Dinner at The Beach House

Laurie and I met her sisters Karole and Bonnie in Mt. Vernon Illinois in the Cracker Barrel parking lot.  The manager had told them that they could leave Karole’s truck there while we were up in Wisconsin.  The sisters joined us for the rest of the trip…

We had overnight reservations in Decatur Illinois.  Of course, I’d done a bit of research in an effort to find likely places for dinner.

The choice was a ‘no-brainer’… Eating by the water, albeit the sea, river or lake is always a plus!  As it turned out, I had some trepidations regarding our choice before we were done eating.  In this photo, taken before we went into the restaurant, from the left there is Bonnie, Karole and Laurie.

This is the Beach House Restaurant.  It's situated on Lake Decatur in the city of Decatur Illinois.

 

Lake Decatur is a reservoir that’s just east of downtown Decatur.  Both the city and the lake share the name of U.S. Navy Commodore Stephen Decatur.  He is the youngest man to attain the rank of captain in the history of the U.S. Navy.   Decatur served under 3 Presidents and his service included many acts of heroism.  He served in both the Barbary Wars in North Africa and in the War of 1812.

To learn more about Commodore Stephen Decatur, you can go to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Decatur.

  

The sisters entered the restaurant before I was done taking photos.  They said (and I verified) that it was too stuffy and warm inside and they decided to eat on the deck.  Given the cloudy weather and the local forecast I had my concerns…

Lake Decatur covers 2,800 acres and its 613 feet above sea level.  It was completed in 1922.  This aging reservoir suffers from serious siltation issues.  It sits on relatively flat prairie land and it’s vulnerable to deposits of silt from area farmland.  By 1983, the lake lost an estimated 35% of its designed storage capacity.  Its average depth is only about 8 feet.

As you can see, this event space at The Beach House was being prepped for something special.

This is a view of the indoor dining room.  I had to agree with the ladies, it was indeed stuffy and warm inside…

One of the indoor tables is situated right next to this big fish tank…

Laurie took this photo of yours truly with her sisters Karole and Bonnie at our table on the deck.  I was starting to twitch as the clouds rolled in and we could hear distant rumbles of thunder and a couple of far off flashes of lightning.  Sitting under a metal umbrella structure on metal chairs with a metal table wasn’t my formula for relaxed dining.  Fortunately we survived with just a few sprinkles of rain…

This was our view of Lake Decatur from our table.  For such a shallow lake, there were a lot of boats to be seen.

Lake Decatur was built to provide water for the city...sort of!  The actual campaign to build the lake was led by corn refiner A.E. Staley (now the firm Tate and Lyle).  Today over 70% of the lake’s water is still used for corn wet-milling, which is a highly water-intensive industrial process.  The other corn refining company in Decatur is the giant Archer Daniels Midland Corporation…

Laurie and Bonnie indulged in a couple of Summer Sangria’s. ($6.00) I allowed myself the usual Miller Lite. ($3.50)

For an appetizer I ordered these Pretzel Balls with Beer Cheese. ($8.00) They were OK but nothing special.  They do resemble buckeyes…a nutlike seed from any of 6 species of North American trees and shrubs from the soapberry family.

Karole’s Shrimp Alfredo was well received!  The linguini, shrimp, pea pods and Alfredo sauce was also blended with parmesan cheese and truffle oil. ($12.00 half order/$22.00 full order) 

When writing this posting I did note that this menu item is described as coming with asparagus rather than pea pods...  The waitress/kitchen should have informed us of this fact.  However, all 3 of the sisters really liked the fact that half orders of the pasta dishes were available.

Bonnie ordered the Mushroom Risotto. (Half order $8.00/$15.00 full order) This offering included cremini mushrooms, caramelized onions, spinach, ‘truffle hints’ and Romano cheese.  Bonnie wasn’t impressed!  First of all, there weren’t very many mushrooms…and secondly, they tasted like they were canned.

Laurie had a half order of the Shrimp Risotto. ($12.00 half order/$18.00 full order) The creamy basil pesto risotto came with gulf shrimp and the dish was topped by flash fried spinach.  Laurie thought that it was excellent!

My only question is why a half order for this dish cost 67% of the price for a full order while a half order of the Shrimp Alfredo is only 55% of a full order… Still, I had a happy wife!

I veered off course when I saw this 'healthy' item on the menu.  This is the ‘Toastyshoe’. ($12.00) I’d only had a ‘horseshoe’ sandwich once before many years ago and I ‘had’ to try it again.  A ‘horseshoe’ is an open-faced sandwich that originated in Springfield Illinois.  It usually consists of thick-sliced toasted bread, a hamburger patty, French fries and a ‘secret’ cheese sauce.  FYI, a half portion of this dish is called a ‘pony shoe’.

I had a choice of house ground hamburger, pretzel chicken or shaved pork tenderloin and I decided to try the pretzel chicken because it was an unusual item as well.  As you can see, the assembled creation is best described as a visual hot mess!  What can I say?  The pretzel chicken was dry and the whole creation lacked any distinctive flavor pop.  Oh well, I at least gave it a try…

Although we received our drinks and Pretzel Balls promptly, our food was another matter.  The kitchen must have been short staffed or something.  Slow!  The wait was exacerbated by the threat of the oncoming stormy weather…but in the end, it all worked out.

The Beach House is located at 2301 Lake Shore Drive in Decatur Illinois.  Phone: 217-422-7202.  To learn more and to check out the menus, just go to http://www.decaturbeachhouse.com/. 

Just click on any of the photos to enlarge them…

Thanks for stopping by for a visit!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave