size from ones that you'd see on the Mississippi River to ones that you'd see on Lake Michigan and on oceans.   

Like I say, we'll probably stay somewhere more in the heart of Door County the next time we go up, but Snug Harbor Inn is a great place to stay during your first visit to the area.  It's easy to find, what amenities it lacks are made up for with the bay front views, and it is a comfortable place. 

 

White Gull Inn - Door County

As I said in my previous post, we went back to the White Gull Inn in Fish Creek (see map) for breakfast the morning after we witnessed an authentic fish boil there.  Knowing that we were going to be in Door County for a few days, a friend of mine from Chicago, Steve Weiner, told me that we needed to go have breakfast at the White Gull Inn.  Since Door County is famous for their cherries, Steve told me that I had to have the cherry stuffed French toast at the White Gull Inn.  That, alone, intrigued me about the place.

The White Gull Inn has been in existence since 1896 when a German born and educated physician who was living in Milwaukee, Dr. Herman Welcker, visited the small fishing village and fell in love with the area.  He decided to buy some land and put up an inn that would cater to people who were seeking a "European health spa" experience.  Swimming, hiking, boating - and eating - were the main staples of the "Henriette", named after Dr. Welcker's wife. 

Dr. Welcker added cabins to the outlying area and also offered summer plays and music concerts put on by actors and musicians from around the Midwest.  Relaxing at the Henriette was one of the favorite things to do by the rich and famous from Chicago and Milwaukee well into the 1920's. 

After Welcker's death in 1924, the resort was operated by family members until 1939.  For the next 20 years, a series of people owned the resort property, but never made a go of the venture.  In 1959, a young couple from Madison, Andy and Elsie Redman, purchased the resort and changed the name to the White Gull Inn.  Andy added a number of improvements to the property that are still in place today.  The Redman's started to serve a traditional Door County fish boil, something that was a staple for church picnics and backyard parties in the area, but never really exposed to the general public.  The theatrical presentation I described in my earlier post was a big hit for the people who visited the inn.

In 1972, Andy Coulson heard about an opportunity to buy into what had become a now-shuttered White Gull Inn and he jumped at the chance.  Hoping to turn it into a New England style bed and breakfast inn, Coulson moved to Fish Creek and worked hard to open the inn before the Memorial Day weekend.  One of the first people he hired was a young girl just out of high school by the name of Jan Lindsley.  Lindsley came from a big family and understood the aspects of what it was to manage a large house.

Three years later, Andy and Jan married and they continue to run the inn and restaurant.  They eventually became sole owners of the White Gull Inn in the 1980's.  They've also expanded the White Gull Inn adding more space for the restaurant and adding cabins and buying surrounding buildings to add to their property.

The main building at the White Gull Inn houses the restaurant and the White Gull Inn store, a small store where the Coulson's sell cookbooks, knick-knacks and Door County delicacies.   They have you coming and going at the White Gull Inn Store as you have to pass through it on your way in and out of the dining room.

We got to the restaurant around 9:30 and there was a good sized crowd of vacationers having breakfast.  The hostess seated us and presented us with menus.  The decor of the dining room reminded me of an old time New England fishing village inn.  Since Fish Creek was once a hotbed of commercial fishing on Lake Michigan, it was fitting the decor matched the history and heritage of the area.

The first thing you see on the menu are the cherry stuffed French toast, the very same item my friend told me that I had to try.  They take a piece of golden brown French toast, top it with Wisconsin cream cheese and Door County sweet cherries, and top it with the another piece of French toast.  It's cut diagonally and served with real Door County maple syrup.  OK, that sounded good to me.  

Cindy went with the short stack of pancakes, even though they also had cherry pancakes.  She wanted the basic pancakes that day.  And she ordered them well done, like she always does.  We both got a side of bacon and something to drink.  

It took about 15 minutes for our breakfast to show up.  And the cherry stuffed French toast was very good.  But, oh, God!  Was it rich!  They must have used 8 oz. of cream cheese on the toast and added about two dozen cherries.  The real maple syrup was absolutely wonderful.  I'm a sucker for real maple syrup.  

Cindy's short stack of pancakes consisted of two fluffy pancakes that were also very rich.  She had trouble making it through half of what was on her plate.  I had a bite and while I thought they were good, they were a little too fluffy for my taste.  And they were definitely well done - just short of being burned on the sides.  

Overall, the breakfast and the experience at the White Gull Inn was very enjoyable.  They serve breakfast until noon every day, then they also have a lunch menu and a candlelight dinner menu on the nights they don't have their traditional fish boil.  The White Gull Inn was everything my friend said it would be and then some.  It's a quaint little place with very good food - even for a fish boil.  

An Authentic Traditional Door County Fish Boil

One of the major tourist attractions when one goes to Door County is an authentic traditional fish boil.  This is a big event for the restaurants that serve fish boils in Door County as it is almost as theatrical a process one can see when preparing food.  

The first and only fish boil I ever witnessed was years ago outside of Omaha, NE.  I forget the name of the restaurant, but they used to have fish boils at a place just south and west of Omaha in the summertime.  I remember they used to have a number of ads on the radio and one night I thought I'd just go out there and see what it entailed.  What I witnessed then and what we saw in Door County were almost identical.

We went to the White Gull Inn, a bed and breakfast/inn/restaurant in Fish Creek (see map).  The White Gull Inn has been around since 1896 and they serve traditional fish boils three times a night (5:45, 7:00 and 8:15) on Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.  People line up for the fish boils and pay something like $18.00 per person (adult) for the food.  And the food isn't anything to write home about - it's just fish and potatoes. 

It turns out the White Gull Inn was the first of what is now a number of places in Door County that does fish boils.  What was once only found at church fundraisers and in the backyards of Door County residents, the White Gull Inn began to do fish boils in the late 50's, exposing legions of tourists to the spectacle of the traditonal Door County fish boil.

Cindy and I got there about 5:15 and we weren't really hungry yet, having a late lunch when we got into Sturgeon Bay.  She wanted to see what all the hub-bub was regarding the traditional fish boils.  We went around back and there were a couple guys getting the pots ready for the boil.  The "Boil Over Crew" from the White Gull Inn were good guys and patiently explained the process over and over to the rapidly growing amount of people who were there to witness the fish boil.

Basically, they started out by firing up a black kettle full of heavily salted water - about one pound of salt for every two gallons of water.  The black kettles can stand any where from 50 to 75 boils before they have to be replaced.   Onions are then placed in the boiling water and about 10 to 20 minutes later, they add potatoes.  They cook the onions and potatoes for another half hour before they bring out the fish.

The fish they use is a variety of white fish caught usually earlier in the day in Lake Michigan.  The difference between the fish I had at the fish boil in Omaha versus this one is that the traditional Door County fish boil uses fish that have not been de-boned.  The one in Omaha I was at, they used white fish filets.  When Cindy found out that she had to de-bone her fish herself, she said, "I don't know if I can do that."

The boil over guy said, "Actually, the wait staff can show you how to do that.  It's pretty easy."

Still, Cindy was thinking a nice big juicy steak would be something a little better than a fish boil. 

A lot of people holding 5:45 p.m. dinner tickets began to gather around the ringed-off area in anticipation of the big moment when the boil over happens.  Before all that, though, the boil over guys take the big basket of fish and they put it in the boiling water for about 10 minutes.  They let the fish boil and the oils and fat from the fish come to the top of the water.

Now, here's the big moment - the boil over.  What the boil over is intended to do is to hyper-extend the temperature of the water and it boils over the top of the kettle, taking the fish oils with it.  In order to do that, the boil over crew has to throw about a half gallon of kerosene onto the fire.  The boil over guy stands with the kerosene at his side, making sure that he knows which way the wind is blowing.

Then he walks up and in one motion he throws the kerosene onto the fire.  There's this tremendous "whoosh" and intense heat from the fire when the kerosene is thrown on top.  Of course, there are "ooo's" and "ahh's" from people, along with screams from terrified old ladies, like the one who grabbed my arm when I was trying to get successive pictures of the fire.  

She thought she was grabbing onto her husband, who happened to be taking pictures on her other side.  I kind of looked at her, she looked at me and then she looked at her hands clasped tightly around my bicep, and quickly recoiled backwards with a horrified look on her face.  She said, "Oh, my gosh!  I thought you were my husband and I didn't want you to catch on fire!" 

Cindy got a big kick out that.  Cindy said, "Hittin' on the old ladies, huh, dear?"

Once the fire began to die down from the boil over, the two boil over guys take a large pipe and put it through the handles of the basket and pull it out of the water.  The fish, potatoes and onions are then taken inside for the scheduled feeding.  Already, people were lining up to get tickets for the 7 p.m. feed.  Cindy said, "You know, the more I get to looking at this, the more I think I need a steak."

So, that's what we did that evening.  We passed on a traditional fish boil at the White Gull Inn and went to a steak house instead.  But we did go back to the White Gull Inn the next morning for one of their breakfasts.  I'll talk about that experience in my next post.

Door County

I was all set to hang around home during my vacation this past August, but Cindy had other ideas.  She said she needed to get away for a few days and she suggested we go up to Door County in Wisconsin.  I looked into finding a place to stay and we took off for four or five days. 

Door County (see map) is the little "thumb" that sticks up and out of the state of Wisconsin with Lake Michigan on one side and Green Bay on the other side.  It's probably the number one vacation destination in Wisconsin with a lot of people from Chicago and Milwaukee having vacation homes in the area. 

Cindy and I spent a day in Door County just driving around once a number of years ago.  The area has a series of small towns and villages that feature shops, restaurants, and little inns and hotels.  We actually stayed in Sturgeon Bay at the base of the county and ended up driving the length of Door County nearly every day we were there. 

This time in Door Count, we ate at a lot of great restaurants, we witnessed an authentic Door County fish boil, and we did some shopping and looking around.  After we saw everything there was to see, it was time to go.  Cindy said she'd like to go back again sometime and just hang at a hotel or in one of the small towns for a few days. 

One of the places we went to during our trip to Door County was a re-visit to the Cana Island Lighthouse.  When we were in Door County about 11 years ago, it was during a vacation where Cindy and I were driving around the Great Lakes and taking pictures of lighthouses.  Cindy was studying art at the time and she wanted to paint pictures of lighthouses.  We took a lot of pictures of some pretty neat lighthouses and Cana Island was one of the best lighthouses we saw. 

When we were at Cana Island years ago, we parked at the end of a road and there was a shallow strip of water between the mainland and the island.  It was - at most - ankle deep.  There was a guy on an ATV who was charging people $5 bucks a head to go across to the island.  I was being cheap at the time and Cindy and I decided to walk in the water.  We both had a couple pair of old shoes in the car that we put on and we waded across.  Other than the water being a little cold, it was an easy walk.  And it also encouraged others to say, "Screw you!" to the guy on the ATV and walk across to Cana Island.

When we pulled up to the access to the island this time, we discovered that the water level of Lake Michigan had dropped over the years and it exposed the rocky causeway across to the island.  In fact, the level of Lake Michigan has dropped about four feet since we were there years ago.  It certainly put the guy on the ATV out of business.

The Cana Island lighthouse has been in existence since 1869.  It was automated in 1944 and was taken over by the Door County Maritime Museum in the early 70's and opened to the public for tours.  The United States Coast Guard maintains the light.  The Maritime Museum offers tour of the lightkeeper's house and allows people to go to the top of the tower.  It was kind of nice to be out there and we were the only people on the island (or is now a peninsula?).   Well, except for a family on bikes that came out and then left when Cindy threatened them.  (No, no, no...  She didn't threaten them directly, but she did voice her displeasure to me when they rode up and interrupted a very tranquil evening at the lighthouse.)

We walked around the rocky beach area behind the lighthouse getting pictures and watching the waves come in from the lake.  The weather was just gorgeous they whole time we were in Door County.  We saw a number of storms all around us during the week, including this storm that was off to the north of us that evening on Cana Island.  But we didn't get a drip of rain the whole time we were there.  Temps were in the mid-70's in the daytime and the low-50's at night.  It was great for mid-August.

Here's a shot of the lighthouse from the backside on the beach.  Of all the places we went to during our trip over 10 years ago to take pictures of lighthouses, we agreed the Cana Island lighthouse was the nicest.

Coming up, I'll give my impressions of some of the places we went to and ate at while we were in Door County.  It turned out to be a really nice experience and a nice place to vacation.