Limestone mediocre

Limestone Grille
Location: 2920 E. Covenanter Dr.
Hours: Tuesday through Saturday: 11:00 a.m. to 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. to 10 p.m.
Ethnicity:American Limestone Grille offers mediocre American cuisine at prices that over estimate the quality of their atmosphere, food and service. The restaurant's monochromatic, architectural motif offers visually pleasing ambiance to patrons seated on the patio or in the dining room. Beyond the wilted flowers atop each of the restaurant's white-clothed tables, Limestone Grille's attempt at the illusion of industrial architecture (via exposed aluminum ducts placed along the dining room ceiling) could have been executed much more effectively if someone had troubled themselves to remove the bar coded stickers from the ducts before adhering them to the ceiling. Limestone Grille's lack of attention to visual detail was paralleled by their provision of less than astounding cuisine and service. Reasonably soon after my date and I had been seated in the dining room, the notabley distracted waitress delivered to our table an over-flowing basket of freshly baked bread. The basket contained two varieties of bread. On top of the abundant pile of bread was someone's unfortunate attempt at preparing a baguette. The bread was dry, tasted like stale flour and was only fit for being given to someone that you don't like very much. It was too bad that I sampled the bread when I could have saved the calories and eaten flour at home. The second bread was an oregano focaccia that proved much more edible than the baguette, but was mundane and uninteresting nonetheless. Meanwhile, the waitress attended graciously to most of our needs throughout the meal. Our entrees were prepared promptly using obviously fresh ingredients. Still, the finest ingredients don't compensate for poor menu drafting and inadequate attention to culinary technique. My date's dinner was delicious: Pesto Crusted Salmon Salad -- warm basil-crusted salmon atop a bed of mesclun in a light slightly sour vinaigrette. In contrast, my meal left me wishing that I had ordered my date's dinner rather than the Grilled Poussin with Peach Chutney and Escalloped Potatoes that I ordered. While the multi-layered, well-balanced, lasagna-like escallop of potatoes was spectacularly prepared, the grilled poussin (similar in style to jerk chicken) exhibited the classic poultry pitfall: dry, splintery meat that the chef attempts to camouflage using a flavorful sauce. While this nasty trick should be avoided at all costs (by simply preparing a moist, juicy bird in the first place), the old sauce trick did not leave me laughing. The entire entree left me needing more resurrection than the overwhelmingly charred bird that I was served. Following our meal, my date and I shared a slice of Limestone Grille's flourless chocalate cake. Served chilled with freshly whipped cream, the rich chocolaty dessert highlighted the entire dining expereience. The cake could have been more successfully presented with fresh seasonal berries or served warm as a contrast to the cool whipped cream, but the cake's intensity satisfied our chocoholic desires before we concluded our visit at the Limestone Grille. It is clear that the Limestone Grille offers a rather stagnant, out-dated menu of cuisine that is neither remarkably good nor horribly bad, and is neither consistently excellent nor disgusting. I am sure that Bloomington diners can find local restaurants with more balanced flavors, interesting menus and increased attention to every aspect of detail. However, if superficial attempts at sophistication and failed efforts toward savior faire are what you seek, look no further than Limestone Grille.