Lake Fun

Need some fun in your life? Lake Whitney is the place to find it. We think this picture kind of says it all. Even falling here can put a smile on your face!

Sweet Mimosa

The smell of mimosa blooms in the quiet of the night is one of my favorite summer things. I don't know if they actually release more scent after dark or if I am just finally still enough to notice.

We have three mimosas on the property, one at the Bunkhouse, one at Cabin #3, and a rogue growing in a large pot at our personal deck which refused to be removed so many times that we finally left it alone and let it live. I guess someday we'll cut the pot away.

This week we lost 1/2 of the one at #3. A windstorm on Tuesday night broke two of the four main trunks. Gary carefully trimmed up what was left and we hope it's strong enough to survive. It's always been an interesting looking tree-- mostly hollow with multiple twisted trunks, but now it borders on artistic. And it still smells nice.

Tribute to the Kitchen Staff

We wanted to take a minute to say thank you to the Mel's Steakhouse kitchen staff. We are picky about who we allow into our kitchen family and I am not an easy boss to please.



These folks work tirelessly in a very hot kitchen week after week. They must either be crazy or truly share our passion for serving good food. It's probably a little of both. Even though they are responsible for the quality product we offer, they rarely get to bask in the glow of customer praises or the weekly excitement of converting first-timers to repeaters.



Crystal is our grill chef. She has been with us off and on for more than eight years. Her real job is raising four energetic girls. She has done every job in our kitchen at one time or another, but the grill is where she shines. It's hot. On busy nights the pressure to keep steaks, chops, & grilled seafood coming off the grill perfectly cooked at the appropriate time is intense, but she does it with a quiet smile. Did I mention it's hot? The grill is 2' x 4' of flame-heated ceramic bricks and her only relief from it is reaching into the nearby cooler for more steaks to put on the grill. She is also responsible for food cooked on the stove -- veggies, sauteed mushrooms, and pan seared fish or chicken. It's a big job and she does it almost effortlessly.



Deborah is our prep and fry cook. She works the longest hours in the kitchen, starting on Thursday receiving trucks, toasting croutons, and whipping up that lovely cinnamon butter. Actually, her week starts on Monday morning when she arrives first thing to face the task of draining the fryers and detailing them until spotless, followed by grueling hours of steam cleaning the red tile floor in the kitchen. She hand cuts and breads every piece of catfish, every chicken fried steak, every onion string. She handles hundreds of pieces of catfish for the Friday buffet every week! Her quick zingers keep the dining room staff on their toes, but the quality of food she prepares is testament to her love of the job.



Kelly takes care of the salad bar and desserts so efficiently that to the untrained eye it looks easy. It is anything but. She manages the production and supply of almost 50 food items and does it while maintaining spotless conditions in her area. She is the kitchen staff member most visible to dining room guests and she always has a smile for everyone. She is first and foremost a mom to Haley and Jenna , but we are thankful to have her as part of our family on Friday and Saturday nights.



Denise is our Saturday expediter. That means she sets up every plate in preparation of the food being cooked. When a steak comes off the grill or a chicken fried tenderloin comes out of the fryer, Denise has a warm, decorated plate waiting for it with steak knife, side dish, and accompaniments in place. Her job allows Crystal and Deborah to focus on creating their food magic without worrying about the finished plates. Denise has been with us for seven years. She is currently the Bakery Manager at the Hillsboro Walmart. We are extremely proud of her accomplishments there, but happy that she chooses to continue as part of our family here on weekends.



Donald keeps clean plates, soup bowls, silverware, glassware, and cookware flowing. His speed and efficiency are hard to fathom. We simply could not operate effectively without Donald, and on the very rare occasions when he was not here we all suffered. He works in a kitchen full of women and does so with quiet humor and grace.



That's our crew. We don't thank them often enough, but without them Mel's Steakhouse would not be possible.



Thanks gang. See you next Friday.

Treehouse Cabins Video Tour

Double Cabins

Ads On Our Site

I wanted to take a minute to talk about the advertisements we now have on our website and here on the blog. We thought long and hard about doing this. Our goal is the same as it always has been-- provide our valued long term and potential customers with the absolute most information we can to help make your vacation or weekend getaway the best it can be.

We have chosen ads from companies we trust, most of whom offer products that could improve your Lake Whitney stay like Maps.com and USAFlorist.com. There are also a few ads, like for GoDaddy and Dish Network that are on the site just because we use their services and can vouch for the quality of their product. A few others are listed on a separate product review page.

We get a lot of questions about our website and have built a page dedicated to sharing information abut how we build and maintain the site. On the Arrowhead Home Page click on About Our Website to get the insiders look at our site.

Bottom line is that we hope the ads aren't too intrusive. Please know that they are there to hopefully benefit you. We aren't getting rich off of them, that's for sure. They are simply another way we felt we could offer you more. Let us know what you think.

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