A trip to Geneva

A week or so ago I trekked out to Geneva to eat at Urban Grille. I’m not going to do a full review of the place for one reason–I didn’t like it! My meat-eating dinner partner disagreed, so maybe it’s just not good for vegetarians. I ordered a panino that was mediocre in taste but high in price. The side salad was only greens and dressing, yet they managed to make it taste terrible. I can recommend one thing though–fried pickles as an appetizer. Yum!

After eating we visited Kane County’s most visited forest preserve–Fabyan. That made the whole trip worth while. Enjoy the photos.

Tags: Fabyan Forest Preserve, food, Geneva, Illinois, Kane County, restaurant, Urban Grille
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Pretend this was in Villa Verone review post.

Tags: Elgin, food, Illinois, Italian, jazz, music, restaurant, Villa Verone, youtube
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Villa Verone!

Villa Verone is a new(ish) Italian restaurant at 13 Douglas Avenue (847-742-0263). I recently took a special someone there for his birthday. The food was tasty! I remembered my camera, but only remembered to take photos during the appetizer and drinks part of the meal.

I am a vegetarian, but took an unusual break in order to eat some calamari. Very good!

We ordered the mango and orange cream martinis. Once again, delicious. Oh, and strong.

The menu is fantastic for vegetarians–many many options. Most of them contain lots of cheese or are in a heavier sauce, but there are a few lighter dishes in oil.

For two entrees and the items mentioned above (plus tip) the cost was nearly $70. I will probably only come here occasionally for very special occasions.

My only semi-complaint is we were pretty sure our server’s Italian accent was fake. Also, the front of the menu has a fake “I came from Italy to open this restaurant” story written in broken English that isn’t exactly culturally sensitive.

One awesome thing about Villa Verone is they have live jazz on Thursday nights! We did not get to see that, so I plan on going again to check it out. If you cannot afford the food, maybe just drop in for a drink and to catch some tunes.

Tags: calamari, dinner, Elgin, food, Illinois, Italian, jazz, martini, music, restaurant, Villa Verone
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Tequilas!

When I heard about the trouble Tequilas Restaurant in South Elgin was having, I knew I had to high tail it over there to sample their food for the first time in case they didn’t make it. I will sum up my review in one word–YUM!

Our server was attentive and friendly. The water was refilled often which is a must for me.

The food was tasty and affordable. (The extra budget-conscious might want to know they have coupons up on restaurant.com.)

The only thing I can ask for is more vegetarian options. They do substitutions, but the menu didn’t indicate that and when I asked I felt like I was confusing the server.

The restaurant is spacious. We went around 5 PM and there was one lone couple there aside from our group. I would guess it picks up around 9 and becomes a hot spot for dancing after that. Maybe next time!

1101 N. La Fox Street (route 31)
South Elgin, IL 60177
847-980-2217 847-697-0600
Fax 847-697-0605

Tags: food, Illinois, Mexican, restaurant, review, South Elgin, Tequilas, yum
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