I realize that this might be stretching the “Out on the Town” label, but I was wondering if anyone could recommend some good restaurants in the Joliet area. I actually live west of there but Joliet is the closest “big” town. I’m looking for decent steak, Italian and seafood restaurants. I already know about Tallgrass and The Public Landing in Lockport. Any suggestions?
Al’s Steakhouse is OK, but not amazing (you want amazing? go to Chicago).
I lived in Joliet from 1986 to 1998, and very briefly in 2006, and I remember Merichka’s always getting rave reviews…never been there, though, as my years in Joliet were pretty much my childhood, and my parents went there ONCE and had (in their opinion) a bad experience and made sure that I never set foot in there, despite the fact that everybody else who’s been there loves it to pieces.
Italian and seafood??? Dunno…
Lemme guess, Plainfield?
I’ll second Al’s Steakhouse on Jefferson. I really like the steaks there. The salad bar and sides are pretty mediocre and I’ve never had any other entrees, generally all the non-steak items are exactly what you’d expect from a non-urban Midwestern restaurant; i.e. fatty, too much mayo, and a little bland with large portions. Again, the steaks make it worth the trip in my opinion, and as a born and raised Midwesterner I like my salads plain and made with iceberg lettuce, my potatoes with too much sour cream and butter and my buffets loaded with mayo filled “salads”.
Regarding Merchka’s: there’s an entire thread dedicated to it already. I love the place. It’s not anything resembling fancy and I always get the Poorboy but damn I love that garlicky buttery goodness. Awesome house salad dressing too.
The best fine dining restaurant I’ve found in the vicinity is not in Joliet but in Bolingbrook, it’s called Branmor’s. Awesome steaks and seafood and excellent service. They have a fantastic bananas foster dessert too. All in all my family has been many times and have never been disappointed. Their mac and cheese is especially good.
For Italian there’s Baci in Plainfield. I hesitate to call it great since I live in Chicago and have access to much better, but we always enjoy it when we visit. It’s very obviously a family owned place and I think the old church it’s in is a very cool little venue. The food is tasty if a little on the tomatoey side and the portions are huge. The family run aspect has it’s downsides though and the service is occasionally spotty and the food isn’t as consistent as you’d like, but with Italian food even average dishes are still pretty good. Italian is kinda hard to screw up badly.
I’m sure there are a million other places that I can’t think of but that’s a start. I’ll try and remember to pop back in if something comes to mind next time I visit out there.
ETA: I forgot to mention Baby Back Blues in Plainfield if you haven’t been yet. Very good barbecue. Very overpriced I’m afraid but when you’re in the mood for slow smoked pork you tend to over look that fact, and let’s face it ribs are usually expensive. Haven’t been in a while, maybe I’ll swing by next time I’m in town.
Heh…just to chime in again…when my wife and I go to Joliet to visit my parents, which is semi-frequent, our favorite places for food, actually, are: Steak’n’Shake (yeah, you read that right!) and La Mex on Jefferson and Essington. I know it’s not Italian or seafood (although they have a lot of shrimp entrées), but just wanted to add in case you want to broaden your horizons. There’s a good Chinese place on Theodore, too (probably actually Crest Hill) but darned if I can remember the name of it.
All good places so far, as much as I like Baci, it’s just too much to eat, and it can be overcooked sometimes, which is the Cardinal Pasta Sin. And in an old church of all places!!!
I know the family that owns Baby Back Blues, and have been going there for years now. I’ve only had the ribs a few times, I’m pretty partial to their brisket, or pulled pork. Also, don’t expect “fine dining” there, it’s pretty much a storefront/formica table set up.
Not sure which Chinese place on Theodore is being mentioned, but there’s a decent one right where Weber turns into Larkin. At least there used to be, I haven’t been there in years.
Branmor’s is always good and reliable.
Awhile back I’d have recommended the food in the grill at the Bolingbrook Golf Course (The Nest), but it’s been sliding, and they need to update their menu.
If you’re west of Joliet, depending where you are in relation to Morris, The Rockwell Inn is someplace to try.
Thank you all for your suggestions. They’ve been great.
I’ve been to Al’s Steakhouse before. Good steaks, reasonably priced.
Been to Baci’s many times. It’s seemed to have lost some of its charm over the years as they’ve been trying to cram more tables in. Still, the food is pretty good.
Took my wife to Branmor’s on Saturday. WOW! I had a top sirloin with gorgonzola butter on top and baby russet potatoes, served with sautéed spinach while my wife had the steak bourgenoise. The steaks were so tender they melted in your mouth. Even though my wife likes them well done :smack: hers was still fantastic. For dessert we had the French Silk pie for two. It was so rich we could barely finish it. Definitely worth the trip.
Sunday we went to Merichka’s. I am so pissed that I have lived in this area now for almost 5 years and no one told me about this place! Naturally we all had the poorboys with Swiss and grilled onions. That garlic butter is awesome. We scared off every vampire for 100 miles. And the double baked potatoes were great, too.
Next time I have to hit the rib joint.
Thank you all again for the suggestions.