Oct 1, 2004
Blue Slipper Bistro: Up-north rustic, Italian accent
We'd been hearing about exciting restaurant possibilities down in Onekama ever since Patty Stearns' Record-Eagle piece about the Blue Slipper Bistro almost four years ago, but it's a little outside our usual orbit. Our last trip there was a decade ago, when restoration had just begun on the old Portage Point Inn.

    So when a gorgeous September day put us in an exploratory mood, we packed up the bikes and headed down the coast to check things out. We had several places on our list. The inn was one. The Blue Slipper was another. And we'd heard good things about another restaurant, the Glenwood Inn

     What a rewarding outing! We drove straight to the inn, and from there spent the afternoon cycling, first on the byways of the Portage Point community and then on into Onekama.

     At ride's end we found a big private party taking over the Inn, so we drove back into town to choose between the Blue Slipper and the Glenwood for dinner. It was not a simple choice. Both had tempting menus, and both were busy.

     Neither place is exactly formal, but we were a bit disheveled, so we chose the Blue Slipper because it somehow seemed more casual. Maybe that's because it used to be the town tavern--of the same name. Don't go there looking for bar food, though. Although its style is wood-paneled, small-town, up-north rustic, the place has a deliciously thick Italian accent and a richly Italian wine list. The menu's only concession to local tradition was a Friday-night special of fried perch with garlic mashed potato, veggies, and olive remoulade. The $12.99 price, salad and bread included, gives you a good idea of the sort of value this place offers.

     As we had already begun a bottle of fruity, zesty Dolcetto in anticipation of a somewhat spicy meal, we passed up the perch and settled on two classics: beef-and-cheese raviolis in marinara sauce and veal scalloppine "saltimbocca." The latter is the pride of the Blue Slipper and owner Cheryl Kissel, and the recipe appeared two years ago on the pages of Bon Appetit.

     Within minutes, our server had threaded her way through the crowded dining room and returned with the beginnings of dinner--a hot, focaccia-like loaf wrapped in paper, a bowl of salad, and individual compotes of house-made dressings, one a rich blue-cheese, the other a creamy, tomato-basil vinaigrette. This was a very promising start, and we lingered over it so lovingly that our main dishes showed up long before we were ready for them. Bad timing maybe (and a pet peeve of ours), but the food was so good it hardly mattered. It was an exceedingly flavorful meal. The raviolis were unusually plump and meaty, and well and brightly sauced.

     The veal was particularly lively. Pounded thin, lightly breaded and seasoned with herbes de Provence, it was topped with thickly sliced prosciutto and served over pasta. The dish seemed exceedingly well oiled, and we understood why when we read the recipe later. It starts with pasta tossed in oil. Then the breaded veal is sautéed in oil with prosciutto, cooked briefly in Marsala and stock, and plated atop the pasta and bathed in a sauce made by adding whisking half a stick of butter into the pan. Granted, that's for two, but even cut in half we're talking 30 grams and 300 calories of oil and butter. No wonder it's good!

     No wonder, too, that half of it went home with us in a box and provided dinner all over again two nights later. Our restraint let us try a dessert of tiramisu and linger over some unusually good coffee.

     As we noted, The Blue Slipper is very reasonably priced. The veal is one of the priciest items, yet our dinners came to just $31. Even with dessert, coffee, tax and tip, the check was about $50. (We were delighted, too, by old-fashioned menus that price whole meals, and not just dishes. We tire sometimes of parsing the extras like soup or salad that should be part of a basic three-course meal.)

     Fall is a great time to visit the Onekama area. There's lovely scenery to see, and lodgings include quaint, one-room "dollhouse" cottages for only $40 a night at the charming old Portage Point Inn. And there is also terrific food in those parts. We're looking forward to our next trip and a stop at the Glenwood.

DATA: Blue Slipper Bistro, 8058 First St. (M-22), Onekama; 231-889-4045. Open daily, lunch and dinner.