Blues, Brews & BBQ in Lake Geneva
by Ginny Ripley
 Savor your summer with a
tasty combination of three of the season’s perennial pleasures in Fontana,
Wisconsin. “Burnin’ Down the Docks” is a Sunday celebration of “Blues, Brews
& BBQ” at The Abbey, right on the resort’s Lake Geneva harbor dotted with
picturesque fishing and pleasure boats.
  Promptly
at noon, I heard the thump of live music kick in, attracting hungry boaters
and resort guests to The Waterfront Restaurant dock like butterflies to bee
balm. Soon I could smell the rich tang of Matthew
 Whiteford’s signature
“layers of flavor” barbecue out on the traditional southern outdoor smoker.
Sizzling baby back ribs, pulled pork sliders and chicken wings are just $5 a
plate, washed down with an icy Leinenkugel beer, priced right at $2 a pop.
We sat at a table for 6, and soon all of us were having a lively
conversation.
Matthew is an award-winning pit master
champion on the BBQ circuit and now markets his own line of rubs, glazes,
marinades and sauces. I can personally vouch for them-- I took some home
with me along with a few of Matthew’s “low and slow” recipes and my pulled
pork and short ribs get rave reviews.
 The Abbey Resort is
located just 80 miles from Chicago and 50 miles from Milwaukee, so area
residents can easily drive up just for the day’s festivities. But I highly
recommend making a long weekend of it. The Abbey Resort, spa, lake, pool,
restaurants and boutiques make for a spectacular getaway for couples and
families.
If you go for the long weekend,
the surrounding area also offers much to see and do plus a fascinating
history of millionaires and mobsters. We got an excellent overview on one of
the hour-long steamboat tours of Lake Geneva, the second largest lake in
Wisconsin. I wanted ice cream, Mike wanted beer, and we both got our way on
the Ice Cream Social Tour. On the famous Mailbox Tour, a college student
makes an athletic leap from boat to pier to deliver residents’ mail. The
boat never stops, so the trick is to hop off and back on in time to much
applause. I really loved the dog who waits for the mail on the pier, takes
it in his mouth and delivers it up to the house.
As we glided around the 7.5 mile long, 140’ deep lake, our guide pointed
out the opulent mansions of well-known Chicago barons of wealth, such as
Morton (Salt), Wrigley (Chicago Cubs & Chewing Gum), Montgomery Ward,
Pinkerton and Sears. Easy railroad access from Chicago to Lake Geneva at the
turn of the century made the area a popular rich man’s summer playground,
becoming known as the “Newport of the West.
So where do the mobsters fit in? Once the automobile era replaced train
travel, Lake Geneva’s fortunes declined and then became a haven for Al
Capone and his friends. The tour guide did a great job of bringing the
colorful history to life. As we floated past the magnificent summer homes, I
imagined myself a dangerous gun moll or perhaps a racy getaway driver back
in the day.
For the power walkers out there, it is also possible to walk completely
around the 21-mile lake on The Lakeshore Path, a Native American footpath
which connected the Indian camps. Chief Big Foot and his band of Potawatomi
Indians called Lake Geneva the “land of the sparkling water”, and were the
area’s original inhabitants.
We were told they abruptly moved from this lake paradise to Kansas in
1836. Sounds like there’s more to that story.
If you go:
Burnin’ Down the Docks
Sundays Noon-6 pm
Memorial Weekend thru Sept.
The Abbey Resort & Spa
Fontana, Wisconsin
1-888-858-0861
www.theabbeyresort.com
Matthew Whiteford
www.loveyourbbq.com
Lake Geneva Cruise Line
812 Wrigley Drive
Lake Geneva, Wisconsin
(262) 248-6206
www.cruiselakegeneva.com
Photos: Courtesy of Mozart Photography, Mike & Ginny Ripley
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