I
tried escargot for the first time
on a river cruise in Europe and,
although it was with some
trepidation that I took my first
bite, I loved it. Similar to a
mushroom, it had been drenched in
butter and garlic so it was quite
tasty. The second time I had
escargot was just recently at the
Harbor Fish Market and Grille on the
charming peninsula of Door County,
Wisconsin. This time the escargot
were tucked neatly away under a
delicious and flaky crust but again
were delicious. You may think a small
restaurant in Wisconsin is an unlikely
place to find escargot and you are
right, but this charming restaurant
in a historic building on the main
street of Bailey’s Harbor features
amazing gourmet dining, along with
a fantastic view of the bay complete
with outside dining.
The large building in which the
restaurant is located was added to
a smaller building in 1908, which
was originally used as an ice cream
parlor and later a tavern. The larger
building was used as a tavern and
dance hall where whole families
would come to dance; the children
were put to bed upstairs while the
adults continued dancing. In the ice
cream parlor, cones were only five
cents, later on in the ’40s and ’50s,
movies were shown, and there was
roller skating on the hardwood floors
on Sundays. The building went
through a few owners until 1997
when it was bought by restaurateurs
Carl and Karen Berndt; our family
was thrilled to pay them a visit on
a recent visit to Door County.
Carl has been in the restaurant/
entertainment business for nearly 50
years and has been a very successful
small business owner. Karen and Carl
met over 20 years ago when they
bred their golden retrievers and it
was love at first sight – for owners
and dogs! Over the years, all five of
their children have worked with
them in the restaurant. They have
a fascinating story of what they do
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