Quality casual dining before the show at Lincolnshire's Wright's Brew & Bistro

Wright's Brew & Bistro takes its name from Daniel Wright, Lake County's first nonnative settler in 1832. But though the inspiration is historic, the interior is worlds more contemporary, with an open floor plan, cozy chairs and modern tunes. The menu at Wright's Brew & Bistro highlights local producers with a range of upscale American foods. You'll enjoy burgers, sandwiches, fish, steak and pasta, plus a few salad choices and a varied appetizer list, including items like sliders, wings and tacos.

The full bar boasts an extensive list of craft cocktails, red and white wines and microbrew beers, including the Honey Badger Ale, which is produced exclusively for Wright's using honey from the resort's apiary. Also, Wright's is a partner in the Lake County Libation Trail.

Each meal at Wright's starts with warm pretzel rolls and soft butter. Make sure to indulge - they're delicious.

As appetizers, we ordered the onion dip, broccoli cheese soup and artisan cheese platter. The onion dip was akin to French onion dip and came with homemade chips. The dip itself was nice and creamy, with big chunks of onion throughout. The chips were thick and crisp and held up to the dip well - though we ran out of dip pretty fast compared to the amount of chips we had. I was pleasantly surprised with the broccoli cheese soup; it was hearty and seasoned well, and completely smooth with no broccoli pieces.

On the artisan cheese platter, there were two types of cheese, homemade jam, some nuts and crispy cheese lavash bread. We devoured nearly everything pretty quickly. But at $12 per platter, we felt the price was a bit high for only two types of cheese.

For our entrees, we had the pappardelle pasta, farmer burger, strip steak and grilled salmon. We enjoyed the pasta, made with local mushrooms, baby spinach, American grana cheese and a basil cream sauce. The mushrooms in particular were quite good, cooked perfectly and in nice large cuts. The pasta was homemade, but not too thick and definitely not gummy; the only disappointment was a lack of basil flavor from the sauce.

For the salmon, it came served with oven-roasted tomato risotto, asparagus and basil butter. I'd not had that flavor of risotto before, but it was creamy and balanced, and the tomato flavor didn't overwhelm. On a high note, the salmon and asparagus were cooked wonderfully.

The sides accompanying the strip steak - asparagus and a baked potato - also were perfectly cooked. Both the steak and the farmer burger (with Jack cheese, crispy pork belly and arugula on a brioche bun) were slightly overcooked, though. They were still good, just not as pink as we'd have liked.

Our desserts included the lemon pudding and the chocolate pot du crème. Spiced shortbread came on the side of the lemon pudding, which was served layered with blueberry compote and vanilla ice cream. I love a lemony punch, and this pudding had it. It was a bit grainy, but mixed well with the compote and ice cream. I couldn't taste much spice in the shortbread, though it was still delicious. The chocolate pot du crème was velvety smooth with rich dark chocolate custard, topped with a chocolate crumble (which unfortunately tasted pretty burned) and homemade marshmallows.

If you're heading to a show at the Marriott Theatre, Wright's Brew & Bistro is an excellent choice for dinner if you're looking for something more casual. The only real concern we had (aside from a few tweaks needed to the food) was a slight forgetfulness among the waitstaff. They forgot to bring a side of fruit with a kid's pasta and an appetizer Caesar salad. I wouldn't, though, let that stop me from visiting again.

Wright's Brew & Bistro

In the Lincolnshire Marriott Resort, 10 Marriott Drive, Lincolnshire, (847) 634-0100, chicagomarriottlincolnshire.com/

<b>Cuisine:</b> American

<b>Setting:</b> Casual

<b>Entrees:</b> $12-$32

<b>Hours:</b> 11 a.m. to 1 a.m. Sunday through Thursday; 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. Friday and Saturday

<i> Restaurant reviews are based on one anonymous visit. The Daily Herald does not publish reviews of restaurants it cannot recommend.</i>