Eats by College of DuPage?

My sister has a gig there when my parents are in town and we would like to do an early dinner somewhere besides an ubiquitous chain. Any recs are appreciated.

How fancy, or not? Any cuisine you prefer? There is a La Quebrada down the street on Roosevelt, a decent Thai place called Dusit in the other direction, some Middle Eastern places, not to mention some more upscale places off Butterfeld over by Yorktown, and Greek Islands or Costas just a little further east.

And then there is the question of what you consider close. 2 miles? 5 miles?

Fabulous Noodles, Lao Sze Chuan and much of Westmont is also within a 10 minute drive. A world of choices, so you will need to narrow it down.

LaQuebrada has been closed for quite awhile. If you head into downtown Glen Ellyn, there are a few good restaurants. Pacific Blue is good for seafood, Mykha's is good for a sort of Vietnamese fusion, and Figo is palatable Italian. Bar & Grill wise, Fox & Firkin is pretty good. There's always Alfies which is right on Roosevelt. Basically a museum of late 60's early 70's interior design and heavily populated by bluehairs but has legitimately good burgers. Take Lambert up to Roosevelt, Roosevelt E to Main, and Main N to the little downtown.

I whole-heartedly second the Alfie's recommendation. Good burgers and good ribs. Have been eating there for decades. Good solid food but nothing fancy. Very casual environment.

Had dinner last week at Pacific Blue. Recommend that too but it's pricey. Menu changes weekly on Fridays. They have a website which has their menu posted.

The La Quebrada location closed 5/31/06. Antonio is working on opening a replacement restaurant but is caught up in inspection and permit h3ll. Don't hold your breath....he's been telling us for about 6 months that he'll be open in 30 days.

Good burgers at Alfies. Downtown Wheaton very close also. I loved L'Anne in Wheaton but have not been in about a year. What is Fox and Firkle? Fab Noodles is only six-seven minutes away.

L'Anne. 221 W. Front St. Wheaton 60189 630-260-1234

Thanks for the update on La Quebrada. Never liked that location as much as others, so I stopped going, and will not miss it.

My two cents on some of the other places:

Have tried Pacific Blue once, and enjoyed it. But it is one of those suburban places whose ambition somewhat exceeds its ability to execute. Interestingly, the owner seems to be a caucasian women and the goal of the restaurant is to offer fusion seafood, but as far as I could tell sitting by the kitchen, the entire cookstaff is Chinese. My impression is that there is a really wonderful Chinese seafood restaurant inside, struggling to emerge from a cocoon of pacific rim fusion crap, if only they would let it. They won't though.

Mykha's is good and a fine choice for somewhat westernized Vietnamese food. As I have said before, I like Mykha's quite a bit but find most of their dishes taste very much the same - lemongrass, garlic, bit of soy, bit of fish sauce, same mix of vegies...

Have to disagree about L'Anne. Quite expensive, and the menu is hit and miss. The idea is a Vietnamese/French fusion fine dining place. But the menu slants heavily to the French and has gradually become more and more Americanized and less and less interesting, for me anyway. And it is expensive. Admittedly, I have not been there for over a year, but I have been three or four times in total, and the trend over those visits was very clear. Don't begrudge them the changes, though - it was struggling before and the evolution seems to have allowed it to increase it business and become an enduring success, just not with my dollars.

Fox & Firkin is next to Soukups in downtown Glen Ellyn. Pretty good bar food, good rotating beer selection. I think it's a small chain. While we're on the topic of Wheaton/Glen ellyn, has anyone tried Adelle's next to the College Avenue train station? Looks very intriguing.

HB wrote:Fox & Firkin is next to Soukups in downtown Glen Ellyn. Pretty good bar food, good rotating beer selection. I think it's a small chain. While we're on the topic of Wheaton/Glen ellyn, has anyone tried Adelle's next to the College Avenue train station? Looks very intriguing.

Funny you should bring that up, since the last couple of posts made me think of Adelle's. I would certainly choose Adelle's before L'Anne, and probably ahead of Pacific Blue.

post on Adelle's

Thanks for the recs. We'll probably go Pacific Blue or Adelle's, depending on the time frame of the dinner. I'll be sure to report back.

HB wrote:Fox & Firkin is next to Soukups in downtown Glen Ellyn. Pretty good bar food, good rotating beer selection. I think it's a small chain. While we're on the topic of Wheaton/Glen ellyn, has anyone tried Adelle's next to the College Avenue train station? Looks very intriguing.

I'm pretty sure it's "Firkin and Fox" and it is part of a huge chain/corporate interest. I find its only redeeming features to be a) the non-smoking policy and b) my cousin the waiter (ask for Paul).

Shannon's across the street is a neighborhood place with better food although one must sit in the back to avoid cigarette smoke. I never understood the draw of Alfie's and I think the burgers are unduly greasy.

I really like Adelle's and recommend it. Decent wine list, too.

Then there's my old standby, Vitorio's. Family run, tiny, decent Italian food.

Vitorio's Ristorante
504 Crescent Blvd.
Glen Ellyn 60137
630-469-4745

I will third (fourth?) Alfie's for a casual experience. I can't believe no one mentioned their onion rings!!

It is a local chain, but Weber Grill at Fountain Square is divine! The kitchen is open and they cook on huge Weber Grills. Nothing like cooking with smoky charcoal!

http://www.webergrillrestaurant.com/index.html

If you want casual Italian, there is a Pompei on 22nd/Butterfield.

http://www.pompeipizza.com/

There is Emilio's Tapas in downtown Wheaton and also a French Asian fusion place that I haven't eaten at, but the menu looks interesting.

Other chain places that are good in the area are Stir Crazy, PF Changs and Buca Di Beppo. Just suggestions if you have ever wanted to try those places but haven't yet.

Let us know what you decide.

The Emilio's in downtown Wheaton has good tapas. I believe that the Asian fusion place to which the prior poster is referring is L'Anne, mentioned above.

Personally, I certainly would recommend checking out the places in downtown Glen Ellyn -- or Adelle's -- before any of the chain places along Butterfield Road (including Weber Grill).

Ron A. wrote:Personally, I certainly would recommend checking out the places in downtown Glen Ellyn -- or Adelle's -- before any of the chain places along Butterfield Road (including Weber Grill).

You know Ron, I generally agree with you, but I must admit a number of people have told me good things about Weber Grill. It has not convinced me to go, mind you, but I also think it would probably be enjoyable. If one wants restaurant-prepared, charcoal-grilled fare, why not?

Though in principle I am right there with you most of the time on this.

Dicksond -- Weber Grill isn't bad. In fact, we've enjoyed a few good meals there and the prices are fairly reasonable. However, in general, I think that a better meal, in a much nicer environment, can be had at one of the locally owned spots in downtown Glen Ellyn (or at Adelle's). Personally, I'm just not a big fan of what they've done with the Butterfield Road corridor, and I much prefer the relative charm and character of downtown Glen Ellyn, where there are more than a few good eateries.

Best,
Ron

Among the many chains in the Yorktown-Oakbrook corridor, from a food standpoint Weber Grill is IMO clearly a cut above all the others. From a value standpoint, however, the difference isn't as clear cut. Truth be told, for a steak or burger I would rather go to Jonathan's, just east of I-355 on Roosevelt in Lombard, than any of these chains.

And to the thread, if Alfie's isn't the fattiest, greasiest burger in Dupage County, I don't want to know what IS...

We ended up at Pacific Blue and had a good, but not great meal. Dinner got off to a rocky start when we ordered a bottle of chenin blanc and the waitress brought out a bottle of chardonnay from the same vineyard. I noticed and pointed out that that was not what we wanted and she looked at the bottle and told me that indeed, it was what we wanted. Anyway, it wasn't too confrontational, but I had to explain that there were two wines on the menu and we had ordered the other. She went back to check and they were out of the one we wanted. We ordered another chenin blanc that was $3 more and it was fine. The reason I point out the price differential is that the additional $3 was charged on the bill. Not a big point, but I've had a similar situation where the difference in price was greater and the restaurant charged for the bottle that had initially been ordered. It's one of those small details that I feel separate adequate service from good to great service.

Anyway, the appetizers were all good with the exception of a cream of mushroom soup that my father described as classy Campbell's, "you know, the kind in a jar, not a can." He's notoriously, the worst orderer on the planet, so it did not come as much of a surprise. I had a smoked salmon plate that was quite good and everyone else had salads, which looked nice.

For entrees, three of us had the house specialty, ahi tuna, which was quite flavorful but a bit overcooked for my tastes and for rare (on a side note, "sashimi grade tuna" is quickly becoming a phrase that makes me cringe; if you're at a restaurant and a piece of tuna is $25, what other grade is it going to be? a lump of chicken of the sea?). My mother had a salmon dish, which was quite good and my brother-in-law had a bass of some sort, that he liked a lot. I didn't try the bass, but it looked nice. My father ordered what the waitress described as "safe," the olive crusted whitefish. Just as I was ready to mock him for another ho-hum order, I took a bite. Apparently, by "safe" the waitress meant subtle, because I thought it had a really nice, but not-overpowering flavor to it, which was exactly why my father vastly preferred it to the tuna w/ a sweet soy glaze. After the wine order, I didn't get the feeling that the waitress would be open to comments about her characterization of the dish.

We passed on desserts. Thus, minor service quibbles aside, it was a good meal for what the evenings activities necessitated. Thanks for the recommendations.

Glen Ellyn Fox & Firkin is no more

Stopped in for bangers & mashed at noon, and the place was gone! Signs down, peered in the window to see the barstools up on the bar, no signs of life.

Enjoyed the place for the B & M, excellent homemade soups (was that a spicy pumpkin I recall?), and the India-na Pale Ale by Alpha King on tap.

According to the corporate web site, not only is the place still open but they have plans for pubs in Naperville, Plainville, and Aurora.
http://www.firkinpubs.com/

Mrs C&T is beginning to believe she's a hex. In our short time here, we've lost the Golden Duck, Bono Sera, and now the F & F. Gives me an excuse to keep trying new places, though.

My cousin waited tables there and had been hinting the place would close any day now. I've pinged him to get the story. The owner was looking to sell...frankly once the newness wore off, I didn't feel there was much to redeem the place beyond the smoking ban.

I heard the owner had the rights to open several more in Chicago but sold those rights off and had separated from Corporate. If I find out more, I'll share