Rachel B.
Yelp
I can honestly say I've never eaten a better piece of fish in my life!
My husband and I are taking a summer trip to Walloon Lake, MI, where his family shares a cottage. There aren't that many options in the nearby vicinity of his house, but we love to walk to "The Foot" of the lake every night.
Other than a general store, a post office, and some great views of the water, what distinguishes the foot is the Walloon Lake Inn. My husband had been there before when he was younger, and we decided to give it a try for our first night in town.
I was immediately taken by the floral wallpaper and light wood paneling. It was old-fashioned and "soft," and of course this makes sense considering that the Inn also doubles as a Bed and Breakfast with five rooms. The service was friendly, and we were given probably the best seat in the house, right by the window, so we could watch the sun glimmer off our water glasses. Each table had a tiny glass vase of bright, fresh flowers.
The dining area wasn't huge, but wasn't very confined or small either. When we arrived, we were one of three tables occupied, but by the time we left, almost every seat was taken.
The menu had a lot of appetizers of different varieties to choose from, ranging from soups to salads to pot stickers and tenderloin satay. The entree list was not very long, and was mostly comprised of fish dishes. However, they had about five specials that night. I chose one of them, the pan-seared Alaskan Halibut with lemon-dill risotto, leeks, and a ginger-carrot broth. My husband had the hanger steak with pesto, a southwestern rub, and these ridiculously good whipped potatoes with cheese. Both dishes were served with fresh vegetables.
The salads were beautiful. They were decorated with fresh flowers from the garden. The greens were chilled and crisp, and I loved the dressing. My husband tried the special salad, which had strawberries, currants, and chevre. The bread basket also stood out--piping hot, sturdy, crispy rolls with whipped butter. Classic and delicious.
The entrees were out of this world. I thought back to my top three "fish dish moments" of my life and this trumped each one. The halibut was perfectly cooked; it was moist and flavorful on its own, but when you added all the other components to it, it was unique and memorable. My husband loved his steak, as did I (because of course I had to try it, along with the potatoes and the pesto). A GREAT job. My dish also had a single tiny flower on top, again from the garden - what a nice touch.
I refrained from eating dessert, but my husband wanted some. He giggled like a five-year-old when the waiter mentioned they specialized in three different types of Hummers (I had never heard this term before, but apparently in this area it refers to a milkshake made with alcohol - sort of like a Mudslide). The traditional Hummer had vanilla ice cream, kahlua, myer's rum,and vodka. Their "signature" Hummer had that but also added chambord and chocolate chips. Finally, they had one that included a piped homemade chocolate mousse within the drink. That's the one he went for. And he wolfed it down...after it was all over, he had a very strong "ice cream headache" considering the fact that he was majorly buzzed. Or, er, Hummed?
Anyway. Going to the Walloon Lake Inn was a great choice. We had a wonderful meal all around; the service was fantastic, and the food was definitely something to remember.