Over the course of three days (12/3 through 12/5) we managed to visit three distinct restaurants; a local gem, a casino steak house and a riverfront icon, all within 20 miles of each other. The first of these visits was to the Wildwood, the local gem that is located in the quaint, scenic Dodson Place in Geneva, Illinois.Despite it being ‘Kick-Off Night’ of the annual Christmas Walk Weekend, reservations were available and the restaurant was busy but well organized, with a good traffic flow that allowed customers to come and go without disturbing the clientele who were dining… a major accomplishment when one considers the sea of humanity that avails itself to the Geneva Christmas Walk each year.
The views of the square, decked out for the season as well as the tasteful décor inside gave the entire experience a very festive overtone and bode well for the night’s dining experience, which began with; yup you guessed it, cocktails. As is our custom, we both selected the Dirty Martinis with Blue Cheese-stuffed olives. (What is there not to love with this concoction?)
For our appetizer course we went with the French Goat Cheese, consisting of baked imported goat cheese, served atop spinach and surrounded by a sea of tomato basil sauce, served with an olive tapenade garnish. My wife and I differed on our rating of this dish. She found it quite tasty… while I found the sauce to be on the bland side, with it tasting more like pureed red peppers and having no tomato-esque zing that I was hoping for.For the soup course we went old school, and both had the classic French Onion Soup. With this dish the folks at Wildwood kitchen hit it out of the park. The onions were done to perfection; the cheese was at a flawless consistency and all elements of the dish were equally represented without any one flavor dominating the dish. This one is a big thumbs up!
The Wedge Salad with Blue Cheese Crumbles and Bacon was standard fare, but there was an issue with the dressing. On my wife’s dish, dressing flowed like an endless sea of creamy goodness. Moresthepity too, when one considers she is a ‘light dressing’ type. My salad, on the other hand was a veritable desert with just the faintest hint of creamy goodness.
For the main courses, Sheb went with the Tuxedo Pasta, a dish of sautéed chicken and tender bowtie pasta, tossed with sundried tomatoes, spinach, garlic and mushrooms topped with creamy gorgonzola. She (and I concurred) felt that the dish was on the bland and lifeless side and could have used a lot more zip.I chose the Baked Sausage Fettuccine, an Italian fennel sausage dish simmered with red and green bell peppers and broccoli with a red wine marinara cream sauce, tossed with fettuccine, topped with provolone and baked until golden. My choice was outstanding and if you are a fennel fan (and I am), this one is for you.
As the dessert cart appeared it was time to contemplate the sweeter things of life. Despite the warnings of my wife, I went ahead and ordered the Orange Crème Brule, delicate orange custard with burnt sugar crust. As followers of this blog know, I have been on the quest for the perfect Crème Brule ever since that incredible moment of five years ago when I experience Crème Brule Nirvana, while at sea enroute to Jamaica. Well, tonight came close… but not quite. The brule was perfect and most of the crème was too, but the bottom 1/4 inch was grainy, thus it is relegated to ‘Good… just not great’. Well, a snifter of their finest will help assuage the pain of this disappointment!
So, what is the final analysis? Overall, Wildwood scores an 8.5 out of 10 and garners a ‘worthy of a repeat’, if for no other reason than to evaluate their steaks. Hmmmmm … when can I fit that visit in?
- Chez
- Chez
