Oct  15, 2004
The Boathouse: The details finally add up
One reason we love autumn is that we can enjoy our favorite restaurants without the crush of tourists and visitors. Not that we have anything against our seasonal friends, you understand, but they do sometimes make it harder to get a good table, and there's no denying longer waiting times in mid-season.

We waited patiently all summer to get back to The Boathouse in Bowers Harbor, where a new owner took over just before the season began. When we finally got there in late September, we certainly enjoyed a meal worth waiting for.

Getting a good table wasn't a problem, however. It seldom is at The Boathouse, whose waterfront location and panoramic windows give every table a sweeping view. But a bit of a wait is often likely; the place is popular among Peninsula locals. We found it quite busy as early as 6:30 on a Tuesday.

New ownership aside, we were keen to revisit the work of Jim Morse, the talented young chef who took over the kitchen 18 months ago under the former owner. Although his menus celebrate seafoods, Morse himself is a vegetarian, and we like the way he pays attention to the entire plate and not just the central element. The seared sea-scallops recipe he gave us for our book, for example, dwells lovingly on the nuances of a sun-dried tomato ratatouille in which he serves them, and on the asparagus coulis sauce.

When we were there last month, the day's list of specials included six seafood dishes, all with equal promise. They included seared salmon, grilled ahi tuna, and whitefish topped with blue lump crabmeat. We chose corvina, a fish we first encountered a year or so ago at Lulu's in Bellaire. It's one of several out-of-the-ordinary species --petrale, opah, ono, and escolar also come to mind -- on menus lately at places like The Boathouse, Lulu's, Trattoria Stella, and The New York. We have nothing against walleye, perch or halibut, but we welcome these richly flavored alternatives.

Morse's Boathouse's corvina came pan-seared and sauced with lemon-herb butter, on a bed of wilted spinach. It was plated with colorful roasted tomatoes and mushroom-laced mashed potato. The two of us made a meal by sharing it along with a salad and two appetizers--one of sautéed crab cakes with breaded, fried green tomato and a red-pepper pesto aioli; the other a pair of generous tiger-shrimp spring rolls, stuffed with glass noodles, pineapple and ginger and sauced with a spicy mango coulis. With hot slices of baguette and the house salad of greens, mozzarella, tomato, pine nuts and mustard-balsamic dressing, it made an utterly exquisite meal for two. All the elements fit together -- flavors, textures, and all, including presentation. Morse is a stickler for the details, and there wasn't a bite we didn't enjoy.

Morse offers an extensive menu, ranging from Gorgonzola-topped tenderloin to mushroom-brie vegetable terrine (plus all that seafood). We can't wait to go back to try more of its entries. It's is hardly economy dining, but prices are right in line for such outstanding fare, with entrees mostly in the low 20's (a few in the teens), and appetizers for $6-9. Our mix-and-match meal of a shared salad, two appetizers and a daily-special entrée plus two cups of coffee, ran about $45, pre-tax.

It was only after dinner that we discovered that the hospitably busy fellow we'd taken for the manager was, in fact, the new owner, Doug Kosch. We couldn't help seeing him in action because he was everywhere, greeting and seating, directing staff, serving drinks, clearing tables. Tending to a lively party of about 12 adjacent to us, he paused and offered (unnecessarily) to move us to a quieter spot. The service he and his team provided was as relaxed and friendly as it was efficient. It put us in mind of our maxim that the best restaurants are the ones where the owner is present and in charge on a daily basis, either at the door or in the kitchen.

A good restaurant is all about the details. And after almost a decade of backing and filling, The Boathouse finally seems to have everything in place to become not just a Peninsula favorite but a regional destination. (The only detail we'd change is the wine glasses; the tiny things we got with our bottle of Pinot Noir would have been better suited for a tasting room.)

Morse is the sort of talented young chef one might expect to move on soon to a "better" restaurant. But why move? He's already at a better restaurant, and it's on the verge of becoming one of the best.

DATA: The Boathouse, 14039 Peninsula Drive, Bowers Harbor; 231-223-4030. Dinner daily except Monday. Brunch on Sunday.