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.
Every winter Jim orders a cord of firewood for our fireplace to help us get through the dark, cold months ahead. An easier way to tide yourself over is to grab dinner at the Firewood Restaurant and Sports lounge in McHenry.
To complicate things, the restaurant is actually “two, two, two places in one.” Don’t make the same mistake we did by going into the front entrance, which is the sports lounge. Instead, drive around to the side of the building where the restaurant entrance is. When we entered, we were expecting a sporty casual atmosphere. To our surprise, what we saw instead was an inviting stone fireplace, a stone-wall water feature and mahogany wood accents throughout.
To start off our cozy evening, Jim wanted to try the house made Pretzel Nuggets ($9) served with a mustard cheese sauce. They were hot, tasty, and the mustard added a little zip to the cheese.
Firewood Restaurant & Sports Lounge
2314 W. Route 120
McHenry 60051
(815)578-9400
www.fwgrill.com
Directions: Take 47 North to 176 East to Route 31 North to Route 120 East over the river to restaurant.
Estimated Travel Time: 37 minutes
We didn’t come here on a whim, Nancy found out they had one of the few remaining salad bars in the area. This was included with all the dinner entrees and a $4 up-charge with sandwich orders. There were two soups to choose from, a varied assortment of salad fixings as well as coleslaw, macaroni salad, beets, peaches, and chocolate pudding. One unusual item was the diced chicken. If you just wanted the soup and salad bar ($8.50), you could make a meal of a chicken Caesar salad and soup to boot!
For those of you who haven’t seen Nancy at a salad bar, her plate is a sight to behold. It is piled higher than you would think is humanly possible with every vegetable. It is then topped with a mountain of croutons, and held together with a creamy salad dressing. This precarious dish immediately falls apart with the first forkful and it’s fun to watch her try to gather up the “runaways.”
On to the meal… Nancy ordered the Shrimp “Dijon” (sic) for $20.95, which consisted of eight shrimp sautéed in a lemon buttery sauce and topped with a garlic panko parmesan crust and served with rice and veggies. As usual, Nancy substituted her now infamous double-dipped fries (extra crunchy) for the rice.
Jim had the Firewood Sirloin Steak ($19). This 10 ounce steak was served with veggies and potato, which he changed to onion straws for a $1 up-charge and he added the sautéed fungi for $2 more.
Their extensive menu includes everything from burgers to pizzas to tacos to seafood to steak. Their rotisserie creations, especially their roasted duck, are considered to be their signature dishes.
FYI: Handicap accessible.
SENIOR DISCOUNTS: 20% off all day Monday, 10% off Tuesday through Friday 3:00 – 5:00 p.m.
Jim’s take: I didn’t go there for the salad bar, but I have to admit the homemade Thousand Island Dressing was great. The onion straws went perfectly with the steak and a deal for only a $1 up-charge.
Nancy and I are planning to stop in for lunch to graze on their soup and salad bar.
Nancy’s take: Naturally, I went for the salad bar and ordered whatever I had to so I could get it. I enjoyed it thoroughly, thank you very much! I took home the shrimp for my Monday lunch. I’m going back with Jim for some lunch time grazing. Yum….
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