| rev:text
| - I really wanted to like this restaurant. But it was just...Meh (as this 2-star rating is described). I loved the idea of driving out of Madison to try a gourmet restaurant (with gourmet prices) in a quaint town. I looked at the menu beforehand and was looking forward to having the flavors of the appetizers and entrees dance on my palate.
DRINKS: My chombard martini was nice; my husband ordered a vodka gimlet, but the Rose's lime juice was mistakenly (?) left out so he had to ask for a shot of Roses. Otherwise, it was straight up stiff vodka. Huh. Ok.
FOOD: Of the two appetizers, two specialty drinks, salad and soup, and two dinner entrees we ordered, only one could be described as delicious, and one other, I describe as hearty and flavorful.
Appetizers: We ordered the bacon wrapped dates stuffed with goat cheese - this was the highlight of the meal. Superb flavor. The other appetizer was the lox on toasted, thinly sliced baugette - it was nice, but just ok - nothing extraordinary. The mushroom bisque was the hearty and flavorful item. Very thick...almost like a thick, thick stew...maybe too thick? But tasty. Salad was standard fare.
And they charge $6 for a baguette and garlic butter. We decided to order it to see why it was so special that they had to charge for bread (a rarity). The baguette was very soft and warm...the garlic butter was nicely whipped, but didn't really have flavor. Needed more garlic and salt perhaps? I don't recommend the baguette - it was nothing special, especially for $6.
My husband got the ahi tuna special with glass noodle cakes which were interesting but tasteless as glass noodles are. The ahi tuna was nice, but overcooked. I was most disappointed for the dish I was most looking forward to: the 1/2 duck with door county marinade and chestnut dressing. It was far too overcooked - dry, tough, and even part of the duck was burnt to a crisp. I nibbled on the dressing and remarked to my husband that I preferred his mom's dressing. He agreed. I couldn't eat the duck and dressing - it was unsavory - so had it packed up to take home thinking maybe as leftovers it would somehow become delicious. Turns out, I couldn't even eat it at home either the next day - took one bite of the duck, spit it out and threw it all in the garbage. Duck, as a dark meat, is usually so flavorful and juicy...this was the exact opposite.
ENVIRONMENT: The ambiance was not what I expected from pictures and reviews. We sat in the fireplace room and it felt like we were in an art gallery with the BRIGHT track lighting - maybe ok for lunch, but for dinner, a dimmer light would've helped the atmosphere.
SERVICE: The service was friendly, but not overly attentive. The server was knowledgable of the menu but...yeah...not overly attentive. I agree with another review about this place...it was 'bare minimum' service. We had to flag down our server a few times.
Overall, I was disappointed and left with a 'meh' feeling. Probably won't return or recommend to others. Wish I could, but I can't. Considering the prices, I expected a lot more. Glad we had a $50 gift card to use on this meal.
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