1875 Steakhouse

I didn't have as bad as an experience as some of the other reviewers on yelp.

I do agree that 1875 is over priced considering some of the other steakhouses Indiana has to offer, but if your eating in a restaurant hotel, especially a casino hotel then chances are its going to cost more.

We had a reservation at 8:30, but we didn't actually get seated till around 8:40. That was no problem. The problem however was one of the hostesses seemed to be very cold and unwelcoming. She just brushed us away. But besides that one minor discrepancy the waitress and the rest of the staff were very welcoming and seemed they really enjoyed their job.

On to the food. I personally had a filet mignon (rare) and I thought it was very good and very tender. Yes, it was over priced, but that's what you get from hotel restaurants. The other members of my party had the lamb and filet mignon. Both seemed like their dinner was adequate. One thing to mention though was for the price of the lamb rack the rack seemed to be a little on the smaller side.

For sides we had asparagus, mushrooms, and lobster Mac and cheese (was an appetizer, but had them bring it out with our entrees). The asparagus wasn't anything to rave over. It was so-so. The mushrooms, in my opinion were very flavorful and I thoroughly enjoyed them. The lobster Mac and cheese wasn't worth 15 dollars. I did see lobster pieces every so often, but with the minimal amount of lobster that was actually present in the dish it doesn't deserve to be called lobster mac and cheese. I also didn't like the fact no entree or steak came with sides. For how much people are paying for a dish I feel at least one side should be complementary. But what can you do.

For desserts I had the carrot cake and the other members of my group had the lava cake with a scoop of ice cream. I didn't try the lava cake so I can't comment on that. However the carrot cake was delicious. The carrot cake was extremely rich and sweet, so if your use to tamer carrot cakes beware. The only thing I didn't like/understand was the blueberries put on the carrot cake. The flavor profiles of each didn't work or make sense. But other then that the dessert was a success.

All in all the meal was very acceptable. The price point isn't stellar, but when you eat at a hotel restaurant you usually end up paying a minimum. I would probably end up going back.

VERY expensive bill for a very bad meal.  The group of 4 that I traveled with love a good meal and we have no problem paying a lot for a really great dining experience, but this meal fell short every step of the way.  Actually, I take that back, we had a good bottle of wine, so there's that. :)

First of all, when I called to make reservations the week before, the gentleman (using that term loosely) who I spoke with was short with me and upon saying, "4 people for such-and-such date at 7 p.m.", promptly hung up on me!  No "thank you", "see you on the 18th", nothing.  Just hung up on me.

We were seated immediately upon our arrival at the appointed time, and our server was quick to greet us and get our drinks.  Our server was very friendly.

We started with a couple of salads and a soup.  The wedge salad was fine, per my dining companion.  The onion soup was served in a giant baked onion, which looked impressive, but actually only results in a tiny amount of soup!  You can't fit much soup in an onion, apparently.  It had a lot  of flavor (something this meal ran very short on...), but basically tasted like beef broth.  My bibb lettuce salad, recommended by our server, was awful.  It consisted of blue cheese, cranberries, pecans, and a vinegarette, and somehow none of it had any flavor what-so-ever.  I don't even understand where you find blue cheese or cranberries that are tasteless, but the 1875 Steakhouse managed to do it.  It was one of the worst salads I've had in a long time.

For entrees, I went safe with the roasted chicken and it was pretty good.  Here's the kicker... it was $35 for roasted chicken and mashed potatoes.  Anyone who can turn on an oven can roast a chicken, it should not cost $35 unless served on George Clooney's veranda on Lake Como.  For that price, it should have been AMAZING, and it wasn't, it was just fine.  

Others at the table had a seabass served on soba noodles and blackened prime rib.  The seabass had nice, mild flavor and good texture, and I actually liked the soba noodles.  I didn't have much hope for them, because they can easily get too soggy or sticky, but these were cooked fairly well.  The blackened prime ribs were a big disappointment.  First off, they were $55 with no salads or sides!  I mean, come on.  We go to steakhouses at least once a week and my husband often gets prime rib that is significantly better, bigger, and less expensive.  This was very disappointing.

For sides, we ordered truffled creamed corn, lobster mac n cheese, and a baked potato.  The baked potato was the only dish that was anything worth eating, and it's a baked potato.  You can cook that over a camp fire and not screw it up.  The creamed corn was terrible, it was runny and flavorless, and the shaved truffles on top were slimy, like the texture of canned mushrooms (which, if I had my way, would be outlawed).  I'm assuming that they don't have fresh truffles and these were reconstituted dried truffles or something, but honestly, they should have left them off the dish if they were going to be so gross.  The lobster mac n cheese ($15, I think?) was just okay, but after all of us had a serving, we had absolutely not one sighting of lobster meat.   Not one tiny morsel.  The lobster tail shell that was stuck on the top as garnish was the only hint to the fact that there was supposed to be lobster involved.  So, we basically got mac n cheese that Kraft would have been disappointed with for $15.

Overall, this sucks because you're stuck out in French Lick, IN, in the middle of nowhere, and you have no options for good dining.  Next time, I am going to park myself at the bar in the atrium of the West Baden hotel and order a club sandwich, or at a very casual restaurant in the casino, and not expect any decent meals of any kind.  At least I can save all that wasted money for the Blackjack table at the casino!

Unlike some other diners, I've found the staff very friendly and professional.  The steaks are excellent but very expensive.  Other items are OK and also expensive.