Northern Lake County & McHenry

I propose a thread dedicated for the discussion of food finds in the far northern Chicagoland suburbs focused on Northern Lake County and McHenry.

The area runs North-South from RT 60 (Townline Rd) all the way to the Wisconsin border. And runs East-West from the Lake into McHenry.

I had wrote up this review in June right before my summer vacation, it's about time I got it off my chest & hard drive!
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Capt'n Porky's - Folks, I'm just not getting it...

As I read through positive review, after positive review. No scratch that, more like GLOWING and gushing reviews. There's no denying that there is a love affair with Porky’s & LTH. This obviously means I’m puzzled by this place having garnered a GNH designation at all.

I missed the big group hug on this one. To state it quite bluntly, I simply don’t like this place... at all.

It's a dumpy shack off the beaten path with no seating, serving mediocre food, with unimpressive service, even by Northern Lake County & Zion standards. I should know, I live 15 minutes away in the soulless chain town of Gurnee, so I really wish they were better.

Based on the buzz around LTH, I took my wife for yet another foray to the one and only GNR of the far north. Figuring that maybe I’m missing something, perhaps I just haven’t been there when it’s “on”.

This trip would be my forth very unimpressive visit to Capt'n Porky’s over the last 4 years, and I’m fairly certain, this was my last.

We ordered the medium shrimp dinner, a cod dinner and the Cajun marinated Jumbo Shrimp. I also got a half rack of ribs since for once, the smoker was actually running and Dino was running the show behind the counter. On all three of my previous visits he had been absent, but seeing him there this time; I started to think that this might turn out to be that magical visit that I had never before acquired, in reality, not so.

The order was bagged to go of course, and we drove over to the nearby McDonald's parking lot to eat. I wanted to dig in while it was hot! We quickly set up the car smorgasbord and went to work right away.

First up were the medium shrimp, they were awful! Clearly frozen, not fresh, they had a unpleasant odor, and the breading was bubbled into a hard expanded bread shell around each of the shrimp, almost like a thick breading cocoon. The fish was made with the same horrible breading as the shrimp, it too did not smell fresh, and had the same cocoon amour breading as well. Both items were just nasty, my wife choked down more than me, but its final destination was the McDonald's trashcan.

I moved on to the ribs; while ordering I had noticed that Capt’n Porky’s keeps some of the BBQ sitting in the south facing glass deli case. This isn't any kind of warm holding temperature case but rather, a cooler, where the BBQ sits until served. The ribs were barely OK, they were a little cold, and had a very heavy sooty charcoal taste. The ribs are very plain, meaning there’s not a lot of rub or seasoning applied to the meat, and the sauce is absolutely terrible. The ribs were edible, but they're certainly nothing to gloat about.

Next up; the Jumbo Gulf shrimp

Alright, the jumbo gulf shrimp are something noteworthy, especially the Cajun marinated spicy ones. And Porky’s fans; if you haven't tried the Cajun shrimp, then you've missed out on the one and only thing that's really good here. I'll also concede that overall the price to quantity ratio is excellent; so they are big in the value category. But after that, it’s all downhill.

My summary goes like this: lousy BBQ, low quality fish and shrimp, and exceptional jumbo gulf shrimp, and zero atmosphere. Porky's scores a 5 out of a possible 10 pts, heres my breakdown:
Taste: 4
Experience: 3
Value 8
SCORE: 5.0

Of course as fate would have it, the very next night we were in Rogers Park by the Fish Keg on Howard. So I insisted on late night stop, my wife who is always the good sport, agreed and went along for the ride. The taste test was on!

At The Fish Keg we ordered the medium Gulf Shrimp, and the Cod, (BBQ is not offered), but I’m talking fish monger to fish monger here.

It was ruled a “No contest!” The Fish keg easily kicked the crap out of Porky’s without even trying.

The Fish Kegs shrimp were fresh and succulent, not oily and the signature breading was just perfect. The cod was also fresh and delicious.

I don’t know what else to say other than; while all you LTH city folk are driving up here to eat the drek at Porky’s, I’ll just keep trekking on down to the Fish Keg for the really good stuff!

Capt Porkys must have really been bothering to post a review at 3:48 in the morning..were you losing sleep ove this

abf005 wrote:I don’t know what else to say other than; while all you LTH city folk are driving up here to eat the drek at Porky’s, I’ll just keep trekking on down to the Fish Keg for the really good stuff!

Burt,

If we all liked the same things I'd be using an electric smoker.

Regards,
Gary

G Wiv wrote:

abf005 wrote:I don’t know what else to say other than; while all you LTH city folk are driving up here to eat the drek at Porky’s, I’ll just keep trekking on down to the Fish Keg for the really good stuff!

Burt,

If we all liked the same things I'd be using an electric smoker.

Regards,
Gary

Funny!

Although I went down from 5 easy steps to just one with that smoker purchase!!

Head's Red BBQ wrote:Capt Porkys must have really been bothering to post a review at 3:48 in the morning..were you losing sleep ove this

"Rust never sleeps"

abf005 wrote:Although I went down from 5 easy steps to just one with that smoker purchase!!

Next time save that last step and purchase Curly's Pulled Pork at Costco.

On the Captain: Like many GNR's, you have to order with discretion. Like the other thread complaining about General Tso's Chicken at Double Li, don't bother with the medium shrimp at Porky's. The Jumbos are the way to go, and have never failed me (I haven't tried the Cajun).

Another thing that makes that place a GNR is the personal touch: ask Dino what's good today, he'll let you know if there's something special, like his own feta-style cheese (which can be fried up), mushrooms he's foraged (ditto), or the eggplant which was available last time I was there (yup, that's fried too).

I'm a bigger fan of the fried things than the BBQ, but I still enjoy it a lot. The fact that it tends to sit in the hot case, in liquid, definitely detracts from the texture of the pork shoulder and links. I haven't tried the ribs yet, they're on my short list.

The stretch of Sheridan between the two units of Illinois Beach State Park has a lot of fast food (yesterday, I skipped the Captain in favor of some Culver's curds), and a few homey-looking places I haven't hit, because, well, when it's beach weather I don't want to spend a lot of time in a restaurant. I've been meaning to try a couple of the Mexican places, and there's a Thai place right at the main downtown Zion corner. Whey Chai is a chinese place I'd been to a couple times (not in a few years, though), and while not stellar, it gained points for being extremely inexpensive. There's a hot dog stand in there somewhere, whose name escapes me, but it wasn't notable (no radioactive relish is a big detractor for me, I don't remember if the fries were fresh-cut).

JoelF wrote:On the Captain: Like many GNR's, you have to order with discretion. Like the other thread complaining about General Tso's Chicken at Double Li, don't bother with the medium shrimp at Porky's. The Jumbos are the way to go, and have never failed me (I haven't tried the Cajun).

Another thing that makes that place a GNR is the personal touch: ask Dino what's good today, he'll let you know if there's something special, like his own feta-style cheese (which can be fried up), mushrooms he's foraged (ditto), or the eggplant which was available last time I was there (yup, that's fried too).

I'm a bigger fan of the fried things than the BBQ, but I still enjoy it a lot. The fact that it tends to sit in the hot case, in liquid, definitely detracts from the texture of the pork shoulder and links. I haven't tried the ribs yet, they're on my short list.

The stretch of Sheridan between the two units of Illinois Beach State Park has a lot of fast food (yesterday, I skipped the Captain in favor of some Culver's curds), and a few homey-looking places I haven't hit, because, well, when it's beach weather I don't want to spend a lot of time in a restaurant. I've been meaning to try a couple of the Mexican places, and there's a Thai place right at the main downtown Zion corner. Whey Chai is a chinese place I'd been to a couple times (not in a few years, though), and while not stellar, it gained points for being extremely inexpensive. There's a hot dog stand in there somewhere, whose name escapes me, but it wasn't notable (no radioactive relish is a big detractor for me, I don't remember if the fries were fresh-cut).

I belive that Porky's is a one hit wonder available in two flavors; the jumbo shrimp, excellent breaded regular or Cajun.

That much, I think everyone can somewhat agree on. While you still might like allot more than me, those are the only kudos I'll give them. Now do those jumbo shrimp taste better than anyone's else? Or does Porky's deliver them up in such a way that its elevated over any other fish/shrimp shack? No, but they are darn good.

The BBQ however is HORRIFIC, this last visit was the first time I could even stand to eat it. The other times it was so vile I tossed it after one bite or after opening the package. It's far worse then even nearby local competitor Hilary's, which is bad, but at least it's cooked fresh daily and served hot. If Porky's is supposed to be a two legged table featuring BBQ & Seafood, it's lost one of its legs and tipped over.

On this last visit I was actully served by Dino, and I wasn't blown away. He came off as gruff and very non-conversant. And I'm not the kinda guy that would pull out an LTH card or play the food blogger angle to get star treatment either. IMO every customer deserves to be served up the best without the proprietor ever knowing any one's Internet persona. So I'm content being just an average Joe, and I've gotten 4 average Joe meals there as a result, which is two more than I would have given most other places, had it not been for the Internet reviews and recommendations of others.

When it comes to this place, I just feel that there should be allot more quality tasting, good food and a better eating experience to call it a destination place and especially to list it as something worthy of a status that puts it in the fine company of other GNR's like Great Lake, New York Bialys or a Maria's.

Your right, from Wadsworth going North on Sheridan there is a sea of chains until Rt 137, and not much on that stretch. The much maligned Hussey's "not so fine dining" is OK for bar food, he does make a good burger. Chucks Dog house in Zion is just OK. Chang Jiang Chinese Kitchen‎ is typical of Northern Lake County lousy Chinese, Whey Chai is marginally better. Avoid the innocent mom & pop looking Roman Coin, its really a bad pizza chain that's worst than Papa Johns.

I think you may referring to Franks & Fries in Beach Park , if so your instincts are correct, its not very good.

In general, better eating options are found in Winthrop Harbor than in Zion, starting with Droopy dogs, which is about the best hot dog place in that area. They have fresh hand cut fries and Vienna natural casing hot dogs, albeit they are the smaller 10:1's. The rest of the menu is also decent and they treat the customers very good, in fact, they are a neighborhood darling. The prices are in line with any good dog stand, and they may even fall into the good value category.

The Roma pizza is better than the Other Place Pizza which was just fair on the pizza but had tasty burgers. And most of the bars that have food around there are generally OK. Just avoid the cute little Hot Dog Harbor stand.

At the border going further North into Kenosha things start to improve drastically.

abf005 wrote:

When it comes to this place, I just feel that there should be allot more quality tasting, good food and a better eating experience to call it a destination place and especially to list it as something worthy of a status that puts it in the fine company of other GNR's like Great Lake, New York Bialys or a Maria's.

glad to have a post dedicated to these far north places Burt, who knows mayb Ill make the trek up there & try a few one of these days.

as for who is or isnt a GNR, overall its a great list imho, but there is one or two places on there that leave me scratching my head (Capn' Porkies is not one of them since I have never personally tried their food, although I have met dino, and he seemed like a nice fellow).

it is what it is.

For a good, juicy burger in Lake Villa, I like Scott Dogs. Also really like the friendly vibe in the place, and the fact that much of the food seems made from scratch, with care.

Scott Dogs
895 E. Grand Ave.
Lake Villa, IL 60046
(847) 356-6600

G Wiv wrote:

abf005 wrote:Although I went down from 5 easy steps to just one with that smoker purchase!!

Next time save that last step and purchase Curly's Pulled Pork at Costco.

Nothing like serving up Corkys pulled pork & some Lloyds babyback ribs for the full faux Q home meal, is there

Kennyz wrote:For a good, juicy burger in Lake Villa, I like Scott Dogs. Also really like the friendly vibe in the place, and the fact that much of the food seems made from scratch, with care.

Scott Dogs
895 E. Grand Ave.
Lake Villa, IL 60046
(847) 356-6600

Nice! If you think the burger is good there, try Chef Scotty's grilled skirt steak sandwich its tremendous! Those homemade soups score well in my book too!

Towards the southern boundary of this area is Burt's Deli. I haven't been too many times, but have always really enjoyed Burt's Deli when I've made it there. I haven't seen it mentioned too much since I've been reading LTH, but did find this older thread. Nice service, sumptuous corned beef and pastrami, a barrel full of pickles, and Dr. Browns on hand. What more could a girl ask for?

Burt's Deli
1171 S Milwaukee Ave.
Libertyville, IL 60048
847-367-9687

ps. I haven't been in a few years since I moved into the city, so I do hope Burt's is still around, and hopefully thriving at that! Always seemed more reasonable than equivalent places in the burbs so perhaps they've kept themselves above water during this economic situation/apocalypse.

skess,

No worry! Burt's is still around. The shopping center has new tenants and much more active again. I hope that means better business. His location just round the corner is not the best.

Regards,

Perhaps we need to use this thread to expand on LAZ's "Suburbs Aren't a Culinary Wasteland" thread, starting with this list. That's mostly Mundyline, Libville and Vermin hills, but the top of the thread has more.

I used to get out to the Barrington area more often, but my friends who lived there are now in Bannockburn (which is actually more of a culinary wasteland). So YMMV -- they may have changed.
Some of the places out there I regularly enjoyed, that are somehow not on LAZ's list:

• D & J's Bistro (Lake Zurich)
• Julio's Latin Cafe (Lake Zurich)
• Krystal Thai (Crystal Lake)
• Fritzl's (Lake Zurich)

I'm sure there's threads for many of these, but I'm lazy right now. I may edit this later. Actually, none of these qualify for Burt's "North of 60" rule, except maybe Krystal Thai.

I know there's also a damned good "gourmet" pizza place somewhere out Woodstock way, but I've forgotten the name. I'll have to ask around.

A few reliable places:

Antioch:
Johnny's Chophouse - Allen Brothers steaks
Big Bites - hot dogs etc
Thirsty Turtle - Door county fish boil and fry & OK BBQ

Gurnee:
Rhapsody Cafe - family restaurant
Zabe's - solid hot dog stand with broasted chicken

Libertyville:
Mickey Finns - Micro brew pub - decent burgers
Thai Noodle cafe

McHenry:
Alex's - Gyros
Tony's Subs North - Lilymoor (next to McHenry)

Mundelion:
Franks for the Memories- great buffalo wings
Dragon Star - excellent Americanized carry out Chinese

North Chicago:
Big Ed's BBQ - solid menu ranging from BBQ to hamburgers, hot dogs & hoagies
5points hot dogs - good shakes & hot dogs

Round Lake:
Big Jacks - Great Italian beef & sausage, they have the best hand cut fries and wrap them with the dogs
Lomeli's Rosticeria - Mexican grilled chicken
Scotty's - Probably the best Lake County hot dog stand, with hand cut fries wrapped with the dogs

Vernon Hills:
Opa! - Greek

Waukegan:
Sadly Waukegan has recently moved into my wasteland category. A few OK places are still around but nothing is stellar.
Paulina's on Belvidere has homemade tortillas and can be good home cooked food, but isn't always consistent. Taco's Del Rey De Oro, is a reliable Taqueria, but nothing special. I hate El Norte (all of them). Lewis Fresh market is a great place to do grocery shopping.

This week late or early next week a new Rosticeria is opening up on Green Bay where the Bellalukes and more recently Rikki's Joint used to be. In speaking with the new owner last week, he told me that he would be char grilling the chicken & steaks, this could be huge if that's true.

I'll think of more later, but should be a good start.

i used to eat at El Norte in Highwood all the time...always thought it was good.. havent eaten there in about 5 years or so..has it gone downhill ? Monicas in Prospect Heights is my go to place for Mexican now when Im at work
im game to try on Opaa in Vernon Hills ..ive yet to find a really good Greek place in area

Hi,

Tacos el Norte in Highwood is still going strong. They recently intalled televisions showing sports programming, which I guess is a reaction to slow business. The salsa is amusingly inconsistent.

I prefer the Tacos el Norte location on Grand Avenue in Waukegan, but I rarely get to it.

Regards,

I was going to recommend a past board fave, El Rancho Michoacano in Waukegan, but it appears to be now called Tres Islas Marias -- at least I think that's the same place, I passed it yesterday on the way back from the beach.

Tres Islas Marias Seafood Restaurant
1310 N Lewis Ave
Waukegan, IL 60085-1756
(847) 662-8100

Anyone been there?

Head's Red BBQ wrote:i used to eat at El Norte in Highwood all the time...always thought it was good.. havent eaten there in about 5 years or so..has it gone downhill ? Monicas in Prospect Heights is my go to place for Mexican now when Im at work
im game to try on Opaa in Vernon Hills ..ive yet to find a really good Greek place in area

About 2 years ago I started a thread on Chowhound called Taco Testing Lake County Mexican Restaurants. It quickly became a mundane and fruitless effort since all the places essentially did exactly the same thing and for the most part, at pretty much the same level of quality. I.E. microwaved tortillas, griddle stir fried steak, standard red & green salsas, etc.

After going to about 30-35 various places and posting reports on about 15 of them, I simply gave up, (took a few phone camera pictures if your interested) and went on to other number intensive food search obsessions; like Wisconsin tavern style pizzas in Kenosha & Racine and hot dogs around this area for example to name two.

Anyway, I discovered a few good standouts doing it, such as the two in Round Lake Park; Carnitas Don Roy Taqueria & El Jalicience, LoMeli's Rotercia in Round Lake, Paulina's in Waukegan, and El Pulpo in Wauconda.

And of course a few really gave me a bad showing, El Taco Parado, Taqueria Gurrerro, and El Norte being the ones that had served me the worst possible food of the whole tasting adventure.

I remember a time when I quite enjoyed these same locations after I first moved out here. Over the years, the three El Norte locations of Gurnee, Waukegan & Round Lake, have all been guilty of serving me meat that was unfit for consumption and thus had lost my business to Tacos El Rey De Oro. But for this tasting I gave them another fair chance, and again it happened at two of them. Without going into too much detail, I'll describe my steak taco as being filled with a mystery meat containing lots of gristle and fat. So did they go downhill? I would say yes! But, keep in mind, I can't speak for Highwood since I've never visited that location.

I guess its all a moot point though. Because after my Las Asadas/La Pasadita awakening, I can't ever enjoy a steak taco or burrito that isn't made from a fresh skirt steak char grilled and chopped up before my very eyes,

As to OPA!, Bill, you absolutely have a willing partner to dine with! I like this place since its not typical Greek Town and is more home-style with a wood burning grill, a spit-roaster, and some clay-pot cooking too. I'm sure your the exact right guy to go there with!

BTW: Monica's on Milwaukee in Prospect Height's, I liked that place too, they also have a second place in Mundelion thats just as good.

JoelF wrote:I was going to recommend a past board fave, El Rancho Michoacano in Waukegan, but it appears to be now called Tres Islas Marias -- at least I think that's the same place, I passed it yesterday on the way back from the beach.

Tres Islas Marias Seafood Restaurant
1310 N Lewis Ave
Waukegan, IL 60085-1756
(847) 662-8100

Anyone been there?

Not since the owner of El Rancho Michoacano folded up. The new place (different owners) has only been there for a few months to a year.

abf005 wrote:Not since the owner of El Rancho Michoacano folded up.

The chef-owner was a graduate of the CIA. I only went a few times, though I passed there often.

I have a few threads I began on taco joints in Waukegan as well as soul food in Lake County. Both threads are more testimony to what-was because many changed hands or disapeered. My soulfood is pretty much in need of finding new locations, because everyone I found is now gone.

The only known pupuseria is gone.

I suspect Waukegan outpost for Harold's Chicken folded. It's address is on Glen Flora, which I have been up and down purposefully looking for it. It's always a spontaneous decision to look for it, so I never have the address.

Hillery's BBQ, which I suspect Burt might just hate more than Captain Porky's, has three locations with one just over the border in Wisconsin.

Cat Fish City used to be on Washington St. in Waukegan. I found a location on the southern edge of Racine a few years ago. I passed some months ago to find it folded.

Regards,

A friend took us to a place in McHenry County called Crandall's. They had an all-you-can-eat broasted chicken that was out of this world. I still have daydreams about it, and sometimes try to contrive a reason for us to go back out there. Also, the attached bar in the next room had cheese spread and crackers as free bar food. You owe it to yourself to go there, especially in the wintertime when that tender crispy chicken can warm your gut through the coldest winter snap.
Now I'm hungry.

Hi,

jlawrence01 has commented about Crandall's broasted chicken. I have always had bad timing when attempting to dine there. I am usually too early and simply cannot wait. The thread linked to has some comments on roadhouses in Lake County.

Regards,

Cathy2 wrote:

abf005 wrote:Not since the owner of El Rancho Michoacano folded up.

The chef-owner was a graduate of the CIA. I only went a few times, though I passed there often.

I have a few threads I began on taco joints in Waukegan as well as soul food in Lake County. Both threads are more testimony to what-was because many changed hands or disapeered. My soulfood is pretty much in need of finding new locations, because everyone I found is now gone.

The only known pupuseria is gone.

I suspect Waukegan outpost for Harold's Chicken folded. It's address is on Glen Flora, which I have been up and down purposefully looking for it. It's always a spontaneous decision to look for it, so I never have the address.

Hillery's BBQ, which I suspect Burt might just hate more than Captain Porky's, has three locations with one just over the border in Wisconsin.

Cat Fish City used to be on Washington St. in Waukegan. I found a location on the southern edge of Racine a few years ago. I passed some months ago to find it folded.

Regards,

Catfish City & a Harold's Chicken? In 10 years of combing the streets of Waukegan looking for good eats, I've never seen either of those two, so they must be long gone. What a shame! A Harold's would've been nice. I wonder if the listing for:

Mama's Southern Style
910 W Glen Flora Ave
Waukegan, IL 60085
(847) 249-5743

Might it be the old Harold's location doing Southern cooking?

I think Waukegan has lost more good places than I even care to think about. They once even had a Barnaby's Pizza here at one point. Also gone was the only NLC (Northern Lake County) Puerto Rican Place that was on 120 & Sheridan Rd. called Sabor Borin Queno. Just add those and Harold's to the long list of 70's-80's heyday places that I missed out on before moving up here.

Soul food, did you ever check out Jesse's Diner at 10th & Jackson? I never seem to be able to get in there to see for myself exactly what they serve, but it looks promising:

Jesse's Diner
1101 10th St
North Chicago, IL 60064-1209
(847) 688-0585


Hillarys vs. Captn Porky's for BBQ... That choice was exactly why I started cooking BBQ for myself!! Thank the good lord for Big Eds! Speaking of Big Ed, on Sundays he does a home cooked dinner for the customers that might be considered soul food. Call ahead and check out what the Sunday special will be, he usually starts posting it around Thursdays.

One more add: How could I forget Leno's?? Big oops! They are a very good sub shop like Tony's Subs of Deerfield, been there forever at Lewis & Grand.

Cathy2 wrote:Hi,

jlawrence01 has commented about Crandall's broasted chicken. I have always had bad timing when attempting to dine there. I am usually too early and simply cannot wait. The thread linked to has some comments on roadhouses in Lake County.

Regards,

The food at Crandall's is pretty good as long as you stick to their specialties - the broasted chicken available daily and the fish fry on Fridays. Beyond that, it is pretty ordinary. Unless you are a massive eater, the standard portion will generally be enough.

The breakfast brunch on Sunday's is pretty solid but offers only about half of the options of the Big Foot Inn which is just north of Harvard on US14.

If you are looking for the best broasted chicken, you will generally do better at Checkers II in Union. It is more of a bar and you have to wait a little longer as it is cooked to order but the chicken pieces are huge.



Checker II Restaurant & Lounge
6524 Main St , Union, IL
Phone - (815) 923-2000

I heard Checkers closed

abf005 wrote:One more add: How could I forget Leno's?? Big oops! They are a very good sub shop like Tony's Subs of Deerfield, been there forever at Lewis & Grand.

i dont understand the big deal with Tonys. I have worked in Bannockburn Vernon Hills and now Northbrook and my co workers seem to flock there form all three of those locations
granted you get a pretty filled sandwich but I cant judge a place based just on food quantity. Its an ok sub to me..
the seating is terrible as well
Burt im shocked on your love for Barnabys Pizza..i was in one once and the Show Biz Pizza atmosphere was a complete turn off..pizza was nothing special compared to the numerous local independent pizza places in the burbs one could frequent

Hi,

Apparently Barnaby's Pizza varies from location to location. The Barnaby's in Northbrook is pretty good. I like the crisp cornmeal crust with the hand pinched edges.

Regards,