LTHForum.com

Johnnie's Beef has a location on Arlington Heights Rd. slightly north of 90.

I am looking for mostly breakfast or lunch spots

Any good Chinese or Thai spots in that area?

My favorite breakfast place has become L&L Snack Shop in Des Plaines. I still love Walker Bros. pancakes, but they're so overpriced.

L&L is a little hole-in-the-wall place; I don't know their history, but they've been there for quite awhile, at least 15 years- my boyfriend would frequently go there as a teenager for a cheap breakfast with his friends. We just went last Sunday and for $15, before tip, we got 1 coffee, 1 large apple juice, 1 large milk, a wheatcakes/egg/sausage combo and a French toast/egg/bacon combo. Plus the free ham and extra eggs (more on that later!)

There's several booths and a counter and the people are so friendly. I've only ordered breakfast there (they have sandwiches, salads, soups, etc.) and it seems that no matter what you order, it comes with ham. And this is REAL ham, not from skinny pigs. They brown it a little so it has some nice caramelization going on. Even if you get it with bacon or sausage, they give you a couple pieces of ham. Order ham as the meat, and they just add more.

They're always giving you a little more- combinations that say one egg end up appearing with two. The pancakes are fabulous- they don't have that sour taste that I love at Walker Bros., but they call them "wheatcakes" and I think they're made with wheat flour or something because they're a little heartier than Walker Bros. pancakes. My boyfriend is more of a French toast fan, and from the couple bites I've had of his, it's definitely some of the best French toast I've ever had.

It really is like eating breakfast at Grandma's house. It's an older couple who seem to own it, with the husband at the grill and the wife behind the counter with a younger woman working the tables and counter.

I don't know what time they open, but they close at 2 pm on Sundays- that's the day we always go.

L & L Snack Shop
(847) 803-6767
456 E Northwest Hwy
Des Plaines, IL

Edited on 3/13/09 to add: Funny story- I went there a couple of weeks ago with my boyfriend and my mom. The older lady asked my mom if she'd been there before, and my mom said, "yes, a couple of times with them" [pointing at us]. Then the lady said, referring to my boyfriend, "oh yes, and you've been coming here for a long time! You used to come in here with your friends, those troublemakers!" We laughed- his friends in jr. high/high school were sort of troublemakers, but he swears they were always on their best behavior in there. Couldn't risk being banned! Just funny that she remembered them after all those years!

Asian Bistro is in town, too.
LTH thread

65 W. Golf Rd.
Arlington Heights, IL 60005
ph: 847-439-5888
fax: 847-439-5858

http://www.asianbistro.biz/

Asian Bistro is in town, too.
LTH thread

http://www.asianbistro.biz/

This would probably be one of my top choices - Asian Bistro is very good, among the better Chinese spots in the city (on quite a few dishes, comparable with Lao Sze Chuan).

Ttowa is in Arlington Heights too - highly regarded on LTH, tho Ive never been..
http://www.lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=33136

My top choice, however, would probably be Sankalp (167 West Golf, Schaumburg).

I strongly agree.
.....

Excellent, thanks for the rec! Might try it out as soon as tomorrow. How does it compare to the one in Mount Prospect?
.

There are quite a few Indian/Pakistani options, if you have any interest in that. For reasonably good Pakistani/Indian-Muslim style food (of the Sabri Nehari/Hyderabad House type) - a place like BBQ Tonight (1061 West Golf Road, Schaumburg) is a pretty good version. Not maybe quite as good as the Usmaniya's et al on Devon, but pretty good.

My top choice, however, would probably be Sankalp (167 West Golf, Schaumburg). This is Southern Indian regional cuisine, of the Andhra/Tamil Nadu/Kannada style. Predominantly (but not exclusively) vegetarian - excellent versions of dosai, idli's etc, the best in the Chicagoland area (far better than most restaurants of this type anywhere in the city) -and easily the largest variety of these dishes anywhere in the area (they have about a full page worth of idli/dosai varieties alone!)
It blows away any similar restaurant in the city - the Udipis, the Uru-Swatis etc, that have gotten much love on LTH, the Reader etc.

Sankalp also serves a fair few meat-based dishes, unusually for a South Indian restaurant in Chicago (Andhra style chicken/meat/fish - pepper-frys and the like - which are quite good). *And* they have a liquor-license! Theyre usually a dollar or two per entree higher than the typical Devon restaurant - but very much worth the upcharge (none of the meat-entrees are higher than about 13 bucks anyway, so its not what youd call crazily expensive regardless

The proposed LSC site is at the old Smiling Buddha location. I've driven by a few times and haven't seen at activity other than the small sign that says LSC coming soon. But that has been up for a while now.

Second to none in South Indian food restaurants, Sankalp Restaurants represent a style and cuisine that is nonpareil. Sankalp was founded in 1981 by the visionary Mr. Kailash Goenka. He opened the company’s first flagship restaurant on Ashram Road, Ahmedabad. The rest is history. Presently, there are more than 90 Sankalp Restaurants in India and across the globe, each promising a great dining experience. An ever increasing innovative menu, food festivals and a wide range of quality products have not only helped build a broad consumer base but also inculcated loyalty among the diners. This is the reason why Sankalp has gained popularity and is very much in demand.

We did hit Sankalp and it was awesome. Now, this was just one meal and we didn't manage to make much of a dent in the huge menu, but I found it far more enjoyable than either Chicagoland Udupi, Mysore Woodlands, or Uru Swati. Can't wait to go back and try some of the other dishes. This place deserves a dedicated thread (if necessary, I'll start one after my next visit).

Dosa Night is Thursday. Also, there is a sign on the door that seems to say that on weekends they are only open for lunch.