Being that we had a pretty great experience at Enjoy! for their Thanksgiving course meal, Mr. H and I decided to try them again for our 4 year anniversary. So off we went on the long trek to Apple Valley!
Upon entering Enjoy!, it felt the same as before. It's clean, modern, and slightly trendy but no so annoyingly so like some of the places I encounter in the western suburbs (Maynards COUGHCOUGH.) It's beautifully decorated, but still feels welcoming and cozy despite the large space.
We scored a booth (right next to the one we had before) and ordered some drinks. Me, a glass of the Enjoy! cabernet, which is quite good at $6 a glass, and Mr. H ordered some beer (sorry Mr. H, beer isn't memorable!) We were pretty starving and were glad when the bread came. Enjoy! has my favorite starter bread - the white bread is crusty, soft and warm. The wheat bread has raisins in it (i think?) but not in a gross way. They are small and sweet. The butter is soft and and not all cold and hard like some places serve it.
We figured out what we would order after looking at the menu forever. I was really torn between the Lobster Ravioli and the Canneloni (Stuffed with beef, pork, veal, spinach and tomatoes with mozzarella, ricotta, red and white sauces.) Mr. H was between a Seafood pasta (Sea bass, shrimp, scallops and prosciutto with white wine and linguine) and the Prime Rib (Au jus, horseradish cream and mashed potatoes King 26.95 Queen 22.95.) We decided on the Canneloni and Prime Rib, respectively.
Our food came out pretty fast (10-15 min) and we were starving.
Canneloni
As you can see, there was about 10 pounds of cheese on this thing (the white sauce is just sauce though - not cheese.) Let me tell you, I like cheese. I like about twice as much of it on stuff than most people. But this was so much cheese it almost gagged me. I had to pull some of it off and set it aside in order to even get to the pasta, which fell apart through all the fuss. I found the meat filling to be lacking, and it contributed nothing to the dish. The clear and concise bites I DID get were sorta...gristly. The sauces alone were ok, the white sauce was a tad too rich and cheesy, and the red sauce was robust. In my mind, I imagined nice chewy pasta with savory and somewhat spicy meat filling, with some sharp cheese and garlic accents in the sauce. I ate it all anyways because I'm a pig and I was hungry, but I didn't quite "enjoy" it as thoroughly as I wanted to. (har!!)
Prime Rib
I'll admit, I am no prime rib aficianado. I've had it before, and it speaks to me as steaks younger, prettier brother. This dish for me, was lacking. The meat was done to a good wellness, it was moist enough, but the flavor just didn't sing. It just tasted like a plain 'ol piece of meat. It didn't sing and shower me with warmth (yes, food can do those things to me.) The mashed potatoes were garlic overload. I mean, I really like garlic. I like it so much that when I chop it, I don't mind that the smell lingers for a few hours on my fingers, even after washing. But this was like a wallop of creamed..garlic. It can be overdone. The most pleasant thing I found was the au jus..for ONCE it wasn't a saltsophere of hell. It was savory and mild.
I was quite disappointed with Enjoy! I will definitely go back to give some other things a try...but I won't be using them for special occasions or big-money dinners again.
Greats
-The atmosphere/decor
-The patio is awesome - it wraps around the length of one side, has a pond next to it, statues, and a good variety of seating.
-The bread. Mmmmmmm.
-Decent wine prices and selection - something for everyone!
Not greats
-The cheese pile on top of the canneloni
-The kind of bland prime rib
-The fact I didn't pick Lobster Ravioli
-There was a goddamn crying baby right next to us! I know people out there have babies, but dammit get a sitter! /insensitive bitchiness
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