An American Revolution in Dining

1776 Restaurant
397 Virginia Street, Crystal Lake, Illinois
Cuisine Type: American
Price: $$$

1776 was a restaurant that appealed to me because of their claim to have "different" kinds of food. Specifically, different Daily Specials of wild game and their wild game chili and Indian wild game sticks.

Upon arriving, the outward appearance was a bit daunting. It looked like a "family restaurant" that served greasy spoon dishes and attracted the older crowd. Apprehensively, we started towards the door, trying to peek in to see what the overall crowd looked like. It seemed to be a mixed crowd, from the mid 20's to the 60's. On the inside, the restaurant was decorated with all kinds of United States patriotic paraphernalia. They had pictures of Lincoln, the American Flag, a large painted wall with the route of the pony express and some other random nick-knacks. The inside decor matched the outside, which seemed to scream "family restaurant" or a former Denny's with a resemblance to a patriotic version of T.G.I. Fridays.


We were seated rather quickly for a Friday evening, although most seats seemed to be filled. We were pleasantly suprised to see they had quite a nice wine list. Because I was indecisive, I ordered a glass of their house Chardonnay, and it was amazing! It was chilled to the right temperature and had a nice, smooth finish. Jon ordered a beer, and we were quite impressed that they had several microbrews available such as Bell's, Sierra Nevada and more! It was a great start to the meal.

The waiter was a tad slow at getting back to us after we requested only a minute to decide our final choices, but he was also waiting on all of the other tables in the restaurant as well. The prices on the menu seemed fairly high for the entrees and didn't seem to match the environment we were eating in. However, the descriptions of each entree suggested that the chef knew what he/she was doing and was worth the price. Since I was eating with healthy choices in mind, I started with a bowl of Vegetable beef soup. The sourdough bread rolls were also very fresh and warm.

I am an avid soup lover and I will say that this soup was incredible! For such a simple soup, it had an array of flavors in addition to the most tender beef i've ever tasted in a beef soup. I ate every last drop. The entree came with a dinner salad, so I opted for the oil & red wine vinegar dressing, since they did not have any other low fat choices. The salad consisted of romaine lettuce, julienned carrots, freshly cracked pepper and oil and vinegar. Again, for the simplicity of the salad, the flavor was simply amazing! For my entree, I ordered the Vegetarian Feast to stick with my healthy eating choices, which consisted of grilled seasonal vegetables and warm quinoa. The vegetables (squash, peppers,mushrooms,onions,carrots) were extremely packed with flavor, almost tasting as if they had been boiled, roasted and charbroiled. My only complaint about the dish was that the veggies came in a broth/water which was about 1/4" high which left the little bit of quinoa swimming so that I couldn't get a fork full. Aside from that, it was very pleasantly flavored and filling. I don't definately don't think that the price of $16 was reasonable. For just having grilled veggies on a plate, I would expect to pay no more than $8-10 for the entree, so that was a tad high for what it was.

Jon went for the Daily special which was a Wild Game platter with samplings of Ostrich steak, Elk Steak and Wild Boar. To go with, they served it with a potato/goat cheese dumpling and some seasonal veggies. I will just say off the bat that this dish was AMAZING! Each one of the cuts of meat was lightly drizzled with a dark sauce that seemed to be a mix between au jus and gravy. The Ostrich was a darker meat that had a steak texture and helped to dismiss any preconceived notions we had about Ostrich; it was fantastic! The Elk was also extremely tender and didn't have any gamey flavor or aftertaste. The best by far was the wild boar. Probably one of the best cuts of meat i've ever had the pleasure of trying. Paired with a bit of the goat cheese/potato mixture together, It had the power to make you close your eyes and let out a huge "mmmmm". It was a winning combination. At the price of $39 for the entree, you're paying for the rare cuts of meat and a succulent tasting of wild game meats. If you've never tried any of these meats, I would be sure to definately splurge on this dish.

Overall, I would say that the food was amazing and well worth checking out. Even though the visual appeal of this restaurant screamed "family restaurant", the food definately was remniscint of a French Fine dining establishment. It was quite a strange combination of aesthetics and cuisine, but the food definately made up for what the decor was lacking.

Overall Rating:
Food - A
Atmosphere - C
Service - B

- Review by Theresa

Sticky Rice - Get your Fried Worms here!!!

Sticky Rice
4018 N. Western Avenue, Chicago, Illinois
Cuisine Type: Thai
Price: $

We watch Andrew Zimmern's Bizarre foods quite frequently. So, when Jon expressed interest to try a cuisine that included insects, I naturally began the search in the Chicago area. Suprisingly, (or maybe not too suprisingly), I came up short in my search. I did, however, manage to find one restaurant wedged deep in the city that served something very special; Fried Bamboo Caterpillars.

With Jon's birthday being in December, I took him to this restaurant explaining why I had chosen it for him. He seemed pumped to try this bizarre concoction.

From the street, the restaurant is small in an old brick chicago storefront with a bright yellow awning. On the front glass, they had a menu posted with a sign that said "Fried Worms served here". We knew were were in the right place.

Inside it was very colorful. Definately a small, local place... nothing too fancy, but definately eye catching. This place was BYOB, but we didn't have anything with us, so we opted for a water. We looked over the menu and made note of all of the odd things served. Some bizarre things they had were of course the Fried Bamboo caterpillars along with an omlet with Ant Eggs, Pork & Intestine Stir Fry and Pork & cubed pork blood with curry.

Now, if you aren't into the "bizzare" cuisine, have no worries! They serve all of the normal dishes that any Thai restaurant would have. They have plenty of rice, noodle, vegetarian and chicken and beef dishes.

When we went to order, there was definately a language barrier. Our waitress looked at us like we had 3 heads every time we said something. So, we started pointing at things on the menu. We got the Thai Sausage first, which was wonderfully spiced with curry and spicy herbs. Then, the Fried Bamboo caterpillars came out. It was definately disturbing to see all of the little fried caterpillars on the plate, but we were here to try something new, so we did it. I tried 3 little worms and they were suprisingly not too bad. They reminded me of little crispy french fries.



Jon ate the entire rest of the plate and I opted to get the Thai Noodle soup with Beef which was delicous!!! Jon also got the Mango Chicken because the bugs weren't very filling and that was phenominal. So juicy and tender and full of flavor, almost like a sweet and sour chicken.

The prices were extremely reasonable for a small city restaurant. I believe the bill only set us back $30 dollars.

So, if you love Thai Food or are looking to do a little adventurous eating, definately check this place out!

Overall Rating:
Food - A
Atmosphere - B
Service - B

- Review by Theresa