The lake County Food Critics

The lake County Food Critics Hello and Welcome to the Lake County food critics page. We are a husband and wife team of food reviewers.

On this page we will be trying foods from low end to high end cuisines from the lake county area and beyond.

06/19/2023

For our summer reviews 2023, we will focus on the little guys. Smaller one off spots because sometimes those are where the food can be amazing and where you can find the diamond in a rough sometimes.

Weathers warmed up and we’re back at it again. Next on the list of places is a quant, quiet place, this place has indoor...
06/19/2023

Weathers warmed up and we’re back at it again.

Next on the list of places is a quant, quiet place, this place has indoor and outdoor dining. This spot has a vast menu from steaks to pastas to seafood and beyond. Great for a romantic dinner with your partner or have a large gathering.
We are going to focus on Primo Italian American Cuisine in Gurnee.

We tried it once before, we had a steak dinners, it hit the spot and was very tasty but we needed more so we returned some time later to make a fair review. This time we went for lobster Mac and cheese and fish. The flavors were perfect. We tried an artichoke spread appetizer which was made perfectly. All in all a good experience, prices are a little on the high end but you’ll see why when you try the food.
Service was very good. Our only Hangup would have to be the bar. When ordering martinis it seemed as if the bar was too busy or just forgot. It was at least 10 minutes for a drink, seems a bit long. Therefore if this gets resolved it could be a perfect 5 in the future but if your not perfect when we’re there you have room for improvement, 4.5 for us. Will we return? Yes…..

Well it’s been a minute since we reviewed a spot but we were looking for something out of the area but still on lake cou...
12/23/2022

Well it’s been a minute since we reviewed a spot but we were looking for something out of the area but still on lake county. What we found was BBQ, this took us to Big Ed’s BBQ in Waukegan. I’ve been around Waukegan many time and never noticed this place but that’s ok. So we met with one of the four owners they have, she was very nice and gave us the rundown as well as there future goals.

Let’s talk about the food. My review partner and I did no totally agree on this one, for her she likes bbq crispy and less meat, and I however like it less crispy and more meat on the bones, well they catered to me this time by luck. Because of the the review rating was divided. They have there own specialty sauces. We agreed on the Kansas flavor and the original but for me honestly the run they use make it so good it didn’t really need sauce. Seating was descent and you can watch tv while you eat. with sauces on the tables and photos on the walls of some celebrities with the owners which is a nice touch.

Our rating is based on us not fully agreeing on the food but we both do agree that the food was good and worth returning to. Some items on the menu are only available on weekends, they had no banana pudding which we feel is a staple at a bbq joint. For this spot if you like BBQ give them a try. 3.5 stars. ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️.5
Friendly staff, descent bbq, give Big Ed’s a try you shouldn’t be disappointed.

Do you like cheese steak sandwiches? How about cheese cake. C.Y.O.C. apparently has both. Create your own cheesesteak or...
09/30/2022

Do you like cheese steak sandwiches? How about cheese cake. C.Y.O.C. apparently has both. Create your own cheesesteak or cheese cake. Interesting business model, with 2 locations in Lake county we found so far. The concept is good if you like those combos of food. I’ve had cheese steak sandwiches in the past, to me this feels and tastes like a mid quality sandwich, cheese cake that’s in a cup is not what I was hoping for. We feel this restaurant is not bad but also not good at the same time. We recommend investing in the overall redesign of your restaurant and quality of meat and bread. It seems like it was a good idea thrown in an older building or strip mall. As much as I hate a franchise place, this style of restaurants feels like it should be one of those to become successful but just not there yet. Cool idea though. On that note 2 out of 5 stars ⭐️ ⭐️ in our book. Keep at it guys you’ll get there.

Now we all have had BBQ at some point in our lives but when we think of bbq we think of ribs or briskets covered in a sw...
08/09/2022

Now we all have had BBQ at some point in our lives but when we think of bbq we think of ribs or briskets covered in a sweet and/or tangy sauce, but for this review we are going to be evaluating a different type of bbq, Korean BBQ. In our opinion this style of food seems to go unnoticed for some reason. Now there are a few places around the lake county area that we have tried which are very good but when we found this this restaurant in the glenview area of stopped us right in our tracks.

What we found was the Iron Age Steakhouse.
This place seems to have figured out how to do it correctly, with several locations, A solid menu, large restaurant with plenty of seating to accommodate many people, fair priced menu, extremely helpful staff and absolutely wonderful mouth watering dishes and sides. Who ever is in charge actually did it correctly. Now despite the fact that we did find 1 issue but it seemed unavoidable and that was leg space when you sit but that’s because there is a grill right in front of you which is the whole premise of the restaurant and it is unavoidable. That said of all the places we have reviewed so far and despite the fact that this restaurant has several locations as Apposed to a one off restaurant, this spot still gets the 5 ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ from us. If you like or love Korean bbq give this place a try, you will not be disappointed.

07/08/2022

Please send us recommendations on restaurants to try and review.

07/07/2022

On this post we will touch on steak. Yes steak. One of America’s favorite dishes. There are so many steak houses out there but the one we notice would have to be the Wilmot stage stop located in Wilmot, Wi. Now you might think hey this isn’t lake county but it’s only minutes over the border and can’t be overlooked based on location. This is a historical establishment founded in 1848, it has ample parking, fair prices and a super nice staff.
If you dine here we recommend you call as soon as they open to get a reservation or you may not get a table or just plan ahead.

There is more to this restaurant than just food. I won’t give it away to anyone who hasn’t been here so if you have time while there, ask if you can go see the upstairs you won’t be disappointed.
The rating we are putting on this restaurant is based solely on the menu and only the menu. The service is excellent, the food is mouth watering and the prices are right where they should be. If we stopped there this establishment would be a 5 star however given the fact the menu is smaller, only 2 pages may leave some people wanting other options which is why we give it a 4.5 star rating. But if you love steak you should try this place out and you can even watch the cooks make your steak right in the dining room which very cool.

On this post we will be speaking on a well known style of cuisine, hibachi style restaurants. For this review it is Hana...
06/21/2022

On this post we will be speaking on a well known style of cuisine, hibachi style restaurants. For this review it is Hanakawa hibachi and steak house in Libertyville, Il.
There are several of these places around however to us, this one stands out. Here is a little rundown.

They serve lunch and dinner, they have sushi and other great menu items. This place has been around and has changed owners but not many things have changed, the prices stay consistent, the menu didn’t really change much either. Some cooking tables have been replaced. The cooking tables are a great experience for kids, families and friends, you may even sit with strangers but may make a new friend by the end of dinner. Food wise we recommend garlic or golden shrimp, the filet, the salmon or the tuna. Those dishes are so tasty. They do make there own Yum Yum sauce which in our opinion makes everything even better. With a complete dinner you would receive soup, a salad and an appetizer, I left with leftovers.
The owner who is very nice and he makes his rounds visiting customers and will even cook when they are short handed. I recommend making a reservation especially on weekends.

Overall this restaurant because of its ambience, food prices, the overall taste of the food and its speedy service we give this place a solid 4.5. The reason it’s not a perfect 5 is due to ventilation which should be upgraded and can cause people who may have respiratory or breathing problems some trouble but that can be resolved I’m sure. We will be returning again.

On this post we will be reviewing The lake house restaurant in Lake Villa, IL. This is a descent restaurant, indoor and ...
06/19/2022

On this post we will be reviewing The lake house restaurant in Lake Villa, IL.
This is a descent restaurant, indoor and outdoor seating, nice indoor decor, a room for private parties, a wrap around bar with gambling machines if that’s your thing. Fresh soups and salads, a variety of different foods to choose from. Pastas, fish, sandwiches and pizza. Their signature broasted chicken is tender and juicy. Every dish served are good size portions. In our opinion the best dishes here are the broasted chicken, the poor mans lobster and the spinach artichoke pizza is absolutely Amazing.

Out of five stars we feel this spot is a solid 3.5 out of 5, this rating is based on service and the menu. All the servers we have had are nice and friendly but wait times can vary at the table especially when it gets busy and the menu could be a little larger. Overall this is a good place for dinner with your family or friends and we will be returning.

06/17/2022

Please send us places to try and review and we will get to them as soon as we are able.

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Antioch, IL

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