Fairmont Chicago evokes feelings of nostalgia with summer lake house theme
Many will seek body of water locations this holiday weekend while celebrating the Fourth of July.
My Auntie Lottie and Uncle Swede had a lake cottage in the 1960s on Bass Lake, which is just about 35 minutes from our family farm.
Bass Lake is in Starke County, as is our farm, and this resort and summer destination is steeped in Indiana history lore, since famed authors L. Frank Baum, who wrote “The Wizard of Oz,” and Union general turned scribe Lew Wallace, who penned the novel “Ben-Hur,” both had family cottages at Bass Lake, which served as quiet retreats for their writing duties.
My regret is that by 1968, Aunt Lottie and Uncle Swede had sold their lake cottage and I wasn’t born until 1970. My only recollections are the photos in our family albums and stories of relatives gathering for holiday cookouts in the summer and ice skating and hot chocolate parties during the winter months. My cousin Bobby and his wife, Bernie, of Chicago were newlyweds at the time, and frequent guests to the cottage, as my oldest brother Tom recalled.
“Cousin Bobby loved the giant mounted deer head that hung over the fireplace at the lake cottage,” Tom said.
“So much so, that when Auntie Lottie and Uncle Swede sold the cottage, they gave Bobby and Bernie that deer head for their own home.”
My first published cookbook, “From the Farm: Family Recipes and Memories of a Lifetime,” released in 2004, features a wonderful waterside picnic table photo of Auntie Lottie, surrounded by Tom and my oldest sister, Carol, as well as our cousins Mike and Frank. The same page has recipes for variations of side cucumber salads, including one which is “yellow table mustardbased” as given to Auntie Lottie from “Grace Reynolds, our neighbor next door at our lake cottage.”
Fortunately, I’ve been about to recapture the relaxing and inviting atmosphere for a summer lake house experience with a recent visit to the lobby of the Fairmont Chicago, Millennium Park. In May, the hotel property, which first opened in 1988, launched a fun theme which continues through Sept. 9 with the hotel having transformed their lobby area to emulate the spirit of Chicago summer on the lake.
Residing between Millennium Park and the Magnificent Mile, The
Lake House at Fairmont Chicago boasts a thrilling getaway for anyone who wants to experience the adventure of a lake house in the middle of the city. Along with lively entertainment and themed nautical décor, The Lake House at Fairmont Chicago offers delicious seasonal food offerings, cocktails, yacht excursions and other fun all within walking distance of Navy Pier, beaches and harbors, pathways and parks along the bright blue waters of Lake Michigan.
Included with the hotel’s Lake House theme is a built-in boathouse surrounding the Fairmont Chicago lobby bar accompanied
by a Fairmont Arcade with lake house inspired games like cornhole and perfect photo-ops with porch swings, stacked rocks, sand castles, and all indoors.
Director of food and beverage William Schultz completes the experience with a new seasonal menu of summer-inspired bites. Classics include some favorites like pork ribs, beef brisket, fried calamari, easy peel shrimp boil, and a robust seafood platter to featured lobster, mussels and clams. There’s also a s’mores-inspired dessert milkshake and an array of specialty cocktail offerings.
One of my favorites dreamed up by Schultz and his team is a roasted “on-a-stick” ear of sweet corn, served up as “Mexican Street Corn,” which means slathered in an outer layer of mayo, then rolled in crumbled bacon, mild white shredded cheese, and the added option of a sprinkling of crushed Flamin’
Hot Cheetos.
Schultz joined Fairmont general manager Clay Spencer on my Wednesday afternoon WJOB radio show last month to describe the process for dreaming up this summer’s Lake House hotel lobby theme, which began with brainstorming back in the cold months of January.
“After the past two and half years, everyone wants to get back out there, and our Lake House lobby theme really feels like a ‘pop up’ adventure experience,” Spencer said.
“We are right here at
the Fairmont ready for guests with some whimsy for anyone who doesn’t want to spend five hours driving up to Door County, Wisconsin or all the way over to Harbor Country in Michigan. William has put together specialty family dinner options with fish fry Fridays and barbecue Saturdays, with all welcome.”
The Lake House lobby experience at Fairmont is open to the public 4:30 p.m. to midnight Monday through Sunday with reservations at www. FairmontChicago.com or
312-565-8000. A great way to toast the Fourth of July holiday is with the Caramelized Pineapple Margarita dreamed up by Schultz and his team that is also a staple on the menu of the Fairmont Chicago lobby boathouse bar.
Columnist Philip Potempa has published four cookbooks and is the director of marketing at Theatre at the Center. He can be reached at pmpotempa@comhs.org or mail your questions: From the Farm, P.O. Box 68, San Pierre, IN 46374.