MY SUN DAY NEWS
March 13, 2014
Everyone becomes Irish around St. Patrick’s Day, and the Dining Duo is no exception!
In our never-ending quest to bring new and exciting culinary venues to our loyal readers, we went in search of a New York-style deli. The closest one for us to review was (this is really fun to say), Schmaltz Delicatessen in Naperville.
One Saturday, after talking about food for 27 minutes on our Huntley Community Radio Show, Jim and I were starving. Since Jim loves breakfast and I’m more of a lunch person, we compromised and visited Egg Harbor Cafe in Geneva which specializes in both.
You watched all of those football games this winter. Now, doesn’t your sweetie deserve a night out at a romantic restaurant for Valentine’s Day? And, no, you’re not too old for romance. An ideal spot is the Melting Pot Restaurant in Schaumburg.
Paul Bunyan had a Blue Ox named Babe but what exactly is a Red Ox, you ask? Turns out, it’s a restaurant in Hampshire. Many years ago, the owner’s father had an establishment in Elgin called the Blue Ox Restaurant, so the Red Ox is actually the son of the Blue Ox. Got it? I’m glad you do…
The holiday time is now upon us. It’s a time for awkward family dinners where verbal jabs are passed around like a bad green-bean casserole.
A long time ago (1989) in a suburb far, far away (Arlington Heights) there began a Rokbonki Japanese Steak, Seafood and Sushi House.
Jim grew up on the northwest side of Chicago and went to St. John Bosco Church. In case you didn’t know, this is the patron saint of chocolate syrup (Bosco syrup can still be purchased at Woodman’s grocers).
Nancy and I have a few “go-to” restaurants for special occasions or when we just want to splurge a little. Such an occasion was when we recently celebrated our 39th anniversary.
Who, in this duo, would order crab legs in a country tavern? If you guessed Jim, you were absolutely… …wrong! Try again. Jim and I miss the Dungeness crab legs at Niko’s Restaurant that was just outside of Sun City, so we decided to venture out to Woodstock and try Niko’s Red Mill Tavern.
One Sunday morning, Nancy and I decided to take her new Mini Cooper on a road trip to Lake Geneva. She actually let me drive it. Little did we know that they were celebrating Venetian Days, and the entire town was wall to wall people.
Anyone can cook bacon, eggs and toast – even Jim – that is why we are constantly scouting the area for a restaurant that serves “egg-citing” breakfast creations. It is for this reason that one Sunday morning we decided to visit Benedict’s Eggs and More in East Dundee.
On the recommendation of our friends Charles and Di (no, not those two), we headed out to the Schnitzel Platz Restaurant in Glendale Heights for an authentic German evening. Jim and Diane were really looking forward to it, since they are both of German descent.
One Saturday while Jim and I were doing our usual “Randall Road errands,” we noticed a storefront named Rice Fusion Sushi. Not having a clue as to what it was, we decided to investigate.
Every so often a girl just has to have some crab or lobster. One of my favorite places when I get such a notion is Bob Chinn’s Crab House in Wheeling. However, Jim doesn’t like to be shuffled from one line to another, as if he was in Disney World, just to get a table.
Kiku Sushi and Hibachi is a small Japanese restaurant located in a strip mall. To our surprise, it was actually three restaurants in one! It has hibachi grill tables (where they cook in front of you), a sushi bar (with adjoining booths), and a section for “kitchen entrees” (with tables and chairs).
There are a lot of Mexican restaurants around, but sadly, too few of them have both excellent food and authentic atmosphere. El Meson in Schaumburg is an exception to the rule.
Nothing says Father’s Day like cowboys and steak. We visited Donley’s Old West Steakhouse in Union with our own Wild West expert, Dr. Jim and his wife. He provided us with interesting historical snippets throughout the evening.
