KCR Dining Guide 03-29-18

DINING GUIDE KENDALL COUNTY 2018

A publication of Record Newspapers and Shaw Media

BUY 1 Medium 1 Topping Pizza

GET 1 MEDIUM PIZZA FREE (Can not combine coupons, not valid with other offers Expires 4/30/18)

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landoftimeinc.com 630-800-3958 1505 Mitchell Drive Oswego

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with every paid adult (Can not combine coupons, not valid with other offers Expires 4/30/18)

! s u o i c i l e D

Breakfast • Salads • Burgers Cafe & Seafood Specialties • Pasta

Daily Specials

Meatloaf • Pot Roast Chicken Pot Pie • Deep Fried Haddock Fried Chicken • Roast Turkey

Dearborn’s Cafe Bob & Debbie Dearborn of Bridge Street Cafe

220 Indian Springs Dr., Sandwich On Rt. 34 Just East Of Sandwich

815.786.6185

Open Daily 7am-3pm • Closed Tuesday 2 | LOCAL DINING GUIDE | Thursday, March 29, 2018

M STERY D NER

Restaurant reviews

Rosati’s in Yorkville

If you go First, the full ­disclosure: Pizza from Rosati’s in Yorkville has long been one of the Mystery Diner’s very favorite meals.

Over the years, the Mystery Diner has munched on Rosati’s pizza with friends while watching his White Sox on the restaurant’s bigscreen TVs and also picked up many a pie-to-go at Rosati’s convenient take-out counter for enjoyment at home with friends and family.

In the Mystery Diner’s view, what sets a Rosati’s Italian sausage pizza apart from all the others is first and foremost the crispy crust.

Secondly, the sauce is mildly sweet, providing a perfect counterpoint to the fresh Italian sausage and the mozzarella cheese. And, over the years, the restaurant has not messed with its ingredients – even in the face of stiff competition and various pizza fads. As a result, Rosati’s pizza has remained consistently good and always at the top of Mystery Diner’s list when that all-toofamiliar hunger for pizza strikes.

But this essay isn’t about Rosati’s wonderful pizza. In fact, stopping in at Rosati’s during a recent lunch hour, the Mystery Diner chose not to buy one of those tempting pizza slices that are featured daily as a lunch special, but chose for the first time ever a calzone, as wisely recommended by a knowledgeable co-worker/fellow Rosati’s fan.

For those who may not be familiar with calzones, they are Italy’s version of the dumpling, with their origins tracing back centuries to some obviously gifted and inspired chefs in Naples.

The Rosati’s calzone is a crisped, baked turnover stuffed with Rosati’s pizza sauce, mozzarella cheese and any other ingredients a pizza lover would want to put on a pizza. Do you

like green peppers or black olives or onions or all of the above? Make sure you tell the waitress you want them baked into your next Rosati’s calzone.

For this lunch, the Mystery Diner chose to add Italian sausage and green peppers to his calzone.

Patiently waiting at his table, the Mystery Diner enjoyed the friendly atmosphere in the clean and spacious Rosati’s dining area. It features a large bar with a distinctive granite countertop, numerous large HD televisions hanging on the walls and, for those like the Mystery Diner who are chained to their laptop computers, free and speedy Wi-Fi. Soon the friendly waitress arrived with the calzone, piping hot and right out of the oven – and huge. Initially the Mystery Diner thought he might be able to pick up the calzone and eat it just like one of those Finnish pasties you find in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. But the size of the Rosati’s calzone requires the use of a knife and fork. As the Mystery Diner cut into the calzone, the warm mozzarella cheese, sausage and green peppers oozed onto his plate, providing a perfect target for pickup by fork. The taste of the meat, cheese, green peppers and the folded pizza dough that makes up the dumpling was one to be enjoyed and savored.

The Mystery Diner ate as much as he could, but decided to ask for a box to take home. (If there is anything just as good as a calzone for a weekday lunch, it’s a calzone on the rebound at home that evening for dinner.)

For anyone seeking to enjoy a pizza-like taste experience, but wanting something a little bit different, the Mystery Diner enthusiastically recommends a Rosati’s calzone. Buon appetito!

ON THE COVER: Photos by Steve Buyansky, featuring Rosati’s Pizza & Pub in Yorkville.

n WHAT: Rosati’s Yorkville n WHERE: 1985 Marketview Drive at Route 47, Yorkville n HOURS: 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sundays to Thursdays, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays n INFORMATION: Call 630-553-5533 or visit myrosatis.com.

• The Mystery Diner is a newsroom employee at the Record Newspapers. The diner’s identity is not revealed to restaurant staff before or during the meal. The Mystery Diner visits a restaurant and then reports on the experience. The Mystery Diner is not intended to be a restaurant critic but does highlight the parts of a dining experience that he/she can recommend.

Photos: LEFT: Rosati’s Pizza Pub is located at 1985 Marketview Drive at Route 47 in Yorkville.

Its menu features pizza, calzones, pasta and sandwiches.

RIGHT TOP: Rosati’s calzone: a tempting combination of mozzarella cheese, tangy pizza sauce and – in this incarnation – Italian sausage and green peppers. Its size requires the use of a knife and fork.

RIGHT BOTTOM: Large HD televisions look down on the bar and dining room patrons in Rosati’s Pizza Pub on Marketview Drive in Yorkville.

Shaw Media photos

Thursday, March 29, 2018 | LOCAL DINING GUIDE | 3

Voted #1 in 2016 & 2017! #1 Pizza, #1 Sports Bar, #1 Lunch & #1 Catering in Kendall County

4 | LOCAL DINING GUIDE | Thursday, March 29, 2018

NEIGHBORHOOD DEAL 14” Thin Crust 2-Topping Pizza & FREE Dough Nuggets ONLY $19.99

Yorkville

630.553.5533 1985 MARKETVIEW DR. pub

sports

Sandwich

815.786.1500 710 E. RAILROAD ST.

Valid at Rosati’s of Yorkville or Sandwich only. Not valid online.

Must mention coupon when ordering & present it upon payment.

Not valid with other coupons/offers/catering. Expires 6/30/2018.

ROSATI’S DEAL 16” Thin Crust 2-Topping Pizza & FREE 2-Liter of Pop ONLY $20.99 Valid at Rosati’s of Yorkville or Sandwich only. Not valid online.

Must mention coupon when ordering & present it upon payment.

Not valid with other coupons/offers/catering. Expires 6/30/2018.

$10 OFF

Any Catering Order of $100 or More!

OR

$20 OFF

Any Catering Order of $200 or More!

Valid at Rosati’s of Yorkville or Sandwich only. Not valid online.

Must mention coupon when ordering & present it upon payment.

Not valid with other coupons/offers/catering. Expires 6/30/2018.

$10 OFF

Any Two 18” Pizzas Valid at Rosati’s of Yorkville or Sandwich only. Not valid online.

Must mention coupon when ordering & present it upon payment.

Not valid with other coupons/offers/catering. Expires 6/30/2018.

$3 OFF Any 16” Pizza Valid at Rosati’s of Yorkville or Sandwich only. Not valid online.

Must mention coupon when ordering & present it upon payment.

Not valid with other coupons/offers/catering. Expires 6/30/2018.

Thursday, March 29, 2018 | LOCAL DINING GUIDE | 5

M STERY D NER

Restaurant reviews

Ivana’s Cafe

If you go

If there were any justice in the world, people would be lined up for blocks outside of Ivana’s Cafe in downtown Plano for their biscuits and gravy.

Ivana’s opened on East Main Street last spring, but in August the building was heavily damaged in a fire and the owners had to close up shop. They reopened last November at 12 W. Main St. Ivana’s serves breakfast and lunch, and its quaint, warm interior includes a chalkboard menu with the daily specials. On the day I visited, the specials included a Polish sausage omelette and lunch specials like homemade lasagna and pork stew.

The cafe is also unique because it offers Polish specialties like pierogi, potato pancakes, cheese blintzes and kolaczki.

They offer the traditional breakfast fare, like skillets, eggs Benedict, pancakes, waffles and French toast, and lunchtime staples like burgers, sandwiches and wraps. But their other lunch menu items include hot turkey or meatloaf sandwiches, or entree platters with pierogi, sausages and other flavorful delights.

When I arrived at Ivana’s, it was a little later in the morning, after the early morning rush, but Ivana’s was a happening place. I was immediately greeted by my server and given a menu, and that’s where the biscuits and gravy come in.

I fancy myself a bit of a B ’n’ G connoisseur, and have my favorite go-to places in the Fox Valley region. Technically, biscuits and gravy isn’t hard to make, but it is easy

to screw up.

I scanned the menu and my eyes quickly fell on a breakfast treat called the “Half & Half”: a half order of biscuits and gravy served with fresh American fried potatoes. I ordered some sausage patties and toast on the side as well.

The meal came out quickly and it was hot and fresh. The biscuits were perfect and soft and the gravy had tons of flavor. It didn’t specify this on the menu, but the American fried potatoes, which were crisp and delicious, came smothered in the sausage gravy as well.

The sausage patties were perfectly cooked, and the toast came with jelly or jam that appeared to be homemade or at least tasted like it was.

It was a generous meal for a good price. The most expensive item on the menu is $9.99.

The Mystery Diner came away full and satisfied. I will definitely be back to Ivana’s Cafe again, and soon.

• The Mystery Diner is a newsroom employee at the Record Newspapers. The diner’s identity is not revealed to restaurant staff before or during the meal. The Mystery Diner visits a restaurant and then reports on the experience. The Mystery Diner is not intended to be a restaurant critic but does highlight the parts of a dining experience that he/she can recommend.

6 | LOCAL DINING GUIDE | Thursday, March 29, 2018

n WHAT: Ivana’s Cafe n WHERE: 12 W. Main St., Plano n HOURS: 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. all week, except for Fridays – 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. n INFORMATION: 630-429-8127 or facebook. com/Ivanas-Cafe-1345256868860245

Photos: LEFT: Ivana’s Cafe opened at 12 W. Main St. in downtown Plano last November, after a fire in August damaged the building where the cafe was originally located on East Main Street. The cafe opened for business in that East Main Street location in the spring of 2017.

RIGHT TOP: The Mystery Diner decided to get a nice hearty breakfast at Ivana’s Cafe, and the restaurant didn’t disappoint.

The Mystery Diner ordered the Half & Half: a half-order of biscuits and gravy with American fries smothered in sausage gravy.

He decided to add an order of sausage patties and toast to his breakfast at additional cost.

RIGHT BOTTOM: A server chats with and takes the orders of some locals who came in for good homestyle food at Ivana’s Cafe in downtown Plano.

Shaw Media photos

Ivana’s Cafe Serving Up European Specialties, A Large Selection Of Daily Breakfast & Lunch Choices, Friday All You Can Eat Fish Fry, Handmade Burgers, Homemade Salads, Soups & Dessertss

Catering & Private Parties

$5 OFF $25 OR

10% OFF Valid Monday-Thursday, dine in only, thru 6-30-18 with coupon. Cannot be combined with any other offer. Limit 1 per table.

NEW LOCATION: 12 W. Main St., Plano • 630.429.8127 Open Mon-Thurs 6am-2pm, Fri 6am-8pm, Sat & Sun 6am-2pm Thursday, March 29, 2018 | LOCAL DINING GUIDE | 7

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