A Fireside lunch

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.

Being the consummate foodies that we are, there is a meat market on Route 47 in downtown Elburn that we love to take a road trip to. We usually have a few items on our shopping list, but we always wind up buying lots of other “necessities.” These include four different kinds of hot dogs, bratwurst, thuringer, and pre-made pork schnitzel which is to die for. This shopping spree usually works up quite an appetite, so we decided to go a little further to Sugar Grove to try the Fireside Grille.

You can easily spot the restaurant from Route 47, but getting into the parking lot is a different story. Right after you pass small driveways, naturally your GPS says, “turn here.” We finally figured out how to enter the parking lot, but then finding a parking spot was another challenge. This restaurant was really busy for a weekday lunch.

When you walk in, the bar is in the “center” of the restaurant. The dining area on the left can accommodate large parties, but the main dining room is on the right. There is a large stone fireplace in each dining area that you can sit, eat, and chat by, hence the name, Fireside Grille.

Before we looked at the menu, we were presented with a warm loaf of bread. This was served with both whipped butter and cinnamon whipped butter. This was a tasty morsel to stave off our hunger for a little while.

Today we were undecided whether to have an appetizer or dessert. Since I love my sweets, I checked out the desserts while Nancy checked out the appetizers. Shockingly, it was decided to order an appetizer. We decided on the Fireside Onion Petals ($11.99). This was basically an exploded Bloomin’ Onion that was delicious. It was not greasy and the accompanying Fireside sauce had just the right amount of heat. We wound up devouring all the petals, except for three.

Jim perused the lunch menu and finally decided on the French Onion Meatloaf ($14.99). Surprisingly, this turned out to be two large slices of meatloaf with a scoop of mashed potatoes on top, all drenched in French onion soup. The French onion soup made the dish exceptional. His entree came with either soup or salad. He decided to have a cup of chili as his side for a $2.50 upcharge. The chili was spicy, but a little too heavy on the cumin for his taste.

Nancy wanted to eat healthy today and decided to try the lunch Chicken Walnut Salad ($11.99). This was a broiled chicken breast served on top of fresh baby spinach, tossed with walnuts, golden raisins, dried cherries, tomatoes, and cucumbers. It was served with honey mustard vinaigrette dressing. Quickly jumping off the healthy band wagon, she asked to swap the grilled chicken for the broasted and the waiter accommodated her. The salad was delicious, but tomato and cucumbers in a spinach salad, really??? They should have nixed that and put in a hard-boiled egg. She brought half her salad home and will be making a hard-boiled egg for her leftover.

In conclusion, if you can find the Fireside Grille it will be worth it. Most of the tables and parking spots were taken when we arrived on a Thursday afternoon. This is always a good indication as to the caliber of the restaurant.

FYI: This restaurant is handicap accessible, and they are closed on Monday.

The price for a productive noon outing $50.99. Not bringing Rosie home a bone from the meat market, heartbreaking…

Jim’s take: I wish all restaurants would douse their meatloaf with French onion soup. The leftovers the next day were even better than the first time.

Nancy’s take: I ate healthy and naughty today at the same time. The waiter said “don’t worry, they cancel each other out.”

Have comments or restaurant suggestions for the Dining Duo? Send them an email at thediningduo@gmail.com.

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