Hook, line, & sinker—no bones about it

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.

There’s nothing fishy about this article. You, as loyal readers, may have noticed that Nancy and I don’t eat fish. There are two reasons for this. Nancy was traumatized in her “youth” when every Friday she was carted off to the local Howard Johnson’s for their fish fry. The second being that I am deathly allergic to fish and will puff up like a blow fish and die at the slightest taste. Both of us, however, do love shellfish. This is why we went to the Bonefish Grill in Algonquin for dinner one night.

You know you are in the right place when you are pushing the metal fish handles on the revolving door to enter this establishment. As usual, the bar is on the right and the dining room is on the left. Why is that always the case? If anyone knows, drop us a line, and we will pass it on.

There is a simple elegance to this restaurant from the back-lit metal artwork on the walls to the palm tree and tropical plants in the center of the dining room.

After we ordered our drinks, the waitress brought over a loaf of warm, crusty bread with a tray of seasoned olive oil for dipping. We struggled not to devour the entire loaf so we could save room for our entrees.

There are appetizers and then there are the “must have” appetizers. At Bonefish Grill it is the often-imitated, never-duplicated Bang Bang Shrimp ($10.50). These sinful little morsels are crispy breaded shrimp served in a spicy cream sauce over lettuce. For those of you concerned about how spicy they are, they registered about a “4” on Jim’s sweat-head meter. Not too bad….

Nancy has been known to be a waitress’ worst nightmare, and tonight was no exception. She wanted to start her night with a Caesar salad and then have a crab cake appetizer as her dinner with a side of garlic mashed potatoes. The waitress graciously said, “If you don’t mind me adding sugar snap peas as a vegetable with your order, I can make this into a dinner entree for you.” Nancy jumped at it since she loves sugar snap peas and it only cost $18.70 for everything, including a $3.10 up-charge for the Caesar salad. She was a happy camper tonight.

Jim started the evening off with a cup of their Corn Chowder soup with Lump Crab for an additional $3.20 with any entree. This is one of his favorite soups. It is a creamy chowder with a hint of bacon and lots of crab meat. It is well worth the additional money.

He then went on to order one of their seasonal specialties, the Lobster Roll ($16.90). For those of you who are not familiar with this, let me try to explain. This New England staple is basically a mini loaf of bread that is grilled in butter, stuffed with lettuce and lobster, and then drizzled with butter. Once you have had one of these sandwiches, you’ll never forget it, and it will leave you wanting for more. This entree came with French fries and coleslaw.

Nancy actually asked for dessert tonight and who am I to begrudge my sweetie? After a rich meal, she loves sinking her teeth into a refreshingly tart Key Lime Pie ($6.50). The sounds coming from her mouth were a bit embarrassing, so I knew she enjoyed it!

Fishing around for a good seafood restaurant? Look no further, you will fall for this place, hook, line, and sinker.

FYI: Handicap accessible and reservations are a must for Saturday night.

The tab for our deep-sea dinner was $66.57.

Jim’s take: I finally found a good lobster roll close to home and reasonably priced. I’ve never had soup with so much crab meat in it. Nancy’s crab cake had more crab than cake, which is right up my fishing line.

Nancy’s take: I love, love the Bang Bang Shrimp, it’s the best. I appreciated the waitress’ suggestion since it saved me a few bucks, and they made my dinner my way! Jim’s lobster roll was absolutely scrumptious.

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

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