Cedar Lodge, Calumetville - Saturday December 8, 2018

We headed south along the east shore of Lake Winnebago to check out Dale and Candi’s Cedar Lodge.  A friend said the place is always packed and suggested we get there early, especially on a Saturday night. We took her advice and arrived at 4:45 and snagged the last two stools at the small bar. The bartender promptly took our drink order, a brandy old fashioned sweet for me and a seven-up on the rocks for Ann, and asked if we had a reservation. We did not, but she said it wouldn’t be a problem,  gave us menus and told us to just let her know when we were ready to order.

Dale and Candi have owned the business since 1988. (In the past the building served as a stagecoach rest stop and an icehouse.)  They offer a more extensive menu than most supper clubs and pride themselves on high quality ingredients and a made from scratch cooking philosophy.  After studying the menu we told the bartender that we were ready and a waitress promptly appeared to take our order. Ann chose the sesame seared ahi tuna and I opted for the Saturday night prime rib special. We both ordered the French onion soup, twice baked potato and fresh salads. Dinner also came with a choice of fruit or a fritter and be both selected the fritter. Our waitress told us we could head to our table whenever we were ready.

After ordering another round of drinks we headed for the dining room. The dining room is relatively small and the tables are packed in tight but nobody seemed to mind. Our table was already set with two fritters (balls of deep fried dough with cinnamon and powdered sugar). We had assumed that the fritters would be served for dessert but apparently it’s a Cedar Lodge tradition to begin your meal with a fritter. Not one to break with tradition, I devoured mine (it was excellent), but Ann decided to save her appetite and take hers home for breakfast the next day.  Warm, homemade muffins and rolls and our salads were served next, featuring mixed greens and a variety of veggies with homemade dressings, again excellent.  The French onion soup was very good as well, flavorful and not as salty as is often the case.  Our entrees were brought out promptly and did not disappoint. The generous portions of tuna and prime rib were both well-seasoned and done to perfection.  We ended up taking home some of each, as well as some muffins and Ann’s fritter.

Overall our dining experience at the Cedar Lodge was excellent. Good service, good food and friendly folks which is exactly what you look for in a Wisconsin supper club. We were glad we had arrived early as the dining room was full and people were standing four deep in the bar and still coming in the front door when we left. Definitely worth a return trip!