Golf Road eats?

I have to pick a place to eat on Golf Road between Arlington Heights and DesPlaines. It will be for mid-morning and I do not think that my dining companion is 'food ambitious' as we have not met. I am thinking about an "Omega" (Greek diner) type place as the menu is varied. It does not have to be fancy but it should be somewhat quiet. Any suggestions?

Jelly Café, 1784 W. Golf, Mount Prospect http://www.jelly-cafe.com/

Golden Brunch, 31 E Golf Rd, Arlington Heights http://www.goldenbrunch.com/menu

Elly's Pancake House, 372 E Golf Rd, Arlignton Heights http://ellyspancakehouse.com/arlington-height/

In the same center as Omega (which is pretty mediocre) is a South Indian place called Bombay Chat. Cheap, casual and tasty. Elmhurst and Golf has Sankalp, another Indian place specializing in dosas. Arlington Heights and Golf has Asian Bistro, some of the better Chinese in the burbs.

Jelly Cafe is good! I haven't been to the other two. It's generally not very loud.

abe_froeman wrote:Jelly Cafe is good! I haven't been to the other two. It's generally not very loud.

I enjoyed the pot roast with eggs breakfast at Jelly.

In Des Plaines there is Katie's Kitchen http://www.katieskitchenonline.com/ which is 1/2 mile north of the Golf/Wolf roundabout and also L&L (great ham) which is 1/4 mile to west of roundabout on NW Hwy: viewtopic.php?p=423185

My folks have informed me I’ll be enjoying Omega Niles for lunch on Friday (very generously brought to my home so we can eat while they play with their granddaughter) but I’ve never eaten there since my impressions from online is the place is just sort of mediocre and fine for a 24 hour diner.

Does anyone eat there regularly or any tips on what to order or what to avoid? Any hidden gems on the menu? It’s just such a large and broad menu - I’m not sure where to start!

Your assessment of Omega is correct; they are the restaurant equivalent of the phrase, "jack of all trades, master of none." I say this in spite of the fact that it was a regular family meeting place (not my first choice) in the before times. I rarely had a bad meal there, but never anything noteworthy either. My safe, go-to picks included the Monte Cristo and Russian Reuben. The one thing I always had to have was their Sweet & Sour Cabbage Soup with a croissant or onion roll. It wasn't as good as The Bagel's S&S Cabbage Soup, but it was a reasonable substitute in a pinch.

Buddy

DClose wrote:Does anyone eat there regularly or any tips on what to order or what to avoid? Any hidden gems on the menu? It’s just such a large and broad menu - I’m not sure where to start!

I think your read is pretty accurate. There's some good, nothing really excellent and plenty of mediocre. Soups are hit or miss. Desserts are universally awful. If I were eating there, maybe I'd consider the omelet/hash brown/toast triptych. To go . . . I'd probably opt for the club sandwich on whole wheat toast and call it a day.

=R=

A family member consistently picks Omega for family groups to meet for brunch. Perfect for the occasion, food fine, service good, prices appealed to all and they handle multi generational groups well. Plus plenty of parking and plenty of inside space.

Egg iterations good, I like the club house sandwich in context, not as a destination sandwich.

Bonus, there is a little game room with a few electronic slot machines. The young adults, and my sister in-law, sneak from the table to offer 20-dollar-bills to the gods of no-chance. Occasionally the bride joins them. Personally I would not step foot in the game room even if Carol Channing's ghost was preforming Gregorian chants wearing violet lingerie.

DClose wrote:My folks have informed me I’ll be enjoying Omega Niles for lunch on Friday (very generously brought to my home so we can eat while they play with their granddaughter) but I’ve never eaten there since my impressions from online is the place is just sort of mediocre and fine for a 24 hour diner.

Does anyone eat there regularly or any tips on what to order or what to avoid? Any hidden gems on the menu? It’s just such a large and broad menu - I’m not sure where to start!

I love Omega. I've written why in other places on this Forum. I have not been since Covid, and I believe not eating in would diminish the experience.

And as someone who just loves the place, I'll say there are almost no good dishes. The eggs/skillets/omelettes are OK, fine if you want, not the best in this genre, say no Tempo but not the worst either. Burger and club sandwiches are about that. So, if you do not want to take my advice below, I'd stick there.

But to me, there is one sublime item and a few very good ones. The sublime is the Grecian boneless chicken; not the Athenian, which falls into the good side of the menu. Boneless. It's broiled, with a thick lemon sauce and tons of excellent cottage fried potatoes, also covered in the sauce--but the potatoes stay crisp. The very good items are the skirt steaks. To my warped brain, it's an odd tough choice between the Athenian style and the broiled item. I prefer the Athenian for a reason I will detail, but the broiled has a nice jus and I like the onion rings that come with it. Occasionally, I go with the broiled just for the onion rings.

To me, Omega is always a sum greater than their parts kinda place. You start with a house made muffin; then it's the Greek salad. That's almost always why I get from the "Grecian" section, the Greek salad, with anchovies and a big chunk of feta and a very good thick dressing (yes everything here is a bit un-naturally thick). Also, with the boneless chicken, you get those cottage fries, by far their best starch option, and an up-charge with any other entree. If it's the steak, I get the rice, which makes a great sop for the sauce. And I almost always splurge on dessert. but again, you have to be limited. Most of what's in the case is dreck. You cannot go wrong, in fact you'll go really right with the flan (have them throw a little whipped cream on because you need the calories). The full meals come with soup. I always have them pack something up, but I almost never actually eat it. Some people swear by their onion soup. Not me.

Good luck.

PS
Omega is often on Groupon

The only 3 things I like at Omega:
1 - The Sweet and sour cabbage soup
2 - The Omega Signature Cheesecake slice (you have to ask for it) which is a construction of layers of cheesecake, chocolate cake, chocolate ganache and a chocolate covered strawberry on top.
3 - The Dear Julie Salad! with blue cheese dressing:
Strips of turkey, ham and cheese with lettuce, chopped egg, peppers, tomato

All else I have ever tried at Omega taste like any Greek Diner Food found at most similar type establishments.

G Wiv wrote:Personally I would not step foot in the game room even if Carol Channing's ghost was preforming Gregorian chants wearing violet lingerie.

Does the Carol Channing ghost look like her younger self, or closer toward the end, cuz that would be a determining factor for me.

Buddy

Thanks, everyone! This is the sort of unusually specific enthusiasm for Omega I was looking for and it is nice to see there are some consistent mentions of things people really enjoy.

I think a strong case has been made for the whole boneless chicken which my wife and I look forward to splitting tomorrow!