So given that this might be our last extended visit in the Northwoods for a while, it would seem to be a hard choice to just pick a few.
But for me, my "last supper" had to be at The Fireside Supper Club.
First, there is the view. The Fireside Club, usually referred to by locals as just "Fireside," is located on Townline Lake which is a small lake just a few miles east of Rhinelander. Even when the view of the lake from the dining room is partially hidden, it is obscured by beautiful Northwoods pine and hardwood trees, the latter which burst forth in color in the fall.
For many of us "old timers," Townline Lake conjures up memories apart from the restaurant. When was I was in junior high back in the 1960s, Townline Lake was THE swimming lake of choice.
At that time, the area in front of Fireside (then known as Lee's Fireside) was a sandy man-made beach. Since the lake was so close to town, mothers routinely dropped off carloads of teenagers at Townline Lake for the day.
There we lolled the day away swimming, floating on blow-up rafts, and, slathered in baby oil and with Sun-In our hair, sunning on beach towels with transistor radios blaring.
Now, the beach area has been allowed to return to its natural weedy state which makes it perfect for fishing.
The staff at Fireside, always welcoming and efficient, is another reason this is one of our favorite supper clubs.
Earl and Margo Morey have been the owners since 1989, and Margo is often the hostess, always patient and unflappable even when dealing with the Friday night fish fry crowd. Margo and I attended Trinity Lutheran Church and Rhinelander High School together, so I always feel like I'm walking into a friend's home when we visit the restaurant.
The waitstaff and bartenders are also exceptional, and we have been waited on by some of the same waiters for years.
While we have enjoyed countless fish fries at Fireside, for this special meal we chose a quieter week day, and once again we remembered how Fireside is just "more."
As we sipped our cocktails, we sampled the cracker basket. Then we were quickly served crispy, well-garnished salads.
At Fireside, you also get a small basked of assorted warm dinner breads with your salad, and that night I couldn't resist the bite-sized cornbread muffins which were slightly sweet.
Then came our SECOND course which at Fireside means a choice of soup or juice. My husband always orders the piping hot French onion soup. He invariably burns his mouth because he can't wait to dig into the broiled cheese crown.
I usually pass on the soup/juice course, but this night I couldn't resist the fantastic beef and dumpling soup. It was filled with lots of tender beef and small, toothsome dumplings.
My husband and I usually try to avoid ordering the same entrée, but this night we both had to have one of the day's specials which was rainbow trout.
While I chose the side of steamed vegetables and my husband chose the baked potato, the star of the meal was clearly the trout.
Pan-fried to perfection, the trout was perhaps the juiciest fish I've ever had. When I poked my fork in for the first bite, it literally squirted--in a good way.
The beautiful, tender pink flesh was mild and reminded me of salmon. (It was just as good the next day!)
What better way to end this wonderful meal than with an after-dinner ice cream drink? We had been watching the expert bartender prepare these all evening, and we knew had to get in on the action.
We sat at the bar to better observe the making of the Banana Banshee the bartender prepared for us to share.
She filled the industrial blender to the top with scoops of vanilla ice cream before adding the vodka, creme de cacao, banana liqueur and heavy cream and then whirring it to icy perfection.
"Perfection" is a good word with which to end this restaurant recap because this meal, as with all the meals we've enjoyed at Fireside over the years, was exactly that.
