Tasty Tour: Wisconsin Dells, Part I

The Wisconsin Dells is a vacation spot in south-central Wisconsin about four hours north of Chicago. It dubs itself as the waterpark capitol of the world and has the world's largest waterpark, Noah's Ark, and the world's largest indoor waterpark, Kalahari. In addition to water attractions, the Dells has duck tours, various amusement parks, go karts, putt putt golf and myriad other family-fun activities.

Tim and I went there a couple of years ago for his brother's wedding. That time around, we went to the Greek-themed Mount Olympus Water and Amusement Park. We hadn't been back since, so we went this weekend to the Wilderness Resort, which has a megalopolis of indoor and outdoor water parks. It's already starting to get a little chilly outside, but there was still plenty to do at the resort and we had a great time floating along in the wave pool and trying all the water slides.

After swimming and sunning all day, we were both starving. We decided to try Marley's, a Caribbean-themed, independent restaurant. It's right on the main drag in the Dells and when we arrived it was still pretty empty. First, we started with the two-for-one drink special of the day, a cool breeze. It was served with a little umbrella and tasted fruity with a nice punch of rum.

We also got an appetizer because I was famished. We got the Caribbean quesadillas with jerk barbecue chicken. The cheese within the toasted flour tortilla was plentiful but not stringy and messy. The chicken itself was surprisingly juicy and smokey in flavor.

The entrees were absolutely delicious, and it wasn't just my empty stomach speaking either. Tim ordered a jerk barbecue pulled pork sandwich with jammin' fries. The pork was plentiful and moist. The sauce itself was complex in flavor -- there were sweet, sour and smokey notes with a lasting, pungent herb taste. The fries were crunchy and had a great blistery texture. On top of the fries, the spices blend was well distributed and added just a little bit of heat. We dipped the fries in some more barbecue sauce and it was delicious.

I order the Rasta Pasta, which was crab meat, scallops and shrimp tossed in marinara sauce on top of fettuccine. The pasta was well cooked and very standard. The sauce, however, was pleasantly sweet and not overpowering, with chunks of tomato throughout for good texture. There was a ton of seafood in there to justify the $14 price tag. Tim thought the shrimp was a little tough, but I liked the quality and quantity of the seafood included. The scallops were almost too big to eat in one bite and the crab meat was still quite succulent.

I couldn't finish my pasta entirely and Tim and I were both really full when we left. The bill was something like $42 for the entrees, appetizer and drinks. It was certainly worth it and I'd eat there again.

I was really pleased with Marley's and I was surprised when our waitress told us it was the only shop in the owner's repertoire. Then again, she told us it "isn't a chain ... yet."