Silver Birch Supper Club - Tomahawk, WI

I’m a guy, I don’t need directions or a map, I drive by my internal compass. Well at least I do most of the time! Since we moved to Northern WI I have found out that most roads do not go from point A to B, we have a lot of lakes in between that I am sure God put there just to screw with me.

It was just a 15-mile ride to the restaurant selection of the evening, The Little Marinara and I picked up our friends Dave and Joanne for a Friday evening of Martinis and Fish. We get to the first corner and Dave says turn right, but no I know a better way that will come out closer to where we need to be and besides it a more scenic drive, I told Marilyn to look for Sheep Ranch road and we will turn right – umh – seems that the road was behind us, guess I should have followed Dave’s advice and turned right, but no problem I know another short cut, 30 miles later I decide to turn on a road I am sure will get us where we need to go. The farther I go the narrower the road gets. The only thing we see is a fox walking along the side of the road. I open the window and hear the soft strains of banjo music lofting through the air. I know I am screwed, give up and turn the car around.

The question is now where do we eat? Dave has a great idea. It seems there is a place down the road he almost purchased 20 years ago called the Silver Birch. It sounds good to me and we are off. It is now hours after we left the house and the Little Marinara is giving me the evil eye as she is hungry – I turn to look at her and all I see is a deer. It looks like the critter is going to come through the door and I am going 55mph, I do a small swerve to the left and as I look in my rearview I see the deer going down butt first and the car behind me trying to avoid him which he did. So lets review, can’t find the first restaurant, saw a fox, almost hit a deer and I am still getting the evil eye. I follow Dave’s directions and we now end up at a dead end- the evil eye is throbbing and I need a Martini. We duck down the next road and there rising like a phoenix from the lake is the Silver Birch and it is packed. I drop everyone off at the door and have to drive two blocks away to park. As I walk to the door a guy in the front row drives away – just my luck – oh well if it were not for bad luck this evening I wouldn’t have any at all.

I slide inside and the place has a nice bar overlooking a small lake, it is done in the traditional knotty pine and has a lot of crafty things suspended from the ceiling. I am guessing a woman owns this place because there are no dead animals hanging from the walls. Of course I am correct. We meet our hostess Chris and she is turned out in a great ensemble complete with hat. Dave knows her and we collectively determine that she is still hot. The girls are already at the bar with drinks – for themselves – not us, however the evil eye has mellowed some. Dave and I order Martinis and we get these wonderful huge drinks – life has just gotten better. Two drinks and an hour later our table is ready. The Little Marinara and Joanne order Poor Mans Lobster with Hash Brown and Dave and I order the Fish Fry. Our waitress starts us off with hot garlic breadsticks that melt in your mouth. The fish is served and prepared to perfection. Sides included were French fries, Hashbrowns, Cole Slaw and an interesting take on tarter sauce. Ours was lightly infused with chipotle which made for a great combination.

The fish was priced right for what we received $8.95 for the Fish Fry and $9.95 for the Poor Mans Lobster. I did note that some of the other menu items seemed a bit high for the area, but then if it the food is good, price should not be the deciding issue. The Silver Birch is located on W6009 Taylor Lane outside of Tomahawk, WI. The Big Ragu gives this a 4 Outa 5.