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.
Purchasing tickets for Bingo in Del Webb is akin to planning a secret military operation in a Third World Country. You have to get up at the butt crack of dawn, have all the troops for your table assembled and ready, and all paperwork must be filled out with your I.D. card and money in hand. Now your platoon sits in line patiently as the drill sergeant barks out orders while awaiting the signal to storm the Cam Desk. To ease the tension of the impending battle, one often engages in strategic conversation with your comrades in arms. At this point, our Breakfast Bureau Chief, Ronnie, told us about Georgia’s Restaurant in Algonquin. We vowed that if we were to survive this mission, we would go check it out.
We arrived at the restaurant, walked in, and were surprised by two things. The first being how large the restaurant was, and secondly, that the restaurant was beautifully decorated. If you look closely, you could see that even the wall in the kitchen was done in glass tile which is a far cry from what we normally see in restaurants.
Georgia’s Restaurant
1470 S. Randall Road
Algonquin 60102
(224)333-0695
www.georgiaspancakehouse.com
Directions: Take Rte. 47 North to Algonquin, East to Randall Road, South to restaurant
Estimated Travel Time: 17 minutes
They are open seven days a week from 6:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and offer a huge menu. It is handicap accessible with an equal assortment of booths and tables.
Now for the good stuff. Since we arrived at 11 a.m., Nancy decided on lunch. She spotted one of her guilty pleasures on the menu. This was a good old-fashioned Patty Melt ($8.99) served on rye bread, or so the menu said. All sandwiches come with one of several possible sides: fries, coleslaw, soup, or salad, and Nancy chose the fries, extra crunchy, of course. The waitress informed us that today Nancy gets a complimentary cup of soup. She went with the French Onion and was then told for a $1 up-charge she could have it baked with melted cheese. When it arrived, she was shocked to find out she got a bowl of soup. It was tasty, but she couldn’t figure out why in the world they would put cilantro in French onion soup. Nancy got another surprise when her Patty Melt arrived. It was served on marble rye, not rye bread as the menu stated. We hate to be picky, but a patty melt, in our humble opinion, should be served on good old-fashioned grilled rye bread.
Jim went south of the border today with Tasha’s Taco’s ($8.99). Believe it or not this was a breakfast consisting of chorizo, scrambled eggs, onions, jalapenos, and cheese served in a soft taco shell with hash browns on the side. He said it was delicious, but be forewarned, it earned a solid 7 on Jim’s “sweat head meter.”
To sum it up, this is a very nice place for breakfast and Jim was clearly the winner today! His portion was huge and he took one taco home in a doggie bag. In fact, we noticed a lot of people leaving with doggie bags.
The total bill for our brunch was $25.30. We mentioned that we were senior citizens and after the shocked expression left the hostess’ face, she agreed to give us a discount. We don’t know what the discount percentage is, but we’ll take anything we can get. Our bill then went to $23.36. Be sure to ask for your senior discount when you go.
Jim’s take: I really liked my choice, and I had a snack the next morning. The heat did calm down when it was reheated.
Nancy’s take: My soup would have been great if not for that darn cilantro. I hate cilantro. Patty Melts belong on rye bread, people!
Have comments or restaurant suggestions for the Dining Duo? Send them an email at thediningduo@gmail.com.
