Date night

Last night Jeff and I planned a date night. Complete with a skirt and tights and a collared shirt and a sweater for Jeff – we never do that so I was excited.

We decided on one of the Fox Valley’s newest restaurants, one we’ve been hearing about for weeks – Wild Truffle Pizzeria and Italian Bistro.

Because the Twitterverse told me it was going to be really busy and that I would need reservations, I did call ahead. I was told on the phone that reservations would not be accepted and that (contrary to their website) it would be on a first come first serve basis. We weren’t that disheartened, however. We envisioned drinks at the bar while we waited and decided to move up our date a little bit to hopefully avoid a huge dinner rush. Upon arrival to a nearly empty parking lot, we were delighted. Even more delighted when we walked in and saw only a few tables being used. We felt like we got lucky.

We were approached by a young man immediately who told us he’d clear us a table right away. That seemed weird because there were more than a handful of tables empty in the small restaurant. The man walked away to “clear our table” and we were then approached by a young woman who was clearly the hostess. She asked how many were in our party – again odd, we’d been through this – and then went on to explain that we could not have any seats in the dining room because there was a homecoming party coming in. Fine. However, immediately Jeff and I were leaning to each other and saying, “And we couldn’t make a reservation, why?” We were placed at this bar area where we told we’d be able to watch the chefs cook, which was fine with us, except that the hostess made several excuses about our placement in the restaurant. Again, awkward.

Upon taking our seats (view from seats above), we were over the fact that we didn’t have our own table and that we were sitting thisclose to a plant and the person next to us. Jeff uttered, “In light of all of this, the food better be damn good.”

I ordered a glass of wine ($7) and Jeff ordered a beer ($5) and for an appetizer we selected the wood-fired tomato and Wisconsin goat cheese fondue, which was served with smoked garlic-rubbed crostini ($7.50).  The flavors were rich and the fondue was creamy and had a strong tomato taste. We both really liked it (pictured below). One of the chefs even reached out to us at this point – he sparked up a conversation about the ingredients used, which was nice.

The fondue – as well as the pizzas – were cooked in this over sized large wood fired grill. They used large paddle-like things to pull the items in and out. It was cool to watch.

Upon being served our fondue, our waiter said, “I’ll leave you two to enjoy your appetizer privately,” which seemed 100 percent odd considering where we were sitting. Meanwhile, the entire dining room was still empty, which we couldn’t really stop focusing on. Plus, people were now being turned away left and right.

For dinner, we each ordered our own pizza, as we overheard that the pizzas were meant to be personal pizzas. I ordered the spinach artichoke pizza, which was spicy piquillo pepper-tomato sauce, artichoke hearts, Wisconsin goat cheese balsamic-fig glaze, imported Italian grana padano, fresh spinach and evoo (which our waiter pronounced Eee Voh) ($14). And Jeff ordered the Sicilian wood-fired shrimp, which was made up of sweet and spicy garlic tomato sauce, smoked provolone, imported Italian gaeta, olives and capers ($15).

Of course we shared with each other, and I must say – both were very good and rich in flavors. They won their battle of creating gourmet pizzas here. The balsamic-fig glaze made me a happy girl and they were not skimpy with the shrimp or olives on Jeff’s pizza. And the crust was good, too. As Jeff said, “It was like really good bread, and I’m not a crust person.” I, on the other hand, am a crust person. I also liked the crust – it was thick enough that you could pick up a whole slice of pizza without your toppings falling off and yet it was still really crispy.

For dessert, we shared – a very well made – classic tiramisu ($6). There is not a photo to share of dessert because we ate it so dang fast.

While we were eating one of the chefs spotted me taking photos and inquired. I mentioned that I was a food blogger and he asked how he could find my blog, so I’m fully aware he’ll be reading this, which makes me sad for him and the other chefs – they did a good job.

Also while we were eating we watched the chefs have the same conversation as were were having about the still-empty dining room. The chef asked me if I was going to write good things on my blog to which I replied, “About the food, yes.”

The food was wonderful. I enjoyed everything we ordered. I did think it was expensive, though ($68 with tip) probably mostly due to my experience there, which I would not call good. Will I go back? Maybe. Did I like the food? Yes. I guess that’s where the internal battle lies.

Finally, after our entire bill was paid and we were on our way out the door, the first homecoming group started to filter in, which was completely disheartening to me. During our hour and 15 minute stay at the restaurant we watched the hostess turn away more than 20 people for AN EMPTY DINING ROOM. Further, after we were told we had to sit at the bar, three couples were seated at tables, which we for some reason were not allowed to sit at.

I think there are a few things they could have done differently. First, when I called, they could have been real with me – told me about the homecoming situation and told me to come early or late. Further, I’m not sure if the people who got tables after us did have reservations but if they did, I don’t think that was the right thing for the hostess to do. Second, they could have easily let me make a reservation when I called – they could have pushed me to say 5 p.m. and then the homecoming group could have been seated by 6:30 p.m., which was clearly the time they had signed up for. I just don’t think there is really any excuse for keeping an entire dining room clear for more than an hour while everyone else is scrunched together at the bar spending good money.

I know bad nights happen and I’m really sad that we just happened to be there on a bad night. Especially since I’ve heard so many good things about this restaurant from so many people. It just seemed really disorganized and I hope that last night taught the folks at Wild Truffle some  valuable lessons. One, maybe they just aren’t a big enough place to promise a group of 18 a reservation. In some regards, that felt like a money-hungry decision to me, which made me feel less valuable. Especially since I can almost guarantee that there is no way that homecoming group spent $68 per couple. It took me back to what the reality of the situation was – we were eating dinner at a pizza place in a strip mall, where the service matched the situation.