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.
Since we are retired and have the word “sucker” tattooed across our foreheads, we volunteer for everything and have absolutely no free time. We checked our calendar and to our amazement, we found a day with no appointments. With this new found free time, what is the number one choice for a senior mental health day? Going for lunch and to a casino!!! Some of you may not realize that there is a new Hard Rock Casino being built a stone’s throw away in Rockford at the site of the Old Clock Tower Inn. While this in under construction, a temporary location is open in a strip mall right down the street. Upon further investigation, we discovered a restaurant which caught our attention while Googling restaurants near the casino and found the Stone Eagle Tavern.
Stone Eagle Tavern
6445 E. State Street
Rockford 61108
(815) 316-3636
stoneeagletavern.com
Directions: Take Rte. 47 South to (-90 West to State Street, West to restaurant.
Estimated Travel Time: 35 minutes
The name Stone Eagle comes from the giant stone eagles in front of the restaurant. This was a hint of the décor on the inside. If you have never visited this restaurant, there are motorcycles hanging on the walls, African shields and spears, and assorted stuffed critter heads staring down at you.
We set our sights on a couple of appetizers that contained crab. Since Jim is allergic to fish, we have to always make sure the restaurant uses real crab. To our dismay, our waitress sheepishly informed us that it was Surimi, not real crab. So we nixed an appetizer and went straight to the entrees.
Nancy felt devilish today and went with the Devil’s on Horseback ($24.99) for her entree. This was herb marinated shrimp wrapped in bacon then broiled in a smokey bourbon glaze served over rice with your choice of one of six sides and soup or salad with a parmesan crusted roll. Nancy chose salad with their homemade garlic ranch dressing. Her side choice was candied brussels sprouts. She asked the waitress if she could have onion strings instead of the rice and that was not a problem. She got it her way. What arrived were six medium devilishly delicious shrimp on top of onion strings. It was a wickedly awesome meal.
My big piggy saw the Three Little Pig’s Sandwich ($19.99) and had to try it. This was sliced ham (first pig), creamy Swiss cheese, sweet maple bacon (second pig), a skillet fried egg, and hand breaded fried pork tenderloin (third pig), all between a brioche butter toasted bun. He chose French fries for his side. What arrived was an unbelievable sandwich with a pork tenderloin that was twice the size of the bun. The menu stated that Anthony Bourdain declared this the greatest sandwich he ever tasted and he was right!!! Half of his sandwich came home to be enjoyed on another day.
Nancy spotted her favorite dessert of all time, Beignets ($6.99). Since we didn’t have an appetizer, we had to go for this dessert. These were five evil little fried French doughnuts topped with powdered sugar, whipped cream, and a chocolate drizzle. They were served warm, crunchy on the outside, and not a hint of grease. Nancy turned into a little piggy and ate two of them. The woman who never likes dessert had a change of heart.
Dining Duo Tip: Every Wednesday from 3-9 p.m., Stone Eagle offers all you can eat baby back ribs for $22.95. Sounds like a deal to us.
FYI: This restaurant is handicap accessible.
To sum this up, Rockford is not that far and this is a great place that is worth the trip. Being close to a casino doesn’t hurt.
The cost for our free day was $67.70. Money lost at the casino, OUCH…
Jim’s take: All the items on that sandwich worked together perfectly. It really was a treat.
Nancy’s take: The beignets were as good as the one’s we had in New Orleans at Café Du Monde, yum…
Have comments or restaurant suggestions for the Dining Duo? Send them an email at: thediningduo@gmail.com
