Dalles House Restaurant & Lounge - St. Croix Falls, WI

A truly delightful experience at nearly every turn . . . brunch and a bit of a show  :)

The dark confusing entranceway led to brightness.  A hidden world with a dash of old school Vegas.  Grand piano, white tablecloths, plush red velvet covered chairs, glittery ceiling, and through plate glass windows a scene reminiscent of the garden atrium at The Flamingo complete with trickling waterfall and pond.  All of this pales in comparison to Ross

Oh, Ross.  A tall handsome gentleman in the vein of the lead singer from Midnight Oil, dapper in a dark suit and tie, dark red button shirt, and more than a bit of a showman.  Part Maitre'd, part Master of Ceremonies, he gave charm and good natured crap equally to everybody who walked in, especially the kids.  I dare say it felt unexpectedly Vaudevillian

Before getting to the business at hand, I'm going to skip to a special moment at the end . . . 

Having had the pleasure of gazing at this secret garden the entire meal, there was no way I wasn't going to find a way in there.  No entrance was apparent from the dining room, so we made our way through the bar, and out around back.  Found a high wooden gate with an unlocked padlock, which I took as a sign.  The kid was nervous, but I said it'd be alright  

  

Not only was it alright, but after exploring for a bit, Ross came out through a side door with a smile on his face.  Said it'd be a shame if we didn't get a picture of the two of us.  He asked for my phone, positioned us down in front of the pond with the waterfall to the side.  It was very kind of him.  He was an impeccable host throughout

Anyways, on to brunch . . . 

The kiddo and I requested a table by the window, which he accommodated even though they were all four tops.  Even though we, as was nearly everybody else, dressed casually to put it politely.  He removed the two extra place settings and handed us off to a young waiter whom took very good care of us

I ordered a black coffee (which was repeatedly refreshed), and both their Mocktails for us to share.  The Ginger Spice and Lavender Lemonade were excellent, and perfect for the situation

Beverages ordered, we were directed to venture back to the buffet area.  These couple pics give you a jist.  I'll post a bunch of close-ups and whatnot at the bottom  

How did the buffet hold up?  Safe to say, the Hit or Miss spectrum.  The hot foods/entrees were just about all Good to Good+.  Special kudos to the Lemon Herb Glazed Ham and Garlic mashed Potatoes

The bag salad bar had a number of options, and even the odd potentially disastrous Bison Bluecheese Noodle Soup was enjoyable.  Admittedly I tried it on more of a dare to myself than a whim, and ended up polishing off the whole cup

The dessert table a surprising number of options; all perfectly mediocre, which is fine for a buffet

The only full on crash and burn were the Sysco biscuits and croissants.  While the croissants were stale and days too old, the biscuits were straight up hard and inedible

$50 all in for a supper club brunch with two mocktails (Only $5 and $6?  Nice).  And I'll say a nice touch that the $50.01 tab was totaled at $50.  Why not keep it clean, right?  It's the little things that say a lot

The bar area actually seems fairly decent, has it's own outdoor patio, and overlooks that courtyard.  Be a nice place to belly up.  And I bet ya that central courtyard is someplace special at night, summer or winter.  Thanks to Ross, we'll be damn sure to make it back to Dalles House for dinner the next time we're out St. Croix Valley way.  And don't think I won't be calling ahead to ask if Ross is working  :)

-

Comments, Questions, Two Bit Opinions, and Whatnot are welcome:

tundrabites     @      yahoo.com

-

www.dalleshouse.com

Dalles House Restaurant & Lounge / Supper Club -  720 S Vincent St, St Croix Falls, WI 54024 

715-483-3246