Summer Kitchen Restaurant

Summer Kitchen Restaurant, Ephraim, WI, Door County

The Summer Kitchen garden restaurant’s menu was a unique balance of comfort food with culinary wisdom, but a bit too pricey.

I telephoned the Summer Kitchen since my husband, John, and I were traveling with two dogs, and we knew some restaurants in Door County would allow eating on their patios with the dogs at our feet. This owner allowed us just that. We took the back road route from Bailey’s Harbor to Ephraim, but it wasn’t difficult to find. We followed 42N to Q where we turned west and north again on Town Line. At the intersection of Town Line and 42Hwy we spotted the welcoming red Summer Kitchen sign.

Seated in a corner next to the railings, we leashed down the dogs. Our courteous waitress rattled off the daily soups. There are always five and this day the favorites of Chicken Dumpling, Cream of Wild Rice and Mushroom, French Cabbage with Sausage, Spicy Tomato Dill, and a tomato based Clam Chowder were being served and offered the specials to include fennel sausage lasagna, a whitefish platter, and the Mexican special, chile relleño. After enjoying a sweet horchata, I ordered the cup of soup and whitefish, John ordered a salad with lasagna. A refill is possible with the horchata, but although tasty, I thought the flavor was overpowered by sugar. I switched to iced tea.

The Wild Rice and Mushroom was delicious. It had perfect creaminess, plenty of mushrooms all complimented by wild rice. After eating every drop, I regretted not ordering the all you can eat soup bar. This restaurant, known for its daily soups, has produced two spiral-bound soup cookbooks including an explanation of how to make the perfect soup stock. These cookbooks can be ordered online.

The $17.95 whitefish platter was more food than necessary, but perhaps justifying an overpriced local fish dinner requires large servings. The fillet was cooked to perfection, flaky, well seasoned with a mild paprika and olive oil. Although a bit too salty for my taste, it did not take away from the experience. I was disappointed that the baked potato was served with cold packets of butter; I expected whipped butter, we were in Wisconsin after all. The vegetable medley had an addicting light crunch maintaining their integrity with just the right seasonings. John ate his entire veggie medley, even the squash which he declared upon marriage he was unable to swallow. The fennel in the sausage brought out the sweetness of the tomato sauce. John devoured this vegetable filled meat lasagna which tells me “traditional” lasagna isn’t required by him. Again the $14.95 serving was generous. We passed on the tempting desserts.

I will try to replicate the whitefish recipe in my own kitchen, but for John, his memory of the Summer Kitchen is “the little overpriced garden place, with good food.” With tip, we ate over $50.00 of food that didn’t include dessert or alcoholic drinks.


Summer Kitchen
10425 Water St, N Hy 42
Ephraim, Door County, WI 54211920-854-2131
http://www.thesummerkitchen.com/
originally posted July 9

Espresso Lane, Baileys Harbor, WI

Espresso Lane, Baileys Harbor, WI



Why can’t all coffee shops be this adorable and functional? This wi-fi cafe sits high on the hill in front of the beach on the main road, Hwy57/42, in Baileys Harbor. It loudly invites every patron with its old-style architecture, outdoor seating and lawn chairs. The beverage choices were numerous, shaming Starbucks’ menu, and their breakfast choices were just complete. I enjoyed a soy vanilla steamer with my breakfast egg, bacon, cheese croissant sandwich. The egg actually had a yoke, and the bacon was perfectly crisp. If you have a cholesterol issue, short of ordering something healthy, you may wish for them not to add extra butter to the butter-flaking croissant. But for me, the added smear of butter, made the sandwich that much fresher.

After eating on the lawn, my husband John slowly sipped his dark roast and enjoyed the scenery. But the sun beamed over the beach enhancing the glare on my laptop, so I went inside to use the wi-fi which our lodging, the Ridges Resort and Guest House did not have. Like the outside, the interior casual, country-style decoration made it easy for me to settle in and answer a few emails.
I must praise the wait service. Even during breakfast peak time, we were served on the lawn which was great. I prevented me from having to go up and down the many stairs even though the view is worth the climb.

Kathleen Brandt
stradercom@aol.com
originally posted July 10, 2009

The Wisconsin Fish Boil, Scaturo’s Baking Company and Cafe
Sturgeon Bay



If you prefer light and flaky or bold and steak-like fish, you’ll love a Door County Fish Boil. Restaurants that specialize in fish boils invite you, between Memorial Day and the beginning of bad weather, to join them with this traditional meal of local fish and vegetables.

They even invite you to come to their outdoor kitchen, a large kettle over a blazing fire, to watch them with the “boil over.” The chef-du-jour adds heat to the fire, in the form of kerosene, and allows the fish oils and seasonings to boil right over onto the vegetables in the double layered pot. This is what differentiates a fish dinner and a Fish Boil; well, that and flavor.

Scaturos Baking Company and Cafe, in Sturgeon Bay, is just the place to experience such a feast. Begin with a local cherry beverage. Everything being cherry on this peninsular, John, my husband, had a cherry wine from a local vineyard, and I had a fresh sangria. This was a treat to both the eyes and the tongue. The sangria was not too sugary sweet, but carried a bouquet of fruit that balanced well with the wine.

We were served creamy coleslaw, but not sure if it was an appetizer or not, John ate his immediately; I chose to wait. Even though we had 6:00 reservations and the boil-over wasn’t until 6:30, we passed on any pre-dinner tasting, as to not waste our stomach capacity on filler food. This was a wise choice for us.

At 6:25 we were ushered outside to watch the boil over. Impressed with the Scaturo chef’s timing and culinary knowledge, we returned to our enclosed patio seating area and were give full plates of the chef’s labor: whitefish, carrots, pearl onions, and red potatoes in a butter and lemon bath of seasonings. It took a few tries to conquer the fish bones. The waitress guided us in expertly pulling the tail up and out in one piece, removing the bones with it.

Dinner came with cherry pie dessert and for $1.00 more you could enjoy it with ice-cream. Having had two plates of fish and veggies, even if I did want desserts, there was no room. But John never looked up until his dessert plate was clean. I assume that is a statement of its own on the delights of Scaturo’s Baking Company and Cafe.

Scaturo's Baking Company and Cafe

19 Green Bay Road
Sturgeon Bay, WI 54235Phone: (920) 746-8727
E-mail: scaturos@gmail.com

Kathleen Brandt
stradercom@aol.com
originally posted July 11, 2009