Favorite Nautical Tune

[7eat51]

Hmmm. The Nautical Beverages Project. I think I will have to PM you about that.

So you live in Gray's Lake. Any good restaurants up there?

[Coyote]

Hmmm. The Nautical Beverages Project. I think I will have to PM you about that.

So you live in Gray's Lake. Any good restaurants up there?

For Grayslake and central Lake County dining, the options are somewhat limited, but it really depends on your definition of “good.”
If you like everything deep-fried then Sammies and Dog ‘N Suds are well-established GL institutions. There’s also the obligatory national fast-food chains and local pizza joints. We do have a Lou Malnati’s but it’s take-out only so no fried cheddar cubes or ice-cream covered cookies.

Family-style dining includes Fred’s in the "city" center. It’s popular with the locals, as is Kawa the “Mongolian Sushi” place near the abandoned fairgrounds. I have not had the pleasure of visiting either of these establishments. There are also a few other places I won’t mention unless you like spaghetti in the styling of Celebrity Chef Boyardee. It’s usually served fresh from the can, though.

For the more refined blue-collar palate, downtown GL is host to the relatively new Bulldogs Grille where they serve up gourmet-style burgers and some of the best classic shakes around. Conveniently located across the street and one block east of Unique Gifts and Games where you may find me procuring useless gaming miniatures by throwing handfuls of cash previously intended for my kids’ college funds.

While at Bulldogs, I recommend trying the Bluto Burger. From their menu:

“Four ½ lb patties stuffed with grilled onions and pepper jack cheese, smothered in apple bbq sauce & 12 pieces of bacon then topped with jalapeno cream cheese and a big slab of onion rings. But wait…there’s more! We serve this bad boy with one pound of our hand cut fries smothered in cheese and chili!”

A bargain at $18.95. Finish it in 30 min or less and you get a free t-shirt and your picture on their “Wall of Fame.” Don’t and get your picture posted on the “Wall of Shame.” Either way, you'll be dubiously famous among the denizens of Grayslake.

For finer, yet reasonably priced fare, you’ll need to travel outside of Grayslake. Libertyville is host to Bottaio. An exceptional restaurant that is part of the Oliverri family of Italian restaurants. The Oliverri chain also includes Abruzzo in Deerfield, Trattoria Oliverii in Northbrook and Oliverri North in Antioch.

Ad Lib Café in Lindenhurst sports a talented chef serving up seasonal, locally-sourced haute cuisine. The "Spontaneous Tasting Menu" consists of four courses of whatever the chef feels like serving and is roughly $90 pp with a wine paring. For more frugal diners, I highly recommend at least stopping by Ad Lib for a bowl of the chef’s lobster broth. Your cardiologist will hate you but screw him. That soup’s so good you’ll want to put your &!ck in it. Although, I wouldn't recommend it because it’s really hot and part of the reason I’m no longer allowed within 500 feet of the establishment.

If you’re partial to the drink then Grayslake’s own Glunz Family Winery has a wide array of wine for any connoisseurs out there looking for a bottle of anything aged and fermented less than 5 days in a bathtub. For a truly good cocktail, the mix-masters at The Vine in downtown GL will whip up a mean top-shelf mojito or any other frou-frous concoction that floats your boat.