Staff/Contact Info Advertise Classified Ads Submission Guidelines

MY SUN DAY NEWS

Proudly Serving the Community of
Sun City in Huntley

News & Features Columnists Editorials Hang Your Hat Obituaries My Huntley News

June 1, 2017

A real hidden hideaway

There’s an expression that has been around forever, namely, “You can run, but you can’t hide.” For the last 20 years, Galati’s Hideaway has moved from three different locations in Cary. They ran, but they couldn’t hide from the Dining Duo!

Score: Bulldogs – 1, Marzanos – 0

Another one bites the dust! Restaurants seem to come and go. We come to a restaurant, review it, and a year or so later, they go. Was it something we said?

Uno, dos, tres, quatro, Cinco … de Mayo

If you’ve been a loyal reader of the Sun Day News, you may remember Mason Souza, a previous Assistant Editor. In the beginning of our tenure here, he recommended Los Fernandez Restaurant in Hoffman Estates. Since he was affiliated with the paper, we put his recommendation on top of our “To Do” list, and after only four short years, his turn finally arrived.

“Ping” scores a hole in one

After “puttering” around in the garage, Jim’s thoughts turned to springtime. He decided to dust off his old Ping golf clubs and noticed they needed new grips. He Googled “Ping” and found Chef Ping’s in Rolling Meadows. With him it always seems to go back to food…

Around the clock … almost

It’s that time of year again when Americans have to “pay the piper.” We’re referring, of course, to income tax time.

Fill ‘er up…

One weekend we were out and about doing all of our mundane, required errands when we noticed the Dining Duo Mini-mobile’s gas tank was running low. We also noticed that the Dining Duo’s tummy tanks were running low. As luck would have it, we were passing by what seemed to be an old service station in St. Charles called the Filling Station Pub and Grill.

False advertising! But that’s just fine

When you go to a Kentucky Fried Chicken Restaurant you expect chicken. When you go to a Burger King Restaurant you expect burgers. When you go to a Hooter’s Restaurant you expect … er, maybe that’s not a good example, never mind.

Size does matter

Cosmetic companies have very clever ways of enticing customers to buy their products. Several times a year they offer a “Bag O’ Free Stuff” if you purchase a certain amount from their make-up technicians that look like nurses. One Saturday during their “Bonus Time,” Nancy decided to stock up on her war paint.

A Winter Island Getaway

The winter doldrums are in full swing. Jack Frost is nipping at your nose, and Nancy and I are nipping at each other due to a bad case of “Cabin Fever.” Before we bite each other’s heads off, we decided to try a little island getaway at the Bahama Breeze Island Grill in Schaumburg.

Docked for brunch in a friendly port

If you’ve lived in the Northwest Suburbs for any length of time, you probably know of the Port Edward Restaurant in Algonquin. This has been a landmark in the community for 53 years and counting.

Everybody loves a Bimbo…

A surefire indicator of success is when you have a namesake restaurant. There is Harry Caray’s, Wolfgang Puck’s, and Wendy’s, just to name a few. I couldn’t wait to tell Nancy she had achieved this great honor when I discovered Bimbo’s Italian Restaurant in McHenry. Note to all males, don’t do this, it will not end well…

The Diners decide: Top 10 of 2016

How time flies when you’re old and having fun! Another year and another 23 restaurant reviews bite the dust. Time once again for the Dining Duo’s “Top Ten” list of this year’s restaurants.

“Georgia’s” on my mind

Purchasing tickets for Bingo in Del Webb is akin to planning a secret military operation in a Third World Country. You have to get up at the butt crack of dawn, have all the troops for your table assembled and ready, and all paperwork must be filled out with your I.D. card and money in hand.

Woo-hoo for “Woow”

Shame on us. Woow Sushi in Algonquin opened its doors in 2013 and even though he repeatedly drove past it, Jim being the moron that he is, never gave it a second thought. It was only after repeated recommendations that he came up with the brilliant idea to check it out. Welcome to my world…

All aboard for burgers

Our “station” in life is to be the best restaurant critics for you, our loyal readers. We “engineer” our articles and try to keep them “on track” even if we have to “blow the whistle” on some of the restaurants. Our “next stop” will be the Cary “depot” and the Tracks Bar and Grill.

A confused Confucius

What do you get when you cross Jimmy Buffet, Jackie Chan, and Disney’s Tiki Room? Give up? You get the Breakers Restaurant in Crystal Lake.

A trip to Tony’s Cafe

While sitting in the Drendel Ballroom engrossed in a heated game of Bingo, we got a hot tip on a new breakfast joint. One of the “Bingo Queens” told us about Tony’s Cafe in Crystal Lake.

A homestyle ‘Heritage House’

Jim’s grandparents emigrated from Bremerhaven, Germany. When Okoberfest draws near, this old man’s fancy turns to thoughts of Sauerbraten and Sauerkraut. Being the ever-vigilant food critics who anticipate our readers’ needs, we wanted to celebrate early so that you won’t miss out on this artery clogging festival.

Nearby: “Nat’s on Maple”

Is Nat’s on Maple a new infestation for Maple trees in Sycamore? No, it is a restaurant in their quaint downtown area. How do we find these out of the way restaurants you ask? All right you twisted our arm so we’ll tell you.

HI-YO (shi) – SUSHI

Back in our archives is a restaurant we frequently visited for Japanese cuisine named Rice Fusion Sushi in the Algonquin Commons. Sometimes, restaurants let their guard down and before long they are out of business. Such was the case with Rice Fusion Sushi.

Open to the “Public”

For most people, going to a courthouse ranks right up there with getting a colonoscopy or having a root canal. Fortunately, the Woodstock Courthouse has been transformed and the lower portion is now a restaurant called the Public House of Woodstock.

A Grand Slam Breakfast “Slam”

There is an old saying, “Time flies when you’re having fun.” As we get older, doesn’t that seem to be the case? It is a proven scientific fact that time does seem to go faster as you get older. Having said this, welcome to our post Fourth of July article! We are celebrating it at our new Denny’s Restaurant aka “America’s Diner” at Drendel’s Corner.

Headline: “Wok” on the “fire” side

We were in Hoffman Estates shopping at Mariano’s, aka The Dining Duo’s “Disneyland,” one late Saturday afternoon and decided to have dinner out that way. Jim was craving Asian cuisine, so I suggested, how about that restaurant in the South Barrington Arboretum that is across from the Mago Grill called Wok ‘n Fire? So we “wok”ed on the wild side and gave it a try.

Mimi “Lumes” over breakfast

When Nancy opened up some mail, out popped a handy dandy 10% off coupon for Lumes Pancake House in Algonquin. Yes, we know our last article was about a pancake house. This is a new restaurant in the old Mimi’s Cafe building.

Not Your Mother’s Pancakes

We could review a typical breakfast joint, but we are sure you would fall fast asleep before you finished reading the article. In an attempt to shake things up a bit, we traveled to Crystal Lake to try Richard Walker’s Pancake House.

Sweet Caroline, ba, ba, baa

You hear Neil Diamond singing the song “Sweet Caroline” and everyone in the audience chimes in with “Ba, Ba, Baa.” Are you at a Neil Diamond concert? Are you at a Denny Diamond Concert in the Drendel Ballroom? Or are you at a Boston Red Sox game in Fenway Park? The answer to all of the above is “yes,” but you also could be at Sweet Caroline’s Crab-n-Que in Hoffman Estates.

Cinco de Mago

As the Dining Duo, we have a responsibility to the good citizens of Del Webb to ensure that our articles are in sync with current celebrations. Keeping that in mind, we realized that Cinco de Mayo is right around the corner.

Hear ye, hear ye … dinner is served

As you drive down Northwest Highway in Crystal Lake you see what seems to be an impregnable castle. Visions of damsels in distress, and the age of chivalry with jousting knights comes to mind. What could this be?

It’s hot in heaven

We recently received a letter from one of our loyal readers inquiring if we knew of a restaurant that served authentic Red Beans and Rice. After an exhausting search, we stumbled upon a little bit of the bayou in Naperville called Heaven on Seven. Nancy and I checked out their menu online and decided to travel down south to give them the once over.

A perfect pizza and pastaria place

One night our phone rang and our friends Tom and Linda said they just dined at a restaurant we recently reviewed. This reminded them that we haven’t seen each other for a while and suggested we get together.