RIVERVIEW LODGE

Dinner and a show were on the menu tonight. We are going to have a gala night on the town in beautiful Antioch California. Those of you that live in Northern California may be scratching their heads with that statement. Antioch is not known for fine dining and entertainment. We had tickets for a Illusionist/mentalist Kevin Blake at the historic El Campanil Theater. The El Campanil Theater is an old vaudeville house dating back from 1928 that has been restored and revitalized. We chose to eat at the Riverview Lodge before the show mainly because it was in walking distance from the theater.
We arrive at Riverview Lodge to find blocked off streets. The Dragon Club was having a car show this evening. We walked several blocks and enjoyed the car show. The car show surrounded the restaurant and it was very crowded. We walk into the Riverview and it is packed and seemed chaotic. I find the hostess and she says it will be about a 15 minute wait. Sure enough we waited only about 15 minutes. It seems the bar was a lot more popular than the restaurant. The locals knew something we did not.

The Riverview Lodge is a very nice old school throwback to nostalgic times. There are windows overlooking the scenic Carquinez Straits and the inside has a nautical sort of theme. The menu is mainly seafood with a few steak options. Our waitress is very pleasant and prompt in the middle of all the chaos and mayhem. (There really was not mayhem but I like the sound of the word). I order a N.Y. steak but the waitress suggests the prime rib. Sure, why not? Medium rare was my choice with French fries. Ms. Goofy opts for the fish and chips.

We also order two house salads. The salads  arrive warm. Something was just not right about a warm salad. Ms. Goofy refused to eat but I was starving and braved these tepid greens. Our dinner entrees arrived in decent time. The prime rib was not medium rare but medium and my fries morphed into a baked potato. Because we were going to a show and how crowded this restaurant was I just bit my tongue ate it. The melody of vegetables reminded me of my high school cafeteria. The prime rib sat in a pool of meat juices and au jus sauce. I would venture this meat has not rested because of all the meat juices and it was also on the dry side. Ms. Goofy’s fish and chips were dry and chewy. She did like the fries.

The Riverview Lodge may have been a great restaurant a very long time ago. It is now sad and tired. The bar and car show is very popular. Oh how we wanted to love the food but it missed on so many cylinders. Our show was entertaining. This was a night out on the town in Antioch California. We will be back but will search for another place to dine.