Staff/Contact Info Advertise Classified Ads Submission Guidelines

 

MY SUN DAY NEWS

Proudly Serving the Community of
Sun City in Huntley
 
News & Features Columnists Editorials Hang Your Hat Obituaries My Huntley News

October 8, 2026

Jim & Nancy Eggers

An industrial cafe

Our process for choosing restaurants to review is very complex. We see ads on Facebook, we receive recommendations from our loyal readers, and we google like crazy. But when all is said and done, the restaurant is decided by whatever Jim and I have a taste for. Jim has been whining for days wanting to go to a place for breakfast food. I spotted on Facebook a café in McHenry that serves breakfast and lunch, so off we went to Kim and Patty’s Café.

CRAZY COUSINS

Jim and I are big fans of bocce ball. It is the only sport Jim doesn’t totally suck at. Nothing matches the thrill of seeing the bocce ball zig zag its way down our newly renovated bocce courts. It is also a great time to relax and chat between throws with friends and neighbors. During a recent game, our friend Lucy nonchalantly mentioned that her son and his two cousins own a Mexican restaurant. We told Lucy we would like to review it, and she said she hoped it would be a good review. That’s when Jim said, “it depends how well you play today.” Only kidding… We checked their menu online and a few days later we ventured out to Primos Locos in Elmhurst.

MAMA MIA, PASTA MIA

Ads that you see on social media are like betting in Las Vegas. Everything looks good on the internet until you “throw the dice.” Sometimes you win, and sometimes you lose. It’s a real “crap shoot.” We were very skeptical since we’ve been burned in the past, with restaurants that looked totally different when we went there. We found a restaurant that we thought was a sure “bet” because it had an item on the menu that Nancy hasn’t had in 40 years, a deep-fried panzerotti. With this in mind, we decided to “roll the dice” and head out to Pasta Mia Pizzeria and Pastaria in Bartlett.

Move over Chicago

There is a very famous high-end restaurant in Chicago called Girl and the Goat. You may have seen the chef/owner Stephanie Izard on numerous shows on the Food Network. Well, move over Stephanie, Chicago’s got nothing on us northwest suburbanites. Behold, The Chick and the Pig in Algonquin.

What’s old is new again

There is a Mexican restaurant we have gone to for quite a while and we reviewed it three years ago. Suddenly the restaurant was closed for “remodeling” and we were thinking the worst. Lo and behold, we heard it had new owners, was completely remodeled, and is now even open for breakfast. We are talking about El Molino Mexican Restaurant in Carpentersville.

You asked for it

Everywhere we went, people seemed to be coming out of the woodwork asking us if we’ve tried a new eatery in town. They all were bragging on how delicious it was, so much in fact, that they have been to it several times. We have never had so many people recommend a venue before. As a result, we moved this eatery to the top of our “to do list” and rushed off to Huntley’s Deli in, where else, Huntley.

Suzaku field forever

Ahhhh, the circle of life. Restaurants close and new ones sprout up. This simple fact has allowed us to bore you with our reviews for the last 14 years. Nancy needed a piece of jewelry repaired, so we ventured out on Randall Road and lo and behold, what used to be Georgia’s Restaurant has been transformed into Suzaku Field Sushi Restaurant in Algonquin.

Crazy for coupons

Nancy is crazy for coupons. Everybody knows that if you buy something you don’t need but you have a coupon for it, you’re saving money. She has saved us so much money over the years, we should be filthy rich! Nancy found in our mailbox the weekly sales flyers and in it was an envelope which contained a coupon for a local restaurant. We did hear good things about it, so we couldn’t afford not to go. We grabbed our coupon and with dollar signs in our eyeballs, we hurried off to The Annex Restaurant and Lounge in Lake in the Hills.

No soup for you

It’s that time of year again, when a trip to our ophthalmologist is necessary. My arms weren’t long enough for me to read a book. Jim’s eyes are so bad (How bad are they?), when he went to take Rosie for a walk, he put her harness on backwards and couldn’t figure out why she only had one eye! After our examinations, we hurried off to get our new frames and lenses. Sparing no expense, we went to Sam’s Club. All of this activity worked up quite an appetite so we decided to stop at a nearby restaurant called Around the Clock Restaurant and Bakery in Crystal Lake.

“UMI,” OH MY

Nancy’s hip replacement is now ancient history. Despite the best efforts of a local hospital, she is now doing really well. While she was rehabbing, her physical therapist recommended a buffet style restaurant. Since Nancy no longer requires a cane, she was free to run around the buffet grabbing copious amounts of food with both hands. The restaurant he recommended was one that has two of Nancy’s weakness’, shrimp and crab. With empty tummies we ventured out to Umi Sushi and Seafood Buffet in Niles.

Facebook farce

Jim has been bugging me to try a restaurant for months now that he repeatedly saw on a Facebook ad. He said it looked really good, and the owner owns a farm nearby and they offer farm to table ingredients. I wasn’t too excited about the restaurant, but I finally gave in since we had to make a stop at the DMV which was nearby. So, with high hopes we made our way to Isabel’s Family Restaurant in Woodstock.

Rattlesnakes and roadkill

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.

CH, CH, CH, CHEO’S…

We always appreciate recommendations from our loyal readers. We recently received a letter from Michael telling us about one of his favorite Mexican restaurants, Cheo’s House Mexican Family Restaurant in Bartlett. Since we had a taste for Mexican food, off we went.

Say cheese!

Nancy has been having an intense craving for a good burger. Believe it or not, she heard that Applebee’s has added some very creative burgers to their menu. She suggested to me that we give it a try. I, being the restaurant snob that I am, reluctantly agreed. Years ago, Applebee’s was in every neighborhood. Now not so much. As luck would have it, there is one on Randall Road in Elgin. We decided to give it a try and headed out with visions of hamburgers dancing in Nancy’s blonde head.

R2-‘YU’ 2

Nancy is now in the preparation stage for her hip replacement surgery. Among other things, she cooks like a mad woman and freezes delicious dinners to enjoy while convalescing. This results in a huge shopping list of vegetables needed to prepare her dinners. Since any produce you buy in the Huntley area has a shelf life of a day and a half, we made the trip to Hoffman Estates where there is a huge produce market on Roselle Road that she loves to shop at. As long as we are out there, what else could we do but stop for lunch. We decided on Yu’s Mandarin in Schaumburg.

Hip, hip hooray

As we travel through life, the causes for celebration change through the years. When you are young, you celebrate such occasions as graduating college, getting married, and the birth of a child. When you reach the “golden” years, you celebrate such things as getting a ten-percent senior discount, solving a puzzle on Wheel of Fortune, and being able to tie your own shoes.

Nancy had a reason to celebrate recently when she was cleared for surgery to have her hip replaced. She has waited months due to health reasons. What better way to build up her strength than with a nice juicy steak. She limped into the Mini-Mobile and we sped off to the Stoney River Steakhouse and Grill in Deer Park.

Something in the air

Cabin fever is at an all-time high this year. If it’s not the snow, it’s the bitter cold keeping us in. Even poor Rosie has learned to do her “business” outside in record time so as not to spot weld herself to the ground. In one of the rare breaks in the weather, we bundled up and high tailed it out to Woodstock to the Green Garden Chinese Restaurant for a nice Chinese meal.

Pizza, pizza

Jim grew up on the northwest side of Chicago. It was an Italian/Polish neighborhood and his family was the token Germans they allowed in. As a result of this ethnic rich neighborhood, he grew up with the best food in the world. He didn’t have to look far to find a great pizza joint. Then he met me, a suburban girl, and he had to share with me Chicago’s culinary delights. One of my favorite places was Leona’s on Irving Park Road.

We were surprised when we found out that there was a Leona’s pizzeria in McHenry. We decided to fire up the “Way Back Machine” and go back in time for a good Chicago pizza.

From one extreme to another

The holidays are finally over. Thank goodness the family gatherings are done for another year. All that is left is memories of the spirited dinner table discussions and thoughts of all the wonderful gifts. In all fairness, we should talk, since Rosie has an overflowing toy box already, we wrapped up her dog treats and told her Santa brought them. The best gift we received was a solid glass paperweight with a real crab encased inside. Needless to say, we decided to join the pajama clad, over caffeinated, exhausted people during the after Christmas rush and return this magnificent gift from whence it came and possibly get something else in exchange. To keep our strength up for this endeavor, we Googled restaurants in the Schaumburg area and found something interesting. This family-owned restaurant is JoJo’s Diner.

2025 B.E.L.C.H. awards

Time really does fly by. It seems like only yesterday Nancy was careening out of Skip’s Drive-In in her Ford XL with a 429 cu. in. engine and drag racing down North Avenue. I was in a garage band playing all the high school sock-hops on the northwest side of Chicago. All of a sudden, cars are electric and people now listen to music with their phones and ear buds. But let’s not dwell on the good old days. Another year has gone by, and it’s time for our annual top ten winners of the coveted B.E.L.C.H. Awards (Best Eating Locations Close to Huntley).

A royal feast

Nancy has been having a taste for some crab legs. They seem to be getting harder and harder to find, and when you do find them, you have to get a home equity loan to pay for dinner. She remembers that back in our hometown of Hoffman Estates there was a seafood buffet that somehow was overlooked by us. So, with high hopes and empty tummies, we decided to finally try the Royal Sushi and Seafood Buffet.

Let’s go Dutch

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.

Like grandma used to make

A senior citizen’s sleeping habits are very strange indeed. You wake up at the butt crack of dawn and fall asleep right after Wheel of Fortune. Even when you are sleeping, your bladder decides to wake you up, or your brain suddenly remembers something you were trying to think of two days ago. Such was the case when Jim woke up screaming the name of a restaurant that we haven’t been to in over 25 years. The name in this sudden epiphany was Tony Spavone’s Ristorante in Bloomingdale, so off we went for a late lunch.

A Huntley trifecta

People say we should review restaurants in Huntley. Be careful what you wish for, as you will soon see. Most suburbs have icons which differentiate them from their surrounding suburbs. Schaumburg has Woodfield, Rosemont has the Chicago Dogs Baseball Stadium, and even Berwyn has Svengoolie. We were wracking our brains on what Huntley could be famous for, then suddenly, it dawned on us.

A brunch prescription

Let’s be honest, retirement isn’t what we thought it would be. Most of your free time is taken up by doctor appointments. Let us walk you through what making a typical doctor appointment entails. First you call the office, navigate through the phone system, finally get a real person to talk to, and make an appointment months in advance. Then you wait… Two weeks before your appointment you get a phone call telling you to check your email which tells you to check your text which tells you to confirm your appointment. Aren’t the golden years wonderful?

Octoberfest flop

Life is full of many mysteries. What is jumbo shrimp? What are chicken fingers? Why does Octoberfest fall in September? I guess we’ll never know. Even though Nancy makes excellent German food, such as rouladens, spaetzle, and has a dynamite recipe for red cabbage, we still wanted to go to a German restaurant and celebrate Octoberfest in September. We donned our lederhosen, jumped into our German car, and headed off to Schnitzel Platz in Glendale Heights.

Meal of the century

We all have to agree this has been a very hot and humid summer. Now that the temperatures are starting to cool, we jumped right past Halloween and started to think about repairing our Christmas decorations. This entails days and days of removing strands of old lights on our wire frame decorations and adding new ones with the help of zip ties and a hot glue gun. Rosie is still spitting out chewed up zip ties. We were tired and hangry and decided to go to an old restaurant that has been around for over 100 years. This is Art and Alma’s Century Inn in Burlington.

The Eggers go to Eggville

Off we went to get our fill, to a restaurant in Cary that’s called Eggville. (Dr. Seuss, eat your heart out)!!!

Treat yourself

Our little puppy, Rosie, is rapidly approaching her second birthday. We can’t believe how fast time flies; it seems like only yesterday she was a one-and-one-half pound furball. She is now tipping the scale at a whopping eight pounds, but still has that puppy energy. Those who see her walking Jim down the sidewalk will know what we mean. Even the mailman knows her as “that crazy dog.” One of the neighbors, Bob, comes out to play with her and brings a fistful of dog treats. So, in honor of her second birthday, and the fact that we survived the two years, we wanted to treat ourselves to a nice dinner.