Friday, September 25, 2009

Wine Knot - Kenosha, WI

First, let me start by saying we really do like this restaurant, just for the fact that they try to stay a little creative, but they are just not consistent enough with the quality of their food. Not just that, but many times what you actually get doesn't necessarily match what's on the menu. I don't mind a change, but the server should let you know about the change when you order.

We ate here over the summer and sat outside. It was a very nice experience and we had no complaints that day, but this particular day was terrible.

I ordered the Half Portion Caesar Salad. I forgot that I've ordered this before and really do not like it. The dressing is very bland and doesn't remind me of any type of caesar I've ever tasted before.

My husband got the crab cake, which we have had many times before. It was a little over-cooked, but no where near as bad as the rest of the meal.

For entrees my husband got the Cajun Monkfish Oscar, which is served with crawfish tails and hollandaise sauce, dirty rice and asparagus. I got the Macadamia Nut Crusted Halibut served with roasted red potatoes, asparagus, lemon infused beurre blanc topped with crispy capers.

First we were quite surprised when our server put down the two plates in front of us. Mine was a good-sized portion of halibut and you could barely see the monkfish on my husband's plate. We both looked at each other in disbelief. In both entrees, the fish was ok. In other words, it was not fishy. That's always a first step for me, because I'm very choosy where I order fish from. There are some places I would never dream of ordering fish from. I've always trusted Wine Knot for fish and I've never been disappointed. The problem was not the fish, but all the sides. My roasted potatoes tasted as if they were days old and were reheated in the microwave. They were actually disgusting. The asparagus were basically raw. My husband's dirty rice also tasted as if it were reheated. It was so dry, it was barely edible. And this was a Friday night! You would expect the turnover would be such that fresh ingredients would be used - no need to reheat. Not that there is ever an excuse for reheating.

So, this tells me that the quality has really gone down. I think that's the beginning of the end.
Eventually people catch on. Will we give it another chance? Not sure. Too bad.

www.wine-knot.com

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I could not agree with your review more. The idea of the restaurant is great, and the atmosphere very nice, but the food isn't anything special. We keep giving this place a chance, but honestly I think it's simply a nice place to go have a drink.

Mangia, on the other hand, is Kenosha's best restaurant (quality and atmosphere are great) and I recommmend you try it next time you're in town. Ashling on the Lough, the Irish pub on the water, also has quite good food, but smoky. Finally, Twisted Cuisine is also a good bet in Kenosha--interesting menu, good quality and smoke free.

Anonymous said...

My apologies, I see that you've already tried the restaurants I mentioned in my cooment above--sorry about that! Keep up the great reviews, these are very helpful and your opinions mimic mine!