Egg Harbor Lodge News

Egg Harbor has an amazing new amphitheater… The Peg Egan Performing Arts Center located on Church Street near Newport Resort.  It’s a pretty cool thing for such a small town.  The free concerts will be on Sunday nights at 7:00 pm.  There are some awesome musicians booked for this summer starting tomorrow night.  Sunday’s concert features Copper Box… Tex-Mex, Polka (my favorite of course), country, blues and Zydeco.  Bring a blanket, chair and a bottle of wine and hang out for the evening.  I can’t think of a better Father’s Day treat. (Apparently, if it rains the festivities will be held at the Orchard’s Golf Course Clubhouse.)

 As long as I have been dishing about Door County Restaurants, I can’t forget Mike’s Port Pub in Jacksonport.  Mike’s is owned by Mark’s sister Barbie and her husband Mike Lautenbach.  They operate it along with their kids Casey (Kelly), Megan and Leila.  My dad bought the Egg Harbor Lodge from Mike’s dad in 1976.  In Door County, EVERYBODY is either related or has a connection.  Mike has great pub style food, with specials from tenderloin to complete chicken dinners.  Mike’s is a really casual and fun place… They have great Bloody Mary’s and do fun things for Packer Games (free jello shots…) and other sporting events.  It is usually packed on Friday and Saturday nights but the service is really good, so there usually isn’t too long of a wait.  Plus, their bartender Joy, makes phenomenal Old-Fashioneds. They just put in a flat screen, so we can watch the away Packer games.  Barbie and Mike have 4 season tickets and Mark and I are lucky enough to get two for each home game.  Mike’s is definitely a place to check out. 

Saturday night, we went to dinner with our friends Lauren and John… they have been staying at Egg Harbor Lodge for years.  Lauren was our favorite nurse at St. Vincent Hospital when our son Josh had Leukemia in 1985.  We have kept in touch ever since and our Josh, Thank God, is perfectly fine.  Anyway, we decided to go to the Waterfront Restaurant in Sister Bay because it is Lauren & John’s favorite.  I am not usually a fan of expensive restaurants, because I love to cook and I always figure I can make the same things at home.  Well, in this case I would be so wrong.  There is no way in hell, I could make any of these dishes.  The food was amazing and the restaurant itself is just beautiful with a great view of the water.  For starters we had the seared sea scallops and calamari… really, really good.  I had the iceberg wedge with bleu cheese and the pulled duck confit with hand-rolled lemon thyme linguine and a pecorino cream sauce.  Lauren had her usual, the halibut and John followed suit. Mark had the sea scallops. It was truly one of the best meals ever, the only thing better was the company we kept.  After dinner we stopped at JJ’s next door (both restaurants are owned by the Johnson family). Mark was our DD, so the rest of enjoyed a margarita.  JJ’s is a hot spot for the locals… I know we love to head up to JJ’s when ever we get a chance, particularly in the off-season.   I love mexican food  and JJ’s is great.  Door County is fortunate to have so many really good restaurants and eating out is our my favorite thing to do.

No, I am not talking about cherry or apple orchards, I am talking about The Orchards Golf Course, right here in Door County.  After a devastating fire last year, the new clubhouse is finished and is open for lunch and dinner.  The clubhouse has a full bar, men and women’s shower facilities, pro shop… you name it.  The new clubhouse is big enough for weddings and parties… Kim, the daytime bar manager had her own wedding reception there recently.  She said it was the perfect setting for a wedding reception and dance.  Our friend, Jack Jackson is the managing partner and is married to Egg Harbor’s own, Robin Hamm.  The course itself is a championship 18 hole course built on 200 acres of rolling hills.  The Orchard’s was a favorite of my Dad’s.  He not only loved the course, but he and Jack had been friends for many years.  Three of our four kids have worked for Jack over the years.  We wish Jack and Robin and everyone at the Orchard’s, a great season.

All you bargain hunters, listen up!  Egg Harbor is hosting their annual SIDEWALK SALES  this weekend.  Egg Harbor has some of the best boutiques in Door County.  Maxwell’s House has an eclectic mix of home accessories.  Shaun and Karen Peterson do an excellent job with everything from rugs to lighting… they have tons of cool glassware.  Right next door is Jane’s, owned by Egg Harbor native Janey Lautenbach.   Janey has really beautiful clothing and jewelry for women. Jane’s dad and uncle were the original owners of Casey’s… back in the day.  My parents bought Egg Harbor Lodge (originally Crestwood Motel) from them.  Anyway, back to the sales… there will be bargain’s galore and not only that, the Egg Harbor Men’s club will be hosting their annual Brat Fry in Harbor View Park.  The Men’s Club runs our Egg Harbor Baseball team who play against West Jacksonport (huge rivals) this Sunday in Egg Harbor.  Games start at 1:30 and they are a lot of fun.  So between the sidewalk sales, brat fry,free fishing and baseball game, their will be tons to do in Egg Harbor this weekend.