Palwaukee Plaza Prospect Heights, IL

So Mrs. F's business is moving out of the house 2 miles north, into office space and there's several good eats in the center, aside from the Denny's prominently on Milwaukee Ave.

There's "Dog Walk" a tiny hot dog stand run by an Asian husband and wife, always packed, huge menu and really cheap. Flourescent relish! $3 gets you a dog with fries and a drink -- including tax! I've only had the dog (very good, but the bun a bit soggy and without poppy seeds), and a polish which was unexceptional (deep fried then finished on the grill, no grilled onions available). I've got to try their "Beef-O" -- a cheeseburger topped with Italian beef.

I've yet to try the Mandarin Somethingorother chinese place, just haven't had the chance, mostly because I'm thrilled with...

Monica's Mexican Food and Pizza. Mind you, the pizza is rotating under a heat lamp and looks pretty scary, but the mexican food is outstanding. The best I've had so far are Tacos Cecina: chewy steak strips served with excellent guacamole for $1.50, most of the other tacos are $1.40, as are tamales we've had at lunch before.

Tonight I had Two big Chiles Rellenos with a thin batter and garlicy thin red sauce ladled over it with rice, beans and corn tortillas for $7.50. Mrs. F had a Quesadilla platter, Thing 1 had a Torta Milanesa (only the meat and cheese, please), Thing 2 had 2 steak tacos, both had fries and a coke, some extra crema for the table... all together $20.09! Great red salsa with chips for the table too. The four of us haven't eaten that cheaply since the kids could order of the children's menu.

I'll be back there a lot

Other options in the center: A Pasteleria/Panaderia. Hispanic pastries just don't thrill me -- not enough chocolate. There's a Subway, a family restaurant at the end I've forgotten the name of, and if I'm really desperate, White Hen.

Hi,

This grouping of eateries is in the shopping strip mall BEHIND the Denny's and south of Palwaukee Airport, correct?

Cathy: Yes. I realized that I didn't put any addresses up there -- the only one I know is the office center, which is 664 Milwauke Ave, Prospect Heights.

This is the center that fronts Milwaukee Ave just south of Palatine Road.

is it the same place that the Rocky Vanders rest is at?

Yup, that's the restaurant I couldn't remember the name of at the end of the strip. Haven't been in there yet.

On Saturday, with Thing 1 on a date, and Thing 2 on a scout trip, we went back the office for some more setup, and as it ran late, we decided to try Rocky Vanders.

It's a bar and grill, emphasis on the sports bar, which is more than half the footage. A sign said free hot dogs during Cubs games (although nobody offered me any -- must be only at the bar).

A pretty extensive menu for a mostly-bar place, and their special for the day, which most of the few people in there were having, was the all-you-can-eat "King Snow" crab at $21.95. I wasn't up for gluttony, so I skipped, but they looked larger than standard Snows. The large party near us seemed quite enchanted with them.

I ordered the Fried Gulf Shrimp (hand breaded) on a whim, but they were out of it, so I settled for the cheaper shrimp basket, which though probably prefrozen were cooked just right: crunchy breading and juicy shrimp. Cocktail sauce was too sweet, needs more horseradish, but a little tabasco helped. Garlic dressing on the salad was pretty good (about a 7 or 8 out of 10, with Dave's Italian Kitchen at 11).

Mrs. F had the Chicken Kiev, which was covered with cheese sauce (homemade). This was OK. Baked French Onion Soup had lots of cheese and was pretty good too.

Prices are pretty low, but the kitchen was rather slow for a relatively quiet night. We'll probably come back again. I introduced ourselves to the owner, being new neighbors. He reaffirmed my gut feeling that the landlords in the center are decent folk.