Granite City here we come

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.

It’s a wonderful age we now live in. There are hundreds of cable channels and dozens of streaming services, all for the low introductory price of $4.99 a month. Nancy cringes when I turn on the TV. She is fed up with me watching Hoarders, American Pickers, and Dr. Pimple Popper. As a result, we find ourselves tuning into the old standards, such as the prime-time cartoon show, The Flintstones. We love their creative solutions to everyday items such as the Pterodactyl Airlines, the dinosaur garbage disposal, and the baby elephant vacuum cleaner. Interesting, isn’t it, they all had TV. With this in mind, we jumped into our prehistoric “Mini”-mobile and decided to go to Granite City Food and Brewery in Schaumburg. Jim got his size 14 clod-hoppers all revved up, his feet hit the pavement, and off we went.

Granite City Food and Brewery is located in the shadow of the Woodfield Mall water tower. The restaurant itself is huge, but it has a cozy atmosphere. The tables are cleverly placed behind various walls and partitions to make this restaurant look smaller than it actually is. It is very stylish and modern with stone accents. There is even a working brewery behind a glass wall in back of the bar.

Because it was 90 degrees outside, we decided to start off our meal with big bowls of piping hot soup. Jim tried the Cheesy Chicken Tortilla Soup ($7.50). This was roasted chicken, red chilies, cream, and cheddar cheese. It was all topped with crunchy tortilla strips, more shredded cheddar cheese, and sour cream. Jim said it was delicious, satisfying, and had lots of chicken in it.

Nancy wanted the Northern and Cheddar Soup ($7.50). This was a creamy cheddar cheese soup simmered with their craft Northern Ale Beer. For that extra touch, they topped it with homemade marble rye croutons. She said it was missing something to enhance the flavor of the soup. She couldn’t put her finger on it until the last few scoops and then she said, “It should be served with old fashioned caraway seed rye bread croutons. That would make it even better.” The soup was delicious, but the croutons didn’t add any flavor to it.

Jim found the Cajun Jambalaya ($19.75) which was Cajun rice with andouille sausage, chicken, shrimp, bell pepper, celery, and onion in a spicy tomato sauce. Jim’s sweat head meter was rising with every forkful until it reached about an “8.” This was very tasty, but heavy handed on the salt.

Nancy loves flatbreads, so her eye caught the Maple Pepper Bacon Flatbread ($15.75) and had to try it. This was candied maple pepper bacon, roasted garlic aioli, Roma tomatoes, fresh basil, mozzarella and provolone cheese on a crispy lavosh. Of course, she had to have it her way and nixed the tomato. This was by far the most delicious flatbread she has ever had. This could be an appetizer for two people or an entrée for one.

No dessert for us today. Next time we should stick with a cup of soup, not a bowl.

The total for our prehistoric lunch was $62.14. Hot soup on a hot day, “Yabba Dabba Doo.”

FYI: This restaurant is handicap accessible.

We recommend this place for a “get together” with: family, friends, and neighbors. We took doggie bags home for another meal.

Jim’s take: My food was tasty, but very salty. This could be a result of the Cajun seasoning.

Nancy’s take: Loved this place and everything about it. I need to find a recipe for the cheddar ale soup so I can make it on a cold winter’s day.

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

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