Just a quick post to let people know that the Lull-Abi Inn, Egg Harbor’s premier motel, is now sporting  new-look website for 2012. Hotels and motel accommodation around Door County can be very expensive in the peak tourist season, and considering how little time most people actually spend in their motel rooms, it doesn’t make a lot of sense to pay through the nose.

The Lull-Abi Inn offers very affordable rates on motel rooms and is open May through October. Because they’re affordable doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice any creature comforts, cleanliness or even location. The Lull-Abi Inn is a spotless motel, I know, I’ve stayed there. They have free cable TV, wireless Internet access and rooms come with a variety of amenities depending on the style of room you choose. There’s really no reason for a swanky hotel when you come to Door County – get somewhere centrally located, clean, affordable and quite charming, for half of what you’d expect to pay in this area.

Plus, Egg Harbor is the place to be. If you stay in Fish Creek, you’ll have people swarming around in the streets from 7am to midnight every day, a real bear when you’re trying to get some shut-eye after a hard day trecking around the County. Egg Harbor has everything you need without the zoo-style activity in the street.

Check out this great Door County Hotel / Motel for yourself, and tell the owner (Bruce) that the English web guy sent you!

Saturday, November 5 – Sturgeon Bay, Wi.
solo acoustic
$10
Holiday Music Motel
30 North 1st Avenue, Sturgeon Bay, Wi. 54235
(920) 743-5571

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One of America’s favorite songwriters and a favorite Steel Bridge SongFest returnee, Freedy Johnston appears on this very special night in an intimate house concert here at The Holiday Music Motel.

$10 per person. Seating is limited to 50 seats so please reserve your tickets early by clicking here or calling The Holiday Music Motel at 920-743-5571. Tickets purchased online will be available at will-call on the day of show. Opening reception at 6:30, show promptly at 7pm. Beer and malt beverages will be for sale, complimentary coffee and tea will also be available.

and don’t forget that you can it make a Door County weekend by reserving your room at The Holiday Music Motel by calling our friendly staff at 920*743*5571!!

It’s great to be a civilian again and out of the ‘tourism loop’. Though I still run a business in Door County it isn’t connected in any way with tourism, and I like it that way. Not that I have anything against tourists, though many of them do suck.

So when I go around the County, which isn’t too often, I look at things from a slightly different perspective than days of old. I’m still a bear with a sore head when it comes to Door County dining. You’ll never convince me that it’s OK to serve crap to people, just because they don’t seem to care and your restaurant will be full anyway. That’s been my experience when dining at various places in Door County, that and getting ripped off with exorbitant prices (for poor quality food).

So here’s a little summary of my trots around the County in 2011, highs and lows as always are treated with equal honesty and perspective.

PARADOR – my vote for best new Door County business in 2011. Now remember please that there’s a lot of new businesses around the County that I have not visited, so take this with that in mind. But Parador has a special something that’s been missing in DC, and judging by the cars in their parking lot it seems that other people agree with me too. I won’t dwell, there’s a review of Parador here, and so far as I know it hasn’t changed since I wrote that review.

JOHN HENRY’S – still the same old John Henry, and who’d have him any differently? Now, at his new location, we’re all that much more comfortable and able to be entertained by his effervescent personality. It’s a nice location out at Stonehedge Golf course, the greens and fairways are visible from the bar area through the large open glass windows, and the place just has a nice feel about it. To be honest, I miss some of the home-style food from the old Egg Harbor location. I understand the economic concerns and space limitations but I hope JH will try and push the food envelope a little more in 2012.

THE FERRY RIDE TO WASHINGTON ISLAND – yes, I’m not just about bars and restaurants. In fact the highlight of the 2010 season for me was taking a bike ride from Egg Harbor and spending a night on the Island. This year, the trip across the water was taken without any wheeled transportation, so a brisk walk around the harbor area was all that ensued. But the ferry ride over alone is worth the price of $12.00 Take the ride on a warm and sunny day and you’ll forget all your woes and enjoy the warm breeze in your face as you look out across the inky black water onto the unspoilt shoreline of Washington Island.

THE SHIPWRECKED PUB – I didn’t realize this until recently, but you can buy a membership for only $25/yr that can be used for a discount on their micro brewed beer! With the membership, the beer goes for an amazing $2.00 pint. This is GREAT news for locals, particularly beer drinking locals! Oh, and they serve up a mean basket of chicken wings, something I didn’t discover until late September! Consider this a warning Joe, “I’ll be back”.

PASTA VINO – at the old ‘Hillside’ location in Sister Bay. I stopped there for dinner on the way back from Washington Island a few days ago and it’s pretty darn good. Their Antipasto was great value at only $11.00, you can easily split this as an appetizer for two. Their pasta didn’t seem to be home made, but it was fresh and well prepared and the portion sizes were on the large side. They have a neat little wine bar and an extensive wine list with a good cross-section of prices.  Now some of you may remember Pasta Vino at the old Sister Bay location in the little strip mall, well the new location is MUCH larger, so the whole experience has improved.

FAT LOUIE’S OLIVE OIL BAR – look, there’s nothing special in my opinion about olive oil, it is what it is. I can flavor my own oils and get really good quality oil from various local sources. But when I learned that this new store in Egg Harbor has an entire room dedicated to hot sauce, my eyes lit up and I headed straight for the car. Yeah the hot sauce options are ok, not great, but I was amazed to see a bottle of Heart Breaking Dawns 1498 Trinidad Scorpion sauce which I’d previously thought was only available online. So God bless fat Louie, whoever and wherever he is.

That’s about all for now, I’ll probably pop back and add to this post when I have more time and as I remember some of the other places I’ve visited around the County.

Enjoying life as a civvy…over and out.

It’s “Pumpkin Patch Festival” in Egg Harbor today and the tourerists are sweeping over the County like a plague of locusts, devouring all that crosses their paths in a rabid frenzy of conspicuous consumption. Next weekend is “Falling Down Fest” in Sister Bay – a Romanesque orgy of unbridled lewdness and depravity, like a drunken brawl with bells on it. Then it’s all OVER for another year and I can get back to my books, pipe and slippers, and enjoying a fine malt whiskey by the open fire.

New service recognizes local businesses for outstanding Door County made products/services. Add your business and promote using the Something Special From Door County seal of approval.
Learn more about Something Special From Door County Here

Visit Four King Hot Sauce and checkout the ghost chile pepper product Kartanga, made with Bhut Jolokia, the worlds hottest hot pepper.
Hot Sauce Here

Four King Hot Sauce have just introduced the webs first referral program for hot sauces, they offer automatic signup, guaranteed tracking and pay on two commission levels.
Make money from your website or Facebook page, sell hot sauce!

New Hot Sauce Company!

www.FourKingHotSauce.com – just tried the Kartanga with Bhut Jolokia peppers and it was awesome.

From the depths of despair comes Kartanga! with its fabled Bhut Jolokia pepper. Commonly known as the “Ghost Chile” the Bhut Jolokia seed is imported from the unexplored Kartanga region in deepest Africa and grown here in the USA.
Used by the indigenous tribes to ward off evil spirits, the Bhut Jolokia is renowned as the hottest pepper in the world. Enjoy Kartanga! with its blast of heat and tinge of sweet…goes great with chicken, BBQ, steaks and more.

Give them a try.

Congrats to The City of Sturgeon Bay for bringing back its summer concert series (“Harmony by the Bay”) in 2011. This season sees six performances that will run each Wednesday night starting June 15 through August 31st in Martin Park (3rd and Oregon). Sturgeon Bay has needed to raise the profile of its music scene for many years, and looking at the line-up of artists it seems the penny has dropped.

Harmony by the Bay Performances begin at 7 PM

Bring Lawn Chairs or Blankets! In case of rain, performances will be held at the Lodge at Leathem Smith

The 2011 Summer concert schedule:

Sunday, June 26 ­
BeauSoleil avec Michael Doucet ­
“The best Cajun band in the world.” -  ­ Garrison Keillor, Prairie Home Companion.

Saturday, July 2 ­
Saline Fiddlers ­
America’s premier youth fiddling show-band.

Sunday, July 3 ­
No performance scheduled due to Egg Harbor Fireworks. Join us at the Peg Egan PAC/Eames Cherry View Park to watch the fireworks.

Sunday, July 10 ­
Taj Weekes & Adowa ­
The best of reggae.

Sunday, July 17 ­
Five by Design ­ backed by a full orchestra
Five by Design’s signature harmonies embrace the unforgettable melodies that are making “classy cool again,” one song at a time.

Sunday, July 24 ­
100% Natural ­
A’capella Blues and Gospel

Sunday, July 31 ­
Harry Manx ­
Back by popular demand! Blues man Harry Manx has been called an “essential link” between the music of East and West, creating musical short stories that wed the tradition of the Blues with the depth of classical Indian ragas.

Sunday, August 7 ­
Shout Sister Shout ­
The quintet is a tribute to the smoky sophisticated sounds of 1930′s and 40′s jazz with plenty of influences from Cole Porter, Ella Fitzgerald, Billy Holiday and the Nat King Cole trio.

Sunday, August 14 ­
The Best of the Big Top Chautauqua
Chautauqua’s original musicals capture the essence of living in the Midwest through original music, stories and large screen historic images, with songs about the Great Lakes, the people and the land.

All performances take place on Sundays, with a special show on Saturday, July 2. The concerts begin at 7 pm and are free to the public.

Baileys Harbor Concerts in the Park Schedule Courtesy of Baileys Harbor (.com)

2011 Schedule

The Baileys Harbor Concert in The Park Series is every Friday, starting on July 1st, 2011
Fridays 5:00 till 7:00 PM
Venue: In front of the Town Hall

July 1               Dr. Freeze & The Cool Cats        Blues

4th of July         Cold Hard Cash      12:00 till 5:00 PM       In Kendall Park

July 8th             The Nicks      Acoustic pop, Americana, R & R and Reggae

July 15th          Carey Slade    Original Acoustic & Americana

July 22nd          Ben There, Dan That!   Acoustic Original & Cover Songs

July 29th          Jerry Voelker & The Jolly Gents    Polka

August 5th       “pat mAcdonald + melaniejane, AKA Purgatory Hill” (Alt Blues)

August 12th     Zachary Scot Johnson   Original Acoustic

August 19th      Dirty Deuce     Rock & Roll

August 26th       TBA