I remember being so excited about planning dinner at the Gateway Lodge Restaurant last month. My travel buddy and I made reservations here when booking a room at the lodge itself. After all, eating at the place you're staying is easier than finding food elsewhere; this is especially true when you're at a state park. And their three-course dinner menu looked delicious - a corn chowder soup, a main dish (steak or crab cakes), and a dessert.
What could go wrong? Turns out, plenty.
I was bummed out from the moment we came to the restaurant, which is when we were told the outdoor seating was closed. We still don't know why, as the weather was absolutely perfect. The patio had been busy and open the night before as well, which just made the news worse. So off we went to eat inside, during yet another big COVID surge I should note.
Since the three-course dinner menu was set in advance we had previously picked our entrées when making our reservation. After confirming our chosen entrées, the waitress asked if we wanted anything else. I asked if there was a drink menu. Cue the waitress leaving the table to find the "restaurant wine expert." After waiting a bit, he arrived and also asked if we wanted a drink. I said I didn't know what was available, and he left to get a wine menu. Why exactly it took two people and 10ish minutes to bring a paper wine menu to the table, I will never know.
Onto dinner itself. I thought the soup was OK; I'm not a big corn person but I do like it when mixed with other vegetables, which was the case with the soup. I was admittedly disappointed with my steak. While my travel buddy's crab cakes were perfect and delicious, I don't think any salt or pepper had been added to my steak. None was set on the table, either. The vegetables and potato were seasoned at least. As for the dessert, well...it was an almond tart with a scoop of raspberry corn ice cream. The tart was wonderful - I did not eat more than a bite of the ice cream. The corn flavor was just overpowering.
This experience was definitely not worth the price, and I do not plan to visit Gateway Lodge Restaurant again during my future visits to Cook Forest. read more