The Ironstone Room

Nouveau Night Menu

2011-11-10T05:00:00.000-08:00

Here is the Tapas Menu for the Nouveau 2011 party.

THE TAPAS MENU
(all served on one plate)

Ham, Wild Mushroom & Cheddar Corn Fritter

Brown Beans with House Cured Summer Sausage

Spinach & Pine Nut Roulade with Sun-dried Tomato Fondue

Sliced Sirloin with Nouveau Jus

Whole Roasted Rosemary New Potatoes

Tomato Jam, Caramelized Onion and Maytag Blue
Cheese Crostini

Chocolate Cherry Tartlet

See you in Manito on November 18!!

Friday October 14 Menu

2011-10-11T14:06:00.000-07:00

The menu for Friday night, October 14 will be:

The Ironstone Burger
suggested wine: Leon Millot

We grind fresh bottom round steak for our burgers then make up 1/2 pound patties, season them with Ironstone seasoning and cook them on a char-grill. Topped with smoked Gouda cheese & served on a Brioche bun $7.95
Substitute Swiss, Provolone or Muenster cheese. All burgers come with lettuce, tomato, pickle & onion Add the following for fifty cents each: bacon, mushrooms or extra cheese.

Pork Tenderloin Sliders
Suggested wine: Noiret
A pair of hand cut and breaded pork loin medallions on mini Vienna Rolls $7.95

Salmon Burger
suggested wine: Frontenac Rose
Pan seared salmon burger topped with baby greens, cucumbers, tomatoes, herbed mayo-Boursin cheese spread on a Kaiser roll $8.75

The Big Four Cheese
suggested wine: Seyval Blanc
Back by popular demand, we used Provolone, Muenster, Smoked Gouda and Swiss with sautéed onions and bacon with ripe Roma tomatoes on multi-grain bread to form the ultimate “grilled cheese” sandwich $6.95

The Ironstone Reuben
suggested wine: Frontenac Rose
Thin sliced corned beef, Swiss cheese, apple laced slaw and horseradish mustard on dark pumpernickel $7.95

Apple-Cashew Chicken Salad Sandwich
suggested wine: Seyval blanc
All white meat chicken, apples, cashews, onions and celery in a mayonnaise dressing with lettuce and tomato on multi grain bread $7.50

All Sandwiches include a choice of bottle neck French fries, apple laced coleslaw or
Ironstone Room Bacon-Cheddar Potato Salad

Pork Shanks Osso Bucco
A trio of tender pork shanks braised in a tomato and Noiret based brown sauce and served with mashed new potatoes and Vegetable Blend $14.50

Chicken Enchiladas
Shredded Chicken, Cheese and vegetables wrapped in a flour tortilla, baked in Enchilada Sauce and served with Spanish rice, lettuce and sour cream $10.95

Sauerbraten
A German Specialty! USDA Choice Bottom Round braised in a vinegar based brown sauce and slightly sweetened with ginger snaps. Served with mashed new potatoes and vegetable blend. $12.95

Ahi Tuna
Char-grilled Sashimi grade tuna steak cooked medium-rare on a bed on vegetable lo-mein $16.95

All Entrees include a dinner salad and rolls.

Of course we will have our three dessert from our regular menu: Apple Pie, Creme Caramel and Chocolate Mascarpone Cheesecake

We will be serving from 5-8 PM.

Mother's Day Brunch

2011-04-28T11:08:00.000-07:00

Here is the May 8, 2011 Mother's Day Brunch menu at Willett's Winery. We will have 3 different seatings at 10:30 am, 12 noon and 1:30 pm. Call 309-968-7070 for reservations. $17.95 (adults),$7.95 (Children 7-12) Under 7 - $1 per year old

Juices & Coffee

Assorted Pastries

Fresh Fruit Bowl

Lettuce and Vegetable Salad
(tossed with our Seyval-Mediterranean Dressing)

Biscuits with Butter and Jelly

Sausage Gravy

Seafood Newberg

Scrambled Eggs

Ham, Asparagus & Cheese Quiche

Bacon

Sausage Links

Home Fries

Waffles with Maple Syrup

Roasted Strip Loin of Beef

Penne with Meat Sauce

Dessert Table

July 12 - July 15 Dinner Specials

2010-07-11T07:03:00.000-07:00

I know I'm fairly inconsistent at getting the weekly dinner specials posted. The Ironstone Room doesn't have internet access which requires me to remember to either take my laptop home or steal some computer time at the winery.

So, for this week our dinner specials will be:

The Ironstone Room Butcher's Tender Steak with Granny Potatoes and VOTD $13.95

Ten ounce BBQ Pork Rib Chop with Granny Potatoes and VOTD $11.95 (This ALWAYS gets Chef Kevin's dad seal of approval)

Penne with Salmon, Bacon & Peas in Alfredo Sauce $11.95

Hope to see you this week for dinner at the Ironstone Room!!

Dinner Specials, etc.

2010-06-28T06:16:00.000-07:00

The last two weeks we have been running the following dinner specials which have been a big hit. So, we'll run them again!!

The Ironstone Room Butcher's Tender. An 8 ounce cut from the heart of the sirloin, coated in our Ironstone seasoning and served with granny potatoes and vegetable of the day. $13.95

Two Herb Roasted Bone-In Chicken Breast Halves with granny potatoes and vegetable of the day. $8.25

Panko crusted fried shrimp with plank fries and apple laced coleslaw. $9.95

H&H Produce Farm is still providing us with fresh raspberries. Trying all sorts of creative ways to use them. I do understand that the plants are slowing down their production of these little red orbs of goodness, so get them while you can. We have been putting them on a salad with Fuji Apples, blue cheese, green onions, lemon-rosemary grilled chicken and a light balsamic vinaigrette for lunch. That will probably continue this week.

A little later this week, I'll try to post the menu for Friday night's music on the patio.

Also this week, I am going to work on a special that will pair well with the Vidal Blanc which is beyond outstanding. Winemaker Dan is extremely happy with this and there is no wine competition this wine should not win. It is truly amazing and needs a special to showcase it. Look for something seafood scampi.

This week's specials

2010-06-14T05:55:00.000-07:00

It has been a long time since I've posted our specials. This week we're not doing anything "fancy".

For lunch, a Monterey Chicken Sandwich which is a boneless, skinless breast topped with bacon, sauteed mushrooms and Monterey Jack cheese on sourdough.

We will also have a taco salad. A fried flour tortilla filled with taco meat, lettuce, tomatoes, onions, bell peppers, corn, sour cream, guacamole and our new southwestern ranch dressing.

Speaking of new dressings, along with the southwestern ranch we have a balsamic vinaigrette and Plaza Dressing. The Plaza dressing is a sweet and tangy mango based dressing and is the house dressing for the Plaza Hotel in New York City. Try one of these 3 new dressings on a salad this week with one of our dinner specials:

The Ironstone Room Butcher's Tender. An 8 ounce cut from the heart of the sirloin, coated in our Ironstone seasoning and served with granny potatoes and vegetable of the day. $13.95

Two Herb Roasted Bone-In Chicken Breast Halves with granny potatoes and vegetable of the day. $8.25

Panko crusted fried shrimp with plank fries and apple laced coleslaw. $9.95

Have you had our new Vignoles laced Mascarpone Cheesecake yet?

See You Around a table at the Ironstone Room!

VOTD

2010-05-12T06:30:00.000-07:00

OK, faithful inquirers of Ironstone Room nightly specials...

I admit, sometimes I just get lazy. The other day we were joking around at The Ironstone Room (yes, this happens) and we started calling the "vegetable of the day" VOTD. Now it has sort of stuck. And now, you are being subjected to it!!!

So, when you see VOTD in a description of a special, you know it is the vegetable of the day.

This week's specials

2010-05-12T06:25:00.000-07:00

This week (M-F) between 4-7 PM, we will have these 3 dinner specials:

(back by popular demand) The Ironstone Room Butcher's Tender with Granny Potatoes (diced potatoes with bacon, onions and peas) and VOTD

Blackened Mahi-Mahi with Red Beans & Rice and VOTD

Char-grilled Pork Flat Iron Steak with Sweet Potato Fries and VOTD

Watch this space...the week of May 23, we're going to do something c-raaaaaa-zee!!

Week of Cinco de Mayo

2010-05-03T05:23:00.000-07:00

Hello Ironstone Room diners!

As this week includes May 5 (which is a Mexican holiday of sorts - depending on who you talk to) we are going to do a few south of the border specials this week for dinner:

Tequila-Lime marinated Mahi-mahi with a bay shrimp pico de gallo

Char-grilled Chile rubbed Pork Flat Iron Steak with Salsa Verde

Beef, Cheese and Vegetable Chimichanga

All three served with a black bean and corn laced rice.

The wildly popular Ironstone Room Butcher's Tender will be back next week. If you give us a day or two notice, we could have one for you this week.

And don't forget to make reservations for our fabulous Mother's Day Brunch. Space is getting tight!!

Hope to see you this week at the Ironstone Room!

June 26th Wine & Dine Experience

2010-04-21T06:36:00.000-07:00

We always get questions about "what is on the menu for the next Wine & Dine Experience" (which is June 26th BTW). Well, here it is:

Shrimp & Bay Scallops tossed with Angel Hair Pasta in Sofrito topped with Fresh Mozzarella

Baby Greens with Orange, Grapefruit, Roasted Beets, Almonds, Montrachet Cheese and a Blood Orange Vinaigrette

Pork Shanks Osso Bucco style with a Leek & Wild Mushroom Risotto and Ratatouille

Chocolate Torte with Fresh Rapberries and Raspberry Wine Reduction

Get your reservations now as it is mid-April and the event is about 1/2 sold out!

Dinner Specials for April 19-23

2010-04-19T15:13:00.000-07:00

Some fun and exciting specials this week!

A 10 ounce pork rib-eye chop with Chef Kevin's Apricot Chipotle BBQ Sauce, Sweet Potato Fries and vegetable of the day

Voodoo Pasta - Penne tossed with chicken, andouille, seafood and veggies in a tomato based sauce laced with a cornucopia of mysteriously good ingredients.

And of course, the wildly popular Ironstone Room's 8 ounce Butcher's Tender with roasted new potatoes and vegetable of the day.

This week we have some interesting lunch specials, however, you gotta stop in to find out what the yumminess is all about.....

Dinner Specials for April 5 - 9

2010-03-31T05:54:00.000-07:00

Dinners are served from 4-7 PM.

The Ironstone Butchers Tender with Pan Roasted New Potatoes and Vegetable of the Day $13.95 (Butchers Tender is another name for Sirloin Cap Steak)

Chicken Champignon..Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breast sauteed with Onions and Mushrooms in a light White Wine Cream Sauce, Rice Pilaf and Vegetable of the Day $11.95

Seafood Scampi.. Shrimp, Crab and Sole in a Lemon-Garlic Wine Sauce tossed with Penne Pasta $13.50

All come with a small salad and dinner rolls.

Dinner Specials for March 29 - April 2

2010-03-28T20:10:00.000-07:00

Hello, Ironstone Room fans

The first week of specials were a hit for the most part. We sold a lot of the steaks and salmon. Of course, we've had some people spread the word and now we've had some "are you still going to be serving the (fill in the blank) next week?

The original plan was to run new specials every week, but for this week, we are going to run the same specials again.

We ARE going to keep the Ironstone Butcher's Tender as a permanent item on the special menu.

So, if you haven't tried the Rheinlander Pork Chop or the Braisage of Salmon, this week will be your last chance.

Next week, I've got some fun things running through my mind for the specials.

Dinner Specials

2010-03-17T06:52:00.000-07:00

As promised, we are going to start serving some dinner special from 4-7 PM Monday through Friday. Hopefully, we will have them up and going by this Thursday, March 18 and run them through next Friday, March 26 (minus Saturday and Sunday).

Here they are:

The Ironstone Butcher's Tender

An Eight ounce steak cut from the heart of the sirloin, rubbed with a secret spice blend and chargrilled. Served with oven roasted new potatoes and vegetable of the day. $13.95

The Rheinlander Pork Chop

A ten ounce pan seared pork rib chop served with apples, onions and Bavarian Ham in a Apple Splash infused sauce. Served with warm German potato salad and vegetable of the day. $13.50

Braisage of Salmon

An eight ounce Atlantic Salmon fillet shallow poached with fresh vegetables with a light horseradish mustard cuisson and rice pilaf (price to be determined on current cost of salmon).

Hope to see you around the table in Manito...

2010-03-05T20:15:00.000-08:00

Ropa Vieja
Latin American version of beef BBQ. Braised, shredded beef in a slightly sweet and tangy tomato sauce, topped with Muenster cheese and served on Kaiser roll $8.50
Recommended wine: Leon Millot

Ironstone Reuben
Thin sliced corned beef, Swiss cheese, apple laced slaw and horseradish mustard on dark pumpernickel $7.75
Recommended wine: Traminette

Salmon Burger
Pan seared salmon burger topped with baby greens, cucumbers, tomatoes, herbed mayo and Boursin cheese crumbles on a Kaiser roll $8.25
Recommended wine: St. Croix

The Big Four Cheese
Muenster, Colby, Swiss and Provolone cheeses, bacon, tomatoes and grilled onions on Italian ciabatta bread $7.25
Recommended wine: Hometown White

Vegetable Wrap
A cornucopia of grilled vegetables, mushrooms and black olives tossed with pico de gallo and wrapped in a tortilla $7.25
Recommended wine: St. Croix

Apple-Cashew Chicken Salad
All white meat chicken, apples, cashews, onions and celery in a mayonnaise dressing with lettuce and tomato on toasted ciabatta bread $7.50
Recommended wine: Seyval Blanc

Honey Roasted Turkey
Honey roasted turkey, red onions, cucumbers, mango chutney, curried mayonnaise and lettuce on multi-grain bread $7.75
Recommended wine: Traminette

The Black Forest
Bavarian ham, swiss cheese, lettuce, tomato, and red onion rings with horseradish mustard on toasted pretzel roll $7.95
Recommended wine: Frontenac Rose’

All sandwiches come with your choice of French fries, apple laced coleslaw or new potato salad

Grilled Vegetable Salad
Char-grilled, diced and chilled vegetables, black olives, mushrooms and fresh tomatoes served on our house greens with feta cheese crumbles and a Seyval Blanc based Mediterranean-style vinaigrette dressing $7.95
Recommended Wine: Seyval Blanc

Cordon Bleu Chicken Salad
Lightly breaded chicken breast strips, julienne ham and Swiss cheese on top of our house greens and drizzled with a honey Dijon mustard dressing $8.95
Recommended wine: Hometown White

Steak Salad
Char grilled sirloin strips, mushrooms, red onions, bell peppers, cashews and Colby cheese on our house greens with an A-1® vinaigrette $11.25
Recommended wine: Chambourcin

Garlic Linguine and Chicken
Garlic-parsley linguine, chicken breast pieces and grilled vegetables tossed in a Seyval-Muenster sauce $9.50
Recommended wine: Seyval Blanc

Salmon Carbonara-style
Salmon, mushrooms, peas and penne pasta tossed in a Boursin laced Carbonara sauce $12.50
Recommended wine: Hometown White

Fish & Chips
Lightly breaded and fried rock sole filets served with plank fries, apple coleslaw and tartar sauce $8.95
Recommended wine: Traminette

Please visit the winery next door to further enjoy conversation, a glass of wine, a tour of the winery or shopping for wine related gifts during normal business hours.

The Ironstone Room at Willett’s Winery & Cellar
101 East Market Street Manito, IL 61546. 309-968-7070 Reservations accepted
Hours Monday -Thursday 11:00 AM – 7:00 PM
Friday 11:00 AM – 7:00 PM (October – April) 11:00 AM – 5:00 PM (May – September)
Saturday & Sunday 11:00 AM – 5:00 PM

The Winery is available for your special event. Please Inquire.
The Illinois Department of Public Health advises that eating raw or undercooked meat, poultry, eggs or seafood poses a health risk to everyone, but especially to the elderly, young children under age 4, pregnant women and other highly susceptible individuals with compromised immune systems. Thorough cooking of such animal foods reduces the risk of illness. Consumers who want more information about their risk should contact their physician or local health department.

Willett’s Wine

glass $6.00 bottle $16.00

Whites: Vidal Blanc, Seyval Blanc, Hometown White, Traminette, Vignoles, Frontenac Rose’

Reds: St. Croix, Chambourcin, Leon Millot, Hometown Red

Fruit: Apple Splash, Blueberry Chill, Black Raspberry Rush, Red Raspberry Thrill, Strawberry Breeze, Cranberry Frost, Midnight Cherry

Soft Drinks
(served in 12 ounce cans)
$1.25

Coke, Diet Coke, Sprite, Diet Sprite, Mountain Dew, Dr. Pepper

Coffee $1.75
(Regular or Decaffeinated)

Ironstone Room coffee is a blend of several different beans from around the world created for us by Leaves & Beans Roasting Company
(regular blend available for purchase at the winery for $10.00/pound)

Iced Tea $1.50 Hot Tea $1.50

Desserts
$5.50

Apple Strudel
Apples, raisins, Apple Splash and spices wrapped up in a flaky phyllo dough and drizzled with Crème Anglaise
recommended wine: Apple Splash
Chocolate Delirium
Double dark chocolate cake with a chocolate truffle frosting
Recommended wine: Black Raspberry Rush

Crème Caramel
Caramel and brown sugar accented custard similar to crème brulee
Recommended wine: Vignoles

The Ironstone Room's First Post

2010-03-05T19:39:00.000-08:00

Hello, everyone!

This is Chef Kevin and I'm busy doing a million things to get The Ironstone Room at Willett's Winery & Cellar up and running. And one of those things is setting up a blog/webpage to keep all of those interested up to date with the "going ons" at the restaurant. There could be some (and probably a lot) of changes to the blog page to get it to look, feel and react to the frequent changes that will happen here.

The main, but not the only, purpose is to post our daily/weekly specials here. While lunch specials could change frequently, we are planning to run several specials for the dinner hour and run those specials several days to a week.

We are currently projecting our opening day to be Wednesday, March 10, 2010. At the present, it looks like we will make it barring any unforeseen setbacks. And hey, if we open sooner, that would be great, too.

A little recent history, if you will. In mid December of 2009, Dan and Cris Willett were given the opportunity to purchase the Liz Marie's Recipes building adjacent to the courtyard that separates the two buildings. One of Dan and Cris's visions was to one day have their own food service for the winery. The Willett's (along with a little help from me and a large entourage of construction people) are currently renovating this building to house a 30 seat restaurant. However, when warmer weather becomes us, further interior renovations, plus some outdoor seating, will expand the Ironstone Room to approximately 50 seats. Along with renovations to the Ironstone Room, the winery itself will be the recipient of an approximate 150 seat banquet area and a new, larger outdoor garden area for outdoor enjoyment of Willett's wines and Friday night concerts by some of Central Illinois' most well-known musicians.

Why the Ironstone Room. Well, first we had the name Ironstone (more about that later) but we didn't like how "restaurant", "cafe", "eatery", "bistro" sounded with the word Ironstone, so the suggestion to use "Room" popped up and it stuck. Ironstone comes from Ironstone China which is a type of stoneware introduced in England in the early 1800's by potters using the country's ironstone to develop a porcelain-like china that could be mass-produced. Eventually, Ironstone China was exported primarily to the United States between about 1840 and 1890. Dan's mother, Elsie Willett, has been a collector of Ironstone China for many years. Her collection will be displayed in the Ironstone Room of Willett's Winery & Cellar.

So, bookmark this page and visit us frequently to see what we are up to at The Ironstone Room at Willett's Winery & Cellar.