I was in Green Bay over the weekend, arriving on Thursday evening. Didn't have any idea as to where to eat -- had concentrated my LTH searching on our trip to Door County the next day. So, we were at the mercy of the hotel desk and the tourist magazines.
We decided on a supper club, although we had no idea what a supper club meant. So we asked at the hotel desk (the Holiday Inn, City Center). The clerk indicated that it was a casual dining establishment, so I took that to mean that it would be like the restaurant/taverns in Central Illinois. Nope. I am sure that I'm the absolutely last person on this forum to figure it out, but a Wisconsin supper club is the kind of place where you go in and first have a drink at the bar. They were taken aback when we wanted to go to the table right away.
First we went out Green Bay to Eagles' Nest. It might have been nice, but when we drove up at 5:30 or so, there were NO cars in the lot. Someone drove up as we did, and when we asked them how it was, they gave a very tepid endorsement. Unfortunately for Eagles' Nest, the garbage bins were out front, and given that the temp had been 90+ for several days, it was pretty rank and put us off. Completely. We did not go there, despite the advertised 180 degree view of the bay.
Next, we checked out Patrick's. Patrick's is the best rated restaurant in Green Bay, and the prices were too high for my elderly aunts. On to the next one.
We landed at Eve's Supper Club, which is on Riverside Drive in Green Bay on the 4th floor of a medical office building. As I said, they were surprised that we wanted to be seated immediately. None of the supper clubs we checked out had pasta on the menu(!); everything was meat-centric. I ended up having the fried perch dinner, which had a nice perch flavor, but did not seem to be hand-breaded. The meal came with a relish tray and bread, salad and potatoes. Love the relish trays. My sister had the pan-fried walleye, which was huge, and looked fabulous. She said it was delicious. My aunts both had grilled chicken breasts, which were fine. For dessert we had a strawberry shaum torte, which was meringue (soft, but still crunchy) with ice cream and fresh berries. Very nice for $4.95.
We had breakfast on Friday at Julie's Cafe & Catering in Green Bay. It was a local version of Baker's Square, and appeared to be housed in an old BS location. The food was sad, and I do not recommend. The other 3 had french toast, which all appeared to be undercooked. I had a single pancake, which was ok, but then what can you do to a pancake? The cinnamon rolls were huge, but just didn't look appetizing.
In Door County we had ice cream at Not Licked Yet based on a recommendation from LTH. It was great. I had the Mackinack fudge child's cup, which was more than enough -- chocolate custard with bits of fudge in it in a cup, but with a bonus cone stuck on the top. Very good. Everyone else had a single dip of butter pecan on a cone, and they said it was too much ice cream (although they finished it), and there were tons of pecans in the ice cream -- more than I've ever seen in butter pecan. Thumbs way up!
Door County took a lot out of my elderly aunts, so dinner was in the hotel dining room. It wasn't that bad. Everyone had the perch, and while it was clearly hand-breaded, it didn't have that fresh perch flavor that I tasted at Eve's. Still, very good.
On Saturday we went to a wedding, and the reception was a pig roast (not like the central Illinois pig roasts). The pig had been butchered and stuffed, and then the skin was left intact, along with the head, curly tail, and the little legs. Everyone took pictures (except me). The pig was really good.
On Saturday night after the wedding, my sister and I went back to the hotel bar for drinks. I have to say, people in Wisconsin seem to have more fun than people in Illinois. First, the supper clubs are more fun. Then, at the bar, there were several older couples (55+) dancing, and 2 couples who had to be 70+ that were dancing. Way to go!
I think we need more supper clubs in Illinois, and more places where older people can go to dance. And yes, I'm old enough to join AARP.