A Mexican hat dance

They say variety is the spice of life. That is why when we do our articles, we don’t review Chinese, Chinese, Chinese, or Italian, Italian, Italian restaurants all in a row. We try to shake things up and spice it up. What better way to spice things up than with a Mexican restaurant. We accidentally came across the El Sombrero Mexican Restaurant in Fox River Grove and wanted to give it a try.

Deal of the decade

We’ve all seen those ads on Facebook. Everything looks good and the prices seem fantastic. Some are legitimate, and others not so much. Case in point, Nancy and I are still waiting for our wind chines we ordered from a third world nation three years ago. Because of this, we decided to take Facebook ads with a grain of salt. But, we saw an ad for a restaurant in Geneva offering a Five Course Meal on Monday or Tuesday for $25 for lunch, and $30 for dinner. Nancy is very “frugal” and said, “we can’t pass this one up, what have we got to lose???” So, on we went to the Portofino Trattoria.

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.

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.