- It’s annoying how some restaurants discriminate against Monday night diners. Mr. lbotp and I had date night tonight, and we tried to eat at both Cafe Luna and Hedgerow Bistro, only to find them closed.
- We ended up at an old stand-by, Silvercreek. We had not eaten dinner there in quite some time, and it was very disappointing to find out that they have sacrificed taste in the name of presentation. Frankly, it will be a long time before we venture there again for over-priced fare (unless it’s Sunday brunch — somehow, I can’t believe they would screw that up).
- With Peanut’s grandparents in town over the weekend, we decided to order out some sushi from Sushi Kame. My dad thought it was a nice touch when they gave him some miso soup to eat while he was waiting for the order. He was satisfied with his sushi; I enjoyed their salmon teriyaki. The only disappointment there was the fact that they didn’t have the spinach dish (gomae) we love; they claimed it was due to the e-coli spinach scare.
- Our condolences to all the Po’Boy fans out there. One of my friends, a UI grad, may decide it’s not worth making the trip here anymore!
Notes from a food-filled weekend
December 12, 2006 · 11 Comments
Categories: Eating Out
11 responses so far ↓
Miss E // December 12, 2006 at 11:33 pm
Sunday brunch is fine, but it’s also overpriced.
kfan // December 13, 2006 at 9:11 am
Silvercreek is terrible, and has been for a while.
Maladjusted // December 13, 2006 at 9:29 am
I didn’t think Hedgerow Bistro was open many hours outside of lunchtime yet, but it’s been awhile since I checked. I too hate the closed Monday thing. Radio Maria’s has long been a bane for this for the hubster and I, who often can only get out on Monday nights and that’s our favorite place.
We went to Silvercreek once and only once and have never bothered or wanted to return. It all sounds good and sounds fancy but we were just underwhelmed by it all. Not enough flavor, not enough food, just kind of eh overall.
Sushi Kame- we’ve gotten take out from there once when we tried to go try Yellowfin but found it wasn’t open yet. The tempura and buckwheat noodle salad was ok, though a little bland. The nigiri was ok but the rolls really left me unsatisfied. It was like they are all made of out seafood salad with tons of mayo regardless of what they claim to have. The eel rolls in particular, my personal all time sushi favorite, barely had enough eel in them to be able to taste it. They are good with customer service though, as they gave the hubster a salad plate while he waited for free, with three or four different things on it.
paul // December 13, 2006 at 11:21 am
i enjoy the brunch but the dinner entrees mix all kind of flavors into a mush
Cynthia // December 13, 2006 at 11:41 am
I have also been underwhelmed by Silvercreek the last few times I’ve been there. I really WANT to like it but…….
leeanthro // December 13, 2006 at 3:04 pm
So sad to hear about Po’ Boys. As a Champaign native, I remember going there with my family and bellying up to the counter. Sandwiches were placed in front of you on a piece of paper and served on white bread. And they only served generic soda (Vess?). Those were the days. My vegetarian self is sad that I won’t eat there again, but my pregnant, hormonal, nostalgic self would like to belly up to the counter this weekend for a farewell dinner!
Oh, and I went to Silvercreek last week for a business lunch. Not many vegetarian items. It was ok, but a bit pricey for lunch. The bread pudding, however, was fantastic. And we froze our butts off. It didn’t seem like the heat was on and it was 4 degrees outside that day. I say stick with Sunday brunch.
Griggs505 // December 15, 2006 at 3:04 pm
I’m sort of relieved to hear other opinions similar to my own about Silvercreek. I really want to like it, but just can’t. Was there yesterday for the office Christmas lunch. The waitress told us over and over again how “overwhelmed” the kitchen was since they were so full and that we’d better place our orders quickly and if we wanted any dessert, we’d better order it with our entree. The entree was really underwhelming, but I, too, had the bread pudding for dessert and it was fabulous! Some of my coworkers had the chocolate hazelnut cheesecake and it was also fabulous. So, maybe the answer is only go for dessert or brunch.
Chuck // December 20, 2006 at 3:16 pm
I have to echo the comments above about Silvercreek. We want to love Silvercreek (love atmosphere alone) also and have liked/disliked it off and on over the years. It’s back off our list again when we went for dinner a couple of weeks ago. It was so pricey and everything was SO gourmet it was almost odd. I had the worst salmon filet that night I might have ever had, couldn’t even eat it - it was “sinewey” and tough, nothing I’ve ever seen for salmon.
It also always seems as though they can’t quite get service down. We waited an enormous amount of time for our 1st course, a salad and a bowl of tomato soup, but here came our entrees. She had to take them back and return with the salad/soup.
I wonder why (or maybe they do) restaurant owners don’t find web sites like this and watch them for comments? They ought to be searching out all the feedback they can get. I would love to have a restaurant like Silvercreek that I could afford for a nice dinner on Friday /Saturday night that would actually have good food at a less expensive price. We can’t afford a $50 dinner every weekend. I want to patronize non-chain restaurants but this place makes it hard!
Jacob // January 5, 2007 at 3:39 pm
Chuck,
We do watch these sights, but like they say, you can’t please everyone all the time. As for “discriminating” against Monday nights the only reason Our Bistro, Cafe Luna, Bacaro, Radio Maria are closed on Monday nights. Its so we can have a day off. We aren’t large chain restaurants, we all have very few employees, which makes it nearly impossible for the restaurants to be open 6 or 7 days a week without making someone work a lot of overtime. Although I wish you all could come to our Bistro more often, we can only do so much.
Oh, and this might brighten your spirits, Radio Maria’s new tapa’s bar is open, and its open on Monday nights, and its all delicious.
Hope to see you all in the Hedgerow sometime soon.
Sincerely,
Jacob Emberton
Manager
Hedgerow Bistro
Jacob // January 5, 2007 at 3:44 pm
Oh, and if you guys have any questions, feel free to email me at jacob@englishhedgerow.com
michelle // January 8, 2007 at 1:16 pm
i have to say I’m surprised to hear all the negative comments about silvercreek. I’ve been twice. Once years ago for brunch which was just OK. And again this past fall for dinner. Dinner was wonderful. Yes, it was price-y.. and the waitress seemed a bit ditzy (but was very friendly!)… but the food was great. I felt like I was having a meal at a nice restaurant in the Northwest. Dessert was great too, but for the life of me I can’t remember what I got. I believe they changed chefs a few months before my dinner there so I’m not sure how it compares to Silvercreek before him.
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