"Pub Food is Comfort Food"

St. Brendan's Inn restaurant offers traditional Irish fare, with a well known Irish pub specialty, Shepard's Pie.  Roasted lamb is simmered with carrots, turnips and mushrooms in a hearty thick broth that is finished with green peas and decoratively topped with whipped potatoes and then baked.  St. Brendan's Shepard Pie is showcased with their homemade Irish scone and a Kerry Gold butter pat.  Dig in and warm your spirit!

                                     

Extra Napkins Needed

You'll need two hands and a napkin or two or three for this one.  And as the name on the menu at Cafe Espresso implies: Super Italian Beef is, well, super...super tender roasted Italian beef that is shredded and sandwiched between soft Italian bread with grilled onion and sautéed green pepper, crisp lettuce and your choice of shredded cheese, combo or shown here, Romano.  Sandwiches at Cafe Espresso are served with chips (a.k.a. tortilla chips and salsa) and a juicy kosher pickle.

An Artistic Appetizer

Hinterland Brewery Restaurant

Crab and Trout Cake  

In an artistic presentation, Ledgeview Garden tomatoes, combined with pea sprouts, and layered cucumber slices are showcased along side a moist crab and trout cake and plated atop a flavorful caper aioli. 

Hinterland's seasonal menu changes often. 

Yum Nur

Yum Nur, a house specialty dish found on the menu at Nukeo Thai, is plated in a beautiful dish served at room temperature. Thinly sliced marinated beef paired with freshly chopped lettuce, red and green peppers, onion, cucumber, cashews, and scallions are tossed in Nukeo's quintessential sweet and spicy Thai dressing giving some heat to this elegant dish that is then garnished with cilantro.  An icy glass of jasmine scented Thai tea  is a refreshing compliment to this Asian specialty dish.

Over Easy Does It

The River Room in the Clarion Hotel, which is situated on the Fox River, hence it's restaurant name, has long been a dining destination for locals as well as guests staying at the hotel. Here is a tasty offering from their breakfast menu served daily. Two perfectly cook eggs, over-easy, with a side of bacon, raisin toast, an orange wheel garnish and a bottom-less cup of coffee.

Let's Roll!

A Tempura Lobster Roll is offered on the small plate menu at Chefusion's upstairs Fusion Lounge on Broadway.  Filled with little chunks of sweet lobster meat, julienne carrots and bits of green onion slices, this lightly tempura battered sushi roll has a delicate, crispy crunch surrounding it's outside.  Complimenting this decadent Tempura Lobster Roll is Thai volcano sauce, a mini wakame and carrot salad and chopsticks.

Moof-fuh-LEHT-tuh or Moo-foo-LE-ta

No matter how you say it, the Muffaletta, which is a New Orleans specialty sandwich, can be found on the menu at The White Dog Black Cat Cafe .  They put their own spin on the Muffaletta by making this sandwich with their olive tapenade (a briny olive relish) then layering it with a slab of grilled ham, a thick slice of Genoa salami and Provolone which is all stacked on a French roll and warmed til the Provolone is melted.  A pickle wedge and their homemade potato chips, which are "sliced and fried", accompany this sandwich. Find it on their menu under "NOW-N-LATER".