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December 7, 2023

Dining Duo

Eat ‘local’ly

You may not realize from our articles, but Jim and I do eat fruits and veggies, and we actually go out of our way to get super fresh produce. We needed to stock up and headed to Valli Produce in Hoffman Estates. On our way there, we decided to try a new “local” restaurant that took the place of the Tilted Kilt on Higgins Road in Schaumburg. This venue is now the Local Kitchen and Tap.

An unexpected pleasure

It’s the end of summer which means the end of another bocce ball season. The championship tournament is over, and the winners are to be honored for all eternity on a plaque hanging proudly in a dark corner in Jameson’s Charhouse. The plaque must first be engraved, and since the name plate is as old as we are, there is only one engraver in this area that still has the necessary equipment to do the job. On the way to the engraver, we passed by a restaurant that one of our bocce buddies, Hank, recommended. We must admit we have passed by this restaurant time and time again and never gave it a second thought. We’re talking about the 3 Brothers Restaurant in Woodstock.

Escape to Japan

We love hibachi restaurants, it’s a show and a dinner all in one. The dinner is provided by the chef who slices and dices your food with lightning speed on a flaming grill. The show is provided by Nancy trying to use chopsticks. Eating her food with them has been challenging, especially the soup!!!

TA S T E E E E !

People often ask us how we pick out restaurants to review. There are three ways in which we do this. The first is simply “Googling” restaurants near me and hope the result yields restaurants that are still open. Second, we receive recommendations from our endless swarm of paparazzi. The third, and the most important criteria, is whatever Nancy has a taste for.

BIG menu, BIG portions, sweet name

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.

‘REAL’ onion soup

Every once in a while, the food gods smile down on the Dining Duo. Such was the case at our last neighborhood Christmas party where we won a $65 gift card to a local restaurant. We checked the menu prices online, and after seven short months, we finally saved up enough additional money to use our gift card. We put on our Sunday best, and headed off to Montarra Grill in Algonquin.

King of the eggrolls

Our kids have grown up and moved on, our house is too small to have them return, therefore, it’s just the two of us. Because of this, where is the logical place for us to go grocery shopping? Sam’s Club, of course. We can stock up on such necessities as the five-gallon jug of mayonnaise, the giant drum of nacho cheese sauce (both of which turn blue and fuzzy before you can use them up), and the giant log of processed American cheese which has a shelf life of…forever. After loading up the mini-mobile with our treasures, we headed home with the hatch back dragging on the road behind us.

A carnivore’s dream come true

Since prehistoric times, men have hunted for meat and cooked it over fire. Fire and meat, good… What better way to make Jim happy than to take him to a restaurant that serves meat, and meat, and even more meat. I thought of a place to take him, but upon checking the website, the dinner would cost $59.99 per person and lunch would be $32.99 per person. Making him happy is not worth the extra money, so I decided to take him there for a week day lunch. The name of this carnivore’s “dream come true” is the Texas de Brazil Churrascaria at the Woodfield Mall in Schaumburg.

Caution, construction ahead

June is busting out all over. The weather went directly from a freeze warning to a heat warning. The flowers are in full bloom which means those orange cones are also in full bloom along all of our roadways. You can’t escape construction, not even in restaurants. This is the case with Jiang’s Mongolian Grill in Algonquin.

A stone’s throw away

Since we are retired and have the word “sucker” tattooed across our foreheads, we volunteer for everything and have absolutely no free time. We checked our calendar and to our amazement, we found a day with no appointments. With this new found free time, what is the number one choice for a senior mental health day? Going for lunch and to a casino!!! Some of you may not realize that there is a new Hard Rock Casino being built a stone’s throw away in Rockford at the site of the Old Clock Tower Inn. While this in under construction, a temporary location is open in a strip mall right down the street. Upon further investigation, we discovered a restaurant which caught our attention while Googling restaurants near the casino and found the Stone Eagle Tavern.

What?!?!

Nothing screams “date night” like an evening out with your significant other at a nice romantic Italian restaurant. “Screams,” being the operative word, will be explained later. Please read on…

Jim had a taste for his favorite Italian dish, Veal Saltimbocca, and the restaurant that made it the best years ago was Cucina Bella in Algonquin.

A hint of springtime

Mother Nature has been teasing us with hints of sunshine and warm weather to come. Because of that, our thoughts immediately went to outdoor grilling. However, we waited too long and a couple of hours later we were back to winter. Don’t you just love the Chicago weather???

A vine-covered hacienda

A restaurant’s life is a very complicated one. It has its ups and downs, highs and lows, with new owners or management in control. Years ago, we loved a nearby Mexican restaurant, but as time went by, it fell out of favor. We recently received a letter bragging how good it was, so we decided after 26 years to give it a visit once again. We are referring to El Molino Mexican Restaurant in Carpentersville.

Family Memories

Once upon a time, the Dining Duo received a recommendation from one of their loyal readers requesting us to review a specific restaurant. Honestly, we have never heard of the restaurant he requested. Nancy added it to our long list of potential articles. Not being in the mood for anything ethnic, we decided to give this good old fashioned family restaurant a try.

An unassuming cafe

Over the years we received quite a few recommendations for restaurants to review. The one that keeps popping up is an unassuming cafe on Route 20. We must admit we have driven past this café numerous times, but never gave it a second thought. People have told us over and over about the broasted chicken, their Friday fish fry, and the German fare, so we finally decided to give Café 20 in Marengo a try.

Be careful what you wish for

For years, and years, and even more years, Panera Bread has teased us with a location supposedly opening in the famed restaurant row on Route 47 in Huntley. The paint on the sign announcing this new location is rapidly fading, but our hopes have not. We just could not wait any longer, the suspense was killing us. If Panera Bread will not come to us, the Dining Duo will go to Panera Bread, and that’s just what we did. We jumped into the Mini-Mobile and headed out to the Panera Bread in Algonquin.

Hidden in plain sight

The Dining Duo is getting old, and like the commercial says, we are starting to become our parents. We must admit, we now eat our main meal at 1:00 in the afternoon and try to be back in the safe confines of our beloved Del Webb before dark.

A valentine nightmare

The holiday feared by most red-blooded American men is rapidly approaching. I’m not talking about anniversaries, the wife’s birthday, or Sweetest Day. I’m talking about the holiday with the most pressure and angst of all: Valentine’s Day. Nancy does not appreciate flowers, she will not allow me to cook in her kitchen since I burned up the microwave handle, and chocolates are a “no-no” in keeping with her New Year’s resolution. After much contemplation, I thought of a relatively new restaurant where I can get a good steak, save a few bucks, and have a Valentine’s dinner with my better half. I whisked my sweetie off to the Longhorn Steakhouse in Algonquin. Cupid’s got nothing on me.

A breakfast bullseye

January is such a wonderful month. You wake up, open your blinds, and you think you are looking at an old black and white television screen. This is punctuated by fits of snow, freezing rain, and dense fog all in the same day. So far, 2023 isn’t looking very “bright.”

And the B.E.L.C.H. Awards go to…

Hollywood has the Academy Awards and the Golden Globe Awards. Broadway has their Tony Awards and music has the Grammy Awards. The food industry has the James Beard Awards and the Michelin Stars. All of these pale in comparison to the most prestigious, most sought after, and coveted award ever. Of course, we are referring to the annual Dining Duo’s B.E.L.C.H. Award (Best Eating Location Close to Huntley).

Giacomo’s favorite restaurant

If you are a regular reader of this column, you know that we sometimes have a habit of overdoing things. Since we live on a corner lot, we feel it’s our duty to honor Chevy Chase in the movie “Christmas Vacation” by filling up our yard with every imaginable blinking, flashing, and twinkling light decorations. They can take the shape of snowmen, Santa Claus, or elf figures. This is a four-day process which includes taking anti-inflammatory medications, drinking a half bottle of Fireball Whiskey, and smoking several Cuban cigars by our fireplace.

Cooked sushi

Old habits and recipes die hard, especially with Nancy. Truth be told, she is actually an excellent cook. This was evident when we were younger and had a houseful of people over for holiday dining. Now our family is dwindling and the kids and grandkids have all moved away, but the recipes stayed the same. As a result, Nancy always cooks for the holidays a meal that would easily feed 12 people even though it is just the two of us. I made the mistake of mentioning that maybe she could cut down the recipes, but to her, change is evil. The recipes have been handed down from generation to generation, and must not be tampered with. Such was the case during the recent Thanksgiving holiday.

Maple, no hash

Anytime a new restaurant opens up in our area, it causes quite a stir, especially when it’s not the usual fast food. We have been receiving a lot of questions and comments concerning a new breakfast/lunch venue that recently opened in Pingree Grove. To see what all the fuss was about, we headed out one morning to get the lowdown.

Let’s make a deal

October is such a wonderful month. It is a month that has jack-o-lanterns, witches, and appropriately, Nancy’s birthday. Since she signs up online with every restaurant possible, she is inevitably inundated with offers for birthday “freebies.” With her purse bulging with gift cards, and her phone’s email inbox full, she was armed to celebrate her birthday at the Crimson Crustacean, aka, Red Lobster Seafood Restaurant in West Dundee.

An ice cream ‘break’

The golden years are so much fun. Every day is an adventure, you never know what aches and pains the day will bring. Nancy woke up one morning with a sore ankle, which grew worse as time went on. This prompted her to call our orthopedic doctor. Getting a doctor’s appointment is no easy task since you never know which branch office within a 50-mile radius they will be in.

What’s in a name

When planning a day out with friends, they invariably ask us “where’s a good place to go for lunch.” We are trained professionals, after all. This time, however, one of our friends, Barb, remembered a sandwich that she loved from days gone by. She then suggested a restaurant that once seemed to be everywhere, but suddenly vanished off the face of the earth.