Fieldstone Grill Review [Revised Draft]

When the cup of chicken soup arrives, it rests atop a lace doily. Unfortunately, the journey from kitchen to table was not a gentle one, and whatever this presentation was intended to communicate has been lost to a sea of soup that now sits in the saucer, drowning both the doily and the soup spoon handle.

Presentation is a problem here at Fieldstone Grill, a roadside establishment just off of US 131 in Portage. Perhaps its location is one of the factors that make it difficult for Fieldstone Grill to achieve the successful blend of fine dining aesthetic and middle-class occasion destination it seems to be shooting for.

Its red and white exterior looks more like a barn than a restaurant, while the patio could be confused for an outdoor food court / picnic area, not unlike one you might find at a museum or zoo. The interior, however, while somewhat cavernous in the center (the peak of the “barn”), is a warmly lit, quiet space, sparely and tastefully decorated. A large fireplace, built from the titular fieldstones, manages to be impressive without making the place feel like a ski lodge. Windows along the back wall provide a view of the adjacent wetlands.

Back outside, the patio chairs turn out to be more comfortable than they look, and the view, again, makes for a surprisingly enjoyable seating area.

Fieldstone Grill's culinary offerings, however, suggest that the view from the parking lot is, in fact, the more truthful representation. Chef Jason McClellan is described as an “old soul,” which apparently means that he cooks with the deteriorating taste buds of the elderly in mind.

Whatever flavors might be in the chicken soup are overpowered by the uncharacteristic spiciness. The ravioli with vodka cream sauce is certainly ravioli, and the sauce certainly contains cream, but any further deductions as to the ingredients of the dish are difficult, if not impossible.

The salmon and the perch are distinguishable only in that one is dry, lightly seasoned, and the other is slathered in butter, as are the soft, easy to chew green beans that accompany it. One wonders if the cold, flavorless mashed potatoes were added to the plate simply for texture.

Desserts can be comprehensively described as “various forms of sugar.” The triple-berry cobbler tastes like spongy bread pudding whose sweetness is probably from some sort of berry. The tiramisu is both sweeter than tiramisu usually is, and disgracefully bland. What is the point of serving tiramisu that could be easily mistaken for the spongy, grey cobbler?

The flourless chocolate cake is definitely chocolate, but dispel from your mind images of traditional Italian flourless cakes, baked with almonds and perhaps dusted with powdered sugar. This is just melted chocolate, with a consistency somewhere between pudding and fudge.

Admittedly, the vanilla ice cream served with each of the desserts is not disappointing, but, with the exception of the cake, it would have been better on its own.

It should be noted that these foods are from Fieldstone Grill's special Mother's Day menu. Lacking from said menu are many of the appetizers, salads, and entrees from the regular menu, such as the sesame-crusted tuna, grilled salmon salad, and Bell's Oberon Fish-n-Chips. Also missing are all of the burgers, sandwiches, and pizzas.

Meanwhile, the four-cheese ravioli with sausage vodka cream sauce has been downgraded for Mother's Day to three cheeses, sans sausage. The salmon, normally a pan-seared dish hailing from the Mediterranean, is now decidedly American, chargrilled and served with (surprisingly tasty) dumplings. The Mother's Day menu seems less special, more rip-off, especially at $25 per meal plus appetizers and drinks a la carte.

Fieldstone Grill is a series of conflicts: a jaunty menu with less-than-jaunty prices; a barn housing a restaurant; a soup-soaked doily. It is up to them to resolve these conflicts. Much easier to resolve is the conflict of whether or not to eat there.