Recently Added

Thai Zie
(St. Charles, IL)
7/01/08
Sweet Baby Ray's
(Elk Grove Village, IL)
7/01/08
Citizen Kane
(Geneva, IL)
6/01/08
Shochu
(Chicago, IL)
6/01/08

Now available from RalphPancetta.com are downlinks for restaurant reviews (available for purchase and delivered in pdf format). After purchase, a URL will be e-mailed to you that will direct you to a link to the requested file, which can then be easily saved or printed.  Available Reviews

News & Events

 
Restaurant News & Events: 

               Around the Fox Valley                          Beyond the Fox Valley

 

Please Note: The full copy of future restaurant reviews posted on my site will now be available by subscription only Ralph Around Town, my new newsletter will cost just $4.95 for a one-year subscription – about 41cents per month – and will include at least twelve reviews (my average is about 15 reviews per year)...  Full details
 

All 2007 Reviews are also available for purchase individually or as a complete set.


 

 

Looking for an interesting place to go for dinner? 

Birch River Grill (75 W Algonquin Road, Arlington Heights http://birchrivergrill.com/) just made "Happy Hour" a whole lot happier!!  Birch River Grill is now featuring
FREE APPETIZERS in the lounge from 4pm to 6pm everyday.
This is for a limited time - only so come in today!!

~

Shochu: an American shochu (pronounced show-chew and named for shochu, the #1 Japanese distilled spirit typically made from rice, barley, sweet potatoes or black sugar) lounge offering Asian-edged small plates and a full bar, opens April 23 in the Lakeview neighborhood of Chicago (3313 N. Clark St.; 773-348-3313); www.shochuchicago.com.  Shochu is open every night, seven days a week, until 2 a.m. with food being served until 1 am!  Try the outdoor dining as well (opened 3-23-08)

~

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Pick of the month...

  • Thai Zie Authentic Thai Restaurant - 11 N. Third St. Charles

 


What's the Buzz...              (back to top)

As of Wednesday May 28th... 

  • One place that I had wanted to try -- since I had noticed a month or so ago they were now open for dinner -- was Hunter's in St. Charles.  So Lauren and I drove up there last Friday and... lo and behold... they were closed.  Out of business!  Wouldn't it be nice if they took their website down rather than to leave it up, allowing folks to believe that the place is still open...
  • Gratto - Italian Topas still has a sign over the old (Bar Italia) logo that claims the place is opening soon...
     

As of Monday April 28th... 

  • The Hotel Baker (St. Charles) is undergoing some major renovation... the old Charlemagne Lounge is gone, and a new bar/lounge now resides at the east end of the building.  Great views in a very comfortable setting.  A new dining room -- Rox on the Fox is being constructed at the other end.  Seems as if the Waterfront dining room will no longer be serving dinners.  
     
  • Za Za's (St. Charles) is expanding into the former digs of the diamond/jewelry store on the corner
  • RendezVu (Batavia) is now officially open for business and located in the former One East Wilson location.  Access is now greatly improved since the new bridge is officially open...

As of Thursday April 10th... 

  • I just got a call telling me that purchases had been made in another state using my credit card... The number had apparently had been stolen -- odd, since I still had possession of my card.  Just goes to show that one cannot be too careful!  I never have used it online -- only in restaurants.  So for those who have ever questioned where card theft takes place, the answer is that it can happen anywhere.  Do you trust the waiter/waitress who takes your card away from the table to run it... more or less than the company who requests the same information through a secure server online?  Personally I'm not sure if I ever want my card to leave my sight ever again, especially in a restaurant!!

Other, older news...

 

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Have any news?  Share it with me and I'll share it with those who visit my site.  Thanks!


Ralph Pancetta

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Last Modified: July 23, 2008

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