Oklahoma’s Charlie’s Chicken and Barbeque Offers Rotisserie Chicken as Alternative to Fried

Driving Route 66 through Miami, Oklahoma, looking for someplace to eat a late dinner, we stumbled across Charlie’s Chicken and Barbeque.

Barbecue is my favorite cuisine, but we’d already eaten several barbecue meals on the trip. Chicken would hit the spot. However, I’d been doing real well in keeping my calorie count down, and I really didn’t want to blow it with fried chicken. I was pleasantly surprised to find that Charlie’s Chicken and Barbeque offers rotisserie chicken as an alternative to fried.

Don’t miss a Midwest Wanderer post. For a FREE subscription, enter your e-mail address in the Subscribe2 box to the left and click Subscribe.

White meat is leaner than dark meat, but dark meat is my taste preference, so I went with the two-piece dark meat rotisserie dinner served with two sides and a dinner roll. Skip ordered the same but with white meat. I ordered mashed potatoes without gravy and corn on the cob for my two sides; Skip, who is not counting calories, had mashed potatoes with gravy and baked beans.

Removing the skin from my chicken reduced the calories by about a third. I found the corn and roll both sweet and tasty enough without added butter. The chicken dinner satisfied my taste buds while keeping my calorie consumption within my target range.

Charlie’s Chicken is a regional Oklahoma franchise chain. Not all of them offer barbecue. Sides range from the healthier, like green beans, to not-as-healthy but tempting mac ‘n cheese and fried potato wedges. The Charlie’s Chicken and Barbeque that we visited is located at 2400 N Main Street in Miami, Oklahoma. Visit their Facebook page for further details.

*************************************************

Removing the skin from chicken cuts fat and calories tremendously no matter how the chicken is prepared, but even more so with fried. However, some complain the skin is the best part. When I have fried chicken I eat just a little of the breading to satisfy my taste buds and leave the rest.
If you have a big preference of a less healthy item over a healthier option, like my preference of dark meat over white, go for it but make up for it by ordering healthier sides.
Taste your sides before adding butter and salt. You may find they taste fine as they are.

*************************************************

Thank you for reading Midwest Wanderer. Don’t miss a post. Enter your e-mail address below and click Subscribe to be notified whenever I publish another post. Subscription is FREE. After subscribing, be sure to click the link when you get the e-mail asking you to confirm. – Connie

Hofbräuhaus Chicago, Rosemont: Modeled after 400-Year-Old German Beer Hall

Connie Food & Drink, Illinois February 11, 2015April 26, 2016chicago hofbrauhaus, german restaurant in rosemont, german restaurant in rosemont il, german restaurant rosemont, haufbrau house, Haufbrauhaus Chicago, hofbrau, hofbrau beer, hofbrau rosemont, Hofbrauhaus, hofbrauhaus beer, hofbrauhaus chicago, Hofbrauhaus in Rosemont, hofbrauhaus locations, hofbrauhaus restaurant locations, hofbrauhaus rosemont, hofbrauhauschicago rosemont, Rosemont German restaurant, rosemont hofbrauhaus, Rosemont restaurants 0 Comment

Enter the doors of the Hofbräuhaus Chicago and you’re met by the lively tunes of German music mixed with the din of conversation and laughter. Patrons seated at long wooden tables in this hall large enough to fit 550 diners raise beer mugs in toasts before partaking of drink and traditional German foods like schnitzels and sausages. Read more

Choose Wisely: Yolks and Berries, Bradley Illinois

Connie Food & Drink, Illinois January 29, 2015April 17, 2016Bradley IL Restaurants, Bradley Illinois restaurants, Restaurants in Bradley IL, Yolks & Berries, Yolks and Berries 0 Comment

What first drew my attention to this Bradley, Illinois, restaurant was the name: Yolks & Berries. Especially the “Berries” part. I love berries. Any restaurant with “Berries” in its name must live up to it and really serve fresh berries, right? Yolks & Berries does.

It’s amazing how often I go into a small town diner for breakfast, and there is no fresh fruit on the menu. If I don’t have fresh fruit or veggies with my meal, I feel like I’ve eaten a completely unhealthy meal, and often, I have. So I was pleasantly surprised to find Yolks & Berries. Fresh berries is their specialty. They never serve gelled fruit topping.

Don’t miss a Midwest Wanderer post. For a FREE subscription, enter your e-mail address in the Subscribe2 box to the left and click Subscribe.

I ordered the Berry ‘Ola Crepes from the extensive breakfast menu, two large crepes topped with strawberries, blackberries, blueberries and raspberries. I looked up the calorie count for crepes, and the highest count I could find for a ten-inch crepe was 228 on FatSecret. Other sources documented as little as half that amount. A full cup of berries has only about 60 calories.

I skipped the syrup; the crepes are sweet enough for me. However, I couldn’t pass up the dollops of whipped cream. After all, I needed the dish to look as pretty as possible for the photograph. I was satisfied after eating only half my meal, so I brought the rest home to finish the next morning. I felt like I cheated on my diet and indulged in a real treat for breakfast, but it really was healthy (at least the berries) and within my calorie range.

I admit I did cheat a bit. Before our meal they brought us each a small carrot muffin. I couldn’t be rude and not eat it. Can I count that as a vegetable?

If you prefer a savory breakfast, Yolks & Berries offers plenty of healthy choices, like the Fitness Omelette, made with egg whites, broccoli, mushroom and tomatoes, served with sliced tomato, or the South Beach, half a pineapple filled with yogurt, diced pineapple, fresh strawberries, granola and walnuts.

Those not concerned with diet can order everything from stuffed French toast to stuffed biscuits smothered in sausage gravy.

My husband is a Benedict fan. He had the Irish Benny, made with corned beef hash and served with hash browns.

One more fun thing about Yolks & Berries: the booth backs are shaped like toast. Apparently that wasn’t on purpose. They ordered the booths without noticing the shape and realized when they were delivered that they resemble toast.

Yolks & Berries, located at 505 N Kinzie Avenue, Bradley, Illinois, is open for breakfast and lunch from 6 a.m. to 4 p.m. The lunch menu includes a large assortment of soups, salads, and sandwiches. Check the web site for the full menu.

Thank you for reading Midwest Wanderer. Don’t miss a post. Enter your e-mail address below and click Subscribe to be notified whenever I publish another post. Subscription is FREE.

Eating Breakfast with the Chickens at Egg Harbor Cafe

Connie Food & Drink, Illinois January 22, 2015February 17, 2015Egg Harbor Cafe, Egg Harbor Cafe Rockford, Restaurants in Rockford, Rockford, Rockford Illinois restaurants 0 Comment

Lobster for breakfast? Yep. Lobster Scrambler is on the menu at Egg Harbor Café. So is Joe’s Healthy Scrambler with fresh veggies, no-cholesterol eggs and low-fat cheese, served with fresh fruit and a wheat English muffin. Egg Harbor offers lots of other healthy options, too. What did I order? Meat, meat and more meat—Matt’s Meaty Skillet, loaded with bacon, ham and sausage and topped with melted jack and cheddar cheese. That’s besides the two eggs, potatoes and an English muffin. Sheesh! I’m almost embarrassed to admit it. That was before I went on my much needed calorie-counting kick. I didn’t eat the whole thing, but I’ll tell you what. It sure was yummy.

I’d seen Egg Harbor restaurants scattered around the Chicago area for some time but had never eaten at one until I was in Rockford. I had assumed they were a national chain. Not so. There are only 18 Egg Harbor Cafes: fourteen in Chicago’s west and north suburbs, one in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, and three in the Bucktown area of Atlanta.

Don’t miss a Midwest Wanderer post. For a FREE subscription, enter your e-mail address in the Subscribe2 box to the left and click Subscribe.

The Rockford restaurant is located in a non-descript strip mall, but the inside is decorated in rustic country a la chicken. Decorative chicken statuary is everywhere in the restaurant. I could almost feel chicken eyes on me as I ate their unborn.

The company is family owned, and talking with the managers of the Rockford restaurant, I found out that turnover in management is almost non-existent; the company is that good to work for. The company’s mission statement, “Improving service in every sense,” is based on food, service and atmosphere. Judging from my visit, they live their mission statement. The atmosphere is casual fun, our service was top-notch and the food tasty and plentiful with a range of breakfast options from sweet pancakes to savory Benedicts. Soups, salads and sandwiches are available at lunch.

I’m looking at the Egg Harbor Café menu as I’m writing this, and I see lots of choices that would fit my new eating plan, like a fruit cup and whole wheat pancakes. And then my eyes rest on a new item: Boston Cream Pancakes, layered with vanilla custard and thick dark chocolate sauce. Dark chocolate. If I were eating there right now, I don’t know if my will power would be strong enough to stay away from such a temptation. I do know, however, that the next time I’m in an area of an Egg Harbor Café at breakfast time, I’m going in.

Egg Harbor Café, located at 1603 North Alpine Road in Rockford, Illinois, is open from 6:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. daily. Check the web site for the menu and additional locations.

Disclosure: My visit to Egg Harbor Cafe was hosted by the Rockford Area Convention and Visitors Bureau and Egg Harbor Cafe. However, opinions expressed in this post are my own.

Unbelievable Customer Service at My Local Culver’s

Connie Food & Drink, Illinois January 16, 2015Bourbonnais Illinois, Culver's, Restaurants in Bourbonnais 1 Comment

I have never before written about a national chain fast food restaurant.* Culver’s, a mostly Midwest chain but popping up in pockets across the nation, falls into that category. However, after our latest visit to our local Culver’s, I can’t keep quiet any longer. I have to tell you about the most exemplary customer service I have ever had in any restaurant of any type, anywhere, and I’ve eaten in some high-end restaurants. I’m not talking about great customer service on one occasion; I mean wow treatment on every visit, from every staff member, at the Bourbonnais, Illinois, Culver’s.

If they aren’t swamped with customers, a staff member opens the door for you and greets you with a, “Welcome to Culver’s.” Behind the counter, no matter how busy, you get another “Welcome to Culver’s.” Service is always with a smile. Tell them thank you, and they don’t mumble “No problem” or even say “You’re welcome.” They reply with, “My pleasure.”

Don’t miss a Midwest Wanderer post. For a FREE subscription, enter your e-mail address in the Subscribe2 box to the left and click Subscribe.

Culver’s is one of those fast-food restaurants where you place your order at the counter, and if you’re dining in, they give you a numbered table tent to take to your seat. They bring your food to you. On our visit this week, the young woman who delivered our food not only confirmed which sandwiches we ordered, but read the entire list of condiments to ensure it was correct.

Staff members walk table to table asking if everything is okay and clearing trays if you’re finished eating, a rare occurrence in a fast food restaurant. I’ve even had them offer to refill a soft drink cup. They sometimes offer a sample of Culver’s flavor of the day frozen custard.

I’ve eaten at the Bourbonnais Culver’s approximately once a month over the few years they’ve been open. In all that time, there was only one error in my order. I had ordered grilled onions on my Butterburger, but the onions were raw instead. They not only fixed the error, but they insisted on giving me a pint of frozen custard to take home. I felt guilty accepting it for such a trivial error, but I appreciated it.

When you’re leaving Culver’s, more often than not, someone opens the door for you once again and thanks you for visiting. Even if there is no one at the door, someone yells “Thank you” and wishes you a nice day.

I applaud every staff member at the Bourbonnais, Illinois, Culver’s location, as well as whoever trains them. The consistent extraordinary customer service, a rarity in most fast food restaurants, doesn’t go unnoticed, and it is my pleasure to spread the word.

Culver’s Bourbonnais location is 983 Convent Street. Culver’s is known for their Butterburgers and Fresh Frozen Custard, but offers many more menu options, as well.

Do you have a local restaurant that consistently delivers wow customer service? Share your experience in the Comments below.

*As part of my Wise Choices series, I will occasionally highlight lighter menu options in various regional or national chains, since most of us dine at them now and then while traveling.

The Palms Grill Cafe, Atlanta IL: Route 66 Diner Restored to its 1934 Look

Connie Food & Drink, Illinois January 7, 2015February 2, 2024old route 66, Palms Grill Cafe, Palms Grill Cafe Atlanta IL, Route 66 attractions, Route 66 Restaurants, The Palms Grill Cafe, U.S. Route 66 6 Comments

People from all over the world come to the United States each year to drive Historic Route 66 from Chicago to Santa Monica. Although many sights once along the Mother Road no longer exist, including much of the pavement itself, several businesses are making a comeback, either in their original states or as museums. One such business is The Palms Grill Café in Atlanta, Illinois. The diner has been fully restored to look as it did when it opened in 1934. The diner, including home-style entrees and fresh-baked pies, creates an authentic Route 66 dining experience. Read more