Happy Monday Blog Followers!
Before I get into the nitty gritty of our trip to Spinnakers on Friday, I'd like to take a moment of silence for the end of the football season as I know it. The Pack played a great game (well the offense did) and they made it exciting, who would have known that after being down 31-10 they'd make a game of it. The game was similar to an emotional roller-coaster ride, but that's really how life is and I love the parallels between sports and everyday living. So many times we can relate real-life situations to actual sports moments and for me, it's a great comparison and a good way to learn. With that said, I look forward to more great sports moments and of course, life moments!
On a completely separate note, I'd like to quickly say that this week marked a "first" for the blog. On Friday afternoon I received an e-mail asking my opinion about where to go for a Fish Fry near Delafield! Although this person did not take my suggestion (LOL) he did report back to me about a place we need to visit for a great fish fry. I found it kind of exciting, actually, just ask my co-workers and friends that I told the story to over and over! I think it's awesome my little "fun project" has a bit of a following outside of my circle of friends. Thanks Clark, I look forward to visiting Nashotah soon!
Ok, enough of the rambling -- onto the fish fry. This week Ann and I ventured to Spinnakers, 128 West Wisconsin Avenue, Oconomowoc after our weekly visit to the Soleil Yoga Studio. I was excited to visit this restaurant as I had heard many wonderful things about it, however, the place did not live up to its reputation.
As soon as we walked in I noticed the over the top nautical decorations for this restaurant, although I love the theme as much as the next person, I felt a little like I was "walking the plank" -- it was just a bit too much for me. We met our friend Elliot at the bar and decided to wait out the "crowd" while having a drink. After about 30 minutes or so, we decided to take one of the high-top tables open in the bar area to have our dinners. I believe this is where everything went incredibly wrong.
We sat at this table for a good 20 minutes before we were even acknowledged by a server. I'm not sure if this is because we were not in the "traditional dining room" or if there was confusion between people in the wait staff. The table behind us was also stuck waiting. There is nothing much worse than sitting, hungry, waiting for someone to take your order, you seem to get crabbier with each waiting second and the dining experience takes a nose-dive without good service.
When the waitress finally showed up to take the order we all decided on different entree items on the Friday menu. Ann had the baked cod ($11.95), Elliot the deep fried cod ($10.95)and I asked for and was able to order a 1/2 and 1/2 option. Half deep fried and Half baked ($13.95). I will let Ann chime in with her thoughts...
Friday night we had the pleasure of a new guest to our Friday night adventure as Elliott Nowak joined us as we went to Spinnakers in Oconomowoc for our first fish fry of the New Year! After enjoying a drink at the bar we were seated at a table in the bar area. It did take a while for a waitress to come and tend to us. I started out my meal with a salad. Sourdough bread was also brought to our table and it was very tasty. I ordered the baked cod with potato pancakes. I was a little leary of what the fish was going to taste like, just because our last fish fry had set the bar extremely high. Our food came out in a reasonable amount of time and I must say it was really good. I thought the fish tasted light, even though it was in a butter sauce. The potato pancakes had a great flavor to them. I didn’t even use the applesauce that came with them. All in all, I really enjoyed my fish fry. I would give it 9.5/10.0 and would go again. The service once we got our meal was a little slow, so I would say that if you are going to eat at Spinnakers make sure you are not in a hurry!!!!
My fish was pretty good. Both options were tasty and well seasoned. The deep fried cod had an interesting light breading to it, it wasn't overdone and had excellent flavors. I was once-again greeted with the ingredient of "dill" in a fish fry and it was a pleasant surprise in the breading. The baked fish, to me was just all right, nothing fancy and nothing terrible, it was subtle flavoring baked in a small dish with butter, but make no mistake about it, this time you needed the butter with the baked fish. The seasoning did not allow the fish to stand alone, it needed a little help for optimal digestion.
Included with this meal was a side of delicious cole-slaw and a generous helping of German Potato Salad, which, to my disappointment, was a little "done" -- it was late I understand, but the potato salad was a little burnt. We did have a decent size loaf of sourdough bread, which accompanied soup and salad to precede the meal and that was the ideal definition of comfort food. Warm bread, soup and salad, it really doesn't get much better.
I will rate Spinnakers Fish Fry a 7 out of 10, mostly because of the lack of service. The food itself was good, just not great. However, on a positive note, I will be visiting Spinnakers again to check out their regular menu. There were many items of interest on their menu, including a reasonably priced surf and turf, which I'd like to give a try.
People, I can't stress enough how important it is for me to have a complete dining experience with great food and pleasant service. Had the waitstaff been more attentive, this whole review might have taken a different direction. Even the most mediocre of food can be made better with just a little extra attention to the details, in this case, basic customer service.
Thanks for reading this rather lengthy blog today. I hope you all have a great week and look forward to the next stop on our fun little tour! Enjoy!
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