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.
If you’ve lived in the Northwest Suburbs for any length of time, you probably know of the Port Edward Restaurant in Algonquin. This has been a landmark in the community for 53 years and counting. What you may not know is that they offer an extensive Sunday Brunch from 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Port Edward Restaurant
20 W. Algonquin Road
Algonquin 60102
(847)658-5441
www.portedward.com
Directions: Take Rte. 47 North to Algonquin Road, East to restaurant.
Estimated Travel Time: 22 minutes
When we arrived at our port of call, we were amazed to see how busy it was. We had to paddle around the parking lot repeatedly before we found an open slip to moor the Dining Duo Mini-Yacht. Because the restaurant is so large, their parking lot has a hard time accommodating all the cars at their peak brunch time, so be forewarned.
In the restaurant, there are several levels of dining, each with varying degrees of handicap accessibility. Dining Duo Tip: When making reservations, be certain to ask for the “new deck” seating. It is handicap accessible and right by the buffet tables.
This is a champagne brunch, and Mimosas can easily be made with the orange juice at the starting line of your seafood feast.
Now let the Brunch Regatta begin. We will attempt to list most of the items contained in the buffet, but honestly, if we were to list them all, this article would be two pages long. Let’s start with the cold foods first. They had deviled eggs, peel and eat shrimp (the tastiest Nancy has ever had), oysters, and cold snow crab clusters.
Now for the hot seafood. They had fried shrimp, snow crab clusters (served by a very generous chef), and a Paella dish with mussels. This was followed by a carving station which had ham, bacon, and London Broil with mushrooms. They also had clam chowder and conch chowder soup (try the conch chowder, you’ll like it).
On to the breakfast items. They had a complete omelet station, waffles, pancakes, blintzes with fruit topping, scrambled eggs, sausage, bagels, octopus cerviche, and lox with all the trimmings.
You can almost see the finish line as you head for the desserts. They had an assortment of fresh fruit, Petit fours, danishes, and warm rice pudding. Next to that were white chocolate and milk chocolate fountains. Jim spent a lot of time showering his bacon with milk chocolate. Again, try it – you’ll like it. Next to the fountains were an assortment of dipping items for the chocolate like marshmallows and pretzels to name a few. Next to this station was the apple and orange juice dispensers where I spent a lot of time since I love Mimosas.
You can get this “catch of the day” for a mere $37 per person. This treasure of a brunch would even make King Neptune happy!
The television show “Check Please” gave this restaurant a “5 Cork” rating, and we would have to agree with them. All of the food brought out to the buffet is served under the watchful eye of the roving manager. Considering what you get, the brunch is a deal. Nancy can attest to the never ending flow of champagne since she was quite “bubbly” when we left the restaurant.
Jim’s take: There was something there to satisfy everyone. The rice pudding was a fantastic treat and you haven’t lived until you’ve tried chocolate covered bacon.
Nancy’s take: Something about those peel and eat shrimp that kept me going back for more. They were really tasty.
Have comments or restaurant suggestions for the Dining Duo? Send them an email at thediningduo@gmail.com.
