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 My Sun Day News.
If you’re living in Del Webb and reading this, you’ll probably remember TV westerns from the 1950s to the early 1960s. There were such classics as Have Gun Will Travel, Bonanza, and the most iconic western of all, Gunsmoke. As it turns out, Jim and I are gradually turning into the characters on that show. We are constantly talking to a “Doc,” Jim is walking more and more like “Chester,” and every day I am looking more like “Miss Kitty.” In keeping with the TV western theme, we decided to hitch up the 189 “horse”-power mini-mobile and gallop off to Texas Roadhouse in Crystal Lake.
Texas Roadhouse
835 Cog Circle
Crystal Lake 60014
(815)356-7427
www.texasroadhouse.com
Directions: Take Rte. 47 North to Algonquin Road, East to Pyott (turn left) to Northwest Highway East to restaurant.
Estimated Travel Time: 24 minutes
The restaurant is “Texas” sized and looks just like the typical roadhouse you see in movies. There’s a bar in the center and surrounding it are high-top tables, regular tables, and booths aplenty. The western theme continues with stuffed critter heads adorning the rough-cut cedar walls.
On our way to our table, the hostess grabbed a basket of warm Parker House rolls with delicious honey cinnamon butter. This accompanied our bag of peanuts that was waiting at our table. This is another memory of days gone by when Shakey’s Pizza, the Ground Round, and Comeback Inn served peanuts and you threw the shells on the floor. We had to restrain ourselves so that we had room for our entrée.
Jim and I saw the Rattlesnake Bites ($9.99) and couldn’t resist. These were diced jalapenos and jack cheese rolled in a ball, lightly breaded and fried to a golden brown. This was served with a Cajun sauce for dipping. These were really yummy and had just the right amount of “bite” to them. Jim’s sweat head meter didn’t kick in with these.
The Texas Roadhouse offers an abundance of lunch specials. You get to pick from 11 entrees and two sides from several options. Nancy felt like she was in Texas and had to order a juicy steak, well done. She chose the “special” six-ounce sirloin with two sides ($13.99). She went with the house salad with honey mustard dressing. What made this salad so special was that they put hard-boiled egg, tomatoes, and croutons in it. For her second side she went with the seasoned rice. The steak being well-done was still juicy and tender and the rice was tasty. We both brought home half our meals in a doggie bag.
Jim has ordered a lot of different things in his life. He ate kangaroo in Australia, alligator in Florida, and caribou in Alaska, but never had what he ordered today, which was the Road Kill ($15.99). Fortunately, this turned out to be a chopped steak smothered with sauteed onions, sauteed mushrooms, and jack cheese. For his sides he also had the house salad with honey mustard dressing and buttered corn. The chopped steak actually looked like roadkill but was delicious. The toppings really made this dish. The buttered corn seemed like canned corn from the 1950s.
FYI: Check out their lunch specials (open for lunch Friday, Saturday, and Sunday at 11:00). This restaurant is handicap accessible.
We “ponied up” to settle our bill of $50.18. We still haven’t seen Festus Hagen, remember him from Gunsmoke? Bummer….
Jim’s take: The cheese, mushrooms, and onions were a great topping for the juicy chopped steak.
Nancy’s take: My only gripe was they could have seasoned my steak, next time I’ll add a side of grilled onions.
Have comments or restaurant suggestions for the Dining Duo? Send them an email at thediningduo@gmail.com.
