My wife, her parents and I ate at the Statehouse restaurant for the first time Saturday, Oct. 11, and we were very disappointed. Although the food--the walleye, scallops, beat salad, pasta dish--was good to above-average, it was not on a par with several other of the better restaurants in Madison.
More disappointing was that my mother-in-law had made the reservation indicating it was a special dinner for her 62d anniversary and specifically asked for and was assured a table by the windows. Well, of course, the maƮtre-d refused to honor that request even though two tables sat empty during our entire meal! Our waiter was very personable and competent but no one offered us a wine list until we asked for it twice.
It may be unfair to compare the new with the old Edgewater, but we always thought the old Edgewater had a unique panache in that it served steak diane and Caesar salad at tableside and had a number of other very nice touches that made it a destination for many special occasions. Not a whole lot is unique about the Statehouse.