Good Eats

Good Eats Hit a homer on Lake Guntersville when you go to bat at The Boat House

Story by David Myers Photos by David Moore

Lucie Keck may be a small woman with a sweet voice, but she’s a brave soul. The Korean-born lady practically grew up in an Asian restaurant in Los Angeles. She’s traveled the globe doing technical work in places such as Greece, Ireland and Germany.

Here’s where it gets good for us.

In each of her stops, she spent time trying different foods and learning to make the ones she liked. Lucie’s biggest adventure started, though, when her heart and her husband led her to Alabama where they opened a restaurant in a converted nightclub in Guntersville.

Against the seeming odds, this little lady has built a local following. The Boat House Lakeside Bar & Grill serves delicious “Southern meat-and-two” lunch specials along with dinner offerings you won’t find elsewhere in Marshall County.

“It’s eclectic,” Lucie says of their menu. “There’s something there for everyone.”

This Louisiana-born codger noticed, right off the bat, it’s a fantastic menu.

Lead-off for Rose and me when we ate there was one of Lucie’s most popular appetizers, Greek Fries. Would local diners go for fries doused with something called Tzatziki sauce? I saw the light with my first taste, and I don’t mind eating things I can’t spell. Tzatziki is made of sour cream, grated cucumber, garlic, yogurt and dill – all of which I love. Top that with fresh feta and you’ve got a delicious starter.

The on-deck hitter was the pork and vegetable egg rolls – and just like that, another hit. The outside was perfectly crisp and golden brown, stuffed full of tasty meat and veggies, but the stars here are the sauces. A sweet chili sauce offered some heat, while a soy sauce provided a more traditional flavor. Both were delicious.

Next up, the black and blue steak tacos are almost too pretty to eat. Sliced flank steak is marinated in balsamic and honey then grilled. Flour tortillas branded with grill marks are piled with meat on a bed of lettuce, topped with fresh blue cheese and drizzled with an Italian balsamic glaze. If that were not feast enough, alongside is a bowl of the best black beans this cowpoke ever tasted, as well as salsa, sour cream and lime. Another hit.

The bases were loaded by the time the clean-up batter came to the plate. We were looking at a grand slam. Korean Bulgogi – barbecue beef – is a beautiful plate with

ribbons of shaved ribeye atop rice and stir-fried veggies all dressed up with a Korean glaze and served with a side dish of Asian cucumber salad. “All the recipes are mine,” Lucie says, adding that weekly specials are based on whatever she is craving. We simply had to save the Bavarian pretzel bites with beer cheese dip – a recipe that reflects her time in Germany – as well as onion rings for another time. Her onion rings feature a Japanese batter kept ice cold that puffs up when it hits the fryer. They have a devoted fan following. “They’re different because of the batter I use,” she says. Lucie admits that she changed the menu many times during the first year Wings? You bet. Buffalo, Korean and garlic Parmesan flavors, as she figured out what served with The Boathouse’s own dipping sauce made with local folks like to eat. She ranch and blue cheese dressing with Korean marinade. never dreamed she would be serving a lunch menu made up of meatloaf, turnip greens, collards, peas, fried okra and cornbread, but that’s what her customers want. A sampling of those dishes showed them to be as good as you’d find anywhere. One reason is that Lucie seasons her greens with Alabama’s own Conecuh sausage.

Lucie and her husband, Brian, an engineer who works evenings and weekends as bartender/handyman, spent more than a year renovating the building. The fresh new look perfectly complements a gorgeous view of the lake over the levee, which may be the best seats in the city. The perfect setting for an old fashioned, an Alabama Slammer, a mimosa, bloody mary, craft beer or wine. Cheers … and grand slams to boot! Good Life Magazine

Clockwise: Lucie and Brian have created a casual, fun atmosphere; black and blue steak tacos and a margarita will float your boat; all hands on deck for shaved, Korean BBQ prime beef; build your own burger and enjoy homemade fries. The Boat House, located across from Ace Hardware on Blount Avenue in Guntersville, opens daily for lunch at 11 am and serves dinner until 8 pm; the bar remains open until 9 pm. Open Sunday 11 am to 4 pm. Closed Tuesdays. Live music on Friday night. Check out the Facebook page to see weekly specials – including Lucie’s homemade cakes.