We confess up front to a personal fondness for the restaurant in Alden now known as Tuma's on Torch, as we were married on the lawn there one April evening in 1991. So when Mike, Ruth and Todd Tuma reopened for the season this April, we were drawn there like a pair of migrating lovebirds.

     We had both a lovely meal and a delightful time, but before getting to the details we should at least try to clear up any lingering confusion about the recent history of the place. Twelve years ago the café didn't exist, and the restaurant in the house next door was Spencer Creek Landing. The café was added in the mid-90s when pricey, white tablecloth restaurants took to adding simpler bistros. For a few years, the café operated variously as Spencer Creek Café and Crystal Club. Last year the Tumas bought it and renamed it Tuma's on Torch.

     One thing that has not changed is the charm of getting there. The back roads to Alden are lovely and scenic whether you approach from the north around Torch Lake or along Crystal Beach Rd. from Torch River to the south. The café itself is a picture-perfect cottage sun-porch all in white with wrap-around sash windows that overlook a lawn and the lake. The setting fairly compels lingering over dinner and savoring every glorious minute of a summer evening.

     We were mildly surprised to find the place rather busy only a few days after reopening. The staff certainly hadn't been caught off guard, however, and the service was exceptionally efficient and friendly, from the hospitable greeting to the cheerful thanks and farewell. The servers seemed so well-drilled and practiced you'd have thought they'd been open for weeks.

     When we ordered wine by the glass, the server brought the bottle and poured tableside, offering a small tasting pour first to be sure we liked it. (She seemed not quite up to speed yet on the list of wines by the glass, but recovered gracefully when we asked what the house reds were. After a brief blush, she quipped brightly, "Umm, well they're . . . red!")

     This is truly a family operation. Ruth handles some of the business, and Mike and his brother Todd reign over the kitchen. Mike and Todd, in fact, do it all, even the dishwashing. (And, yes, the Tumas are connected to the place with the same name in Mt. Pleasant).

     The bistro menu offers limited choice but interesting variety of soups, appetizers, salad and entrees. There is nothing complex about the fare; Mike relies on simple concepts, ingredients, and preparation.

     At the outset, we enjoyed Todd's bread, a generous basket, very fresh, served with ample, fresh, sweet butter, and then shared a house salad of crisp spring greens and a simple vinaigrette. We also had a serving of tomato bisque soup, which was sufficient for two, and we would urge you not to pass it up. All by itself, it would have made the trip to Alden worthwhile. Mike roasts Roma tomatoes in a very hot oven until they're almost black, then purees them, skins and all, with herbs and a few of the roasted fingerling potatoes that are on the menu daily. He finishes the soup with a little butter and cream.

     For entrees, one of us ordered grilled salmon, which was served on a bed of freshly-made fettuccine sauced with a flavorful tomato cream.  The salmon, trimmed of all traces of fat, bore both the marks and flavor of the grill, and was in perfect balance with the sauce.

     Our other entrée was barbecued, baby, back pork ribs, which was cooked after being brushed with a glazing sauce unlike any we'd ever tasted. Mike told us later he learned the sauce "years ago from a Chinese lady," and said it's based on a seasoned blend of hoisin and chili sauces. It had sweet-sour tang and just enough spicy heat to make itself known without masking the delicate fruit flavor from the hoisin's plums. The ribs came with a few of those roasted fingerling potatoes.

     Both dishes were garnished by a medley of buttery but crisp green and yellow string beans.

     Michael Tuma is obviously passionately enthusiastic about food and proud of his product; at one point, as he took a dish from the oven, we overheard him exclaim to himself, "They are going to love this!" Periodically, he emerged to greet patrons and solicit comments, and whenever someone said something, good or bad, he pressed for details. The Tumas, quite clearly, cook for the customer.