Mill Race Inn 12/5/10

Day Three brought us to the Mill Race Inn, a historic pub and eatery located on the east bank of the Fox River in Geneva, Illinois. Following on the heals of our outstanding experience of the previous evening, our hopes were high that tonight we would again experience a more-than-pleasant dining experience. Sadly, this was not to be.

We began with our cocktails, with Sheb ordering… yes, you guessed it, a Dirty Martini. For me, I chose a standard Manhattan. Sheb’s drink was fine but in mine was the harbinger of things to come for the evening. Too much bourbon, not enough sweet vermouth and no bitters? Well, then it isn’t really a Manhattan, is it! Well, it did have a cherry… three in fact, so sad.

With the appetizer course came the only ‘high spot’ for the evening, in the form of the Baked Mushroom Caps, which according to the menu were stuffed with spinach, onion and bacon, then drizzled with béarnaise sauce. We both found them to be quite acceptable.

Our second appetizer choice was the Crispy Coconut Duck Strips, supposedly tender strips of duck breast; coconut encrusted and fried golden brown, and served with a sweet and sour cherry dipping sauce and Asian-inspired coleslaw. Reality however was that while the duck was indeed succulent and flavorful, the heavy-handed coconut breading drowned out whatever ducky-goodness that might have been there and as for the sweet and sour dipping sauce… no sour, way too much sweet and not a good match for anything on the plate.

Now about that Asian inspired coleslaw… Note to Chef: Piling julienned red and yellow bell peppers on the side of the dish IS NOT the same as making coleslaw. What you made was a garnish and not a very good one.

Sheb’s main course for the evening came in the form of Swedish Meatballs in a sour cream sauce on black pepper fettuccine, topped with lingonberries. The pasta was acceptable and the sauce was a nice pairing with the dish, but the meatballs had the consistency of wet bread and were too soggy/mushy to be eaten.

Chez’ main course was the Grilled Ahi Steak, reported to be a fresh, Hawaiian tuna steak served medium rare with citrus lime butter, sided with wild rice blend and a fresh vegetable medley.

Reality was:

1. It wasn’t Ahi,
2. It was criminally over-cooked (despite my plea to the waitress to tell the chef to go sparingly with the heat) and,
3. It was over-salted and over-peppered at to make it ‘not fit for human consumption’ (Thank you Morimoto, for giving me just the right words to describe this dish!)

Even in the realm of service, the Mill Race Inn failed to deliver. Initially it was great, with a highly attentive server and visits from the manager. But with the arrival of a large party about thirty minutes after our arrival, we were relegated to the forgotten realm of the ‘corner booth’, in as much as there was only one server and the table of eight trumps the table of two. Filled with disgust, we left the restaurant and went to A & W for dessert.

So, as you can guess… we won’t be going back.


- Chez