Winewood

Winewood Restaurant Review:

Known for casual bar-oriented concepts such as Fox and Hound and Flip's Grill, restaurateur Steve Hartnett steps it up with this family-focused American grill. The restaurant is a looming 8,800-square-feet with an open kitchen, wooden beams and roomy booths upholstered in brown leatherette. The menu ranges from steaks and seafood to salads, sandwiches and burgers. Chicken Cordon Bleu gets you a chicken breast formed into a roulade with blackened grill marks on the outside, and on the inside, a filling of prosciutto and melted Swiss cheese. The sun-dried tomato sauce is not an enhancement, and the accompanying risotto is like sticky, cheesy rice. Rib-eye steak is a 14-ouncer, topped with "smoked" butter that verges on overkill. Rotisserie chicken appears in a number of guises, while the signature item is an extra-creamy mac ‘n’ cheese with Gouda and crumbled bacon. "Coffee and doughnuts" is a nifty dessert of three loops with crunchy rough-hewn shapes, dusted with cinnamon sugar and served with a witty demitasse of thick coffee crème anglaise. The wine list constantly changes as new wines are added, including a number of vintage selections from around the world. Many are displayed on the wine wall. Cocktails such as the frozen Cuba Libre are also standout, but bonus points for the in-house filtered water system, in still and sparkling versions, offered for free. Happy hours have been added on weekdays and you can listen to jazz and enjoy half-price wines on Sunday.