She liked the stuffed mushrooms.

I think there is, or at least there was, one at Woodfield. My wife and I went there about 28 years ago when we were first dating. She liked the stuffed mushrooms.

59 & 95th in Naperville.

Went once before a movie. Meh.

There used to be one in Lake Geneva, attached to The Cove, because we thought we were a little too good for T.G.I. Friday's or something. Now it's branded as Sprecher's Pub, though I can't tell the difference in menus. What I remember most about it was that it was unwittingly (I hope) built with a whispering gallery, and so if you sat in the right spot, you could hear everyone's conversations.

Yeah, it's always been a terrible restaurant town. People caring enough about food to blog about it has decimated LG's tourism sector. At least they'll always have the drug trafficking.

Sprecher's is good for Lake Geneva.

Yeah, it's always been a terrible restaurant town. People caring enough about food to blog about it has decimated LG's tourism sector. At least they'll always have the drug trafficking.

Twenty-five years ago, the moribund lakefront "arcade"that now houses a hodgepodge of businesses targeting a non-existent clientele was a bustling entertainment center featuring tons of pinball machines, video games, comic book/game vendors and other attractions for kids and teenagers. It was hugely popular. Then something happened and it disappeared.

The town really suffers from an identity crisis. Is it an upscale getaway destination for affluent Chicagoans? A reasonably priced family vacation spot? Or a playground for college kids. The last time I was there, maybe five years ago or so, it wanted to be all of these things and thus failed in each area.

Yeah, Gameland. What killed them was the new movie theater outside of town having a big arcade in the lobby. I don't think they ever updated their games, and it always looked dank and depressing from the outside. Besides, by 2000, who was playing arcade games when you could stay home? Why do anything when you can stay home these days, right? And there were also rumors that with shit else going on there by the end, there were lots of drugs changing hands there. Wouldn't surprise me. I know the KFC was a big drug spot; don't ask why it was, don't ask why I know.


This is on the money. I'd say it fails to be a college-kid playground the most of the three. Unless you're just going to sit on a boat at Taco Beach (I'm sorry) all day, what is there for college kids to do?

One of the more tone-deaf things I saw in LG was the opening of "Ryan Braun's Restaurant," a non-descript Houlihan's-ish place a few blocks north of downtown, just far enough to be a pain in the ass to walk to when you can just go to Popeye's. This is a town where half the residents are from Chicago and all the visitors are from Chicago. Why would anyone go to a mediocre restaurant named for a member of the Milwaukee Brewers? What was anyone thinking? It failed in short order and is now an Italian restaurant. Run by Greeks. Last I saw, it was doing fine.