Kalkaska Love and Tasting Trout

I (Heart) Kalkaska.
It is quite special to witness the culinary prowess in Kalkaska, a very small northern town in the heart of blue-ribbon trout streams. Every small town has one dinner spot secret—the place that all the locals go. This town has several. Wednesday night I had the honor of judging the Taste of Trout at the kickoff of the National Trout Festival, and the town's top chefs were very much on their game when challenged with creating a dish showcasing Kalkaska's beloved fish.

Heather Daniels, producer of the Mary in the Morning show on 106.7 YOUFM, was the co-judge of the event. We had lots to discuss. Here's what we sampled:

The folks at G's Pizzaria made a simple but stunning pesto pizza with onions, mushrooms, spinach and trout. I don’t know how they kept the fish to cooked to perfection even after running through a super hot pizza oven, but it was flaky and sweet and tender. Winner: Honorable Mention

Gio's Trattoria Grill created a lemon beurre blanc pizza with feta and peppers, and a beautifully fresh citrusy trout ceviche with a wood-fired flat bread. We loved the dill in the beurre blanc, and trout wasn't just a topping on a great pizza; it was the star. Winner: Best Presentation

Third Street Cafe's chef Mike Davenport layered fresh sauteed trout in a lasagna with bacon, cheddar, chives and a homemade marinara laced with fennel. It sounded at first like a stretch, but boy, was it delish! Winner: Most Creative Use of Trout

Trout Town Country Café served a dish that they now plan to run on their own menu alongside side their Parmesan-crusted version: a sautéed rainbow trout with shrimp oreganata and a red pepper hollandaise. It was trout perfection. (By the way, the prices at the restaurant are another local lil secret: the trout dish includes your choice of garlic whipped potatoes, herb roasted redskins, or hash browns, veg of the day, dinner salad and roll, for $11.99) Winner: Best in Show

Head out to Kalkaska for the National Trout Festival, running this weekend, or to check out the confluence of trout streams. And good eats.