For many families, going out for Easter brunch is as big a part of the celebration as Easter baskets and the Easter bunny. But finding a restaurant can be challenging, and many fill up their reservations weeks in advance. Although I can’t guarantee you’ll get a reservation, here are a few listings for restaurants in the Wisconsin Rapids area.

Lake Arrowhead/Pines Clubhouse
715-325-3341 for reservations
Traditional Easter Brunch
Sunday April 4, 2010
10:00 am – 1:00pm

Hotel Mead
451 East Grand
Wisconsin Rapids, WI 54494
Traditional Easter Brunch
Sunday April 4, 2010
10:00am – 2:00pm
Adults $18.95
Children $9.95
3 and under are free

Lake Aire
6510 WI-13
Wisconsin Rapids, WI 54494
715-325-5147
Traditional Easter Brunch
Sunday April 4, 2010
10:00am – 3:00pm
call ahead for reservations and pricing

The Ridges
2311 Griffith Avenue
Wisconsin Rapids, WI 54494
715-424-3201 or 715-424-3200
Traditional Easter Brunch
10:30am – 2:00pm
Adults $15.95
Seniors $13.95
Children $7.50
3 and under FREE

Bull’s Eye Country Club
715-423-2230 reservations required
Sunday April 4, 2010
10:00am – 2:00pm
Adults $16.95
Children(5-11)$5.95
Kids 5 and under FREE

Restaurant Visit: Domino’s Pizza, 715-423-5555,  www.dominos.com

Atmosphere: We had home delivery, so we enjoyed our pizza from the comfort of our couch!

Staff: We used online ordering at www.dominos.com .  It is so simple and convenient.  Also, the website allows you to watch the progress  of your pizza by showing what stage the pizza is at like prep and quality check.  Our only dealing with a human being was when our order was delivered.  He was very polite.

Food/Drink: We ordered cheese sticks and the 2 medium two-topping pizzas that has been advertised on tv….you know the commercials that I am talking about….the ones that say that their new pizza is the bomb!  Well, we thought we would give them a try and see what the hubbub was about!

Jason thought he would give sliced Italian sausage and pepperoni a try on hand tossed crust, while I had pepperoni and mushrooms on hand tossed crust.

Our food was piping hot….extremely hot in fact!  The cheesesticks with marinara sauce were delicious.  I love the subtle garlic flavor that the sticks had along with the edges of the crust.  That was definitely a nice edition.  Speaking of the crust…what an improvement!  The sauce was also much better than the last time that we ordered!

Overall, I would say that Domino’s pizza has really improved and that their commercials ain’t lyin’!!!

Atmoshphere: N/A

Staff: 4 stars

Food/Drink: 4 stars

Value: 4 stars

Overall Experience: 4 stars

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: $$$-$$$$

Restaurant Visit: Coaches Corner, The Ridges, 2311 Griffith Ave, Thursday, February 4, Pizza Buffet (only on Thursday night)

Atmosphere: This sports bar had almost a supper club feel to it including a crackling fireplace.  It was so dark in there, I could really tell what anything looked like or what shape it was in.  The bar seemed to be full of regulars and it seemed like names were getting called out a la Cheers.  A Wisconsin Rapids resident can take a walk down a memory lane of sorts with an entire wall and a half devoted Wisconsin Rapids sports.

Staff: When we got there, it really wasn’t all that busy to warrant a hostess seating us.  We were told to seat ourselves.  We were greeted at our table right away and asked if we were there for the buffet.  The waitress also took our drink order right away and she let us get started on the buffet.  She did notice when we needed refills and cleared out plates as needed.  At one point, she even asked what kind of pizza we wanted.

Food/Drink: When I first saw the 5 item (including lettuce) salad bar with its measly two dressings, I wasn’t very impressed.  However, after taking a bite of the salad that I had put together, I realized that first impressions can be wrong.  The salad was delicious!  They even had real bacon bits!

There were a few pizzas on the buffet when we first arrived: a supreme, sausage/pepperoni, and pepperoni.  We helped ourselves to the pizza and the garlic bread…which I loved!  The pizza was quite good.  I didn’t enjoy the sausage all that much, but Jason thought it was good.  Then….they brought out….the chicken and ranch pizza!  Oh my goodness….this was a great pizza.  It was delicious…but very greasy.  Jason and I both used our napkins to soak up the grease that the pizza gave off…but once that was done I was in heaven with the first bite.

The pizzas were kept stocked and piping hot!

This was a great meal for a reasonable price.  The pizza buffet at Coaches Corner will be on our regular rotation.

• Atmosphere:  3 stars
• Staff: 4 stars
• Food/Drink: 4 stars
• Value: 5 stars
• Overall Experience:  4 stars
• Cost: adults $7.50, ages 4-10 $4.95, 3 and under Free

Restaurant Visit: Friar Tuck’s, 382 State Hwy 13 S, Rome, WI, Friday, January 29, 2010

Not open on Mondays.  Only accept cash or check.

Atmosphere: I am not sure when this building actually became Friar Tuck’s, but I am pretty sure that the bar/dining area hasn’t been remodeled since the 1970’s.  I thought that the place was kind of dumpy and in need of a makeover.

There is not a lot of seating available for dining, but anyone can belly up to the bar for their meal as well.

Staff: We sat ourselves at a booth in the back where menus awaited us.  Shortly after we were seated, the person who was also serving as the bartender came and took our drink order.  From what I could tell, the only staff working in the bar/dining area were the bartender and a waitress.  While it wasn’t a very busy Friday night, this seemed like an understaffing situation!

The bartender, who served as our waiter, was very pleasant and responsive when we needed something.  There was a problem with the soda that Jason got, and when it was pointed out, our waiter took it away and brought him a new drink in moments.

After our food arrived, no one checked to see how everything was going.  I eventually had to flag someone for a refill.

Food/Drink: Friar Tuck’s offers a daily special.  Following many restaurants in our great state, Friar Tuck’s offered a fish fry…and the price was great $6.75 which included salad, potato, cole slaw, and bread.  I did not order it as it only came fried and there was no option to get it broiled.  Other daily specials include broasted chicken, ribs, and prime rib.  Menu offers various appetizers, sandwiches, salads, and dinners including steaks and broasted chicken.  The prices are pretty reasonable, but sandwiches don’t come with fries.  However, the side items are also quite reasonably priced and once combined, the price is similar to what a sandwich meal would cost at Perkin’s or similar restaurants.

Jason and I decided on Cheese Puffs (aka cheese curds) for an appetizer.  I decided to try the Reuben and Jason got the Sherwood (a burger with mushrooms, fried onions, and American cheese).  We decided to share an order of potato wedges with sour cream.

Our appetizer came out rather quickly and they were quite delicious.  The remainder of our meal seemed to take FOREVER, though.  When it finally did arrive, it was piping hot and quite good.  I feel that I am somewhat of a Reuben connoisseur and Friar Tuck’s Reuben was good.  They even had tasty 1,000 island dressing to go with it.  Jason said his burger was great.  The wedges were good…but if you order them, ask for the sour cream with chives that they serve.  The sour cream that came with the wedges had some weird seasoning in it that I could not place, but found very unappetizing.

My only real complaint is how long our dining experience took…an hour and a half from start to finish.  It wasn’t that busy either.  Oh…and they don’t serve soup…hmmmm.

Overall, it was worth the 15-20 minute drive to Rome to enjoy the food of Friar Tuck’s!

Atmosphere: 1 star
Staff: 2 stars
Food: 4 stars
Value: 4 stars
Cost: $-$$

Restaurant Visit:  Rocky Rococo, 1841 8^th St S., Wednesday, January 20, 2010, Lunch

Atmosphere:  The restaurant was very clean and has a nice layout.  The restaurant was in a strip mall, so if you are going during the noon hour parking might get tricky.  I think that I got the last spot near the restaurant when I went.

Staff:  We were greeted by a very polite male employee who took our order correctly and handed over our food relatively quickly.

Food/Drink:  I have to say that there are two reasons that I enjoy Rocky’s.  First, they have delicious sausage on their pizza.  I am normally not a big Italian sausage fan, but there is something about Rocky’s that I love!  Also, they have Coke products, and, in particular, they have Cherry Coke!  I love that!

When ordering, it isn’t very tough to choose.  They have certain pizzas that they serve everyday, like pepperoni, but they also have a slice of the day.  You also have to choose between a regular slice and a super slice.  For me, I chose the sausage and mushroom regular slice as a combo with an order of breadsticks and soda.  Jason got the super slice pepperoni as a combo with a salad.  The food was very good.  Both Jason and I enjoyed it.  The enjoyment continued when I got my refill of Cherry Coke to go!

Pricing is reasonable….and if you have a Raider card, make sure you use it; you can save 10% on your order.

Atmosphere:  3 stars

Staff: 4 stars

Food/drink: 4 stars

Value: 4 stars

Overall experience: 3 ¾ stars

Atmosphere:  There is nothing impressive about this restaurant.  It is your usual family type restaurant with booths and tables. 

Staff:  We were greeted immediately by a male employee who seated us after asking us the usual “smoking or non” and “table or booth”.   Our waitress, Jan, was also very polite.  She responded promptly to any requests that we had.            

Food/Drink:  The menu at Olympic II is quite extensive.  They have everything from sandwiches to steaks to Italian to Mexican.  They also have several Greek items on their menu.  The prices are relatively inexpensive.

We began our meal with the appetizer platter.  It wasn’t anything to write home about, but it wasn’t terrible either.  The onion rings were nice and crunchy, the way I like.  In addition, the deep fried cauliflower was fantastic!  The mozzarella sticks were overdone.

Jason decided on the gyro plate, along with creamy vegetable soup and fries.  OH…that is one thing about this restaurant all meals come with soup and a potato.  After much inner debate between a hot beef sandwich and a Monte Cristo sandwich I made the difficult choice of ordering the Monte Cristo.  I substituted the fries for mashed potatoes….because I was in the mood!  The restaurant was good about my requesting a substitute.

This was the first time that I had ever had a Monte Cristo sandwich and I must say it was quite good.  Jason engaged his meal as well. 

Jason’s meal also came with the choice of many desserts including tapioca pudding, rice pudding, and bread pudding.  Jason chose the bread pudding.  If you are planning on sharing with someone you love, think again.  This was a very small serving….and the bread pudding was served cold.  Jason said it was alright though.

Overall, our experience was fairly good.  I am sure that we will go back…maybe I will get breakfast next time…which is served 24 hours a day!

Atmosphere: 1 star

Staff: 4 stars

Food/Drink: 4 stars

Value: 4 stars

Overall Experience:  3 stars

Atmosphere:  I am sure that we have all been to Pizza Hut to dine-in and the Wisconsin Rapids location is no different.  The restaurant was very clean.                          

Staff:  We were greeted very quickly by a staff member and seated immediately even though the restaurant was quite busy.  Bonnie, our waitress, greeted us at our table shortly after to take our drink order.  Bonnie was very friendly and checked on us regularly, providing us with refills as needed.       

Food/Drink:  Pizza Hut is my favorite chain restaurant pizza and Wednesday night is the best night to go in Wisconsin Rapids…this is the night of the all-you-can-eat dinner buffet!  The only problem with the buffet is that you are at the mercy of whatever they decide to make.  However, when we were there, they seemed to be bringing out a good variety including Hawaiian on thin crust, pepperoni on pan style crust, and supreme on hand-tossed.  Also, there is no shortage of cinnistix and breadsticks, along with the necessary sauces.  The buffet also considers their small, but good, salad bar.  At the end, have some dessert pizza in apple or cherry.     

What a great value too!!  $5.99 a person for an all-you-can-eat buffet!  Make Pizza Hut a priority on Wednesday nights!

Atmosphere: 3 stars

Staff: 4 stars

Food/Drink: 4 stars

Value: 5 stars

Overall Experience:  4 stars

Atmosphere:  Drive thru only.

Staff:  Our female employee was very friendly and cheerful.  She handed over our bag with a smile!

Food/Drink:  Checker’s has a menu that has a wide variety of things on it.  There are many types of burgers and chicken sandwiches along with fish sandwiches and hot dogs.  You can also load your fries with ranch, cheese, and bacon.  Another nice thing about the menu is that you can order based on your appetite….would you like that value meal small, medium or large?

 This was my first time there and I had a hard time choosing between the baconzilla or the spicy chicken sandwich.  I chose the spicy chicken meal medium with a cherry Coke.  The fact that they had cherry Coke made me very happy!  Jason ordered the 2/$3 buffalo chicken sandwiches with fries and a soda.  Our food was given to us very quickly and was piping hot!

Jason really enjoys the seasoned french fries at Checker’s.  I wasn’t all that impressed.  They were okay, but tasted like they were over-fried to me.  My sandwich was just “eh”.  It was nothing to write home about, but nothing terrible either.  Jason enjoyed his fries and said that his sandwiches were alright. 

After the meal, I didn’t really feel all that satisfied.  I will likely try them again sometime to see if it was a fluke or if this is a restaurant that I just don’t care for.

Atmosphere:  n/a

Staff: 5 stars

Food/Drink:  3 stars

Value:  3 ½ stars

Overall Experience: 4 stars

Restaurant Visit:  Culver’s, 2711 8th St S, Sunday, December 6, 2009

Atmosphere:  The restaurant was very clean and looked like every other Culver’s that a person would visit.  Christmas music was playing at an acceptable volume throughout the restaurant.  This did not disturb regular conversation at all.  I found it very enjoyable.

Staff:  The staff during our visit was great!  We were assisted by Peter for our order.  He was very polite and attentive.  When I ordered our dessert, Kayla helped me.  She was also nice.

Food/Drink:  One of the most important things that I love about Culver’s is that they make your food to order.  So, you know that your burger hasn’t been sitting under a heat lamp for half an hour or more!   Jason ordered the bacon butter burger deluxe combo and I ordered the ham n’ swiss sandwich.  We both ordered fries and had root beer.  Now….Culver’s has excellent root beer…in my humble opinion.  It is delicious!  Try it in a root beer float too…YUM!

Our food arrived quickly and was piping hot!  Now we are onto another very important thing about Culver’s….they have crinkle fries, which I absolutely love.  The food was also delicious….no complaints could be made.

Then it was time for dessert.  Jason opted for an eggnog shake and I got my usual hot fudge and marshmallow sundae…one scoop.  Jason said that it really didn’t have an eggnogy taste…but it certainly smelled like eggnog.  My sundae was wonderful.  I could eat their custard everyday!

Another wonderful meal at Culver’s!

Atmosphere:  4 stars

Staff: 4 ½ stars

Food/Drink:  5 stars

Value:  5 Stars

Overall Experience: 5 stars