Dine and Dish: The Hide-A-Way

Restaurant Visit:  The Hide-Away
1682 Apache Lane, Nekoosa, Saturday, February 13, 2010

Atmosphere: Stephanie and Matt felt that the restaurant had some of the same décor that it had when they were last there….10 years ago.  I found that the atmosphere somewhat cozy.  While it was dark when we got there, I have no doubt that the windows surrounding the lake side of the restaurant afford a beautiful view of Lake Petenwell.

Staff: Jason let the hostess know that we were there, since we had made a reservation (thank you Facebook), and said she was very polite.  While we waited for our table, we sat at the bar.  The bartender was very nice, but I ordered something that he had never made before.  After he served it, he made sure that it tasted alright.

Our waitress, Deb, was polite and professional and she recited the specials from memory.  We were also told about the Valentine’s Day specials, though we were already aware of them from the restaurant’s Facebook page.  She was also able to answer all of our questions.  It seemed to take her awhile to get to our table initially, but she did check on us during our meal, even though it was busy.

The food seemed to take quite awhile.  It took us 40 minutes from when we were first seated to get it.

Food/Drink: All four of us enjoyed the drinks that we were served at the bar.  I tried the banana cream pie martini which was quite delicious.

After being seated we glanced at the menu with its variety of seafood, steaks, and chicken entrees including a lighter fare menu.   The prices were competitive with other area supper clubs. While we were all deciding, we overheard another waiter say that the restaurant made all of their salad dressings in-house.  It took me awhile, but I settled on the special tenderloin Oscar with a baked potato and Caesar salad.  Jason ordered the special pepper-crusted porterhouse with strawberry butter with fries and a garden salad.  Stephanie ordered the lighter fare Italian chicken with a baked potato and garden salad, while Matt ordered the breaded scallops and prime rib with a fries and a garden salad.

The salads were very good.  My Caesar was absolutely delicious; the best I have had in a while.  Matt didn’t really enjoy his garden salad saying that the French dressing wasn’t sweet enough.  Jason, however, had the French and Ranch and thought it was quite good.  Stephanie had ordered the green goddess dressing to try.  After trying it, though, she was also glad that she ordered ranch.  She said that it tasted like tuna fish.  We all tried it and found that this was the case.  It was a very strange dressing.

When we did get our entrees, they were hot and steaming and looked delicious.  My tenderloin medallions were done to my liking, but I found that the steak was tough.  The only cut of steak I order is tenderloin and this was not like any tenderloin I had every had….Jason tried it and thought it was more like a sirloin, though I can’t say that it wasn’t tenderloin for certain.  The hollandaise sauce that was served over my tenderloin had an off taste.  I was the only one that thought so, as I had Jason and Matt try it.  They did say it was not like the “usual” hollandaise, but that it was good.

Everyone else really enjoyed their meals.  Jason felt that his steak might have been a little overdone, but blamed that on himself for ordering it medium-well.  He said the strawberry butter on the steak served as a compliment.  Matt felt that his meal was good, but that his steak was also overdone.  He had ordered it medium and there was really no pink inside.  Stephanie thought her meal was quite good, but nothing overly impressive.

Jason did order tiramisu for dessert.  I had a few bites and it was VERY good.  I would say that dessert was the best part of the meal.

All of us had a really good time at The Hide-A-Way and found it a great way to spend Valentine’s Day.

Atmosphere: 4 stars (because the view is probably amazing)
Staff: 4 stars
Food/Drink: 3 stars
Value: 3 stars
Overall Experience: 3 ½ stars

Cost: $$$-$$$$