I was concerned about coming here based on the numerous reviews reporting slow service. So I picked 3 PM on a Sunday to hopefully avoid the rush (brunch on Sunday ends at 2 PM). It was a beautiful day, so we opted for a reservation...on the deck. Our online reservation was confirmed and we were seated within a couple minutes of showing up at 3. After a 5 minute wait or so Matthew, our very friendly and upbeat server, came for our drink orders. We had had time to review the menu and ordered our food at the same time as we ordered our water and wine. The water and wine arrived at about 3:20 and our food arrived at 3:30. The service slowed a bit after that and we finally left at 4:15.
My wife pronounced the chicken fried chicken (think chicken fried steak but with chicken as the meat) to be very good, as were the accompanying green beans and mashed potatoes. My deluxe burger (a twin patty burger patterened after, but not as good as, the double delux burger sold by a Wisconsin burger chain) was good, but not really anything special. It was cooked medium well, not dried out but not juicy either. It was, however, expensive -- $18.94 including an upcharge for onion rings. The onion rings were very good. The breading was a bit thicker than I prefer, but not bad. They are big and appear to be cut and battered on site. The dipping sauce, with horseradish, was excellent. We each had a glass of wine ($11 and $12 for an average-sized pour). Beer prices for a draft or a can were $6. All in all, with 1 chicken dinner, one burger and 2 glasses of wine, our bill came to $80 including tax and tip.
The view is spectacular, and worth some upcharge on the food and the wine. Not a place to come every week, but for something special on a perfect summer day, it is worth the drive from the Northern Chicago suburbs.More