As soon as you walk into the Loon Cafe you are reminded of a North Woods bar. Tucked away near the River Grove Metra Station and surrounded by cemetaries, the dark wood paneling gives it a cozy, Wisconsin- syle atmosphere. The beers on tap,which include a number of Burghoff Beers, only added to the woodsy flavor. Appetizers like the traditional freid calamari were decent, a bit soggy, but with plenty of home-made cocktail sauce. The seafood bisque lacked any real seafood but it was ok, but a bit salty. Unfortunately, that nights main dishes seem to have been cooked in a salt mine rather than a kitchen. The featured special, "French Stew" was a hodgepodge of potato pancakes, beef stew meat onions and celery. It could have been a tasty, if offbeat dish, but the flavoring consisted of salt, salt, and more salt. Some of it may have come from a mixture of a French Onion soup mix and powdered gravy. The sodium was so overpowering that even after a day of bike riding, we left 1/2 of the stew and didn't ask for a doggy bag.
But the real dissapointment came with the burger. How could you screw up a burger? It is hard, but in the middle of the burger was, honestly, and giant patch of salt. My advice to the cooks--go to the supermarket and check out some other spices. As for the diners, stick to the beer, or take the food home and use it to melt an icy sidewalk.
Pros: Atmospehere, location, tap beers
Cons: Salt, lack of imigination for flavorings
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