I posted the following to the Baraboo Country Club over 3 months ago. Finally got a reply today saying that the restaurant was separate, so not their fault. Well... they are inextricably linked, so not inclined to remove it there. Here is what I wrote 3 months ago as a warning to those who would go to BCC/Fore Seasons.
I'm not sure where to start with this disappointing outing. Saturday night at 6:15 and the only two diners were a sharp looking Prom couple. They were outnumbered by employees at the bar. We ordered our drinks which were standard Ild Fashioned that you can get at pretty much any establishment.
We then looked to the menu, and that's where it got interesting. Another comment mentioned the Prime Rib on Saturday nights. Nope! No longer on the menu. The only steaks on the menu were 10 ounce Flat Iron steaks, with one done as in a Steak Diane Style (with mushrooms) with crostini with tomato. When ordering, we were told that they were out of Flat Iron, but that one of the employees went to the supermarket earlier and picked up Rib Eye.... but that there were only two left. Fine. I ordered the Steak Diane (medium rare) with a baked potato. Another dinner companion ordered the Chicken Parmesan, and was then told it doesn't come with noodles and that he had to choose a side. Options were baked potatoes, mashed potatoes, fries, sweet potato fries, and Cole Slaw. Nome of which are appropriate for chicken parm. (He opted for the Cole slaw). Two other companions ordered a shaved prime rib type sandwich with a horseradish sauce and came with potato chips.
A few minutes after we ordered, the wait staff came back out to tell me that they were "out of potatoes", so baked potatoes or mashed potatoes were not available.
The meal. The sandwiches came out without the horseradish sauce and the contents of a single seve bag of Lay's style potato chips split between the two plates. The chicken parm was maybe the size of a deck of cards and buried under a lot of sauce... my companion said at the time it was ok, but later admitted it was bad. The Steak Diane was pounded to less than 1/4 inch, did not have mushrooms, and was set upon thin slices of untrusted baguette bread. Chopped, cold tomatoes were on top of the sauce. The meat was cooked to "well done". It was not worth the $29 it was listed at. The waitress knew something was wrong and offered to have something else made. I declined and said I would try it, but that it was not worth what they were charging and that it should be comped. She agreed. After she left, I took my first bite and it was inedible. I called her back and returned it, and declined anything further. One of my sandwich companions shared theirs, but it took a long time to get the horseradish sauce.
The menu is basically a limited "bar menu". That, along with the lack of proper ingredients and no diners, should have been enough for them to close the kitchen and send us away. Yet.. here we are. For an establishment that should otherwise provide excellent service, the experience was the complete opposite.
I should note that we still left an appropriate tip for the waitress... who was doing double duty as bartender.
I am told the head chef is new within the last year and changed the menu. If that is the case, then it is on the establishment for allowing him to do so. TBH I've never seen an establishment offer a Flat Iron steak... which is a cheap portion of a Chuck Roast cut. Chef does NOT know what he's doing back there. Had I been let loose in the kitchen to make something for my companions, am certain I could have made something 10 times better.
Until Baraboo Country Club replaces their kitchen staff, this business should be avoided at all costs. The experience is still astounding to us. The only reason it gets one star is because Google doesn't allow...
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