Hinterland Erie Street Gastropub - Milwaukee, WI - 2ND VISIT

A week later we returned (see post of 11/7/09). Our nephew loves this type of food, so we decided to return with him.

They say you can never go back and it's true. This experience was quite different than last week's. First it was very crowded, so the noise level was high compared to last time. There are two sides to the restaurant, so maybe the accoustics vary from side to side.

We were seated for a while before our server came to offer drinks. That's not a good way to start. It really seemed that she had too many big tables, so throughout the evening we were always wanting for something or sitting their with our empty plates in front of us.

The food, however, was still good except for one thing, which I'll address later.

The menu does appear to change daily. There are some staples as far as proteins, just a different preparation.

I again started with the hamachi (I'm dieting so there aren't a whole lot of other choices). The preparation was basically the same, but the price this time was $15. Again I'm going to say it's not worth it.

My husband started with abalone. He was so excited to see abalone on the menu. It's one thing he really likes that you rarely see. I even tasted it (I was a little leary), but it had a great texture and a wonderful flavor. It was served with matsutake mushrooms, delicata squash and verjus.

My nephew had the Kentucky Fried Quail which was served on top of a waffle, topped with a fried quail egg and maple syrup. Now if I weren't dieting this is what I would have ordered. I did get a taste and it was very good. The quail was actually bigger than I would have expected.

For entrees I had Pan Seared Hawaiin Uhu served with pumpkin gnocchi, french beans, pine nuts, tomato and brown butter. First, let me say the pumpkin gnocchi was unbelievable. I was really wishing that there was more on the plate. Skip the fish, let's have more gnocchi! Actually the fish was very good too, perfectly cooked. The beans were a little crispy for my liking.

My husband had the Wood-fire Grilled Elk Tenderloin served with sweet potato and foie gras bread pudding, almonds, french beans and a foie gras emulsion. He loved it, but didn't really notice any foie gras flavor. I tasted it, also liked it and I didn't notice that flavor either and I really don't care for foie gras. I was pleasantly surprised that the elk did not have any gamey taste at all.

My nephew had the Lamb Rack served with garbanzo beans and many other things he doesn't eat. So basically all he ate was the lamb. Now I really do not like lamb, but tried it and it too had no gaminess to it all all. This is where the food went wrong. He had three racks. Two were sitting on top of the third. The first two were perfectly done, very pink in the center. The third one was well done. It almost seemed as if the chef was trying to hide the well done piece under the two perfect pieces because my nephew did not notice it until the very end. He was very disappointed.

Because my nephew was with us, dessert was considered. I did not order anything but tried both things that were ordered.

There was a peanut butter tart with grape sorbet and frozen whole milk. Peanut butter & jelly! And that's exactly what it tasted like.

The other dessert we ordered was flourless chocolate cake served with ice cream, a chocolate covered pretzel, peanut butter ball and condensed milk caramel. The cake was the best part.

Even though our experience was not as good as the first time, it doesn't mean we won't give it another shot. This restaurant falls into the category of "for the prices charged it better be good every time". If not, we're done.

http://hinterlandbeer.com/