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.
On a recent Saturday, our friends Steve & Deb came over for an afternoon of noshing and Sangria followed by local dining in the evening. Since they both love “bar food,” we decided to try D. C. Cobb’s in the historic Woodstock Square.
D. C. Cobb’s
226 Main Street
Woodstock, IL, 60098
(815)206-5580
www.dccobbs.net
Directions: Take 47 North to Lake Avenue, Left to Rte. 14, Right on Madison to Main Street
Travel time: 24 minutes
When we moseyed on in, we were reminded of a pub in downtown Chicago rather than a little suburban town. It is a very narrow restaurant with a 45-foot bar in the center and tables on either end. The restaurant has entrances on both Main Street and Benton Street. The Main Street side is not handicap accessible, but the Benton Street side is. The wooden tables and chairs are surrounded by exposed brick walls, and the ornate tin ceiling completes the Chicago ambiance.
We started off the evening with the “Fiery Devils” appetizer. Are you ready for this? They were lightly battered, deep-fried deviled eggs served with a spicy filling, bacon bits, and Sriracha sauce (6) for $9.00. With a bit of coaxing by us, our friends tried them and agreed they were different, delicious, but especially spicy for Deb’s palate.
Now comes the difficult part. You have to choose from 19 styles of burgers with such names as “The Groundhog,” “The Orson Welles,” “The Dick Tracey,” and “The Claussen” to name just a few. All of these burgers are served with a 10 ounce Black Angus patty for $10, or you can change your patty to a chicken breast or black bean veggie patty. For an up-charge you can have Grass Fed Beef (+$3), ground turkey (+$3), or ground buffalo (+$5).
If that’s not confusing enough, you also have to pick a side from 12 choices. A few examples are fries and coleslaw. The extravagant person can order fried pickle chips (+$2) or sweet potato tots (+$2).
Steve went for the “Hart Attack” (named after the owner Daniel Hart) with a Black Angus Beef patty. It was topped with pulled pork, Black Forest ham, onion strings, barbeque sauce, fried egg, and jalapenos served on a pretzel roll. Jim had the special of the evening called the Kimura Burger with the Black Angus Beef patty. It came layered with Black Forest ham, fire roasted red pepper, and some bacon wrapped, cream cheese stuffed Jalapenos for $13. His meal was accompanied by Mexican corn.
Since there had to be one surviving member from each couple, Deb and I both opted for the “exciting” Apple Pecan Salad ($12). The salad consisted of romaine lettuce, mixed greens, toasted pecans, sliced apples, Gorgonzola cheese and a chicken breast with a honey pecan vinaigrette dressing.
The restaurant serves 24 different beers on tap and they change them out every few days. If you are looking for a creative burger cooked to perfection and a cold beer served in a casual atmosphere, this is the place for you.
The price (not including our friends bill) for all of this waist expanding, artery clogging goodness was $41.80.
Jim’s take: They have the best burgers around! They were charred on the outside and juicy on the inside. When they say 10 ounces, they really mean 10 ounces. Don’t pass up the “Fiery Devils.”
Nancy’s take: The “Fiery Devils” sounded strange, but were surprisingly good. My salad was wonderful, but it was just WRONG in a place like this. I can’t wait for next week when Jim has to have his Cholesterol checked…. That should be good for at least 6 months of nagging!
Have comments or restaurant suggestions for the Dining Duo? Send them an email at thediningduo@gmail.com.
