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.
Just like clockwork, the deadline for our restaurant review approaches every two weeks. Honestly, this time we had nothing! Time to ask the fountain of all knowledge (not Nancy), we’re talking about Google. We searched restaurants near us and were treated to a list of culinary delights. This included such delicacies as burgers, hot dogs, sub sandwiches, and the all-encompassing chicken nugget emporiums. We kept expanding our search until something caught our eye in Lake Barrington. We decided the place we are going to review is the Wild Onion Brewery.
Wild Onion Brewery
22221 N. Pepper Road
Lake Barrington 60010
(847) 381-7308
onionbrewery.com
Directions: Take Rte. 47 South to I-90 East to Rte. 59 North to U.S. 14 West to Pepper Road North to restaurant.
Estimated Travel Time: 36 minutes
When you pull up to the restaurant, you are treated to what looks like a vine covered lodge. This theme is continued on the inside with beautiful wood beams, a huge stone fireplace, and creative lighting. Unlike most restaurants today, they divided the restaurant into small, cozy rooms and the acoustics were such that you can even carry on a conversation with the people at your table.
What really prompted us to go to the Wild Onion today was an appetizer we saw on their website. This mouth-watering selection was their Charcuterie Pretzel ($18). This was a soft pretzel surrounded by smoked gouda, sharp cheddar, and pepperjack cheeses, prosciutto, salami, chorizo sausage, black olives, Gerkin pickles, and served with a cup of brew pub mustard. When it arrived at the table, our mouths dropped. It was a ginormous “pret-zilla” and we both looked at each other and said in unison, “wow, this is going to be our meal.”
The warm pretzel with all the good stuff around it was absolutely delicious and fun to eat. Seriously, who doesn’t like a good charcuterie? The waitress kept checking on us and asking us if we were ready to order our entrées, and we kept saying give us a few more minutes. Finally, after devouring that entire appetizer (except for one small piece of the pretzel), we decided to switch to Plan B.
Plan A was for Jim to order the Brat Burger ($17) and I was going to have the Spicy Chicken Salad ($17). When our patient waitress returned, we sheepishly said, “Here’s the thing. We can’t believe we ate the whole charcuterie, so we’re just going to have a bowl of soup.” We all started laughing. Jim ordered the French Onion Soup ($9). This was the usual French onion soup with rye croutons with baked gooey cheese on top. I wanted to try a bowl of the Beer Cheese Soup ($7). It was the winner in soups today. It had croutons and scallions on top and it was the best beer cheese soup I’ve had in a long time.
We’re definitely going back and Jim’s goal is to eat that entire charcuterie pretzel all by himself as his entrée. I’m going back to try that spicy chicken salad. This place has everything. It has ambiance, good food, and there is also outdoor seating overlooking a pond. What more can you ask for?
FYI: This restaurant is handicap accessible.
The price for a “wild” lunch was $42.99, eating a “Pret-zilla”, priceless…
Jim’s take: I never met a charcuterie that I didn’t like.
Nancy’s take: I took half of my soup home and the remaining piece of the pretzel to dip in my leftover soup. Yum…
Have comments or restaurant suggestions for the Dining Duo? Send them an email at thediningduo@gmail.com
