Last night my wife and I ventured out to Lake Geneva to check out a new Italian restaurant in the area. Ryan Braun's Tavern and Grill. My first impression was that it is a nice looking place, kind of a cross between an Olive Garden and a upscale bar. Since that it is marketed as an Italian eatery/Tavern, I guess that I am pretty much spot on. Atmosphere seemed pretty upbeat and vibrant and the place still had a newness about it. Although slightly busy, Friday night and all, we were seated immediately. This is where the fun began.
We were greeted by Chad, our waiter, who while very nice had an odd air about him. Turns out this was his second night there. I didn't ask, but I would wager that this was his second night waiting tables as well. Eager, but not the best.
We ordered our drinks as well as an appetizer of Beef Carpaccio. While waiting on these, we were brought out some Italian style bread along with a dipping tray with EVOO and Balsamic. I have had olive oil dipping before, but not with balsamic. I was pleasantly surprised. It was excellent. One of the best parts of the meal.
With hardly a wait, our appetizer came out. The beef was prepared excellently, and a small bit of baby spinach with a vinaigrette dressing, topped with a bit of sliced Parm accompanied it. The beef tasted wonderfully, but the dressing was entirely too thick and weighted down the spinach. Unfortunately this left some leaves soggy and others dry. One thing that usually is part of a dish like this is capers, and they were solely missed. Overall about a 3 out of 5.
Our next course quickly followed. I had a bowl of homemade clam chowder and my wife received a goat cheese salad. What can i say. I love clam chowder and this did not disappoint. You could tell the fact that it was made in house by the creaminess of the potatoes and extremely flavorful clams. While it could have used a bit more pepper, the fresh thyme was an interesting and pleasant surprise. 4 out of 5.
My wife's goat cheese salad was the starof the night. Herb crusted, slightly pan fried goat cheese over a bed of spinach leaves. A light oil based dressing was drizzled over the top and it was garnished with dried cranberries. My wife only allowed me to taste a small amount, but I would come back just for this salad. 5 out of 5.
Our main courses came next. My wife ordered one of their artisan pizzas, Margherita, and I ordered the Capellini all' Amatriciana. My wife's pizza was a first glance a standard Margherita, but after tasting it, we were proven different. The basil looked slightly wilted (it was cooked afterall), but it had their balsamic drizzled over it. And while my wife is usually nuts over that stuff, she said that it totally overpowered the entire flavor base. It unfortunately ruined what would have been a wonderful dish. 2.5 out of 5.
My pasta dish was combination of angel hair pasta, pancetta, mussels, and a sweet tomato sauce. Overall a very big dissapointment. Each of the components were cooked properly, but they did nothing to combine them together. It was painfully obvious that the both the mussels and the pancetta was cooked seperately from the sauce and while they were tasty. They did not combine well. And the kicker was that they had the pancetta cubed so large that they did not lose any of thier trademark saltiness. Every bite was like chewing on a salt block. You had to ensure that you only got a small piece of pancetta with every bite of pasta. This way it was actually delicious, but if you were not careful, you got a big reminder of why this dish was bad. 1 out of 5.
Lastly came desert. We started out strong and ended strong. My wife recieved a Chocolate torte, with a thick chocolate ganache. Too heavy for me, but the only word that she could describe with was divine. I was brought a piece of Tiramasu. Not the best, but a close second. If only the regular chef could cook as well as the pastry chef. Heaven. 5 out of 5.
Overall, not a bad place, worth a second visit, but not the kind of place for a special night. Luckily for us it wasnt. Ryan Braun, you have an opportunity to make a great restaurant, but it needs work. 2.5 out of 5.
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