glenn's diner

Since moving to the Lakeview neighborhood, I've found that dining up north and around my neighborhood is much more enjoyable than some of the places in River North or the Loop.  While the ambience and "cache" may not be as buzzworthy as some of the places in the proper part of the city, the food at neighborhood restaurants are sure giving those guys a run for their money.  On a daily basis I drive by Glenn's Diner right off of the Montrose Brown Line stop and I have always been intrigued, but reading this article pushed us to try it sooner rather than later.

Based on the consistent Yelp reviews I went ahead with a reservation (even though it was for a 6pm dinner) and I’m glad I did because the place was already packed.  The cozy restaurant had cereal boxes on shelves behind the bar and on opposite walls of the restaurant were 2 large blackboards that outlined majority of the menu items.  While seafood is their specialty, there was a wide variety of non-seafood options including cereal which is served all day.  As we sat down, I noticed that a young man had exercised that option eating what looked to be like Cocoa Puffs (good choice young man!).  

The variety had so many options it was hard to choose just once, but luckily we're now a family 3 so having the option to taste test more is greater.  We started with the calamari battered in a cornmeal crust and each had seafood entrees that included swordfish, halibut and their all meaty crab cakes.  Everything was absolutely delicious and tasted really fresh, but the turning point for us was the sides they served with their entrees.  The thing with seafood is that it doesn't need a lot of dressing up and to me the best sides are ones that don't overtake the protein.  I love (love) that they served their dishes with asparagus spears and made it easy for the protein to standout.  It was very clean and gave the natural flavors of the fish an opportunity to shine through.

We had a great experience at Glenn's and I cannot wait to go back during one of their "all you can eat" days (Thursdays are all you can eat shrimp and Tuesdays are all you can eat King's crabs legs).  I may have already planned a date with Miss 101 Things I Love to catch up on all things kids and scarf down on as many servings of sea creatures as our waist lines will allow.  If you're looking for a great, low key seafood place definitely check out Glenn's Diner - it's a wonderful neighborhood joint that is worthy of all their 4 stars!