As stated before: we love going out to eat. And, we also love convenience. So when Anthem Grill opened up at 704 W. Euclid Ave., in Palatine, around the corner from us, we checked it out. On a recent Friday night visit, we both wondered where all these people had come fromthe dining room, its bar and the main bar area on the east side of the building was packed. And we barley found a place to park. There was complimentary valet, but we didnt see it as we circled the building. We didnt venture up to the game room, but on our second visit, we overhead some kids talking favorably about it.
The crowd ranged from families to coworkers, couples and moreat least a dozen tables were reserved for what looked like a teens birthday party. We opted for seats at the bar, and the bartenders were extremely prompted and seemed to attend to everyones needs with easy.
Just like the space that now houses Westwood Tavern and Wildberry caf, this space is huge presenting a unique challenge. We went back on a random Tuesday night, and even though there was a decent crowd already in the main bar area right at 5 p.m., we both wondered how Anthem Grill will deal with this challenge.
What about the food? From the appetizer section, www.anthemgrill.com/, we tried the calamari, potato skins and beef nachos. The calamari was awfulwe kept thinking of a recent episode of chef Gordon Ramseys Kitchen Nightmares and thought, What would Gordon think? But the nachos and potato skins were both stellar. The latter is one of my favorite all-time bar food, and these were definitely in the top three best-ever skins. One work of caution: those nachos are huge! We ordered burgers as well that night, and both ate half our burgers for lunch the next day.
On both visits, the waitstaff was very friendly, professional and helpful. The hostess sat us promptly, and we saw several customers addressed by namecue the theme song from Cheers. And, there seem to be more than enough TVs in the main bar to show all the sporting events on any given weekend. In fact, I hope Anthem Grill will offer some great specials for March Madness because its TV set up seems ideal for it.
We would definitely go back to Anthem Grill, and from driving by its parking lot, the restaurant is drawing customers in from the plethora of neighborhoods surrounding it. We have our fingers crossed for its success.
About Us: Were a married couple living in Schaumburg. Nick runs his own law office, www.nickrichardsonlaw.com/, and I work in communications promoting eggs.
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