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 Friday after a taxing, strenuous round of bocce ball, a few of us seasoned athletes get together and go out for lunch. After playing three challenging games and being physically and emotionally drained from either the thrill of victory or the agony of defeat, we really needed to load up with a lot of food. One of our friends suggested we try a new restaurant that offers huge portions to match our huge appetites. We all jumped in our cars and made our way over to Randall Road to check out Sweet Basil Café in Algonquin.
Sweet Basil Café
2561 County Line Road
Algonquin 60102
(224)333-0284
Directions: Take Rte. 47 to Algonquin Road, east to Randall Road, South to restaurant.
Estimated Travel Time: 16 minutes
This location has been the sight of many restaurants in the last several years. It has housed Mimi’s Café, Lume’s Pancake House, and El Niagara Mexican Restaurant. This is not a small venue and has been remodeled to match the current light and airy trend in breakfast type restaurant décor.
Their big menu offers breakfast, lunch, and dinner entrees to satisfy everyone’s taste. While we were perusing the menu, we decided to try a different appetizer, so we went with the Philly Beef Egg Roll ($15). These were four smaller sized egg rolls filled with Philly beef, onions, green peppers, mozzarella cheese that was wrapped in a crispy egg roll and served with ranch dressing. They were different from the norm, they were tasty, but greasy, and a bit pricey.
On a recommendation from one of our brothers in bocce, Jim tried the Meatloaf Panini ($16). This was homemade meatloaf, mozzarella cheese, and grilled onions served with marinara on the side. It was served with a cup of homemade soup. He chose to be daring and tried the turkey pot pie soup and this proved to be delicious. It tasted like a turkey pot pie but without the pie crust. You also get your choice of fries, orzo pasta salad, or tri-colored pasta salad, and he went with the French fries. The serving size for his meatloaf panini was huge, there were two slices of meatloaf on the sandwich. He said it could have used more seasoning since it was kind of bland.
Nancy tried their Garlic Crusted Chicken Panini ($16). This was a garlic crusted chicken breast, mozzarella cheese, and pesto mayonnaise served with garlic dressing on the side. She chose the chicken noodle soup and French fries for her side. The chicken breast was thin and crunchy, but she said, and I agree since I tasted it, the garlic crust was disappointing and the garlic dressing on the side was missing. This sandwich also needed more seasoning for her taste. This was more like a plain butter grilled sandwich and not pressed and grilled (no butter) like a panini should be. The chicken noodle soup was excellent.
We were going to have breakfast today, until we looked at the prices, then we changed our minds. We can’t see spending $15 for four pancakes, no matter how large they are. When you add a side of meat and you are looking at $20 for a breakfast. Lunch and dinner are the way to go.
Everyone at the table enjoyed the food. Maybe Nancy and I are jaded from going to too many restaurants, but although the servings are huge, in our opinion they weren’t very tasty.
FYI: This restaurant is handicap accessible.
The price for refueling our athletic bodies, $59.95, losing at bocce, was a bummer…
Jim’s take: I could have made a meal out of that turkey pot pie soup.
Nancy’s take: I loved my chicken noodle soup, it was delicious.
Have comments or restaurant suggestions for the Dining Duo? Send them an email at: thediningduo@gmail.com
