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| - Quivey's Grove, the Stone House restaurant. This was a wonderful experience, from the charming and accommodating service, to the historic house, all smoothing the way for an exquisitely American meal. The meal itself was bite-for-bite one of the best meals for the money in the mid-range restaurant. The dreaded mid-range of 20-30 dollar entrees has been the hardest for me to feel good about spending money on, and has usually led to the biggest disappointments in dining. This was an exception. The restaurant is in a mid 1800s farm house outside Madison and is neatly appointed with names for each room and art variations for each, that accented rather than competed for attention. Clean, blonde woods, quilts and mostly antique printed illustrations allow a fresh and unsuspicious feel to the rooms.
We went on a Tuesday evening and received two strawberry muffins as the bread service that complimented a perfectly prepared Old Fashioned cocktail. We ordered the 'Wilcox Duck', with wild rice and poached apples, and the appetizer sampler as an entree. The sampler had Weiss sausage, cucumber pickle and pickled onion in a melted cheese, mini-cheese tarts, stuffed mushrooms, trout roulade, and my favorite, a poultry stuffing pastry with cherries. All the dishes had been named for historical american men and referenced them in some dimension in the description and execution of the dish. Notably the fare did appear to be distinctly American in its character by way of the ingredients, execution, or both. The service was exceptional and accommodating and meal sharing was made ideal with the division on the dishes and serving them separated as if they were intended to be. Since this night was slow, our waiter gave us a tour at the end of the meal adding depth to our new knowledge of the place. I cannot stress enough that all the components of the meal were done perfectly, absolutely no complaints. I would recommend this to a humble diner or a snob believing both would be pleased with the result. I do not understand complaints about the prices here, as they are exactly in line (or under valued) with the quality of the meal. I wish I lived closer as to eat here more frequently. An excellent value, a gem. Highly recommended.
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