Vickers Lakeside Tavern
120 W. Prairie StreetIt’s almost time to start school again. L will be going back to in person class for the first time since March of 2020 and B starts Kindergarten this year.
We had our summer care plans pretty well planned out. The kids went to a day camp most of the summer but there were two weeks between when that day camp ended and when school starts.
No worries, J said she would work from home those two weeks…..until she started a new job on the first day we were without a day camp.
J’s mom offered to take the kids….but they got pounded by that storm that rolled through a few weeks ago and didn’t have power for a week. We weren’t going to send the kids to their house without electricity.
J’s mom then said she’d just watch them at our house until they got power back. They finally did on Wednesday so Thursday she took the kids back to St. Joseph County with her for the rest of the week.
That gave J and I one night without the kids to go out for dinner. Her new job is in Vicksburg and she had to stay late Thursday night. There’s a restaurant I’ve been wanting to go to down there so I asked if she wanted to meet when I got off work.
Vickers Lakeside Tavern is in downtown Vicksburg on Prairie Street right next to southern most tip of Sunset Lake. The road in front of it is pretty tore up right now but you can still access the restaurant through the back entrance of the Family Fare Parking lot if you can’t get through on the street. The restaurant is in a building that used to be a bank and if you can see before and after pictures of what they did with the property, it’s quite amazing how they turned a Bank of America into a great little pub.
I’ve been wanting to go to Vickers mostly for the outside space. What they have built here is quite amazing. There’s a large outdoor dining area along the lake.
There are firepits and non traditional pub seating so it makes hanging out for drinks with friends a really laid back, casual experience.
There’s even a large bar outside with TV’s to watch the games nd a pretty large drink menu.
I was actually kind of surprised when I went inside to use the bathroom and saw that inside dining is almost an after thought. There’s a bar in the back of the space that was closed with a few tables and a small dining room on one end. Vickers really wants you to sit outside and with good reason.
We both started with drinks since this was a kid-free night (although that’s really never stopped us any other time). I kept it simple with a Two Hearted.
J is not as simple and got a Frozen Margarita.
The menu is pretty typical pub food. I ordered the Jalapeno Popper Burger. This sandwich comes topped with Chipotle Ranch, two jalapeno poppers, bacon, and pepper jack cheese on a toasted bun. I expected this sandwich to be mouth on fire hot but it really wasn’t. The spice was there but it was subdued so you got a more spicy flavor than a burning of the tongue. The sandwich came with chips but I upgraded to fries. They were skin on fries that were perfect for mustard dipping.
J ordered the Chicken Tender Basket. The meal came with three tenders, fries, and dipping sauce. Everything was pretty simple but it was all pretty tasty.
Our bill for the two of us was a little over $45.
Vickers Lakeside Tavern is not mentioned much when I hear conversations about great outdoor spaces. It really should be. This is one of the best patio settings Southwest Michigan. The food is solid. They have a good drink list and tap choices. Most of all, they have a great atmosphere taking advantage of the beautiful views of Sunset Lake and the perfect Michigan summer weather.
SW Michigan Dining 