You could drive right by Lake Shore Cafe, it is that non-descript. On the main highway coming into Ashland, Wisconsin, it does have a lovely view of Lake Superior and a crew of regulars who eat there. The large menu covers breakfast and lunch as well as having chalkboard daily specials. Prices are pretty reasonable and try to snag one of the fresh iced cinnamon buns on the counter if they’re still there. Booths line the walls with the lake view windows and the rest of the place is filled with tables and some low stools at the counter opposite the pass through window to the kitchen. Staff are super friendly and efficient.
On our first visit we tried the Western Omelette that is stuffed with hash browns, ham, green peppers, onions, cheese and served with your choice of toast. It was moist, huge and full of flavor. It was a pretty tasty rendition.
The Mexican Omelette was similarly large. It was stuffed with taco meat, green peppers, onions, tomatoes and cheese. A container of sour cream as well as salsa was on the side with your choice of toast. I liked adding both to the mix and actually asked for an additional container of salsa which they were happy to supply. It was tasty enough that I’d order it again.
Our companion had the daily special of fried fish that came with potatoes and toast. The fish was a nice piece of fillet and looked nicely crispy on the outside and moist inside. They offered a number of different fish options with differing prices.
Our next visit we tried the Homemade cinnamon roll and it was large, tender and generously iced. It was a moderately yeasty dough with mild cinnamon streaks but the overall effect was good and I’d order it again.
The Western Omelette was ordered again and it was just as good.
I tried the Farm Skillet which was hash browns topped with sausage, green peppers and onions topped with 2 eggs (over easy in my case) and choice of toast (raisin). It was a good mix of flavors and having the eggs runny added a bit of sauce to the mix. They had a few hot sauces to choose from which made a fun addition.
We tried lunch food on our last visit. The Patty Melt was a 1/3 pound beef burger on wheat bread with cheese and fried onions. It was really tasty. They weren’t able to get it very rare but the flavor from the sandwich was pretty good. It came with potato chips and pickles but for a small up-charge they will substitute fries. They are of the frozen variety but add a nice salty crisp to the plate.
We also tried the Country Fried Steak Sandwich on toast with lettuce, tomato and mayo. It was a very thin steak without a lot of taste more than crisp. The Patty Melt was a much better sandwich. We did the substitution of fries with this one also.
