Restaurants in Liberty

Conrad’s Restaurant & Alehouse has a split personality. The golden lighting and warm tones of its restaurant, where families and couples chat intimately, belie the presence of its adjoining alehouse, which harbors a 400-square-foot golf simulator. Roomy enough for eight players, the virtual-golf enclosure uses E6 live-motion software to whisk golfers to cyber versions of iconic links such as St. Andrews and Pebble Beach, where celebrity golfers have been known to roam the greens in stretch golf carts. Elsewhere in the the lively bar area, revelrous patrons sip frothy American craft beers and icy cocktails in the glow of HDTVs as the sounds of live music and pool balls ricochet off vibrantly lit walls.

Back in the dining room, dishes prepared to patrons’ specifications by executive chef Charles M. Perkins and his staff populate tables set with understated elegance. Preparing each of the items on their eclectic menu from scratch, the talented team plates meals rich with flavor fusions culled from French, Italian, and contemporary American cuisines. Their burgers and hand-cut steaks, such as the au poivre filet with cognac cream sauce, promise tender bites with warm centers and savory seasonings. And their seafood preparations, such as the seared mahi mahi or the walnut-encrusted trout, arrive at tables fresh from their natural habitats of sprawling oceanic sandcastles.

As young girls, sisters Suzanne and Stephanie dreamed of opening their own deli. As adults, they joined forces to open Sorella’s—Italian for _sister_—where they create a spread of sandwiches with Boar’s Head meats and cheeses and a hefty smattering of vegetables. The shop’s meatball sub is made from scratch with 100% ground beef, and the muffaletta encompasses black forest ham, salami, melted provolone, and Sorella’s own green-olive spread.

A choice of 12 meats, 8 cheeses, and 14 dressings and veggies provides diners with a multitude of options to stuff inside bread or a foam hand. Sorella’s also supplies sandwiches to parties and corporate events, as well as offering housemade desserts.

Ixtapa's kitchen creates authentic Mexican dishes with an emphasis on artfully prepared seafood and Yucatan-inspired flavors. Diners who order the pollo adobado entree, for example, can sink teeth into a chicken breast marinated in a sauce made with achiote seeds that, like most of North America's toffee supply, are native to the Yucatan peninsula. Fifteen chicken entrees—from the classic arroz con pollo to the spicy pollo Ixtapa—populate the menu alongside fiery shrimp dishes such as camarones a la diabla. A full bar supplies adults with beer, top-grade tequilas, and reasons to talk about high school.