Yesterday there was a huge book sale at another branch of our library system. Trish and I decided to go to look for books and magazines with good images for collages to use with the dream group. It was both exciting and concerning to see how many GOOD books were being culled from the library inventory, including dozens of large coffee table books. We got several and gave a fair price for them. It was a little late for lunch and a little early for dinner, but we decided to check out the halfway new — and open to the public, not just country club members — restaurant, Lake Bluff Grille.
These lovely roses greeted us in the foyer. I always immediately smell roses for scent when I come across them. These were gorgeous but had no scent. It was only when I started editing these photos that I realized these are SILK roses! I was totally fooled by them!
We took the elevator up to the second floor, to where the grille is. I was impressed with the look of the bar.
It wasn’t warm yesterday but it wasn’t quite cold either, so we decided to sit out on the deck because it wasn’t too hot as it has been all summer to sit outside and eat, and for the view.
The menu had many delicious options, and because it was before 4 p.m. we were still able to choose from the lunch menu. The specials were a combo of two of three choices of soup, salad, and sandwich for $14. I ordered a cup of lobster bisque and a seared grouper taco. Trish ordered a cup of Vietnamese “soup de jour” with kimchee in it and a classic Reuben sandwich. I ordered a pint of a new (to me) cider (sorry forgot the name of it) that was a deep yellow and perfectly perched between dry and sweet. Trish ordered a decaf tea with a shot of whiskey on the side.
Trish and I had a wonderful conversation while we waited, which wasn’t very long, until our food arrived. It was delicious! And the service was par excellence. This was truly an enjoyable experience. The combination of setting, ambience, view, service, drinks, food quality, and reasonable price makes it an easy choice to recommend to others. It’s my new favorite restaurant!
A final image. The deck is situated out over the dune and from the edge looks directly down on one of the two main roads that lead to Lake Michigan. It looks out over Muskegon Lake. Two swans posed for their picture.
Tao Talk 
Well now, that all sounds so good! I am glad you had fun! :-)
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Thank you, Carol Anne <3
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Decaf tea with a shot of whiskey…now there’s someone I’d like to meet. Looks like a nice spot. We had dinner outside Wednesday night and today it barely got above 50 degrees.
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LOL. She poured just a bit in her cup and added more with each refill. Seems like a good way to drink whiskey. Isn’t it nice to sit outside for dinner and not roast? It’s pouring rain for the first time in quite a while here, and I finally had to close a few windows.
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Sounds like a great place for a late lunch. Beautiful views.
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Oh it was, and now that the tourists are gone we had almost the whole place to ourselves!
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Looking forward to some new collages! And what a wonderful place to eat and chat. (K)
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We’re going to be starting a new project of studying Jamie Sams’ book on The Clan Mothers and part of it will be doing collage based on the chapters. I’m getting geeked about it. It was just perfect, we had pretty much the whole place to ourselves.
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What a lovely experience. The view is amazing
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Thank you, Sadje. I should have taken pics of the food also but was too hungry and started munching right away :)
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I can totally understand 😍😀
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The place looks great. Loved the bar as well and that is a cool view while you eat. I would have been fooled by those roses also.
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Wouldn’t it have been funny if I had smelled roses when I sniffed them? My imagination is good but not that good :) I like how they have the alcohol grouped by color. The golf course is beautiful also, it’s been a long time since being up close to one. They have also been careful to keep the mature oak trees so there are all kinds of birds and squirrels flying and scampering around.
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One of the reasons I liked it is because we have a restaurant on the Cumberland River and it reminds me of that…though your place is nicer. I’ve never seen a bar do that.
It would have been cool if they would have sprayed it with something…a rose scent.
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Good idea. Make the illusion complete. Sounds like a beautiful place to have dinner, along the Cumberland River. This place is pretty fancy I agree, and it has only been the last year or two the public has been welcomed. Before that rich f*cks only lol.
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Lol… yea I know those kind of places.
Ours has a boat dock and a gas pump for boats. You you can cruise on the river to Clarksville and have a bite to eat.
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Glad you had a good time. The place and the view look great! The ambience on the terrace reminds me a bit of a restaurant my wife and I ended up the other day. I like views of the water. There’s just something about it. That said, as beautiful as it can be, I wouldn’t want to live near the shore, especially with changing weather patterns. I’d be too concerned about storms and flooding.
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I agree about living near the water. This place is set on a tall dune so it may be safe — unless water wears the dune away (which could happen!) Glad you had a chance for dining with a view also, Christian. What did you have to drink and eat?
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Fra Diavolo on linguini with a club soda – tasty, though not particularly fancy. My wife also had pasta with seafood and a Shirley Temple. Pricey affair, however – it’s kind of nuts what you pay for restaurant food in many places nowadays!
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Is Fra Diavolo a seafood dish with linguini? Sounds tasty. Yes, it’s crazy how much they charge for restaurant meals anymore. We had $14 lunch special so not too bad, BUT the pint of hard cider was $9!!!!!! I should have stuck with water. It was good but not worth $9.
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Yep. In my case, it was jumbo shrimps and some clams. I believe what makes it Fra Diavolo is the spicy red tomato sauce. A $14 lunch special sounds like a good deal. Our restaurant visit was in the late afternoon. They definitely had dinner prices! But, hey, we enjoyed it anyway – at least until the check arrived! :-)
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That’s always the moment where reality hits and the dream is over :)
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