DINING OUT:
Fisher Bay Restaurant

303 Barrett Lane
Bridgeport, NY
(315) 633-2244
(View Map)

by Tony Regitano

How often do you walk out of a restaurant completely satisfied, mind, body, and wallet? Sure, you’re almost always bound to satiate a desire or two, but what about the whole package? Ultimate satisfaction seems rare when dining out. Well, last night, I found an exception at the completely gratifying Fisher Bay Restaurant.

According to MaryAnne and Lorne Rudy, owners of The Fisher Bay Restaurant on Oneida Lake "it’s all about:

1) Fresh Perch Fillets from Oneida Lake
2) Slow Cooked Prime Rib au jus with Yorkshire pudding and horseradish
3) Making great food from scratch
4) Giving the customers what they want
5) Being relaxed and developing friendships during your dining experience."

Bordering the shore of Oneida Lake, Fisher Bay Restaurant provides a wonderful setting for dining indoors or alfresco next to the lakefront views that in a few months will be the home of beautiful white swans that make the lake their home during fair weather months. While not included as one of the Finger Lakes, Oneida Lake is sometimes referred to as their "thumb."
Fisher Bay operates on the concept of providing the highest quality food and a wonderful staff that is attentive to your needs. The Rudy’s choose only the freshest ingredients supplied by local vendors whenever possible. The staff has been handpicked to offer the highest level of customer service.

Known for its outstanding American style menu offering fresh seafood and prime steaks, Sunnyside features breakfast, lunch and dinner in a spacious dining room. You will be sure of a spectacular view of the Lake from almost every seat. A relaxing haven, Fisher Bay remains the perfect destination for those who desire the simple pleasures nature offers.
The menu is an experience of variety and flair, with steaks that rival any steakhouse in town and eclectic cuisine for those with diverse tastes. If you’ve never been to Fisher Bay, you really should treat yourself to the food and atmosphere. The restaurant has earned the title of a true, time-honored, Oneida Lakefront gem.

We ordered drinks before dinner and were pleasantly surprised that a generously sized glass of wine was only $3.00 and my Corona Light $3.50. We also were astonished to find out that on Friday and Saturday’s, Fisher Bay offers bottles of wine for only $8.99. One can enjoy wine with dinner without nursing an overpriced glass for an entire meal. My dining companion and I ordered a house specialty; French onion soup ($3.49) that owner Lorne Rudy spends a full nine hours preparing from his own recipe! French onion soup is an onion and beef broth based soup with croutons and cheese as toppings. Onion soups have been popular at least as far back as Roman times. The rich flavor of the base is not due just to the broth, but to the caramelized onions. Caramelization, in this case, is the procedure in which the onions are cooked slowly until the melting sugars slightly burn, thus causing browning. This can be accomplished within half an hour, but many chefs including Lorne allow for hours of cooking bringing out the complex flavors of the onions’ sugars. The soup was the perfect prelude to a wonderful dining experience.
I ordered the New York Strip Steak ($12.99) that included a Caesar salad and baked potato and onion rings. The steak was carved on site and boldly grilled to perfection. The salad was crisp and tangy. The steak was daringly spiced that was succulent, moist and tender. My wife selected a Fisher Bay specialty, Chicken Diavlo ($9.99), a moist chicken sautéed in Devilish hot tomato sauce over farfalle (bowtie) pasta with garlic bread. The dish is also offered with shrimp ($10.99) and scallops ($12.99). This portion was enormous and was enjoyed at home for several days afterward.

For dessert, I opted for the double layered cheesecake ($3.59) topped with strawberries and my wife ordered the carrot cake ($3.59) with real cream cheese frosting and walnuts. A common difficulty with baking cheesecakes is its tendency to "crack" when cooled. This is due to the coagulation of the beaten eggs in its batter, but this cheesecake was firm but not dry with a mouth-watering quality that is often nonexistent in most cakes. The carrot cake was a sweet spice cake with grated carrot mixed into the batter. The carrot softens in the cooking process, and the cake usually has a soft, dense texture. The carrots themselves enhance the flavor, texture and appearance of the cake. We also "tested" a soon to be added to the menu, Chocolate Éclair Cake. The pastry is traditionally filled with a vanilla pastry cream and usually topped with chocolate icing. All of these sweet confections were prepared by MaryAnne Rudy and were splendidly fresh and delectable.

We ordered coffee to accompany our desserts. I feel that good coffee is essential to the dining experience, and was happy to find that Fisher Bay brewed their own coffee.

While many of the local restaurants have gone out of business, Fisher Bay has thrived as both a winter destination for snowmobiler’s and a summer destination for water craft. The establishment will have a dock in place this summer that will connect the restaurant to the Lakefront. In additions to the scrumptious faire that we selected, Fisher Bay offers a menu that includes many pasta dishes, seafood entrees including its most favorite Friday special: broiled (on a sizzling platter) or fried haddock with Cole slaw. ($10.99 or $9.99). Also check out the pizza, chicken wings, salads, and the children’s menu. Fisher Bay also offers a catering service and host weddings, parties, and other large gatherings.
After dining at Fisher Bay, I feel confident enough to boldly state that it is by far my favorite restaurant on Oneida Lake. The courses were each unique and exquisite, completely flawless and perfectly satiating. Every delicious ingredient complemented one another to pure perfection and the more extraordinary the concoction the more delicious flavor resulted. The chef at Fisher Bay (tonight it was owner Lorne Rudy) has a laudable talent for combining just the right ingredients to form amazing combinations that leave the diner craving for more. Fisher Bay is the perfect combination of relaxation, picturesque views and delicious food.

Over the next three months, the option of outdoor patio dining will joyfully return. I can’t wait. In the meantime, enjoy indoor dinning at Fisher Bay at 303 Barrett Lane in Bridgeport, NY (315-633-2244) offers sun without the elements. This dining experience is the best kept secret on Oneida Lake. With its pristine location directly on the shores of Oneida Lake, Fisher Bay has become a "classic" for locals and visitors alike.

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