Fishbones Review
I discovered Fishbones in its infancy as a restaurant about 5 years ago. My girlfriend at the time (now fiancée) and I were in Downtown Delafield and wanted to go to Carpenter’s Pub for a sandwich. We were saddened to see that it was closed so we took Milwaukee Street, which wraps around Nagawicka Lake and takes you from the quaint downtown area of Delafield to the poorly planned, shitty, overbuilt, suburban area of Delafield. We were on our way to the Water Street Brewery when we spotted Fishbones. It was in what used to be a dive bar on the shore of the lake. When I was in college we would park near there and get a boat ride out to this island where we could party all night long without fear of the police busting us. We decided to give it a try and since then it has become one of my favorite restaurants in the area. We visited it again on Saturday night and like all other visits, we were not disappointed.
We walked in and were immediately seated, which is surprising given the popularity of this place. We were not terribly hungry, so we skipped appetizers and opted for a salad. I had the house Caesar, which contained the perfect amount of dressing and the typical Caesar ingredients. It was good, but nothing spectacular. My fiancées salad was the house salad, which had red and green leaf lettuce with fresh cucumbers, tomatoes, mushrooms, Daikon radish, and fresh Romano cheese tossed in a raspberry vinaigrette. It was pretty tasty, but I think adding some Gorgonzola or Bleu cheese would have balanced the sweetness much better than the Romano. Fishbones’ appetizer list is extensive and unique. We have tried a few and they are pretty good. I really like the Bone's Trio, which is a combination of Crawfish Spring Rolls, Fried Catfish Strips, and Creole Chicken Quesadillas.
Our entrees arrived shortly after we ate the salads. I opted for the special, which was a sautéed Red Snapper with a goat cheese Beurre Blanc sauce served over rice, Bok Choy, Asparagus, and Carrots. The fish was cooked to perfection and my worries over mixing something as strong as goat cheese with a delicate fish like snapper were put to rest as they had achieved the perfect balance of the tanginess of goat cheese with the sweetness of the fish. The only think I didn’t like was the white rice served with it. It was more of a pilaf, which I am not a fan of. I would have preferred regular sticky rice or even mashed potatoes (wasabi mashed would have worked well with the Bok Choy). Despite the rice, I loved this dish.
My fiancée ordered the Macadamia Nut Crusted Mahi Mahi with a saute of snow pea, spinach, and Shiitake mushrooms with a spicy mango sauce and drizzled with a pomegranate glaze served on a bed of dirty rice. The fish arrived perfectly crusted and the swirls of the two contrasting sauces almost looked like caramel and strawberry toppings for ice cream. The fish was a little overdone, which was disappointing, but it was still very tasty. The sauces were great however I didn’t find the spicy mango sauce to be very spicy at all. The rice on this entrée was a little better. The sautéed spinach was outstanding and the Shitake mushrooms had an earthy overtone that balanced nicely with the sweet sauces.
The owners of Fishbones have a new restaurant in Delafield called Zin. We actually ended up eating at Fishbones because all I knew about the restaurant was that it was owned by the Fishbones people and it was in Downtown Delafield. I didn’t know the name or location. Based on my information we couldn’t find it. Now I know the name and location and cannot wait to try their “Italian Cuisine with a California flare.”
Ratings (out of 10):
Décor/Ambiance: 7/10 The décor is bright and festive. My only complaint is that it is noisy.
Food: 8/10 This place never disappoints. Slightly overcooked Mahi-Mahi prevents this from getting a higher grade.
Service: 9/10 The service was great. Our waitress knew the dinner menu as well as the wine and beer list and was very attentive and friendly.
Just so you aren’t wandering around Delafield like we were, their other place called Zin and can be found here:
Fishbones
1704 Milwaukee St
We walked in and were immediately seated, which is surprising given the popularity of this place. We were not terribly hungry, so we skipped appetizers and opted for a salad. I had the house Caesar, which contained the perfect amount of dressing and the typical Caesar ingredients. It was good, but nothing spectacular. My fiancées salad was the house salad, which had red and green leaf lettuce with fresh cucumbers, tomatoes, mushrooms, Daikon radish, and fresh Romano cheese tossed in a raspberry vinaigrette. It was pretty tasty, but I think adding some Gorgonzola or Bleu cheese would have balanced the sweetness much better than the Romano. Fishbones’ appetizer list is extensive and unique. We have tried a few and they are pretty good. I really like the Bone's Trio, which is a combination of Crawfish Spring Rolls, Fried Catfish Strips, and Creole Chicken Quesadillas.
Our entrees arrived shortly after we ate the salads. I opted for the special, which was a sautéed Red Snapper with a goat cheese Beurre Blanc sauce served over rice, Bok Choy, Asparagus, and Carrots. The fish was cooked to perfection and my worries over mixing something as strong as goat cheese with a delicate fish like snapper were put to rest as they had achieved the perfect balance of the tanginess of goat cheese with the sweetness of the fish. The only think I didn’t like was the white rice served with it. It was more of a pilaf, which I am not a fan of. I would have preferred regular sticky rice or even mashed potatoes (wasabi mashed would have worked well with the Bok Choy). Despite the rice, I loved this dish.
My fiancée ordered the Macadamia Nut Crusted Mahi Mahi with a saute of snow pea, spinach, and Shiitake mushrooms with a spicy mango sauce and drizzled with a pomegranate glaze served on a bed of dirty rice. The fish arrived perfectly crusted and the swirls of the two contrasting sauces almost looked like caramel and strawberry toppings for ice cream. The fish was a little overdone, which was disappointing, but it was still very tasty. The sauces were great however I didn’t find the spicy mango sauce to be very spicy at all. The rice on this entrée was a little better. The sautéed spinach was outstanding and the Shitake mushrooms had an earthy overtone that balanced nicely with the sweet sauces.
The owners of Fishbones have a new restaurant in Delafield called Zin. We actually ended up eating at Fishbones because all I knew about the restaurant was that it was owned by the Fishbones people and it was in Downtown Delafield. I didn’t know the name or location. Based on my information we couldn’t find it. Now I know the name and location and cannot wait to try their “Italian Cuisine with a California flare.”
Ratings (out of 10):
Décor/Ambiance: 7/10 The décor is bright and festive. My only complaint is that it is noisy.
Food: 8/10 This place never disappoints. Slightly overcooked Mahi-Mahi prevents this from getting a higher grade.
Service: 9/10 The service was great. Our waitress knew the dinner menu as well as the wine and beer list and was very attentive and friendly.
Just so you aren’t wandering around Delafield like we were, their other place called Zin and can be found here:
Fishbones
1704 Milwaukee St
Delafield, WI 53018
Phone: (262) 646-4696
629 Main St.
Delalfield , WI 53018
Phone: (262) 646-5959
posted by Jeff @ 8:14 AM
1 Comments:
At 5:58 PM,
nina said…
Fantastic review. I'm going tomorrow, based on your words alone. I'll take my camera as well.
Post a Comment
<< Home