OK, here's the deal. I'm a Le Claire resident and a long time Le Claire booster. I always advocate for this town and the places in it. I'm also pretty easy going when it comes to dining - it doesn't take much to make me happy. All that said, the Valentine's Day dinner my wife and I just had at the Crane and Pelican has to be the worst meal we have ever paid for in our lives. Let me go over the highlights, from best to worst:
1. Service (OK)
I was a little disappointed that when we arrived, there was no host/hostess, just a sign that said 'Please wait to be seated'. We stood in the entry way for several minutes before I finally made my way back to the bar area and asked if we could be seated. They pointed us towards our table, which was the only table without a drink menu, but the server (a gentleman named Autumn) was very friendly and prompt and brought us a drink menu when we asked. For the rest of the evening, Autumn did a great job and we had no complaints about the service.
2. Ambiance (Needs improvement)
The house that the C&P is in could use a little work. It had been a couple of years since I had last eaten inside it, and it hasn't aged well. It could also use a thorough cleaning. The lights were also on at full brightness, which was odd for a Valentine's dinner, where you might expect a little dimming of the lights to set the mood.
3. Food (Just awful)
The Valentine's Day dinner was a three course pre-fix menu. I had the shrimp, beef wellington, and chocolate cake. When the shrimp cocktail arrived, I was surprised to find that it was literally three small shrimps on a plate with a couple slices of lemon, and that was it. But, I figured - it's just an appetizer. I guess having a very small portion isn't that unusual. Then, the beef wellington arrived, with a side of fingerling potatoes, and for the first time in my life, I literally couldn't eat it.
The beef wellington had the taste and consistency of cat food wrapped in a partially cooked pillsbury biscuit. I couldn't believe how bad it was. The fingerling potatoes were even worse - tough, rubbery, unseasoned, and stale. I had my wife take a bite to make sure it wasn't just me. She had to make an effort to choke the bite down.
She had ordered the mahi mahi, and had to work to choke that down as well, as she didn't want to send the entire plate to the kitchen uneaten. But, even her desire to not offend the kitchen staff could not force her to eat the "saffron risotto" on the side, which tasted like mushy yellow ABS plastic. She had me try some, warning me to take a small bite. I thought she was saying she didn't want me to hog it - but she was warning me about how bad it was. We both had to make quick work of our drinks to wash out the awful taste.
The desserts were the only edible thing we were served all night - not good, but edible. The chocolate cake tasted like a little debbie's snack cake with a couple of dollar store boxed chocolates on top. Not great but I didn't need to wash it quickly down with anything else. My wife left most of her panna cotta uneaten as well.
All told, about $200 for a meal we had to fight to eat enough to not entirely offend the staff. We left there and went home and immediately dug up some leftovers to get any other taste into our mouths. A couple hours have now passed and we both feel physically ill from this experience. I honestly can't believe how bad this was.
I've eaten at the C&P before and generally enjoyed it. It's never been my favorite restaraunt, but it's never been the worst. Tonight it takes the crown as the absolute worst meal we've ever had prepared for us in our lives, and we both served in the military. We will never go back, and I can't recommend you go there either. read more