Wednesday, May 16, 2012

Harbor View Cafe - Pepin WI

This is the season to be out and about in Wisconsin.  Last Saturday, Debbie and I went on a road trip to meet a friend of mine from college (and his wife) who we had not seen in perhaps 15 years.  We decided on a destination midway between La Crosse and the Twin Cities and to make it a nice drive for a Spring day, looked for a place to meet - and eat - along the Mississippi.

After investigating several possible cities and taverns and restaurants therein that might fit the bill, we settled on the Harbor View Cafe in Pepin, WI.  Pepin is a small (less than 1,000) village in north central Wisconsin on the east shore of Lake Pepin - a bulge in the Mississippi river created by water pooling behind a dam at Alma, WI.  It is (roughly) across the lake from Lake City, MN.

The trip from our home in Onalaska (just north of La Crosse) took us across the river to La Crescent, MN to travel to Winona on Hwy 63 along the river, across the Winona bridge back to Wisconsin, and then up Hwy 35 to Pepin.  Most of the way had very scenic views of the Mississippi, adjoining bluffs and the eagles that soared over them. It was about an hour and one-half drive.

The Harbor View Cafe is only open during the "season," which this year began on March 16th (although it often does not start until mid April) until mid October.  The restaurant is in a quaint clapboard building across the road from the marina (hence the harbor view) which holds about 150 sail boats mostly owned by residents of Minneapolis or St. Paul.  This influx of out of staters during the summer gives Pepin a resort community feel.



The restaurant opened in 1980 and shares the building with a used bookstore that seems intertwined with the restaurant space.  Several years ago, St. Paul Magazine named the Harbor View Cafe as the best restaurant in metropolitan area despite the fact it is quite a stretch to consider Pepin in the Twin Cities metro area.  The restaurant features high quality, fresh (never frozen) ingredients and all items served are made from scratch on the premises.  It is not for the budget conscious.

Our foursome sampled Coq Au Vin, Cassoulet, Mushroom linguini, and Salmon en Papillotte, but don't necessarily expect the same because the menu changes twice daily and those entrees will not always be available.  Everything was attractively presented, cooked to perfection and tasty.  The service was attentive, but not intrusive.  I recommend the Harbor View Cafe heartily.

The restaurant has a few idiosyncrasies, however.  If you are meeting someone there, you will not be seated until your entire party has arrived - a policy that probably makes sense when almost all guests are from out of town.  There are no menus.  Entree selections are all posted on a blackboard above the bar.  Payment is by cash or check only.  No credit or debit cards accepted.