By Dennis R. Getto
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Sunday - August 22, 2004

Things in the dining room at Wally’s House of Embers were slowing down. No prospective diners waited in the front hallway. A few tables were unoccupied. I watched as Wally Obois moved from table to table, helping out in any way he could. At one point, I saw him clear dishes from a just-deserted table. That’s a task usually for the bus staff. Obois is the man for whom the restaurant is named, even though he is no longer its owner. He and his wife Barbara, opened the House of Embers in 1959, back when Highway 12 was still a two-lane road. The couple tore the original building down in 1976 and rebuilt it in its current form, with a bright front formal dining room that’s lined with curtained French doors.

In 1998, he sold the popular restaurant to three of his children, Mark and Mike Obois and Debbie Christensen. Mark and Mike switch off between kitchen and managing duties and Debbie keeps the books. A fourth sibling, Linda Obois, works as a waitress part time. And even though Wally and his wife have formally retired, they both still help out on busy Friday and Saturday nights.

It’s that kind of family dedication that makes Wally’s House of Embers one of the best restaurants in the Dells. Another excellent food, prepared by Mark and Mike, graduates of the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, N.Y.

One dish for which Wally’s has become famous is barbecued ribs ($25.95 for a full rack, $20.95 for a half rack), which undergo a complicated cooking process. It begins with a dry rub before the meat is slowly barbecued over hickory in Wally’s special smokehouse. The last step is braising the ribs in a special marinade and slathering them in Wally’s own barbecue sauce.

We sampled them first as an appetizer ($8.95), which delivered a third of a rack. That taste prompted me to order a full rack on the second visit. My first bite told me that this was real barbecue- the hickory smoke had permeated the rib meat and enriched it flavor.

And even though they had been braised, the ribs retained their chewiness, a quality that real rib lovers relish.

Those ribs weren’t the only outstanding entrees that I sampled in two visits.

The chefs grill up a knock-out fillet mignon ($33.95). For the price, I expected the 10-ounce steak to be practically fork-tender and full-flavored. It was all of that and more, especially when I dipped pieces of it into the roasted shallot demi-glace sauce served beside it. At most restaurants, steak sauces or juices are pretty much an afterthought, delivered with a steak to ensure moistness without adding much flavor.

Not at Wally’s. This demi-glace had a rich, deep flavor that linked perfectly to the flavor of the meat. Roasting had tamed whatever sharpness the shallots may have had. And the extra $2.95 that we paid for the freshly sautéed mushrooms added even more flavor to the steak.

Austrian veal ($23.95), another house specialty, started with tender cutlets that had been sautéed with shallots and mushrooms, then flamed with brandy and finished with cream brown sauce and a little Swiss cheese. The pan juices, cream, sauce, mushrooms and cheese combined to form a velvety sauce that encircled each bite of veal with rich, meaty flavor.

The fourth entrée, coconut shrimp ($23.95), was amazing. Each of the five shrimp that made up the order measured between 3 and 4 inches in length, and each had been hand-breaded in a mix of crumbs and flaked coconut before its dip in the deep-fryer. On the plate, each was golden brown, fresh and sweet. Best of all, the coconut was enough to add a distinct flavor without overpowering.

Two other appetizers, crab cakes ($11.95) and stuffed mushrooms ($8.25), were large enough and distinctive enough to have qualified as light entrees. Despite their name, the crab cakes were made from a mixture of crab, fresh shrimp and scallops with very little bread-crumb filler. Those fresh shellfish combined to create a sweet cake that had been perfectly sautéed, then served with a lemon-garlic-mustard mayonnaise that provided a pleasantly tart counterpoint to their sweetness.

For the second appetizer, large mushroom caps had been filled with a mixture of crab, shrimp and bread crumbs. Just before baking, the caps were drizzled with sweet vermouth and sprinkled with shredded Swiss cheese, giving the caps a distinctly creamy dimension.

While appetizers and entrees were good, it was the overall excellence of side dishes that made Wally’s so memorable.

Cinnamon and French rolls were still warm when the bread baskets were brought to our table. Later, reading the newspaper and magazine clippings on the wall, I learned the cinnamon roll recipe was made by Barbara Obois.

Tossed salads were bright, crisp mixes of mesclun, leaf, red cabbage, red onion, grape tomatoes, cucumber slices and croutons. Spinach salads, available as alternative at no extra cost, were sprinkled with candied pecans and covered with maple pecan dressing.

Baked potatoes were moist and full-flavored; French fries arrived hot and crisp.

And for dessert, it was hard to decide which we liked better-tiramisu ($6.95) or Michael’s White Chocolate Cheesecake ($6.95).

The tiramisu set ladyfingers and mascarpone cheese in a rich espresso custard that captured the spirit of fresh-roasted coffee beans. The cheesecake featured a thin layer of dark chocolate over a creamy white chocolate center. Raspberry Chambord sauce added rich color and flavor.

Service at both meals was friendly, but, on one occasion, a little forgetful. At one of the two dinners, our server forgot to bring our bread basket and we had to eat appetizers without it. She also had a habit of taking our silverware without replacing it, so on the next course we usually found ourself waiting to taste our food until we could attract her attention. That resulted in a couple of cold courses, but they were only minor distractions from two expertly prepared meals.