Deep Springs Trout Club

I have never eaten so much fish in one sitting!! The funny thing is I probably could have eaten more if my stomach was bigger. Sometimes you stop eating something because you’ve had enough of the flavor, but that was not the case here. Every little bit of this trout was delicious.

Let me take you through my journey at the Deep Springs Trout Club. This diamond is tucked away deep in the heart of rural Chardon, OH. As we were traveling along the beautiful country roads that make up Chardon, I wasn’t really sure what to expect. When we drove up to the Club, I was surprised to see that the restaurant itself is not very big. But when you walk in, you are welcomed by a comfortable, quaint environment for dining. The atrium-like structure of this restaurant brought the outdoors in with the warmth of the sunshine shining through the windows and a clear view of the beautiful landscape. There are two lakes outside, a large one for fishing and a smaller one to hold the fish caught that day for cooking. There is also a fountain of fresh spring water that members can use to fill up gallon jugs for only 25 cents.

Now on to the food! We started out passing around a place of delicious, juicy sweet watermelon. Shortly following, we were served a plate of cut up red peppers drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with salt and pepper. Then…I tasted for the first time trout pate served on saltine crackers. I could have eaten the whole plate. It was so good that I found myself googling recipes for trout pate later that day. Next, we had breaded, fried calamari and roasted hot banana peppers. Are you feeling full yet? Keep reading!! Once we finished the appetizers, they brought out a plate of trout filets. Half of them were breaded and deep fried and the other half were coated in a lovely, so tasty Cajun spice. The breaded filets were very moist inside and perfectly fried. The Cajun filets I believe were also fried. They weren’t as moist but had such a wonderful flavor to them. You may think a Cajun flavored dish would be hot and spicy but the heat of the seasoning was very tolerable. It was just wonderful!

You probably think we’re done here, not a chance. Our host, a close client of ours, insisted we have dessert. Who am I to turn down dessert?! Especially a chocolate one! I indulged in a chocolate tortufo which was a ball of chocolate mousse with a vanilla center. It was very yummy!! The others in the group enjoyed hazelnut gelato and vanilla ice cream.

This was a very unique experience that I will cherish for years to come. Before you think about visiting though, I have to break your heart and tell you that it is part of a country club that has a membership fee. You either have to be a member or go with a member. I hope you will some day have the chance to visit the Deep Springs Trout Club or somewhere similar for some very tasty fresh fish dishes!!