A wonderful surprise!

Posted by B.Seibert49 on 2/21/2008

My wife and I bailed out of Madison, WI ahead of a winter storm and drove as far south as Peru, IL to be assured of making it home the next day. All we expected was a room for the night at a Fairfield Inn. We were ready to go get some dinner and asked at the front desk if they had any recommendations. The manager first asked if we preferred a chain restaurant where we knew what to expect or if we would like to take a chance on one of the local restaurants she knew about. We asked about the locals and she described a couple, including MarkAllen's American Kitchen. It sounded like something we'd like to try. We found the small "corner bar and grill" easily in an old residential section of Peru and were a little shocked at the crowded parking lot. However, we were greeted warmly and a table was available in the fascinating art filled dining room (Magnetic participation art pieces on the walls) The service was excellent, but the experience was highlighted by what can only be described as the best restaurant meal I've ever experienced! The choices were wide ranging from Mark's Wonderburger to 17 oz Ribeye steaks smothered in mushrooms. I ate the Shrimp Scampi Pescator and my wife had Veal Morel with a morel mushroom sauce that was heavenly. From the salads which had a unique variety of greens and "things" and a fantastic balsamic vinegrette, the sopappilla (?) bread (It was a light fried bread), all the way through dessert was one taste sensation after another. Less than two months before this experience we treated ourselves to dinner in one of Emeril's restaurants in New Orleans. It was great, and so were other meals we had on that trip. But none of those meals were even close to the experience we had at MarkAllen's American Kitchen. Emeril would get 4 stars, but this place deserves the 5 stars! The ONLY problem is Peru isn't on the way to anywhere I normally go. However, I plan to go back!