Christiana Creek Country Club

Until October 6th (2012) there is an event called Elkhart Dining Days that is to benefit Church Community Services, it showcases local chefs and restaurants with part of the cost of dinner going to the aforementioned charity; because of this event Christiana Creek Country Club has opened it's dining room to non-members for the two week event. Chef Brian Steinway proved to be a master of his trade, not just with the creativity of his special three course menu for the dining days, but also with the quality and taste of the food. I was torn on which appetizer to choose, the California chicken salad looked delicious, and much lower in calories than the walleye bites I had my eyes on, but my husband talked me into the fish, and I was so glad he did! My small plate came out with three walleye bites atop a dollop of Cajun tarter sauce; I cringed a little because I have never cared for tarter sauce, but this was delicious, it had a nice sweetness and was perfectly paired with delicious, crispy strips of fried fish

To start his meal, my hubby ordered the lobster pizza, which has earned raves, not just from him, but many others I have talked to. The flat bread crust was crispy, which the man LOVES, it was topped with a nice Alfredo and diced tomatoes that he said added a nice brightness, I was surprised when he described the lobster as tender, I truly expected it to be overcooked, and all of this was covered with cheese; now I am skeptical that seafood and cheese can ever be paired well together, but my husband tells me that the lobster pizza was delicious.

The choices for our entree all looked delicious, but I settled on the filet with a side of couscous; my steak was cooked to a perfect medium rare, really wasn't seasoned much (I'm okay with that, I hate when people over do a good cut of meat), but was tender and covered in a delicious demi glace. I will admit that I didn't care for the couscous, but that is a taste and texture issue, because my husband really liked it and what I really liked were the onion strings that covered our meal, those I could have eaten as a side in itself. My husband ordered the pan seared duck breast with port cherry reduction, and oh my! The duck breast was more tender than my filet, was perfectly seasoned, and the sauce was fantastic as well, it was my husband's first time trying duck and he was thoroughly impressed.

While my husband quickly chose "death by chocolate' or as he called it, suicide by chocolate, for dessert, I had to think a while before I chose the carrot lava cake. The death by chocolate turned out to be a gluten free chocolate cake, talk about rich, but was it ever chocolatey and delicious! The only thing we would have changed would have been a tart berry sauce to cut the richness. The carrot cake was delicious as well, warm, with cream cheese frosting oozing out of it, and while I would have never paired them, it was made even better with a side of butter pecan ice cream.

This meal was such a great deal, we paid $25 for each 3 course meal, it was high quality and delicious, not to mention part of the cost went to charity. Normally you do have to be a member to have dinner at Christiana Creek Country Club, but now through October 6th you can enjoy the Elkhart Dining Days menu regardless of membership status. If you don't get in for Elkhart Dining Days, you can still experience Christiana Creek during their lunch hour (11a-2p) when anyone is welcome to dine; we looked over the lunch menu and it looks great, lots of creative dishes at a reasonable price, every sandwich, salad, and entree was under $10 each. And if the thought of eating at  a country club makes you nervous (like I was), we felt totally at ease, our waitress, Jessica, was sweet and made us feel comfortable from the moment we stepped in. Oh, and did I mention that Christiana Creek is available for weddings, meetings, or other parties?