South Gate Cafe - Lake Forest, IL

This is certainly one of our favorite places to stop by for lunch in Lake Forest. Great soup and sandwiches and you can dine outside on the patio. Lunch aside, their dinners are fantastic also.


Tonight I was by myself and I had a spicy squid appetizer and the wild game plate, which consisted of: Duck, Boar and Kangaroo. It was fantastic! The squid was tender and the game had so much flavor I would have liked seconds. I ate out on their patio and the service was excellent.


I just happened to be in the area the next night and thought I would try the restaurant again. This night I ate in the bar and once again I was very happy with the food. On the other hand, the service was terrible. I received my salad before my appetizer which came out just before my main course. The waitress was rarely seen and obviously had little training. I'd recommend you stay out of the bar area and stick with the main dinning room or patio where they keep the good wait staff.

Even with this bad service, I highly recommend South Gate Cafe; this was the only time I have been disappointed.

http://www.southgatecafe.com/

Sanford - Milwaukee, WI

Located in an old family grocery store, Sanford has been serving the Milwaukee area for 19 years.

The food is a mix, but I would say the menu we hadwas more French or Mediterranean.

The décor is modern with white table clothes, but don't let this fool you. It is a very relaxed atmosphere. Two of us showed up in jeans (they were nice jeans, but jeans just the same), and we did not feel uncomfortable at all. Most were dressed business casual, only a few men had jackets.

Most likely the food will be different when you go since they try to use fresh local ingredients. We had two appetizers, one was a roasted morel mushrooms with ramps. It could have been a meal it was so large. The other appetizer was Lobster Benedict. The description on the menu said it was: Seared Serrano Wrapped Lobster and Poached Quail Egg, Lemon Herb Salad. I wish they had said the sauce was a dill sauce, I hate dill. Even with the dill, though, it was good.

For our second course we had a soup which was a Parmesan Broth with Prosciutto and Grilled Scallions, Parmesan Flan. It was light and rich at the same time, very creative.

For our main course we had the: Chargrilled Strauss Veal Loin and 17 Hour Veal Breast , Crispy Onion Potatoes, Tart Apple and Endive. The veal loin was good, but the veal breast was out of this world. The apparently marinated it is some sort of pressure unit for 17 hours. All I can say is FANTASTIC.

We also had the Elk, which was a little gamey, but if you like game we think you will like it.

This was our first trip to this restaurant. For years now we wanted to go, but just kept forgetting to stop by. After this experience we will certainly be back.

http://www.sanfordrestaurant.com/

Geneva Chophouse - Grand Geneva Resort, Lake Geneva, WI

The food is good, the service is great (if a little stuffy) and the atmosphere is perfect. Eating outside is a great choice if it is available and if the bugs are too bad.

For an appetizer pick the tuna tartare. If you venture off the steak menu, choose the Sea Bass, very nice. As a side, get the lobster Mac and Cheese.

Ahhh, not sure if we would recommend this. If you really like steak houses this might fit the bill, but in a word, over priced. There are many places it he area where you can get a good steak at a much lower price.

One word of advice to the managers put a wall up between the kitchen doors and the dining room. All night there was a constant commotion going on there and it is very distracting. A nice panel or something could block it from your guest trying to enjoy a relaxing evening.

http://www.grandgeneva.com/dining/dining_geneva_chophouse.asp

SOPRA Trattoria - Lake Geneva, WI

We saw this restaurant when we were driving through town. It has been in operation since March. We have been to Lake Geneva several times over the last several months, but we had not heard a word about the restaurant.

Sopra is an Italian restaurant with a modern flair. The atmosphere is comfortable and inviting. The only thing that was strange was the spot lights on each table, they should be dimmed a little, they were a bit blinding. This is our first experience at the restaurant, so we can't give you a detailed description of the menu, but we can tell you what we had.

We started our meal with the steak tartare, if you like tartare, this is a great one. Just enough spice.

I had the roasted beet salad and my wife had the Sopra salad. This is the only part of the meal we did not care for. The beets were great on my salad and the goat cheese went well with it, but the frissee was nasty. I honestly don't know what the attraction is with bitter greens.
Regarding the Sopra salad, my wife just says, "Yuck!" Next time maybe we will get two appetizers.

For a main entree, my wife had: Scallops - Pan-seared scallops layered with brie cheese and fried potato rounds, served with a fennel cream sauce. This was a hell of a meal, the fennel cream sauce was very unusual. We will have this again.

I had : Veal Chop - Pan roasted veal chop basted in thyme and garlic, served with caramelized garlic porchinis, shaved parmesan and roasted radicchio. I will have to say this was the best veal chop I have ever had. It was prepared perfectly and the flavor was out of this world. I could have done without the radicchio, once again what's with the bitter greens?

Over all I guess it comes down to will we go again, and the answer is yes. Next time, though, I hope the chef will allow us to have salt and pepper at the table. Even if we did not need the extra salt and pepper, I hate when a chef thinks he or she knows better how something should be seasoned.

By the way, the service was exceptional and the wine pours were generous, always a good sign.

http://www.sopratrattoria.com/

The Inn at Kristofer's - Sister Bay, WI

The restaurant sits across the street from the harbor of Sister Bay and it has an unobstructed view of Green Bay. The location makes if probably one of the best places in Door County to enjoy a really fabulous gourmet meal while watching the sunset.

The Inn at Kristofer's is open year round and to be honest, it has never disappointed us. We have even gone there in the dead of winter when it was below zero. Oddly enough the restaurant had a small crowed of customers even in such miserable weather.

They always have something creative and this time was no exception. Depending on what time of year you go, the local restaurant suppliers are pushing one item or anther, so the restaurants in the area all have the same ingredients. It is how the chef prepares them that makes the difference.

This night, my wife started with: Escargot Kristofer -Six snails are sautéed in shallots, green onions, garlic butter and shitake mushrooms. Topped with garlic flavored Japanese breadcrumbs and broiled. If you are going to this restaurant only one time, get this! Just be aware that it is very rich so you should probably share.

I started with: Shiitake Mushroom and Asparagus Crepe -A thin crepe is filled with sautéed shiitake mushrooms, asparagus and brie cheese. Finished with a mint infused hollandaise sauce. This is a treat and I personally would not have thought of the combination, EVER. Once again, this is very rich, but worth the extra calories.

For the main course my wife had the special which was whitefish on top of risotto with a beurre blanc sauce, drizzled with a balsamic reduction. This was so good Chef Terri Milligan should get some award. We have never had whitefish taste so good.

I’m a game fan, so I had: Kristofer's Game Sampler - A grilled semi-boneless quail is finished with an apple brandy reduction and coupled with a chicken and pine nut sausage that rests on top of a polenta and applewood smoked bacon cake. Duck confit sits on top of the sausage which is then finished with a white wine, cream and rosemary reduction. As usual, I was not disappointed.

Just to let you know how much we like this restaurant, we have driven the 4 hours it takes us to get there, had dinner, spent the night at whatever place that would have us and drove back the next day. So, an 8 hour drive for dinner should tell you how much we like this restaurant.

One tip, call ahead and go on a night they have live music, it makes the experience even better.

http://www.innatkristofers.com/

T. Ashwell's - Ellison Bay, WI

There is a place called Door County Wisconsin, it is the little peninsula thing sticking off the east side of the state. This area is the Midwest's answer to Martha's Vineyard. It actually has a few vineyards and the best part there are many fine dining establishments.

One of our favorite restaurants is T. Ashwell's. We found this restaurant when we first started coming to the Door County area for vacation. We try to come up once a year and this is one of the first places we go.

The restaurant was a lodge, properly named The Ellison Bay Lodge. It had many guest rooms and served their summer long guests every meal. As you walked up past gardens of the entrance you can tell that you are entering a place that has a long history.

Now the important part, the food. I had the special appetizer, which was sauteed morel mushrooms. You only get these in season, so it is a very special treat. My main course was a bone-in ribeye which was cooked to perfection. I normally would be a little more adventurous and not get a steak, but for some reason I was craving meat.

We shared the appetizer and salad, but what was most remarkable was what my wife got, which was: VEGETARIAN TASTING - Italian fire roasted tomato & mozzarella bread pudding, with a sun dried tomato, caper-cream sauce paired with roasted vegetable raviolis, tossed with fresh mint pesto & caramelized apples finished with an aged Parmesan cheese custard timbale with a roasted tomato coulis. Neither one of us are vegetarians, but I'll tell you what, if all vegetarian meals were like this I might not want meat as much.

A few days later we saw in a real-estate magazine that the restaurant is up for sale. We are really going to miss T. Ashwell's if Chef Smith sells, especially since we have been going there since they opened. Maybe if you take our advice and go to his restaurant he will reconsider his decision to sell. It is a tough market with only 3 good months or so to be busy and T. Ashwell's stays open all year, we really don't know how any restaurants make it.

https://www.tashwells.com/

Gabriel's Restaurant - Highwood, IL

What a surprise, that's all I can say.

We have gone to Froggy's which is next door to Gabriel's many times and for one reason or another we just never tried going in. From now on we'll give them both equal opportunity to our dining dollars.

On this night we were greeted at the door by Gabriel Viti, who is the chef and owner. We were seated at a very comfortable and inviting booth and offered drinks immediately. The menu is a mix of French and Italian cuisine. We are not a big Italian fans, but if you feel the same way, you will not be disappointed in your dining experience.

We chose the degustation menu where Chef Viti come to your table and explains what each course will be. If you have any food allergies or just don't like something, the chef will accommodate you anyway he can. Also, if you choose, you can have a wine pairing. If you're not driving I highly recommend this.

Either way, don't miss out on a wonderful experience.

http://www.egabriels.com/