I really wanted to like this place having heard and read such good things about it. The location is wonderful, right on the banks of the Mississippi River and the gardens are spectacular. In the chill of a cold November evening, as you pull into the parking lot and take in the vista of the century-old farmhouse, it is beautiful, all lit up and warm and inviting. You get the feeling of being invited to a country mansion, to spend an evening with some dear friends. We were meeting friends here to listen to the evenings entertainment of a local Bluesy-jazz trio, The NightCrawlers. I really want to give this place 3 stars but there are so many misses. I wish there was a 2.5 star rating.
Entering the intimate dining room (10-12 tables) we sat with our friends. The NightCrawlers had started their set, they sounded good. Nicely decorated with artwork from local artists, tied together with white linen tablecloths and burgundy cloth knapkins, the feeling is of a fine-dining country inn. We ordered drinks; I plumped for a James Bond Martini (with Vodka and Gin!) and I asked what gin they had; the server had to go back to the barkeep and ask and then came back to tell me Bombay or Sapphire. I think she was new as remembering just two types of gin to my mind isn't that hard? She was competent though, perhaps needs more experience. My partner had a white wine spritzer. When the drinks arrived, I was a little taken aback by the size of the glass, I hadn't seen such a small glass in any martini I have had, the olive was also miniscule. If I had had two more on the plastic cocktail stick, that might have compensated for the tiny fruit. I was not too impressed on sipping it, so underwhelming; there was no hint of gin, just an upfront spirit-taste of vodka, not bad, but not worth the $12 I spent on this faux cocktail. When our male friends Caesar arrived he was also similarly disappointed, as it was so transparent, it looked like iced tea in the subdued light. One taste also confirmed his misgivings as it had none of the meatiness and thickness of a good cocktail. Not a great start.
The regular menu had a daily special as an offering also. I went for the scallops and whitefish from this. I really wanted something else other than fish but when you go off the daily special, the menu is just standard pub fair and nothing really inventive or special either, just the clone-offering of burgers, wraps, fries, salads and I wasn't in the mood for pub food, unless it was gastro-pub offering which it clearly wasn't. My dining cohort ordered the soup and a chicken wrap as she too was also peeved at the lack of anything really different.
The food arrived, my starter was nicely presented on a stark-white oblong plate with five scallops lined up on clam shells nestled on a bed of wilted spinach. A bite of one revealed not a lot of flavour, instead of being nicely pan-fried-caramelized on the exterior (cooked well enough, with that spongy restraint to them) they had the distinct impression of being steamed. Atop each scallop was tiny little shards of crisp bacon. One of the true classic pairings is bacon and scallops as the buttery-sweetness of the little mollusc foils the salty bacon; I had none of that in my mouthful, is was just a springy bite with a crisp undertone. Try being inventive here and play with the fish-sweetness, pair with sweet-onions and balsamic, or a caramel-toned vinaigrette, or mushy-peas.....really, the list of what pairs with scallops is quite versatile. And, I paid $15 for this, which was not worth it. The soup I heard was really good as a couple of people had it.
Mains arrived, my fish looked satisfactory, a little uninspired. Presented on a nice white oval plate, with the whiteness of the steamed rice and the steamed fish, there was no transition from plate to protein. Cooked well enough, perhaps a little on the over-done side, the fish was alright but nothing special. The nice green pesto-Parmesan on top was quite flavourful and rescued the dish but it could have done with more attention to sides, as there was a scant amount of red-pepper and squash macedoine, tasty enough but very small. I paid $22 for that fish. Chicken wrap with fries was OK, however, again, when in a supposed fine-dining establishment, this was not what was really wanted for dinner and was settled for due to lack of menu-inspiration.
Dinner for 2 was $110 with 2 drinks each (ABC Beer, awesomely good English-style ale) and without tip which is very pricey for this. It should be in the $75 range. I will go back here to try again as I do not know how my experience could be so markedly different to other reviews; with a bit of tweaking and some inspiration, it could be a dynamite menu. I don't mind paying for really good food, this was not that food. Nightcrawlers were really good, the sound is so loud in the small space its hard to converse even with some sitting next to you. read more