Category Archives: American

9ers Grill

American, Burgers, Cajun, Chain, Montgomery, Seafood

After waiting for over a year for them to open, I was able to go on their first day of business.  Walking in you are greeted by a staff member who explains the process, “it is like Portillo’s where you order at the counter but we bring the food out to you” and the menu. From there you proceed down the steps to the counter to order. The menu is huge and is posted on the wall behind the registers and on the menu you are handed as you enter.

I order the “Big Burger”, 9 ozs of meat on a huge bun with fries. I also opted for some bacon but no cheese. Drinks are filled behind the counter. Once you find a seat and place your number on the stand, you sit and wait. It didn;t seem to take too long to get my food so that was good. Make sure you pick up ketchup and silverware before you go sit down because you are going to need to cut the burger in half (at least).

The burger was tasty but huge. 9 ozs of meat squashed into a 5-6 inch disc on a bun that is just as big. Lettuce was fresh but the tomatoes were poorly sliced and inedible. The fries are steakhouse style, large pieces of sliced potato that, to me, were undercooked and tasteless.

Total  cost for the burger, fries and a cup of water was around $10.

About ten days later I decided to go back and try them again. I ordered the same burger but with tater tots this time. Unfortunately, this time the burger was over cooked and almost tasteless. There was no seasoning on it and I couldn’t eat more than a few bites. It just didn’t taste good. The tater tots were good, though. They serve enough for a family of four however so be aware of that. It seems everything is “Texas-sized” which might go over well in Texas but in Montgomery, I think it is just too much food. Compared to other restaurants in the area, they are seriously over-compensating there.

I will be going back to try some of their other options like the steaks or cajun poboy or their catfish and shrimp platter.  I just won’t be doing their burger again anytime soon.

 

 

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Linebackers Grill

American, Bar, Burgers, Naperville, , ,

EDIT: 12/1/2015

Looks like I was correct in my opinion that this place would not last a year. I recently drove by and remembered that I hadn’t updated this post to reflect that they closed within six months of opening.

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I really wanted to like this place but I just cannot lie to you. It was not worth the time and money.

They Sho-Me’s location on Ogden Avenue in Napperville and it appears that they made no changes to the interior. Okay, maybe they spent the money on a decent chef and upgraded the food. Nope, that wasn’t it.

We were seated and looking over the menu as the waitress asked for our drink order. I asked for a Coke and Karen ordered a Boddingtons. I have to admit that their beer list was impressive. To bad the rest of the menu wasn’t.

Got my Coke and it was completely flat, no bubbles anywhere. I asked the Manager as she stopped by our table a few minutes later. She brought me another one and said that it had carbonation. Not even close. Flat as the first one. Okay, forget that, drink water. I also mentioned that it would be nice to have closed captioning turned on on those TVs that had talking heads and nothing else on them. She said that people didn’t like that so they didn’t turn it on. I guess I am not people.

Anyway, we ordered dinner after asking the waitress what the favorites were. She said the Linebacker Burger was the best and that the Salmon was good too. Okay, we ordered one of each. Oh yeah, we also ordered a bowl of their Beer Cheese Soup. To say it was salty was an understatement. I am not sure what cheese they used, but it mus have been packed in salt because the soup was inedible. They did take it off the bill when we told them that.

At this point I was not having much hope for dinner based on the soda and soup and I was right. The burger, while it was a nice 1/2 pound burger tasted burnt and really had no flavor at all. The french fries were soggy and limp, like they were barely fried and then thrown in the oven. Karen’s salmon was just as bad and most of it went home for the dogs who have less discriminating taste than we do.

With so many restaurants to chose from in the Naperville area, the Linebacker Grill is immediately forgettable. Do not bother going there. I bet they will be gone in less than a year.

Ted’s Montana Grill

American, Bar, Burgers, Chain, Downtown, Naperville, Steakhouse

EDIT: 6/1/2015

I have to say I am not sure what caused such a major change to this place, but we tried it three times to make sure it wasn’t just a bad night.

We ordered the same meals we usually did in the past but for some reason, nothing tasted the same anymore. I am not sure what it was overall, but something was off.

Also, they no longer serve Thousand Island dressing? I mean, who doesn’t serve the number one salad dressing in the country. That means I will no longer be able to order a salad or a wedge as that is the only dressing other than Cesar, that I like on my salad.  I also like Thousand Island dressing on my burger so without that my options were completely changed.

We haven’t been back since.

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Karen and I decided to eat at Ted’s last night and got there early enough to sit at the bar. I recommend that if you are alone or a couple that you do this at a lot of the places we eat at. Service is faster, conversation is just as easy if not more so than having to talk across a table and you get a show at the same time.

Our bartender, Mike, was as usual very friendly and attentive even with a dozen other people to wait on. He remembered what Karen and I like to drink and just asked if we wanted the usual. Stella and a shot of Tequila for Karen and a coke for me (again, I was doing the driving so no alcohol).

I ordered the Bacon Cheeseburger and fries along with a wedge of lettuce with 1000 Island instead of their blue cheese. I really like the combination of 1000 Island dressing and bacon. The burger, as always, was perfectly cooked to medium, the bacon just under crispy and the cheddar cheese was melted perfectly. The buns are fresh and the fries are crispy.

After eating here so often we have gotten to know the guy on the grill and he knows how I like my food done. Mike made sure to let him know it was for me as they cook their mushrooms on the same grill as the meat and being that I am allergic to mushrooms, they make sure to clean (and I mean scrubbed and washed) off a separate area just to cook my one burger. That is impressive in itself but when they have two or three dozen other orders going at the same time, to remember not use the same utensils or anything that might have come into contact with the mushrooms from the other orders is amazing. These guys know their job and they are good at it.

Anyway, I love bison, or buffalo if you prefer, and this the is one place that I can get it in the area for a reasonable price. I have also had the bison pot roast which is delicious.

Karen had the mini beef sliders and a sweet potato, her usual when we come here.

Special hint: Every Sunday, Ted’s does a Turkey dinner with gravy, stuffing, mashed potatoes, green beans and did I mention, stuffing.  I love stuffing and always ask for extra. This is the place to go if you have a craving for Thanksgiving and cannot wait until late November.

Other nights are different specials too. Friday night is New England Clam Chowder. I forget which night is there Bison Chili, but if you go on the right night, try it, you won’t be disappointed.

Limestone Brewery

American, Bar, Burgers, Route 59

Unfortunately Limestone Grill closed earlier this year. They say they are reopening in the Fox Valley Mall area this summer. I certainly hope they do, I really liked the old place.