Twist Bar & Grill opened in January in place of Basie’s inside the Radisson Inn. While the decor and atmosphere are a definite upgrade, it needs more work to become a destination restaurant.
Don’t get me wrong. The food is good, but it doesn’t differ much from an Applebee’s or Chili’s. And I understand why: it needs to fulfill the room-service needs of its guests, who are looking for familiar fare. On several visits the place was dead; once for lunch I was the only diner.
To its credit, Twist does try to add its own twist to the Wisconsin-themed menu items. For example, the Cuban sandwich ($12) uses Carr Valley Gruyere and an unpressed ciabatta bun. Overall, the sandwich was a perfectly assembled mashup of flavors, though a bit on the salty side.
There are just five other sandwiches on the surprisingly small menu, and the Neuske’s bacon burger ($13) is one of them. It sports a super thick patty topped with Hook’s cheddar, a fried egg, Dijon aioli and an ungodly amount of sauteed onions. It’s hard to describe this any other way besides “not bad.”
The entrees–rib-eye steak, mac and cheese, grilled pork chop, wild mushroom pasta and seared salmon–also are fairly standard, which is why I didn’t feel any need to try them.
Appetizers include cheese curds, wings and pretzel rolls. I enjoyed the beer cheese soup ($4 cup, $7 bowl) for its creaminess, ample portions of Bavaria sausage and Cajun popcorn sprinkled on top.
If you’re sitting at the brightly lit bar, you can watch sports on one of eight TVs. The Twist theme is prevalent here, too. The Badger old fashioned ($9) contains Bulleit bourbon instead of the requisite brandy, though I gulped it down quite easily. Meanwhile, the Twistini ($10) is comprised of Absolut Citron, Grand Marnier and sparkling wine and is quite sweet.
Twist is open every day for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
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See more photos in our Twist Bar & Grill Flickr album.
