Allow me to suggest an answer…”Let’s go to Door County!”  Now, I am not a meteorologist, but these people are at The Weather Channel are, and their forecast for Egg Harbor for Friday and Saturday of Memorial Day weekend  is mid 70′s and sunny!

Hmm, sounds pretty nice to me.

Now, the next question “Honey, where should we stay?”  Well, as luck would have it, I can answer that question for you, too!

“Let’s stay at the Lull-Abi in Egg Harbor!”

Depending on the day, I have a good assortment of rooms left, and for the first time in years the Apartment is available (some of our favorite guests who always rent this unit bought a lake home, and we will miss them!).  Prices are still at pre-season rates with single queens at $69, two queens at $79, apartment at $159.  If you’re really thrifty the smaller value rooms are only $59!

So click right here on the Lull-Abi Inn link and make a reservation.  You deserve a Door County weekend!

See you Memorial Day!

Bruce & Gail

After 2 successful years of providing late night bus service to the various bars around Door County, I’m happy to hear that they have expanded their service to Egg Harbor and the Co Rd E bars.  Yes, finally you can get on at Casey’s and get a ride to the Coyote Roadhouse, Bayside, or your other favorite watering hole.

This business was started by Kate Hastings, a Door County native who is somehow related to my friend Sarah Hastings Sawyer from the Egg Harbor Lodge.

Prices are reasonable at $5 for one ride, or $15 for a full night’s pass.  The new schedule is below, but will be changing.  Check their website at Door County Hop-N-Stop

Remember, this is not an all inclusive list, just some places you might not find without a little help!

Countryside Diner in Brussels- The hash brown sandwich is a reputation builder for this country diner on old Hwy 42 in Brussels.  Think of a square pile of hash browns with onions, peppers bacon, ham, and eggs.  But the trick is that all those goodies are cooked inside the hash browns, with the hash browns being the “bun”.  I have never been able to finish half of it!

Morning Glory Hwy 57 Sturgeon Bay.  This is a place you would drive by.  It sits off the side of the highway across from the BP station on the south end of Sturgeon Bay.  Nothing fancy here!  But, this is a great, cheap breakfast, and it’s all locals.  Good food, lots of it.

Corner Cafe Third Ave Sturgeon Bay-  Sally, the owner, had a restaurant by the shipyard called My Sister’s Cafe.  She closed it and moved to the former Pudgy Seagull right downtown on Third Av.  Same menu, same great prices.  The shipbuilders breakfast is great, and think about biscuits and gravy as two sausage, biscuit, and cheese sandwiches with the eggs and gravy over the sandwiches!  Yikes!  Have not had it myself, but my buddy told me about it yesterday and he is the b&g king!

Mel’s Diner, Third Ave Sturgeon Bay- I have only eaten here once, and was pleased that one of my favorite breakfast waitresses, Sarah, had moved here.  Cute little cafe, a little more upscale than some of the other places on my list, but wonderful food and a “must return” this winter after the season.

Mike’s Port Pub, Jacksonport- This year The Sandpiper in Baileys Harbor was sold and closed as a restaurant.  The two ladies who did breakfast there have moved to my buddy’s bar in Jacksonport.  Open at 7:00, food is plentiful and fast!  Friendly joint, locals all around, and a liquor license if you wanna toss in a screwdriver.  This is a great addition to our breakfast choices.

Square Rigger, Jacksonport- Ironically, Sarah, my waitress from Mel’s has moved here for the season.  Nice water view, good food, and another one with a liquor license.

Harbor Fish Market, Baileys Harbor- This is a higher end seafood restaurant, but in the morning they serve breakfast.  The claim to fame is the Bar Buster Breakfast, which consists of eggs, sausage, bacon, spuds, and toast for $5.  It is not just one of these and one of those, but a full plate of food. It’s only served at the bar.

Cornerstone Tap, Baileys Harbor- Another comfortable, friendly breakfast place, I have breakfast here every Saturday with my friends.  Good food, friendly staff, full of Baileys Harbor/Egg Harbor b.s., which can run pretty deep!  This is where you go to ask the snowplow driver to take down the big pile preventing you from getting your snowmobile in your front yard.

Pen Pub, corner A&E, baileys Harbor- I’ll toss this one in ’cause friends of mine own the place.  They are starting breakfast in mid May, I’m guessing it’s gonna be good.  Kyle will be making stuffed pancakes and I’m looking forward to it.

Rusty Tractor, Carlsville- Right on the Carlsville curve is a converted barn that has the absolute largest breakfast servings I’ve ever seen!  Skillets, cakes, french toast, and more.  Come very hungry and leave very full.  Good food, lots of it.  About 4 miles south of the Lull-Abi Inn.

Summertime, Fish Creek-  Also a higher end restaurant, Summertime puts out probably the best biscuits and gravy I’ve had.  They also have an early bird special which is about $4.  They have some different items than just regular fare.  If you eat in the bar area there is a nice view of Fish Creek and the marina, it’s pretty laid back and low key.

Pelletiers, Fish Creek- Well known for their fish boils at night, during the day they make good solid breakfasts, especially the pancakes.  I know everybody has their own special pancakes, but these are the ones I like.  Also an early bird special around $5 or so.

The Viking Grille, Ellison Bay- Walking into the Viking Grill on a cold winter day when Dan is just putting out a tray of home made donuts (still warm) is about as good as it gets, especially since it’s a pretty good drive up there, about a half hour in off season.  But once there you sit at the counter, coffee in hand, and open up your Chicago Trib and just relax.  They make excellent potato pancakes, and all the rest of the “breakfast stuff”.  Worth the drive.

So, I hope this helps you find some great low key breakfast joints in Door County.  Just be sure not to sit in my spot, ’cause I’ll make you move!

As a kid growing up I always loved the drive-in.  My father had a penchant for Buick convertibles, big ones.  I remember this baby blue 1961 Electra 225 that he bought.  The family would go to the drive-in, and when we got there he would unzip the back window so my brother and I could sit on the back seat and look over the top to watch the movie.

I’ve always enjoyed drive-ins, and we have a real live drive-in here in Door County.  Located on the north end of Fish Creek, it’s open from May through October, and in classic drive-in style it has a double feature all the time.  And these are first run movies, too.  So, here’s a quick video for you from my buddy Jon:

Skyway Drive-In

About 6 years ago, when I was Village President, Richard and Pam Wegner bought a kinda rundown building in Egg Harbor and remodeled it into Liberty Square.  It opened as a combination of shops and a great cafe called The Bistro.  Over the years they have continued to remodel and improve the location, and it’s now a great destination of merchandise, a deli/wine/cheese shop, and The Bistro serving breakfast, lunch and dinner.

But there was always one part of the building that was hard to make something out of.  So, last year Pam and Dick opened up this wonderful “Italian Steakhouse” named Galileo’s.  ”What’s an Italian steakhouse?”, you ask.  Well, it’s kinda Like Harry Caray’s in Chicago.  Great pastas, great steaks and chops, and a wonderful selection of wines by the glass and bottle.  They also have a full bar.

Galileo’s was quite an undertaking.  First, the existing kitchen had to be remodeled and expanded, which meant moving walls.  The bar had to be built, and the decorations, which are very elaborate and detailed.  Oh yeah, and they had to figure out the menu, too!

Let me tell you that the whole thing came together very well.  The final detail was that they hired a buddy of mine, Dale Kiehnau, to manage the bar.  For those of you familiar with Door County, Dale is the previous owner of the Pen Pub.

So, now we have this great Italian restaurant, fun bartender, wonderful atmosphere, and it’s located right downtown.  They open May 18, and tomorrow is the private menu and wine tasting, which, of course, I will be attending.  Here’s the website and menu, perhaps I will see you there!

http://libertysquareshops.com/Galileos.html

One of the good things about this weekend is friends opening their businesses.  I had breakfast this morning with Terry Bolin, the owner of Summertime restaurant in Fish Creek.  The nice thing about it was that it was at his restaurant ’cause he’s open!  Tom Young was there, too, and he’s opening Gibraltar Grille  today, Julie’s Cafe is open, Parador and Trio open this weekend, and my buddy Joe Smith opened a new gourmet hot dog and soft serve ice cream shop right downtown Egg Harbor.  It’s in the yellow building right across from Shipwrecked.

Met Sarah Sawyer from the Egg Harbor Lodge there today, she also opened this weekend so my morning coffee stop is open.

And of course, the Lull-Abi Inn is open, actually have quite a few check-ins this weekend.  C’mon up!

Cherry Train

The Island is an interesting place to visit, the boat ride over and back is great!

Here is the Wash Island Chamber website!

So, if you have the time, think about a trip to the Island next time you’re in Door County!

I thought everyone would enjoy this one about Peninsula State Park, one of my favorite places on the Peninsula.

Peninsula State Park Video

Click here for shows and tickets

Now, here are the ones I am interested in

“The Door County Beer Festival is about good beer, good food, good music and good fun! It’s an event for beer lovers and foodies – and it’s a showcase for those who appreciate the craft of making great beer. We’ll be bringing you a half dozen seminars on beer, cheese, local food, and putting them all together. Plus, there will be great live music and the best in locally-sourced food available from local producers and restaurants.”

The website is right here, you can also purchase tickets at this site.  Looks like fun!

The second beer festival is the Egg Harbor Ale Fest, planned for Sept 22, 2012 right here in Egg Harbor.  Details will be coming soon!  Look for great Octoberfest beers from Wisconsin’s premier craft breweries.

There ya go, beer drinkers and foodies…two great new festivals this year!