Seasons by the Lake



We were on our way to Northern Hills softball field, it was heavy hot, the top of Julia's head already hurt just thinking about putting her softball visor on and that was on top of a sore jaw from brand new braces placed like a construction zone in her mouth the day before.  Her ankle, or achilles, or something down on her lower leg, wasn't working right, and she was walking around with a stiff left leg. Add some post July 4 sun-red faces, later and later morning waking times, a lack of desire to do a single household chore, and you've got a hand full of good indications that you're smack dab in the middle of kid summer.

Right up Troy St. in Onalaska from Northern Hills, set on Hwy. 35, overlooking Lake Onalaska, is a nice place to watch this part of the season go by...from the inside.

Seasons by the Lake is the old Knob Hill and Seven Bridges restaurant that has always seemed a mystery location, sitting as it does on one of the potentially nicest perches of any eating place in the coulee region.  Plenty of traffic whizzing by and as the name indicates, it offers views of Lake Ona changing through the seasons brightly through stacks of high windows, and a bar area that contends with any other in town.

The question always has to come down to the food.  Will the remodel and the gusto put into a restaurant's transformation translate to a rejuvinated menu?  Do you hire a chef or a cook?  Will you charge $12 for an entree or $28? Jan, Carly and I have dropped Julia off at softball twice now and enjoyed a nice booth at Seasons.  So far, very much so good.  I tried the Agave Glazed Salmon last night, served with diced butternut squash and yukon golds, finished with "our Sweet Citrus salad."

This was a fairly complicated dish, glazed and diced, seasoned in a variety of ways, but the key was that the salmon was smooth and not overdone underneath the top crust.  Jan's Caprese salad,

rows of mozzarella and Hothouse Heirloom tomatoes, lightly seasoned with basil and trickled with balsamic, was a nice alternative to big meat on a summer night.  Carly thought her Sprite was perfectly presented and chilled in a red-lidded kids' cup, the ambience 'sweet!'

Seasons combines casual and gourmet.  The place has stayed down to earth – there's no snoot or over-selling in the service whatsoever.  The inside has succeeded in matching the great views outside and it's only two blocks away from the weekly softball field.  When you pick up your summer-wary player in the 90 degree sun and dense humidity, you can offer her two warm boxed cheeseburgers, and you might even get a thumbs-up for your efforts.