Kohler?

I didn't see much current on Kohler, WI. We're headed up for a weekend in February and will dine at the Immigrant one evening. Can anyone make any reccomendations for either high end Italian or any other sort of fine dining?

Thanks!

Check out the thread on sheboygan (i dont know how to link it). There is an excellent italian restaurant there, with a good wine list, called tratoria Stefano's, as well as their less formal, wood fire pizza place, il ritrovo. I havent eaten at either one in over a year, but they used to be excellent. Sheboygan is only about 15 minutes away from Kohler.

-Will

There is an upscale Italian restaurant called Cucina, in the Shops at Woodlake, that is pretty good. I would recommend checking out the restaurant and clubhouse out at Whistling Straits. Even if you aren't a golfer, the course and clubhouse provide a unique atmosphere (Scotland in the middle of rural Wisconsin). The restaurant at Whistling Straits is quite good. I'm sure you probably already are aware of this, but menus for the restaurants are available on the website (destinationkohler.com).

It's been a few years since we were up there, but we enjoyed our dinner at the Immigrant Room. It's very old school...Nice, but a bit stuffy. My wife and I found it that way, anyway. We were in our early 30s at the time, and probably were the only patrons under 60 in the restaurant. If I recall correctly, I had a nice rack of lamb, though.

I am heading up there this weekend. Still trying to decide Saturday dinner...either Horse and Plow or Cucina. We have a gift card so we are trying to stay with a Kohler-owned place on Sat night. I have been to Cucina and liked it a lot and my wife has been raving about the burgers at the Horse and Plow since she ate there a couple years ago.

Thought about Immigrant Restaurant but reviews make it sound kind of dated and stuffy and we are trying to have a relaxing weekend away from the kids. Hoping to hit up Il Ritrovo (Sheboygan) for pizza lunch on Saturday. Watching the segment on Wisconsin Foodie really made me want to go there.

Any other suggestions or recent visits?

My wife had a very good meal at Horse and Plow recently. I don't remember much else about her experience.

We stopped for lunch at Il Ritrovo on Saturday and had a the margarita with buffalo mozzarella. It was excellent! I also saw the Wisconsin Foodie episode and that prompted the visit.

We stayed in Kohler for our anniversary last month and ate only at Cucina of the American Club restaurants. We liked it for a pleasant setting and good, but not great, food. Frankly, I can't remember what I had. Our waitress was pretty amateur, too, which surprised me given the emphasis on service at the AC. If you go, either eat on the patio overlooking the little lake or sit in the windows; it's a pleasant view and a relaxing place.

The Brunch at the Wisconsin club is expensive, but good. I like the setting as well.

My favorite Kohler story is one time (I used to go up there a lot for work) I was getting gas at the local filling station before going into the up scale grocery store.
A vintage Rolls Royce (Just in beautiful condition, I was drooling) pulled up with Florida plates. Two elderly gentlemen got out and started putting wine and champagne bottles into the trash. I stopped counting and was going to go over and say something when a 1950's (+/-) era mercedes convertable pulled up behind them and two elderly women got out and started ragging on the men for so many bottles being tossed out. At this point I HAD to go over. As it turns out, the ladies were the wives, they had driven up from Florida over the past few days to play the course. The men liked to drink vintage champagne in the rolls and the women wanted no part of it. The men thought that they were far enough ahead of the wives so that they could toss the bottles for the week without being caught.

The ladies were very nice, the men (obviously in front of the wives) contrite. The ladies made the husbands give me some bottles so that they could not drink as much. When the wives left to go to the Kohler Club, I was given $1K in cash by the guys to deliver booze to the Kohler club. I actually followed them to take the Rolls and put everything in the back and brought it back for the valet to park and deliver the keys. I didn't take any money other than to tip the valet - I got to drive one of my dream cars. I did get a very nice "Thank You" note several weeks later from Palm Beach.

We ended up at Cucina after going back and forth between there and the Horse and Plow. The food and service were both pretty good but I kind of have a problem with the protein section of their menu. I wasn’t in the mood for pasta so I ordered the scallops. They don’t come with anything aside from a sauce. No veg, no starch. You need to order that separately in sharable size portions. I knew this when I ordered but I just thought about how uncreative and lazy this is. Yes, you are letting people chose their own meal but I guess I prefer some logic and thought behind a dish, especially at these prices. The scallops were 26 bucks with nothing else but sauce. We ordered the broccolini and it was awesome. Perfectly cooked and seasoned with just a bit of garlic and olive oil.

Why not pair the scallops with a lemony risotto and some broccolini with a nice sauce or the grilled tenderloin with some truffled mashed potatoes and asparagus or mushrooms? The plate looked ridiculous. Five medium sized scallops, a ceramic ramekin with the sauce and some greens and diced tomatoes on the side. No dressing on the greens and the tomatoes were just sitting there. Why not put them on the scallops at least? I will say that the scallops were cooked perfectly and tasted quite nice with the sauce. My wife’s surf and turf was also pretty good. However, I easily cook steaks, scallops, and shrimp that is as good as, if not better, than the food here. Its good food but expensive and easy to replicate at home.

Our beef carpaccio appetizer was very good. Drizzled with truffle oil and some SarVEcchio cheese and served with arugula and very good freshly made flatbreads. I’d go back and have a drink at the bar and order this for a snack or light lunch.

I am kind of getting the idea that save for the Horse and Plow, the culinary scene has passed Kohler by. Cucina could be a great Italian restaurant if they added a new chef and let him or her have total control of the menu. Judging by a 1/3 full dining room at prime dining time on a summer Saturday, many others must share my sentiment.

We ended up at Cucina after going back and forth between there and the Horse and Plow. The food and service were both pretty good but I kind of have a problem with the protein section of their menu. I wasn’t in the mood for pasta so I ordered the scallops. They don’t come with anything aside from a sauce. No veg, no starch. You need to order that separately in sharable size portions. I knew this when I ordered but I just thought about how uncreative and lazy this is. Yes, you are letting people chose their own meal but I guess I prefer some logic and thought behind a dish, especially at these prices. The scallops were 26 bucks with nothing else but sauce. We ordered the broccolini and it was awesome. Perfectly cooked and seasoned with just a bit of garlic and olive oil.

Why not pair the scallops with a lemony risotto and some broccolini with a nice sauce or the grilled tenderloin with some truffled mashed potatoes and asparagus or mushrooms? The plate looked ridiculous. Five medium sized scallops, a ceramic ramekin with the sauce and some greens and diced tomatoes on the side. No dressing on the greens and the tomatoes were just sitting there. Why not put them on the scallops at least? I will say that the scallops were cooked perfectly and tasted quite nice with the sauce. My wife’s surf and turf was also pretty good. However, I easily cook steaks, scallops, and shrimp that is as good as, if not better, than the food here. Its good food but expensive and easy to replicate at home.

Our beef carpaccio appetizer was very good. Drizzled with truffle oil and some SarVEcchio cheese and served with arugula and very good freshly made flatbreads. I’d go back and have a drink at the bar and order this for a snack or light lunch.

I am kind of getting the idea that save for the Horse and Plow, the culinary scene has passed Kohler by. Cucina could be a great Italian restaurant if they added a new chef and let him or her have total control of the menu. Judging by a 1/3 full dining room at prime dining time on a summer Saturday, many others must share my sentiment.