Tag: Gurnee

I normally do not write about chain restaurants. However, I am making an exception for Bakers Square. While they are a chain, they are only located in the Midwest. As someone who does not live near a location, I really enjoyed my visit and wanted to share it with everyone.

As soon as I walked in I was greeted with signs about their award winning pies.

They had two big cases filled with a variety of pies. It would be hard to make a choice. I figured I would worry about that after I finished my lunch.

  

They have a pretty big menu. Their breakfast menu is very extensive. I will need to remember that for the next time I am in town.

I went for a cheeseburger. They make them with fresh ground meat when ordered. I had my option of sides but I went for the French fries. That is the perfect pairing with a burger.

The cheeseburger was much larger than I was expecting. That seems to be a pattern with me lately. The bun they used was a nice size. It allowed me to pick it up and take a bite without any struggles. I hate it when burger buns are so high you cannot actually bite the burger.

The burger was cooked perfectly, the meat was extremely juicy and had a nice grilled taste. They used American cheese which added creaminess. The lettuce and tomato added crunch. I was very pleased with my lunch choice. When I crave a burger, it is this type of burger I think about.

Now I visited Bakers Square on a Wednesday and that is a special day. Why? Because it is Free Pie Day! I was able to get whatever slice I wanted.

So I was back to the dilemma I had when I first walked in. There were so many choices – cherry, strawberry, peanut butter, lemon meringue, etc. I finally landed on pumpkin pie. That may seem to be a weird choice considering it is not Thanksgiving or Christmas. I think that is why I went for it; it was the unexpected choice for the time of year.

The pie was exquisite. I could taste the fresh pumpkin they used because of the pies texture. They did not over use the spices. Sometime restaurants and stores can overuse pumpkin spices which takes away from the taste. These bakers used the right amount of cinnamon, cloves, and all other spices. I can definitely see why people order whole pies in advance for the holidays.

Bakers Square is a great place to go to for comfort food. In addition to burgers, they have classics like meatloaf, pot roast, and chicken pot pie. I would for sure come back.

Visit their website at http://www.bakerssquare.com/ to see where they are located throughout the Midwest.

Enjoy!

T

 

 

There is an Italian restaurant near my parents’ house that I have passed for almost 15 years when I visit. With each visit to see them I never made it over to Salutos. However, recently I got to try them because my sister had her rehearsal dinner there.

   

When I walked in I was greeted by a giant tree in the entryway. I was not expecting that.

I also noticed their large case of homemade desserts. After taking a glance I knew I would be in for a treat later.

We started dinner off with their homemade fresh garlic rolls. They were slightly sweet yeast rolls covered in garlic and butter.

Each table received a bowl of Salutos famous salad. What makes this salad so special is their “Secret Recipe” dressing. I completely understood why this salad is so popular. The dressing is green in color and is creamy with a slight tang. It was really addicting. I kept going back to the salad bowl for more. It turns out you can actually buy the dressing by itself so you can enjoy it at home.

Now since I was there with a large party our dinner was served buffet style. What I liked about this was that it allowed me to try several of their dishes. On the menu was:

• Chicken Griglia
• Shrimp Frankie
• Spaghetti with meat sauce
• Cheese Ravioli

It may not look pretty on my plate but each dish was delicious. The chicken was moist and seasoned really well. The shrimp came mixed with angel hair pasta. I could taste all the garlic it was sautéed in. The spaghetti with meat sauce was a staple. The flavor of the Italian seasonings in the sauce was a classic.

My favorite dish was the cheese ravioli. They make them homemade there. They were oversized. The pasta dough was light and they were stuffed with cheese. They had a sweet taste which was amazing. The sweetness balanced out the sourness from the tomatoes in the sauce. I would totally recommend this dish to everyone.

For dessert we had two choices:

• Flourless chocolate cake
• Carrot cake

I went for the carrot cake. The first thing I noticed was all the fresh carrots that they used in the batter. They really shined through. The cake itself was moist. The homemade cream cheese frosting was smooth, creamy, and not super sweet. On a side note, everyone who ordered the chocolate cake seemed to enjoy it. They all said it was rich.

Though my dining experience was set up differently than most customers I really felt I got to experience the best that Salutos had to offer. I would want to go back the next time I visited the area. Check out their menu at http://salutosofgurnee.com/

Enjoy!

T