Kelly's - Quincy IL

On our travelling adventures, this restaurant was recommended to us by the hotel concierge. We had been looking for something on the upscale side for dinner to relax and have a good dinner and cocktails.

In one word, this place can be described as "terrible". The service was bad and the food not good.

I ordered a Caprese salad - which was anything but. A traditional Caprese is layers of tomato, mozzarella and basil leaves drizzled with Balsamic vinegar. Their version was tomato slices, mozzarella covered in Italian dressing.
My husband ordered a ribeye, medium. It came well done.

When I asked the waitress what specials they had for the night, the response was "nothing", like I inconvenienced her by even asking. After she brought our food, not once did she ask how it was and even did so much to walk right past us and avoid looking our way. When we were finished, we had to ask for our bill - and even then she did not bother to ask how our food was.

Dinner was a complete waste of time & money. Don't bother wasting your time, unless you enjoy being treated poorly.

Hometown Burger Bar

Hands down, Hometown Burger Bar is by far our favorite place to grab a burger. We have been here a few times for lunch on Saturdays and have always been so impressed with the service and the food we receive. 

The first time we visited, Dan enjoyed a burger on a pretzel roll with smashed cheese curds and ranch dressing on it (picture not included). The next time we went, he went outside of the box and tried a burger topped with peanut butter, your choice of grape or strawberry jelly, bacon and jalapenos.  It sounds strange, but the combination works - trust us. 

I have a handful of burgers that I want to try - but seem to always be inclined to order the crab ' goon burger - the burger topped with Crab Rangoon filling, green onions and crispy wonton strips.  It is like the perfect combination of cool and warm, smooth and crispy. 

Tater tots or fries, fried pickles or cheese curds are just a few of the items to compliment the sandwich.  Off the menu, there is always a special sandwich being featured too.

Do not forget to wash down all that goodness with a delicious cocktail!  The Bloody Marys are terrific, but if you fancy something fruity or fizzy, there is quite an array of house cocktails and shots sure to whet your whistle.

Next time you are on College Ave in Appleton, make sure to stop in and give Hometown Burger Bar a try!

Antojitos

Recently I had the opportunity to enjoy some delicious Mexican Fare. For starters, we each got a margarita flight with samplers of tequilas infused locally.   Options I chose were: Orange Leave, Hibiscus, Cilantro and Lemongrass.

For Dinner, hands down I had to go with the shrimp tacos.  Oooooh, they were so delicious!

Antojitos was quite a hopping place on Friday night, and after enjoying our choices, it is apparent why.

Cedar Lodge, malone, WI

started dinner with a delicious Moscow Mule made with Tito's Vodka.

Dinner itself consisted of a ribeye & scallops for me & prime rib for Dan. Every meal starts with either fresh fruit or a fritter.The meals have both soup & salad,unless a lighter meal is chosen. 

My ribeye was ordered rare, and for once it really was rare, just singed on both sides -like I prefer.

The scallops I had were sauteed, and were succulent & juicy. 

Dan's prime rib was juicy & done to perfection.

The wait was extreme- we arrived at 5:15 and did not sit down to eat until 7:15.

However, this is a place quite popular with the locals, as we made conversation with many people from Dotyville. Sheboygan & beyond. 

Dinner was good, however , Dan still enjoyed the prime rib @ Schwarz's over this. We both felt we could have received a similar meal at the Roxy in Oshkosh.

We may be back, but we have a long list of places to try in 

the meantime.

Be happy my friends.... Til next time.... 

J's BBQ- Ripon, WI

Today we ventured over to Green Lake Harvestfest & had the Opportunity to try some yummy BBQ goodness from J's BBQ.

I had not heard of J's prior to today,but found out they are located in the Plaza Bowl building in Ripon. 

First up, Dan tried the Beef Brisket on a pretzel roll. It was served with a side of cranberry BBQ - what better flavor combo for a fall day! The brisket was oh,so tender and flavorful. 

By round 2, the tent had attracted quite the line. For this round, we opted to share the Mac n cheese, BBQ beans & wings. 

Can we just say "wow"? Because this was so tasty. J's is definitely doing something right.

If this is what is served up out of a tent, we cannot wait to see what comes out of the restaurant kitchen!

Some evening, we plan on making the small jaunt over to Ripon and trying a slab of ribs (and maybe some fried okra!) 

Yum-yum

Kitty O'Reilly's, Sturgeon Bay

Kitty O'Reillys was out destination of choice this lunch. We started out with a delicious bloody Mary filled with all the good stuff. For all you bloody officianados, this place was rated #4 on top 10 in state. It was filled with all sorts of goodies.

For food, we started with the calamari. It was amazing. Flaky, light breading. Tender calamari (not at all rubbery,like some can be). 

I had the Texas wrap, layers of shaved ribeye, with mushrooms, glazed onions, tator tots & cheese. It was so juicy & really, really good.

Dan enjoyed the special of the day, which was beer battered cod. The batter was really good, fish very flaky.

The service was good & the outdoor patio kitschy. Overall this was a great option to stop for lunch. If we are ever back in the area, I know we'll be stopping again!

Center House

On our quest for a good Wisconsin Fish Fry, our journey led us to Center House.

I personally have not visited Center House for probably 20 years. I remember being there when I was still living at home. Dan has never been there.

Center House has a reputation for Margaritas - yes, surprising, from this little burb in the middle of nowhere - which is not established as a Mexican restaurant. Nonetheless though, I had to give one a try. There were two flavors offered - mango & strawberry - and since I couldn't make up my mind, had them mix the two together.  It was quite a refreshing delight.

For fish options, there were the basics, all you can eat cod & chicken, shrimp, walleye. Potato options included fries, baked, sweet potato fries of tater salad. They also offered cole-slaw or applesauce.

AUCE included the salad bar, where individual plates offered the addition of the salad bar for just under $4.

Dan took them up on the offer of AUCE cod & chicken, as he does love his broasted chicken. I love a good piece of walleye, so opted for the fried walleye.

Chicken was very moist, cod was flaky. My walleye had a nice crunchy batter on it & came out piping hot - good thing I had that icy margarita to chill my mouth.

Overall, we had a good experience & good food. However, one word of caution - if you do get chicken, you will wait. Do not order if you want to eat & go. When the second helping was ordered, we did wait a considerable amount of time.

If you're in the area, come check them out!