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$$$ Global Gourmet, Carbondale (Valentines menu)

102 East Jackson Street
618-549-0771

I actually thought ahead enough to make dinner reservations on Valentine’s Day, and chose a previous favorite right in the heart of Carbondale.
When I made reservations there were two available times available but no mention was made of the fact that on Valentine’s Day only the special fixed price menu was available. I don’t have an issue with the menu, it was great (although not inexpensive @$125 per couple or $100 without alcohol) but I don’t think that springing that as a surprise on someone when they show up and at that point have no other options outside a drive through available to them is customer centric.
The menu was Italian based, starting with a glass of Champaign or aperitif. It was followed by a shared assortment of approximately 6 small portion appetizers that were very well presented and prepared.  A choice of soup or salad was offered for each diner. Entrees were a choice of 3, a grilled shrimp, or our choices of a veal and stuffed chicken breast. Here I found the entrees not quite up to par with Global Gourmet experiences past. The chicken was ever so slightly overcooked making it a bit tougher than it should be and the veal was very good except for one big portion of hidden gristle that caused me to excuse myself from the table to rid myself of the morsel that wouldn’t die. Dessert was another collection of several, all very well done.
In my opinion, Global Gourmet let their standards down just a bit and took advantage of Valentine’s Day.

π π π    Still among the best options for fine dining in the area, just off a tad on this night
π π π    Service was good, a bit of a ding for surprising us with the take it or leave it menu.

Centralia House, Centralia, IL

111 N. Oak Street
618-532-9754

Let me say first of all that this review was done as part of a very enjoyable evening with a group of friends and included the adventure of boarding Amtrak to and from Centralia House from Carbondale.
The time together on the train (approximately an hour) allowed the ten of us to converse and covertly share a little Limoncello together before detraining for the one block walk to the restaurant. But you’re probably here to read about the restaurant and no the details of the journey so here’s my thoughts.
Centralia House for very hospitable in helping arrange this dinner so we could dine at a leisurely pace and have to worry about missing the return train. They took our orders in advance and even had the tickets split up by couples when we arrived and ordered drinks and appetizers. They were pleasant and friendly throughout. The building and its associated history are interesting reading and neat to say you and Ulysses Grant ate at the same place.
The food was….and sorry here was less than spectacular but good, but for $100 a couple I want better than good. I think what got me disappointed (besides that little guy on my shoulder who kept whispering “for what you paid for dinner and transportation you could have gone to Tom’s) was the house special Centralia House shrimp. I’ve got a thing that when you stake your reputation on a particular product, that product should be pretty damn good. In fairness, most of the reviews I’ve read rave about it. I found the shrimp to be over cooked. Now that is easy to do, (it makes them tough) – but when you advertise a house special…………..
The escargot is probably not a fast paced item (I know, that’s bad) for good reason. How about a using some spring greens or spinach in the salad.
It was a fun evening and the food was good. I just can’t rate it as a value proposition.
I’m hearing better things about Walker’s Bluff, it might be time to see how they’re doing again.

 π π π    I might have gone π π ½ I’m sure everyone enjoyed their selves and their dinner.
π π π ½   Service and hospitality really were good. Thank you.