Mississippi Road Trip: Fisher's Club, Avon, Minn.

Fisher's Club is the sort of place where you'd expect to find Garrison Keillor sitting at the bar. Step into this rustic supper club in the central Minnesota town of Avon and you can picture the Prairie Home Companion host sipping a martini, savoring a fried walleye fillet and gossiping with locals. Turns out Keillor is a regular here and in 2005 he and a group of investors purchased the restaurant.

But Keillor isn't the only colorful character in the Fisher's Club's history. George "Showboat" Fisher is the original owner and he opened the place in 1932 after 10 years of playing major league baseball. Back then the place was hopping with a dance floor and slot machines. Supposedly Showboat, who got his name for being a flashy dresser, spent most summer nights sleeping by the front door with his shotgun to protect the day's gambling takes.

When we stepped into the restaurant on a warm June evening, we found that it's still a lively place. The tables on the patio overlooking Middle Spunk Lake were full, so we sat in the back dining room with knotty pine paneling. A large party next to us was celebrating an 80th birthday. We listened to some men talk about fishing for walleye. "I caught 80 walleye in one day last week," one guy boasted. "Eighty fish!"

Their conversation spurred us to order the fried walleye off the menu. It was the best thing I have ever eaten out of a plastic basket. The white fish was sweet, moist, flakey, and perfectly crispy. Apparently, the restaurant uses Showboat's original bread recipe--that has been kept a secret over the decades. If we weren't on the tight $150-a-day budget, I would have ordered a second fillet--especially since my daughter ate nearly half of mine and neglected her mac and cheese. How often does a kid prefer fish over Kraft macaroni and cheese?

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