Going old school

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.

Lately, Jim and I have been reviewing restaurants that cater to senior citizens. Because of this, we received a letter from one of our loyal readers recommending an “old school” favorite. With empty stomachs and pockets to match, we took our reader’s advice and decided to try Andy’s Restaurant in Crystal Lake.

Parking can be misleading. There is, of course, street parking, but if you read the signs closely, the lots on either side of the restaurant are available for Andy’s Restaurant customers.

FYI: The restaurant hours are not exactly “old school.” They are closed on Mondays. Tuesday through Thursday, along with Saturday and Sunday, they are open from 7 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. On Fridays they are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. with a Friday night fish fry. This restaurant is handicap accessible.

Jim’s eyes immediately went to the senior menu. All senior entrees ($14.99) are served with a cup of soup or salad, choice of potato, and ice cream or tapioca pudding for dessert. He again passed over the ever popular sauteed liver and onions. Why is that on most senior menus? Is liver and onions a staple of their diets? Maybe it is good for you, after all, they are seniors and living to a ripe old age. I digress…He chose the Broiled 8-ounce Chop Steak. This is topped with grilled onions and au jus. He went with the cream of chicken soup and mashed potatoes with gravy. The soup was thick and creamy and the entrée was very good. He chose corn for his veggie and it was also “old school.” It tasted just like mom used to make, straight from the can.

Nancy will not admit she’s a senior unless it saves her money, and in this case it didn’t. She found the 21 Shrimp Basket on the daily special’s menu ($14.99) and thought it was a deal. She chose a salad with creamy garlic dressing, of course, and fries came with her basket. The shrimp were medium sized and tasty. She came up with a good idea. She said, “let’s have surf and turf and split our meals and enjoy the best of both worlds.”

We spotted Potato Pancakes (3 for $3.99) on the menu and took a chance and ordered them. These were not “old school.” They were more like a cross between hash browns and mashed potatoes smashed into a patty and fried. These were not what we were hoping for, so we didn’t finish them.

I never realized when Nancy said, “let’s split the meals,” she included my dessert. When I ordered chocolate ice cream, Nancy said “no, why don’t we get spumoni?” I looked at her and said, “what do you mean we?” Of course, the waitress brought over a dish of spumoni with two spoons. We found out it was Blue Bunny spumoni and now we are on a quest to find it at the grocery store since it was so good.

They offer a lot of “old school” favorites on their menu. Remember the Francheezie? This was the deep fried jumbo hot dog stuffed with American cheese and wrapped with bacon. It’s on their menu for $10.99.

The price for our going “old school” was $44.12. Not eating liver and onions, priceless…

Jim’s take: I liked Nancy’s idea about splitting our meals, except for splitting the dessert!

Nancy’s take: I enjoyed my idea since I wasn’t going to get a dessert with my meal, this was the next best thing!

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

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