Hey Eaters! Its been a while since we’ve on posted with work and all. We’ll working a little more diligently to keep you all in the know of all the great places to eat. We Tried a new place a week ago: Castle Ridge is a new restaurant and event center in Centralia, IL. We went for their brunch with our friends from SIT Service Dogs and their daughters, and it was a fun experience, and worth the short trip.
First off, and most commendably, the service and facilities are perfect. Everyone was top notch, made the girls feel welcome and included, which can be rare for nicer places, and very attentive. The building and grounds are gorgeous, with every detail being thought out, from the large dressing rooms for your wedding party to get ready in, to the plating rooms off of the banquet halls so that food is always plated fresh for your event. Once fully built, Castle Ridge will boast a cottages, bedroom lodges, and an amphitheater, perfect for weddings, corporate retreats, and any large scale event.
As for the brunch service, we really enjoyed the food that was available that day. They offered a buffet with multiple items set up, such as eggs, mac and cheese, biscuits & gravy, catfish & hushpuppies, kielbasa, fresh fruits, pasta salads and bagels. Along with three different stations that offered made to order crepes, waffles, and omelette, as well as a carved meat station. Their different stations all had the option of creating your own variety of each item, or try their signature version of each of those. Our table managed to try a little bit of everything while we were there. We enjoyed almost everything we had. And for being their third brunch service ever, we had very positive and minimal feedback as far as what they had currently, but they were eager to ask everyone who dined with them that day what they could improve upon going forward. Our suggestions were possibly adding more texture to their menu. We would definitely like to see possibly some more crispy items, or more items featuring their signature menu items that are available. They are known for their rock shrimp, and it would be amazing to see them utilize that in other ways going forward. Another feature of their brunch that some of us were able to enjoy were the options of bottomless mimosas, bellinis, or bloody marys. Those were done very well as well with in house mixes, so keep that in mind if you are going up for a day trip. Plan to take someone with you to drive, or spend some time walking around and taking in the sights, as it is definitely worth it. We are definitely looking forward to going back up and trying out their brunch again in the future, as well as their dinner service that just started up as well. And we would definitely love to try out their fine dining facility that will be opening up in the fall, where we were told they will be finishing most of the dishes table side. That will be an interesting sight to see. We have high hopes and wish them the most success.
