Upscale dining that’s fun for the entire family
Published 2:04 pm Thursday, July 19, 2007
MILL CREEK – It’s considered bad manners to play with your food, but the folks at The Grill at Mill Creek are having fun with the menu.
The children’s menu offers baby carrots and ranch dressing for the vegetable selection, Jelly Bellies for dessert and a choice of pizza, chicken strips and fries or noodles for the main dish ($10). How fun is that?
The menu for mom and dad is just as much fun, with exciting combinations such as a chipotle apple butter sauce and spicy red onion-apple relish with grilled mahi mahi ($19), and a garlic-mint-port wine-pomegranate reduction for lamb chops ($32.).
The Grill at Mill Creek also serves breakfast, with some more predictable menu items such as Denver omelet ($9.89), buttermilk pancakes ($4.59 for a short stack) and eggs Benedict ($10.99). But the fun bubbles to the surface again with choices such as the High Brow Scramble ($11.99), made with bacon, cambazola and leeks, and honey wheat blueberry pancakes ($6.79).
The Saturday night my friend and I visited, the specials included grilled swordfish with risotto laced with poblano chilies, and pan-seared salmon with crimini mushroom-leek risotto (23.99). I wanted the swordfish but with the crimini mushroom-leek risotto that accompanied the salmon. Without hesitation, our server offered to have the kitchen make the switch.
My friend first decided on My Dad’s Favorite Chicken ($16), which is made with a pounded chicken breast that’s topped with mushrooms, shallots and Jarelsberg cheese. But, at the last minute, he switched his order to the Hanger Steak tostado ($17). The tostado begins with a crispy flour tortilla bowl that’s filled with mixed greens, black beans, a spicy avocado salsa and cheese. A lime-cilantro marinated steak sits atop all this good stuffing.
When I asked whether he liked his tostado, my friend said it was better than the last one he’d had – and that one had been perfect. A couple of bites told me to order this on a return visit.
Before our main dishes, we ordered a bowl of roasted butternut squash soup ($5), which was almost thick enough to hold the soup spoon upright and as intensely flavorful, and a delightful salad of mixed greens with endive and beet slices accented with cumin-flavored walnuts and a gorgonzola-roasted shallot vinaigrette.
The Herald reader who e-mailed me about The Grill at Mill Creek described it as “eloquent.” I think they meant “elegant,” which it certainly is – an elegant, white-tablecloth, upscale eatery that welcomes children. What could make a meal happier?
Herald restaurant reviewers accept no invitations to review, but readers’ suggestions are always welcome. Reviewers arrive unannounced, and The Herald pays their tabs.
Contact Anna Poole at features@heraldnet.com.
