Hotel

St. James Social, Bayfield, WI., 8/28/25

~ hsnixon ~ 4 Comments
building – 200 Rittenhouse Ave., Bayfield, WI., 54814

St. James Social is a hotel and restaurant combination that offers a new and modern take on things in the restored original 1883 St. James hotel.  Annalisa and Cody Bermel bought the building in May 2022 and they manage, bartend and do whatever is needed along with their 2 daughters.  .  The first floor is a large space with a lounge area, curved bar counter with seats and tables for dining.   The two story room is filled with wood, brass, chandeliers and mirrors along with artwork to give it an urban yet comfortable feeling.  Upstairs they have a 8 rooms and on the roof is a small lounge area for hotel guests.  The kitchen uses local ingredients when available, which for this short growing season are amazingly abundant.   One of their specialties is pizza and Tuesday they dedicate the menu to their artisan Neapolitan style pizzas.  They have a sourdough crust with more on that later. Thursday through Saturday they offer the Chef’s menu with more plated options and a fewer number of pizza varieties.   Sunday is brunch only.  The service is great and the vibe is too.  We really enjoyed our evening there with some long time friends.  I would highly recommend a meal and maybe a stay here when you visit the lovely town of Bayfield. Continue reading →

Restaurant Bareiss (update), Baiersbronn, 3/15/25

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entrance – Hermine-Bareiss-Weg 1, 72270 Baiersbronn, Germany

We first ate at Restaurant Bareiss in 2018 (click to see that here).  It is the 3-Michelin star restauant under Chef Claus-Peter Lumpp.  He has been here since March of 1992 and it was awarded the third star in 2007 up from the 2 it had held since 1985.  It’s in the Hotel Bareiss which is a massive complex of buildings.  They are closed Mon-Wed but offer lunch as well as dinner Thurs – Sun, which makes reservations for one of the 8 tables a bit easier.  We did the tasting menu at lunch this visit and stayed at their hotel, rather than using the complimentary transportation between it and the other 3 star in the Black Forest.  The dining room had been updated with a new ceiling fixture but there was still a fabulous flower arrangement in the center of the room.  One advantage of lunch is being able to see out the windows that circle the room, into the outside gardens.  The girls working in the room have an updated version of traditional dress while the men wear formal attire.  No music was in the room that held large well spaced double-clothed tables.  Service was as outstanding as the food.  At lunch they offer a shorter lunch menu, the dinner tasting menu(which we got) and a la carte options.  It’s a long meal but well worth the effort of getting there to enjoy it. Continue reading →