Category archive for ‘Dining out with the Geezers’ 
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What’s for lunch?
This week, it’s all about lunch. I will focus on a few of the options in the area, some new, and some old standbys. Rather than rate them, I will limit my comments to the menus. Let’s start with one of the best and a no-brainer.
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A great dining experience you can ‘bank’ on
This week, Judy and I chose one of the mainstay eateries of downtown Elgin, Al’s Cafe. We walked into Al’s not knowing what to expect. The restaurant is on Dupage Court, which has been turned into a pedestrian-only block. The 2-story building and its small entrance really provide no clues as to what was in store for us. This was a Saturday night about 6 p.m., so we were surprised to be able to walk in and get seated immediately.
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Food so good, you’ll think it was just a dream
This week, we enjoyed a family gathering at our favorite Chinese restaurant, Yu’s Mandarin in Schaumburg. We have been coming to Yu’s for a number of years since it opened in 1982, and it has consistently remained a favorite of ours and many other diners in the northwest suburbs. On the weekends, you have to expect to wait to be seated because of the popularity of this establishment.
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A restaurant that lives up to the name of Alexander the Great
This week, Judy and I were joined by Canary Lane neighbors Jerry and Joan, Steve and Diane, along with Ron and Diana, who live on Oakwood. We headed out to Alexander’s Restaurant in Elgin, just north of the I-90 on Rt. 31.
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A “special” dinner at Francesca’s Campagna
Recently, my wife Judy and I celebrated our 51st anniversary dining out with a few friends from the days when we were just teens. Joining us were Larry and Joy, married 54 years, Jim and Judy K., married 50 years, and Bob and Judy S., both widowed and now engaged to be married. This made the occasion even more special.
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A “fresh” look at Biaggi’s
Recently, I had the pleasure of enjoying a gourmet meal served “family style” at Biaggi’s Restaurant in Algonquin. The Sun Day owners hosted the evening for regular contributors to the newspaper. Previously, I had dined at Biaggi’s, but never in this style. Eighteen of us were served at one long table. Along with our beverages, homemade focaccia bread with olive oil and grated Parmesan cheese was placed on the table.
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Table talk at Kobe
Recently, 19 women from Neighborhood 33 joined together for lunch at Kobe’s Japanese Steak House. I asked them to participate in a short review of their outing. Each person was given a form to complete at the conclusion of their visit.
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ser•en•dip•i•ty / ˈserənˈdipitē/
Recently, my wife and I, along with Grainery Lane neighbors and friends, Chuck and Jan, headed out for a restaurant in Marengo called Dino’s. When we arrived, it was closed. We also discovered that they only serve breakfast and lunch. What do we do now? Driving through Marengo, we noticed Café 20.
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Catching up with Jimmy’s Charhouse
My guess is that many residents have been to our dining spotlight for this edition, Jimmy’s Charhouse of Elgin. It’s been a fixture on Randall Road for many years, but as we all know, restaurants change managers and chefs over time, sometimes quite often. So, our mission was to see if there’s been any radical changes in the quality of the food and service, new items on the menu, and overall healthiness of this dining establishment.
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Why did the chicken cross the road?
The answer: to get to Checkers II, of course, because that’s where the other good chickens end up! Seriously, we recently were joined by our Grainery Lane neighbors, Bob and Roberta, for a delicious meal at this country restaurant just a short distance from Huntley in the little town of Union.
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Dem bones, dem bones, dem finger-lickin’ bones
Recently, my wife and I invited good friends and backyard neighbors Kay and Lou to join us for a trek to try the famous ribs at the Crystal Lake Rib House. We were warned ahead of time not to expect anything fancy, which was right on from the moment we walked into the house-converted-into-a-restaurant.
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No bones to pick
This week, my colleague Sun Day Ad Representative Pat Hatton and Sun Day Owners Chris and Erika La Pelusa accompanied me to do a review of one of the well-known dining establishments in Algonquin, Bonefish Grill. It’s a national chain, so I have dined not only at this site, but at others while traveling around our country. Upfront, I have to say that I can’t afford to eat out too often, and certainly this is a special-occasion type of place for my wife and me. This has been one of our favorites for birthdays or anniversaries. This occasion was a celebration of sorts for the four of us. In general, it is the sort of restaurant that you’d treat yourself to.
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Perfectly Burnt Toast
Recently, I woke up to one of those soggy mornings that sadly wiped out another day of tennis, which happens to be my favorite sport. So, I immediately called two of my tennis buddies, Roger and Nelson, to see if they were up for a breakfast road trip. Being two of the power-eating machines that they are, it was agreed upon to head for one of the two Burnt Toast restaurants that are equidistant from Sun City. In this case, it was the one on Randall Road just south of Rt. 72.
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It’s Oktoberfest in September
This week, we chose to go to a local event at the Café 20 restaurant in Marengo. Our neighbors, Mike and Emma, joined us for the weekend activities under a large tent, a first for all of us at this restaurant. I will depart somewhat from my usual review format because this was a unique venue. This will also be a very brief review, featuring the highlights and lowlights of our evening.
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It’s a piece of (cheese)cake!!!
This week, we chose to go to a Woodfield Mall restaurant that neither we nor our friends Tom and Marlene had ever been to for dinner. Somehow, we just never got around to trying one of The Cheesecake Factory chain establishments. This turned out to be one of the best decisions we’ve made as far as the many choices of restaurants we have to review.
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‘I’ll take one from column A …’
This week, we took a drive to try out the Chinese cuisine at the Gourmet House in Algonquin. We were joined by our friends and block neighbors, Doug and Dorothy. The restaurant is open, well lit, lightly decorated with modern touches, and the tables set and covered with white paper to maintain easy clean up.
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It’s all Greek to me!!!
This week, we ventured out and beyond Randall Road for dinner at Yanni’s Greek Restaurant. We were with Nick and Nancy, friends who now live in Michigan but were in town for their family picnic. We all love Greek food, and this turned out to be a great choice.
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Dining out with geezers: Chen’s Restaurant
This week’s review is of Chen’s Restaurant, located at 279 N. Randall Rd. in Lake in the Hills, actually just in front of Costco. This restaurant was just recently opened and is one of two under the same management, the other located in Crystal Lake. Visiting with us were fellow N-33 neighbors Kay Winklehake, Steve and Diane Hendrickson, and Mike and Emma Burns. We were seated promptly and greeted by our server, who took our drink orders. We ordered a few appetizers, all of which were very tasty and enjoyable, including Crab Rangoon (exceptional), Spring Rolls, King Egg Rolls, and Bar-B-Que Spare Ribs.
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Dining out with Geezers: Maciano’s
This week’s review is of Maciano’s Restaurant, located at 3091 US Rt. 20 in Elgin. It is just west of Randall Rd., on the south side of the road. This restaurant is one of 5 suburban Chicago family restaurants under this name.
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Dining Out With the Geezers: Moretti’s
This week’s review is on Moretti’s, located on Randall Road, just in front of Costco. Moretti’s is the current breed of family restaurant/sports bar with a diversified menu.
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Dining out with the Geezers: Georgia’s
This is a new and hopefully informative column written by residents for residents. Our columnists are not trained or paid professionals, nor do they get complimentary meals from the restaurants they visit. They arrive unannounced and do not reveal that they will be doing a review. The criteria for evaluating each dining experience will include the following: quality, variety offered, quantity of food vs. dollars spent, service, ambience, and desire to return. They will usually be accompanied by another couple whose opinion will be included in the evaluation.
