The Sun Day is proud to introduce Jim and Nancy Eggers, a.k.a. The Dining Duo, as our new restaurant reviewers. We look forward to their fresh approach to food and hope you do as well!
As always, Jim and Nancy do not disclose the fact that they will review a restaurant before they attend, making their reviews unbiased and not influenced by their position with the Sun Day.
In our never-ending quest for a good Italian restaurant, we recently visited “Touch of Italy” in McHenry with two friends. It is an unassuming storefront restaurant that is a little difficult to find, but as it turned out was well worth the trip.
The restaurant is small, clean, with a cute décor and a casual atmosphere. Our waiter arrived promptly to take our drink order (we all had iced tea) and gave us warm, crusty Italian bread, which we dipped in the olive oil and parmesan cheese that was waiting for us on our table.
For our appetizers, Jim ordered the calamari fritte and I had the garlic bread with cheese. The calamari was lightly breaded, very tender and not the least bit greasy. It was served with cocktail sauce and a lemon wedge on the side. You can’t not order the garlic bread with cheese, it is to die for!
Dinners are served with either soup or salad. Our friends had the salad and it was a nice size for a side salad. Jim had the Minestrone soup, which was delicious, but it could have been hotter.
My friend Jo-Marie ordered eggplant parmesan served over linguini and topped with cheese and marinara sauce. She said it was delicious, and coming from a good Catholic Italian girl, that means a lot. Her husband Bruce had chicken Vesuvio, which was a quarter chicken with Vesuvio potatoes, and he picked the bones clean!
I ordered the large antipasto salad, which had all of our eyes popping out at the table. It was gorgeous! It had black olives, pepperoncini, capicola, prosciutto, and Genoa salami with salad greens, and the dressing they put on the side was very good, but I didn’t need to use much since the salad was so tasty with all the meats. All of this for only $7! FYI: The most expensive meal on the menu is $13.
Jim had the Garlic Steak special. It was Sirloin steak with mushrooms, green and red peppers, onions, and red potatoes all sautéed in a light brown garlic gravy. He couldn’t say enough about it, and if it ever comes on the “Special Board” again, he’s definitely going for it.
All their pastas are homemade and the dishes are freshly prepared. The waiter will inform you if your meal will take a bit longer to prepare, like he did for the chicken Vesuvio.
We opted to skip dessert since coffee and cake was to be served at our house. Now for the good part: the total for four people with appetizers, drinks, and dinner…drum roll please…wait for it…was $61!
If you’re in a hurry, this restaurant is not for you, but if you like to sit and relax and enjoy a freshly prepared dinner, mangia!
He said/she said:
Jim’s take: Being a frugal person, aka “cheap,” I thought their prices were phenomenal. It’s simply a good, small Italian restaurant. Nancy’s Antipasto Salad looked good, but I’m more of a meat-and-potatoes kind of guy. I wanted to get the garlic steak to get even with Nancy, since she feels garlic is a main entree.
Nancy’s take: Jim’s garlic steak needed more garlic for my taste, but I am a garlic-aholic and there’s never enough in any dish I order; only when I cook do I get the true taste. Our house is very aromatic!
I don’t care if the food is cheap or expensive. As long as I don’t have to cook it, I’m a happy camper. We dine out once a week, and I go for the gusto…
Touch of Italy
4113 W. Shamrock Lane
McHenry, IL 60050 Reservations not required
(815)344-0220 www.touchofitalyinc.com
Directions: Take Rte. 47 North to Rte. 176 East to Rte. 31 North to Shamrock Lane (just past the Gary Lang dealership)
Approximate Travel Time: 35 minutes
