Cooler by the Lake

Blame it on the blaze. When the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 ravaged the city and left its gritty aftermath, its tycoons packed their families aboard trains in search of fresh air. Eastern Wisconsin’s Lake Geneva suited them just fine, so those captains of industry — the Wrigleys, the Maytags, the Schwinns of bicycle fame, the Nabisco clan — built opulent mansions along its shore, winning it the nickname “the Newport of the Midwest.”

Still is. But today, folks like you and me, on more stringent budgets, flock to this idyll to swim and golf, ski and skate. Or, as I’m doing, laze in a rocking chair on the patio of a resort — mine, on nearby Lake Delevan: the Lake Lawn Resort & Spa — shedding the cares of the outside world.

Lake Geneva itself is bordered by 21 miles of shoreline, paved for easy walking. Even easier: jump aboard the ultra-popular mailboat cruise (June to October) while deliveries are made to over 70 homes as the postman narrates the mansions’ histories. Reach for your cameras as the mail carrier — in what has to be one of the more unique summer jobs — grabs a stack of letters, leaps onto each dock, races for its mailbox, then sprints back aboard the boat, which never stops.

“Ever fall in?” I query mail-jumper Kyle. Guilty grin: “It happens.”

Not today. We’ve landed and are off to lunch at shoreside Pier 290, where I wolf down a pretty chicken salad — enough for me after last night’s feast at Grand Geneva Resort & Spa — a former Playboy Club, where today the only bunnies are those that may hop onto the golf course.

Dinner’s enticing menu led off with an uber-Wisconsin starter: sweet corn and brat chowder. Next, a wondrous compressed honeydew melon salad, prelude to a ravioli plump with chicken and cheese. Then beer-braised short ribs and dessert deluxe: honey cake, dolled up with honey brittle, honey cream and honeycomb.

The next day introduced us to more honey, as in a honey tasting (similar to a wine tasting, but sweeter) at Queen Bee, following Thursday’s farmers’ market on the streets of town (cheese curds, anyone?) and a chance to shop the compact main drag, where lakeside living is celebrated in stores like Cornerstone, while Allison Wonderland’s well-curated toys will make you a star with your nieces and nephews. For the rest of your gift list, consider the confectionery Kilwins as your one-stop shopping site. Then linger for dinner across the street at Sopra, where an all-Italian menu reigns.

After magic in the kitchen, try some magic from the stage. That’s Tristan Crist’s forte at his Magic Theatre, where we’re spellbound as he escapes from chains, saws his sweet assistant in half, multiplies wine bottles and more.

Just as magical, but via astro-science rather than sleight of hand, is a tour of Yerkes Observatory, launched in 1897 by Chicago crookster Charles Yerkes to perhaps redeem his reputation, but of far more import: to house the world’s largest refracting telescope. Scientist Edwin Hubbell worked here in the 1920s, using it to find more galaxies. Young Albert Einstein, visiting America at age 24, made sure to include it in his itinerary. And so should you. Program Director Walt explains the union of science and art (via both painting and music) as he guides visitors to the mammoth telescope that pieces the night sky. Cool gift shop, too.

Back down to earth and back at the table — this time, at Lake Geneva School of Cooking, where Chef John Bogan greets us with flutes of bubbly as we ease into helping prepare the lunch we’ll soon devour — today, featuring mushroom bisque followed by beets and goat cheese en croute, then warm baked apples stuffed with chocolate truffles and paired with vanilla ice cream. It’s fun, it’s laid-back and it’s an edible lesson, all in one.

Impossible to beat? Well, don’t underestimate the kitchen skills at Lakelawn Resort. But first, a tour and a sip at Maxwell Mansion, a boutique Victorian beauty serving overnight guests, while anyone also may drop in (make that: should drop in) to enjoy its charming speakeasy, the Apothecary Bar.

Think we’re not up to dinner after this culinary heyday? Think again. The restaurant at Lake Lawn Resort is a must-stop on any foodies’ itinerary. Consider this: pork belly burnt end lollipops to whet our appetite, followed by Wisconsin beer cheese soup paired with pomegranate burrata cheese. Then pick your entrée — ribeye steak, short ribs with sun dried-tomato polenta, lobster pappardelle or sea scallops big as a grapefruit (okay, almost) — all leading up to the queen of mud pies.

Hoping there’s never a Great Twin Cities Fire, like Chicago’s — but if there is, you know where to head. But why wait? Check out visitlakegeneva.com. Gentlemen, start your engines: 333 miles to go. Or fly into Milwaukee and grab a rental car.