Traverse City Record-Eagle,  May 2, 2003

Fischer's Happy Hour: It's all in the details

Talk to any food-lover who has spent much time in Leelanau and sooner or later you'll hear about the awesome burgers at Paul and Lori Fischer's Happy Hour near Northport. Awesome burgers, however, aren't the only foundation on which the good reputation of this old-time, family-operated roadhouse rests. It rests, too, on cheerful, swift and efficient service at even the busiest of times, and on a time-tested menu that also includes hearty soup, fresh local fish, generous salads and homemade dressings and pies.

     But most of all, it rests on unflagging attention to the details of both food and service and the practiced routines of a well-drilled team that takes nothing for granted.

     As a result, Fischer's is the sort of busy, happy place where the ambient sound is the animated conversation of people having fun together over a good meal. It is also very popular among the Leelanau locals, so you can expect to wait for a table on busy evenings even in the off-season. In summer, the waiting line often goes all the way across the sun-porch and out the front door. Don't let that keep you away. All those people are there for a good reason.

     We enjoy going there to recoup spent calories after an afternoon's cycling among the orchards or hiking Leelanau's dunes. Our recent visit followed a trek along the Sleeping Bear shoreline on one of those spring weekends when the last of the ice was melting. Arriving at 6 p.m. we quickly found a table, but within 30 minutes a waiting throng of a dozen or more milled about the porch. Caught a bit short-handed by unexpectedly brisk business so early in the year, the practiced staff never skipped a beat. Three servers did the work of four with ease and good humor, and Paul himself helped out in the kitchen. Our order was taken promptly, the meal was served with aplomb and good cheer but neither rush nor delay, and the food was as good as the service.

     Naturally, one of us had a burger. The other ordered perch, which is Fischer's standard fish dinner only when there's ice on the lake and Paul can't buy whitefish directly from the Carlsons in Leland. Fischer breads his perch only lightly, drains it thoroughly after frying, and serves it up in generous quantities, accompanied by salads of crisp, fresh greens, tomato, cucumber and house-made blue cheese or ranch dressing. 

     And the burger? Well, let's just say this place takes burgers very seriously. They start with a third of a pound of good beef, grill it as you ask, and adorn it on request with grilled onions and the cheese of your choice¾Swiss, cheddar, American or blue. Then they tuck it into a grilled, oversized sesame bun and deliver it with an array of additional options, from catsup, mustard and relish to generous, fresh, white onion slices.

     Our side orders were classics. The lightly breaded, thickly sliced onion rings actually tasted like onions¾moist, pungent and sweet. And the French fries were just the way you remember your first one ever: crisp and golden outside, but moist and soft within.

     Part of the magic of Fischer's is the informal, barroom atmosphere, reminiscent of the days when it was a saloon, before Paul's dad, Stanley, bought it and made it into a family restaurant in 1971. In the pine-paneled front room, booths and tables are arrayed around the bar at one end and a pool table at the other. The same family-friendly atmosphere spills over into the dining room in back on busy nights.

     Fischer's Happy Hour is such a Leelanau institution that it's virtually part of the landscape. Like many of his neighbors, Paul appreciates how fragile that landscape is, and he is content to focus on pleasing the happy customers he already has rather than seeking to attract yet more tourists.

     Paul and Lori took over from his dad a decade or so ago, and it remains very much a family operation. Lori still makes all the pies and soups, and the staff includes a daughter and a niece. It's no surprise that they take care of their customers as if the family livelihood depends on it. It does.

DATA: Fischer's Happy Hour, 7144 N. Manitou Trail W., Northport. 231-386-9923. Open 7 days, 11 to 11 (exc. closed part of December).