3 years ago
I was very excited about the chance for a nice far...
I was very excited about the chance for a nice farm to table birthday dinner for my mother and liked the companion restaurant in the city. I had out on my to try list for several years after a great review.
We made a reservation in advance and took the drive up from St. Louis with my parents. When we arrived, the place was empty. We found a hostess who told us she tried to call and that a group of bikers had come through for lunch and their menu was limited so maybe we didn't even want to eat there. I checked and the call was at six, just before our six-thirty reservation and one assumes well after lunch.
We had called ahead to be sure that my wife could accommodate her food allergy, so we said if that was still on the menu, we were in. While we ate, they completed maintenance on some lights nearby, breaking a few. We had to ask for the sitcom on the big screen to be turned off. The water was tap, unfiltered, and terrible. My wife, pregnant, stopped drinking the lemonade because it was so 'off'. When she ordered, she was told that the meal she had planned was no longer safe. The chef came out to apologize and explained the marinara was made fresh and the ingredients could change. We confirmed that she was the same chef-owner we had talked to when we made the reservation and asked for anything available on the menu. After a long wait, she came back and offered a special pizza, made fresh.
When the food came, it was unattractive, but not remarkable good or bad. The custom pizza was just a thin cracker crust with tomato sauce on top - it looked very Lunchables.
All told the experience was disappointing, but not horrible. It wasn't a $14 pizza, the other entrees were priced as a romantic getaway, but prepared as a local eatery. It seems the clientele have shifted and it
is now a local event space and weekend buffet, so go with better expectations than I.