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.
We just returned from ten wonderful days in Aruba, which, if you don’t know, is a Dutch island in the southern Caribbean. The weather was gorgeous and believe it or not, they have some of the best restaurants we have ever been to. When we came home, we were still in a Dutch state of mind and thought of a Dutch pancake that Jim makes for me at home. To give him a day off, we remembered that Richard Walkers Pancake House in Crystal Lake offers the same thing and off we went.
Richard Walker’s Pancake House
5680 Northwest Highway
Crystal Lake 60014
(815) 479-9000
richardwalkers.com
Directions: Take 47 North to Algonquin Road, East to Pyott (turn left) to Northwest Highway, East to restaurant.
Estimated Travel Time: 24 minutes
After parking our car, I knew we were in the right place. I looked at Jim with his nose stuck up in the air like the dog in the commercials heading for the door saying, “bacon, bacon, bacon.”
As you enter, you wonder if you are in the right place. It doesn’t look like your run of the mill breakfast establishment. Instead, it is richly decorated with wooden accents and stained glass. It is a large restaurant, but the high-backed booths and the cleverly placed walls give it a “homey” feel.
Nancy again found the world’s most exciting sandwich on their menu and went crazy and ordered the Turkey Club ($17.95). It comes with fries or fruit and she threw caution to the wind and traded out the fries for crispy hash browns. I know this sandwich makes her happy, but seriously, it’s a turkey club, and there are more exciting dishes on the menu to choose from. When her meal arrived, she was salivating. The turkey club was stacked high with turkey and she also was impressed by the heaping side dish of hash browns. She loves their bacon and said this meal was a real deal. Now she’s in her happy place.
Jim went with the Dutch theme and ordered the Dutch Harvest Pancake ($18.95). This unique pancake was topped with fresh broccoli, onion, tomato, mushrooms, and Havarti cheese from Denmark. To counteract all those healthy veggies, he also ordered a side of bacon ($9.50 for three strips). Please note that all of their baked pancake specialties take 20 minutes to prepare. He said the pancake was well worth the wait, it was delicious. They weren’t skimpy with the ingredients either. He ordered a cup of coffee ($5.25) to go along with his breakfast.
Okay. Let’s step back and look at this for a minute. We paid $18.95 for a pancake, $9.50 for three strips of bacon, $5.25 for a cup of coffee which comes to a grand total of $33.70 for breakfast for one person. You have got to be kidding!!! Honestly, we should have looked closer at the menu, but we never dreamt that a side of bacon and a cup of coffee would cost as much as an entrée. We must admit the pancake was delicious, especially if you get salsa on the side. The bacon must have been from an award-winning pig to cost that much and Juan Valdez must have personally delivered the coffee beans.
In conclusion, we noticed a growing trend with restaurants. They keep the entrees more reasonable and make a killing on the appetizers, sides, and drinks. It won’t take long, and people will catch on. We know what goes into that Dutch Harvest pancake since Jim makes them for me, and trust us when we say, in our opinion someone is getting rich. In their defense, the coffee had free refills, LOL.
FYI: This restaurant is handicap accessible.
The “sticker shock” price for a simple brunch was $56.04, and Nancy only had water. Getting ripped off in our opinion, bummer…
Jim’s take: That bacon was absolutely delicious for $3.17 a strip, mmm, mmm, good…
Nancy’s take: My sandwich was a deal, compared to Jim’s gourmet priced meal.
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