By night, the Dells seems less vulturous. The lights along Broadway and Wisconsin Dells Parkway, the two main strips, overpower the billboards and simply illuminate the restaurants, bars, showplaces and motels.

Statistics from the Dells' Visitor and Convention Bureau show that 75 percent of Wisconsin Dells tourists travel with children. But this doesn't mean the town shuts down at 9 p.m., after the kids are out cold from a day at the water parks.

In fact, it is at about this time that vehicles with Illinois plates clog the two main drags. The RVs disappear, leaving cars and shiny new pickups full of vacationers going out for dinner or just out on the town.

Many of the restaurants and hotels double as night spots until about 11 p.m. or midnight; most offer the same innocuous performers night after night.

For really good food in an atmosphere that almost makes you forget you're in the Dells, try the House of Embers. (It seems to have nothing in common with our own Embers on East Washington Avenue)

We ran into a chef who defected from the Ovens of Brit on Monroe Street in Madison and has been working at the House of Embers for the past month. He claims it has the best food in the Dells.

The place is charming, as is its host and owner, Wally Obois, 66. The Austrian immigrant, . after giving a tour of the place, insisted that we try an authentic 160-proof Austrian rum called Stroh.

"It's the best medicine," he proclaimed. "Doctors haven't even discovered it yet."

The restaurant, however, is more famous for its hickory smoked ribs than its owner's remedy.

Somewhat classy and somewhat kitschy, The 200-seat restaurant bas many rooms, all with themes. Our favorite was the Omar Sharif room, complete with lace curtains that can be drawn for privacy. The tiny room, once destined to be a coatroom, seats two comfortably but can accommodate four.