Jan 2., 2004
Perched on the edge of fresh new year
Recently, on one of those days when we were in Traverse City running a hundred errands, we drove out along the bay for lunch at Freshwater Lodge because a friend had been raving about the perch there. While the perch was as good as we'd heard, we were even more delighted by the level of service.

Good service, of course, is a sort of hallmark of Schelde Enterprises' restaurants. Only once, years ago, were we ever been disappointed in this regard, and that occasion so disturbed Howard Schelde that we wound up meeting him over lunch to discuss it. Schelde and his partner (and brother-in-law) Bob Kowaleski take good service seriously. But the staff at his Freshwater Lodge was so friendly, efficient, attentive, and knowledgeable that we just had to look further into what makes it so.

One things we learned is that before waiting on so much as one table, every server gets two weeks' training. The curriculum covers everything from company philosophy to the basics of serving bread while it's hot, checking back early in every course, and knowing the menu and wine list. Todd McCall, a 22-year Schelde veteran and Freshwater's manager, later told us the "faculty" of both chefs and head servers helps make teamwork between kitchen and floor seamless. (It has long been our observation that nothing can ruin well-prepared food faster than bad table service, and nothing can wreck good service faster than bad food.) Servers get frequent refresher training, too, McCall said, and meet with the chef before every shift to taste and discuss the day's specials and learn about any new wines that might have appeared on the list.

The folks who looked after us at Freshwater must all have been cum laude trainees. Our server brought hot buttermilk biscuits within moments and expertly answered several questions about the wines and menu. As we were plainly in no rush, she allowed us to linger but never let empty plates clutter the table. When we ordered a glass of wine and said we'd share it, she thoughtfully brought it in two glasses (each of which held well over half a glass). In short, she attended to us as if we were honored guests.

One of us, of course, ordered perch--a classic, Michigan-style platter of beer-battered filets, slaw and fries. The other had a Caesar salad and a bowl of gratifyingly flavorful clam chowder. The perch and fries arrived crisp, golden and well drained, and the slaw was creamy but in no way heavy or cloyingly sweet. The chowder (like all their soups, made in house from scratch) was chunky, flavorful and rewarding on a dreary, early-winter day when rain was falling in buckets.

The place has the feel of an Up North sportsmen's lodge, too, right down to the nice view of West Bay across the road and the mammoth stone fireplace that provides an antidote to snow days. The servers even wear outfits you might find on a game warden.

Another aspect of good service--honesty--surfaced when we asked if the biscuits, too, were made in-house. No, said the server, the dough is a commercial supplier's. But the kitchen bakes it throughout the day in small batches so the biscuits are served fresh from the oven.

Freshwater Lodge, as you might expect, makes something of a specialty of freshwater fish, although there's no dearth of steaks, ribs, sandwiches, pastas and shellfish. Besides perch and whitefish, berry-glazed salmon, maple-glazed walleye, and pan-seared trout with bacon also grace the menu (and tourists from salt-water country can get grilled tuna if they must).  Whatever fish you want, they'll fic it however you want -- broiled, sautéed, fried, whatever. While Freshwater's whitefish is from Lake Superior, the perch were a farm-raised variety from Europe. The familiar yellow lake perch or yore, said McCall, just aren't available in sufficient quantities any more.

The lunch menu from which we ordered is also offered to early birds until 5:30 p.m. After that, your dinner of entree, salad and soup will run in the $16-20 range, although you could probably squeeze a pretty satisfying meal out of ten bucks if you looked around the extensive menu. We thought our lunch a genuine bargain: That perch-chowder-salad parlay was about $18, so wine and tip barely pushed it past $12 apiece. That's a pretty good way to start the year.

DATA: Freshwater Lodge, 13890 West Bay Shore Dr., Traverse City; 231-932-4694;  www.michiganmenu.com.