https://michaelsonthehill.com/
What we ordered:
- Roasted Mushroom Tartine with truffle honey gastrique – $15
- The Roasted Mushroom Tartine was less mushroomy than we had anticipated. It was built on a very buttery toasted bread that was unable to be picked up. The truffle honey gastrique was very delicious, almost like a very garlicy balsamic vinegar. We even dipped some of the appetizer bread in it!
- Maine Crabcake with Belgian endive, lemon mayo, and parsley salad – $15
- The crab in this crabcake was so unbelievably tender, it is mind boggling how it stayed together in a patty. It melted in your mouth and was the perfect amount of seafoody taste – light, crispy outside, and not blended with so many other filler ingredients that you lost the crab (we’ve all had THAT kind of crabcake before). This crabcake really let the amazing crab shine.
- Slow Roasted Chicken with ratatouille, garlic confit mashed potatoes, and herb jus – $29
- Unfortunately, the slow roasted chicken was not our favorite. Don’t get us wrong, the chicken was good – it just wasn’t THAT much better than the chicken we make at home. It was unseasoned, and while juicy, lacked that amazing chicken flavor that typical skin-on chicken has. The mashed potatoes packed a very intense garlic flavor, in a good way. The ratatouille, again, wasn’t our favorite. We felt like the ratatouille we make at home is better.
- Smoked Maple Syrup Glazed Pork Shank with cheddar polenta, crab apple puree, and braised greens – $35
- The pork shank was great. While it didn’t taste very maple-y, it did have that perfect balance of smoky and sweet, and was juicy and fall-off-the-bone. The polenta was ok, but the cheddar flavor was not very strong, and the polenta itself was a bit lumpy. The crab apple puree and the braised greens were AMAZING. The crab apple puree offered a great pairing with the pork, bringing a freshness to an otherwise deep flavored dish. The braised greens were very tender and had a great bacon-y taste.
The Verdict
Michael’s On The Hill offers a fairly nice dinner at a higher price point than your average Waterbury restaurant. We found them to be a little hit or miss – either we loved the element of the dish, or we didn’t really care for it. They have a big enough menu where everyone in a party should be able to find something they like and their takeout process was pretty easy. We called to place our order, paid over the phone, and called again when we showed up to the restaurant at pickup time. Someone came and delivered our meals to our car, and we were on our way. We did not try dessert from Michael’s, so we aren’t sure how their desserts stack up compared to the rest of their dishes.