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.
If you know Nancy, you will agree that she is known for her soft spoken, calm demeanor (NOT)!!! This was evident one day when she was in her kitchen cleaning up after lunch. Looking under the sink she noticed a puddle of water where there shouldn’t be one. She got hysterical and immediately started putting up the yellow “caution” tape around the perimeter of her kitchen. This was mainly due to the fact that she didn’t want me to touch anything. Let me explain. Years ago, I attempted to fix a leaky kitchen faucet and it dripped for weeks, screwing up the bottom of all the cabinets. We wound up calling a plumber, and he fixed it in ten minutes. Because of that incident, she thought it would be better to buy a new faucet and have it professionally installed.
Kobe Japanese Steakhouse
209 S. Randall Road
Algonquin 60102
(847) 854-9987
www.kobe4u.com
Directions: Take Rte. 47 North to Algonquin Road, East to Randall Road, South to restaurant.
Estimated Travel Time: 18 minutes
Jim and I spent the rest of the afternoon looking at hundreds of faucets. Remember, we are talking about my domain. After a while, I was totally spent. I have trouble deciding what flavor of ice cream to get when there are 31 choices, much less, which scoop goes on top, and which scoop goes on the bottom. We were getting hangry and in need of some food and entertainment. Since we were driving up and down Randall Road all afternoon, we decided to drop in to Kobe Japanese Steakhouse in Algonquin for dinner.
When we walked in, the hostess asked if we wanted to sit at a hibachi table. We said “yes” and were seated at one of the six hibachi cooking stations. They also have numerous tables for either sushi or kitchen food. The restaurant decór was okay, but in our opinion, it needed a little sprucing up.
NOTE: To eat at the hibachi cooking tables there has to be at least two people in your party who orders hibachi entrees.
Nancy loves the Shrimp and Scallop Combo when she goes to any hibachi restaurant, and today was no exception. This entree was $26 and came with a shrimp appetizer, onion soup, noodles, white rice, and vegetables. For a $1.50 upcharge, you can have chicken fried rice instead of the white rice, and that’s what she went with.
Jim tried something new today. He went with the Ginger Teriyaki Steak Dinner ($23). This was served with the same sides as my dinner, and he also had the chicken fried rice for the $1.50 upcharge.
We were served three dipping sauces: Ginger, Maryann, and Lovie Howell. Oops, I got off track. It came with ginger, creamy horseradish, and hot mustard. I liked them all, but Nancy skipped the ginger and asked for teriyaki instead. Her favorite was the creamy horseradish and mine was the hot mustard. The onion soup with fine noodles tasted like chicken soup with a mild onion flavor. The ginger salad dressing had a sweetness to it that we both liked. The hibachi vegetables consisted of zucchini, carrots, broccoli, and onions. Our chef grilled them to perfection, but of course, Nancy had to have it her way, and asked that he hold the zucchini.
My shrimp and scallops were tasty, and I even brought some home for a snack. Jim’s steak was tender and the strips of ginger added to the flavor. The chicken fried rice and noodles were also very tasty. I even created a new concoction with my creamy horseradish sauce for the noodles, and it was yummy.
As you all know, Nancy doesn’t like dessert, but that didn’t stop me. I went with the Tempura Ice Cream ($4.50). This was a snowball-sized scoop of ice cream deep fried with a tempura coating, and served with whip cream. I chose vanilla ice cream, which Nancy doesn’t like. I am not as dumb as I look! This was an awesome dessert.
FYI: This restaurant is handicap accessible.
The restaurant served tasty food, and the entertainment took our minds off of our kitchen woes. Not a bad way to leave your troubles behind.
The price for dinner and a show was $66.42. The price for the plumber, to be determined…
Jim’s take: The ginger teriyaki steak was a new treat and so was the tempura ice cream. I thought Nancy’s noodle concoction tasted horrible.
Nancy’s take: I like fried rice better without chicken in it. Jim had to order vanilla ice cream, he’s so mean, I wanted chocolate, even though I don’t eat dessert.
Have comments or restaurant suggestions for the Dining Duo? Send them an email at thediningduo@gmail.com.
