Cooking on the Edge

Charlevoix’s new tapas restaurant is all about local, flavorful fare

By Al Parker | July 1, 2023

Veteran chef Darlene Kline is depending on small plates to realize her big dream.

Kline, known to her many friends as Dee, is the owner of the newly-opened on the eDge tapas, just north of the drawbridge in bustling downtown Charlevoix. She received her liquor license in January and has been open for about three months now.

“This is a 34-year-old dream coming to fruition,” says Kline, who got her first food industry gig as a teen at an Italian eatery in her hometown of Bellaire. “Thirty-four years in the school of hard knocks is paying off.”

At the Table

Tapas are small plates of appetizers or snacks in the cuisine of Spain. They are combined to make a full meal and can be served cold—think olives and cheese—or heated, such as pan-seared shrimp.

“It’s fun; it’s lighthearted,” Kline says of the tapas concept. “And it’s not what everyone else is doing.”

Small plates lend themselves to a communal eating style, with dishes being shared and taste-tested among all diners in the gathering. Typically, several tapas are ordered so there’s something for everyone.

“Think of it as dining at Grandma’s, where every dish gets passed around,” explains Kline. “Each order comes to your table every 15 minutes or so. We have a lot of fun here, and it’s like you’re at my dinner table. And our food is always made with fresh, locally-sourced ingredients. We believe only fresh ingredients can make great food. Our mission is to deliver you one of the best meals you’ve ever had.”

Her menu changes weekly for a reason.

“I don’t ever want my staff to say to a guest, ‘Sorry, we’re out of that,’” says Kline. “So we change the menu every week, and everything is so fresh.” She’s proud of the fact that so many of her ingredients are sourced locally—like cherries from King Orchards and beef from Oleson’s.

“Seventy percent of our meals are gluten-free,” adds Kline, who cooked at the Horton Bay General Store for 13 years before opening on the eDge tapas. “And our meals are pan-fried, not deep-fried. My deep fryer is empty—doesn’t even have the pilot light lit.”

On the Menu

When we visited, the restaurant was featuring its eDge Salad with fresh greens, sun-dried tomatoes, artichoke hearts, Cippolini onions, Marcona almonds, asiago cheese, and Castelvetrano olives topped with a house dressing.

Seared Lamb Lollipops with crispy capers and a vegetable du jour are popular with guests, as is Dee’s Smoked Whitefish Pate, which features sauteed bell peppers, roasted jalapeño, and cilantro with tortillas.

The Salt and Pepper Shrimp comes with a tangy habanero jelly that some diners mistake for honey. The shrimp are breaded, then pan-seared to perfection. The result is a tasty treat made even better by a dab of the jelly. Another edgy choice is the Drunken Frog Legs, which are fried in a Bourbon pan sauce and served with a bed of lemon quinoa with toasted pumpkin seeds.

Beef eaters won’t see burgers or steaks on this menu, but they will find Sage and Oregano meatballs bathed in a flavorful gorgonzola cream sauce. They pair well with Patatas Bravas, oven-fried Yukon potatoes topped with a spicy red sauce and roasted garlic aioli.

One thing you won’t find at on the eDge: any northern Michigan wines. Instead, the restaurant’s small but interesting wine list includes selections from Argentina, Spain, and other foreign climes. “Every other restaurant serves regional wines,” Kline explains. “I want to offer something different.”

Kline’s bar is small but contains all the basic liquors and is growing steadily. One of her most popular drinks is the Capone, a tribute to the gangster whose floating speakeasy, The Keuka, sank in Lake Charlevoix in 1932. That potent potable is a blend of Seagram’s 7, ginger beer, simple syrup, and Modenaceti balsamic vinegar. Another popular option, the Northside Special Cocktail, combines Gosling’s Black Rum, orange, lemon, and club soda.

Off to a Flying Start

If you couldn’t already tell, when others in the food service industry zig, Kline tends to zag.

For example, none of her eatery’s dozen tables feature condiments on them—no salt, pepper, mustard, ketchup. Her food, she believes, is properly flavorful and doesn’t require condiments. Also, she’s open on Mondays, traditionally a day when many spots in the industry are shuttered.

Kline is also planning to add experiences like cooking classes to the restaurant. In those 34 years she’s been working in the kitchen, she says she learned from many mentors and is now ready to pass on her lessons with hands-on cooking lessons in the fall. On August 10, she’ll also host a wine pairing evening, featuring four courses and five appropriate wines.

But it’s the diners—local and visiting—that remain at the heart of all Kline does.

After being open only a couple of weeks, Kline had an experience that made her proud. “There was a table of foodies sitting along the canal view and bridge view,” she recalls. “And they turned their chairs around, away from the view, to watch me cook in my open kitchen. It was instant gratification for me. I was floored!”

Find on the eDge tapas at 100 Michigan Ave in Charlevoix. (231) 437-3432, ontheedgetapas.com.