T. Ashwell's - Ellison Bay, WI

There is a place called Door County Wisconsin, it is the little peninsula thing sticking off the east side of the state. This area is the Midwest's answer to Martha's Vineyard. It actually has a few vineyards and the best part there are many fine dining establishments.

One of our favorite restaurants is T. Ashwell's. We found this restaurant when we first started coming to the Door County area for vacation. We try to come up once a year and this is one of the first places we go.

The restaurant was a lodge, properly named The Ellison Bay Lodge. It had many guest rooms and served their summer long guests every meal. As you walked up past gardens of the entrance you can tell that you are entering a place that has a long history.

Now the important part, the food. I had the special appetizer, which was sauteed morel mushrooms. You only get these in season, so it is a very special treat. My main course was a bone-in ribeye which was cooked to perfection. I normally would be a little more adventurous and not get a steak, but for some reason I was craving meat.

We shared the appetizer and salad, but what was most remarkable was what my wife got, which was: VEGETARIAN TASTING - Italian fire roasted tomato & mozzarella bread pudding, with a sun dried tomato, caper-cream sauce paired with roasted vegetable raviolis, tossed with fresh mint pesto & caramelized apples finished with an aged Parmesan cheese custard timbale with a roasted tomato coulis. Neither one of us are vegetarians, but I'll tell you what, if all vegetarian meals were like this I might not want meat as much.

A few days later we saw in a real-estate magazine that the restaurant is up for sale. We are really going to miss T. Ashwell's if Chef Smith sells, especially since we have been going there since they opened. Maybe if you take our advice and go to his restaurant he will reconsider his decision to sell. It is a tough market with only 3 good months or so to be busy and T. Ashwell's stays open all year, we really don't know how any restaurants make it.

https://www.tashwells.com/