Excerpted from Taste of the Town
by Dennis Getto

For some reason, few good restaurants serve lunch on Saturdays.

Maybe it's because so many people are busy at the start of the weekend. Or business is slow or unpredictable that day.

A friend and I faced that problem on a recent bright Saturday in April. We wanted to go somewhere pleasant where we could sit and talk and perhaps enjoy some scenery.

I remembered NewPort Shores, a small restaurant on the lakefront in Port Washington. The restaurant's lunch menu wasn't expansive, but sandwiches and fried fish were reasonably priced and good.

And best of all, it had large windows that looked out onto Lake Michigan.

I figured that my friend and I would have some extra time to talk on the road (it's about 25 miles from downtown Milwaukee) and that we wouldn't be rushed.

I was right. Lunch was leisurely and enjoyable.

Delicious Perch

Beside two shrimp and two scallops, two butterflied perch fillets were perfectly battered, fried to a light golden color and delicious. My friend chose a steer tenderloin steak sandwich ($7.25) on toast that was tender and full-flavored.

We washed down the meal with one of Wisconsin's lighter and better beers, Point, which NewPort Shores has on tap.

Dessert proved to be as much of a plus as lunch. Pumpkin chiffon pie ($1.50) was light, yet with a rich pumpkin taste, while strawberries schaum torte ($2) amounted to a huge, chewy meringue shell beneath ice cream, whipped cream and strawberry sauce.

NewPort Shores' menu at night is much more expansive, yet not fancy. We selected stuffed sole ($7.95) and a combination of broasted chicken and barbecued ribs.

The sole filets were wrapped around a light seafood seasoning, baked and covered with a mild, lightly lemony hollandaise sauce. Mild rice pilaf with almond slivers accompanied the fish.

The ribs in the combination actually were baked. Their sauce was respectable. Broasted chicken, served hot from the deep-fryer, had a deep brown, crunchy crust. French fries served with the combination were ordinary.