Everybody loves a Bimbo…

Jim and Nancy do not disclose the fact that they will review a restaurant before they attend, ensuring their reviews are unbiased and uninfluenced by their position with the Sun Day.

A surefire indicator of success is when you have a namesake restaurant. There is Harry Caray’s, Wolfgang Puck’s, and Wendy’s, just to name a few. I couldn’t wait to tell Nancy she had achieved this great honor when I discovered Bimbo’s Italian Restaurant in McHenry. Note to all males, don’t do this, it will not end well…

After the ensuing carnage was over, we hopped into the Dining Duo Mini-mobile and headed north. In this section of town, be advised, there is only street parking. On a high note, there is one allotted handicap space on the restaurants side, at the end of the block.

When we walked in, we stood there with our typical dumb expressions on our faces. We found ourselves in the middle of a busy restaurant with a huge bar on the left, tables on the right, and no hostess stand to be found. After a few tense moments, we noticed a figure emerging from the middle of the restaurant. The hostess motioned us over to her stand at the end of the bar and picked out a table for us in this richly appointed restaurant.

We sat down to a basket of warm Italian bread with Parmesan sprinkled on top. At this time, we ordered our Fried Ravioli appetizer ($7.95), which was ravioli stuffed with jalapeno and cheddar, breaded, and quick fried. This came with a marinara sauce for dipping. We thought this combination would be a little weird, but decided to try it anyway. As it turned out, our instincts were correct. They tasted like Italy, Mexico, and Poland declared war on each other and this was the result. These were little deep fried Mexican Pierogies.

Nancy’s favorite Italian dish is a good lasagna with meat sauce. When she spotted lasagna on the menu that was “just like Mama use to make” ($15.95), she had to go for it (Nancy’s mother was Russian). It was a large portion with a lot of meat in the sauce, but it was on the dry side for her taste. All meals come with either soup or salad and of course she chose salad with creamy garlic dressing.

I saw Jim arguing with himself trying to choose between the Veal Parmigiano or the Spicy Sausage & Chicken. I told him time and time again to stop listening to those voices in his head, but does he listen to me? No! So, the Spicy Sausage and Chicken ($15.95) won out. This was tossed with bow tie pasta and Pomodoro sauce. Jim won this evening with his dish. It was a huge bowl with tons of meat and it was served piping hot. He chose a tasty bowl of white clam chowder as his side.

For dessert this evening, guess what we had. Yep, Tiramisu ($6). It was light and creamy and big enough for both of us to share (what little I had) since Jim loves his desserts.

FYI: It is handicap accessible but be aware they cram a lot of tables in a small area. Reservations are a must for weekends.

This is a friendly, modestly priced restaurant serving huge portions of food. There is a fine line between good service and being rushed. Don’t be afraid to slow your waiter down; we did.

The total bill at Nancy’s namesake restaurant was $54.15, grazie!

Jim’s take: I loved my dinner and the leftovers were just as good for lunch. I’m still debating about the fried ravioli.

Nancy’s take: The creamy garlic dressing needed more garlic; come on, you’re an Italian restaurant! I’m not debating like Jim; the fried ravioli didn’t do it for me.

Have comments or restaurant suggestions for the Dining Duo? Send them an email at thediningduo@gmail.com

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