UPDATE Wednesday, March 21, 2012: There were not were enough votes for this Chowdown to have a finalists' poll. The Chowdown Showdown will resume on March 28 with a new Chowdown.  ---------- Corned beef washed down with a shot of Irish whiskey — this week, in the spirit of the upcoming St. Patrick's Day holiday — we are looking for the best place for Irish food and/or drink in McHenry County.  It could be an excellent Irish pub or a restaurant that serves a delicious Irish dish: Let us know where you like to go for Irish food and drink by commenting below.  We will take comments in this …

When it comes down to a side-order choice between a salad, baked potato or french fries, which gets your vote?  For me, french fries are hard to pass up.  But let's be honest, they aren't all delicious. Some are soggy or burnt to a crisp, or are just too greasy or not greasy enough. These are not the types of french fries we are looking for during this week's Chowdown Showdown french fry challenge. Let us know in our comments' section which restaurant or fast-food joint serves up the best french fries in McHenry County. Voting will be a bit different starting this week and moving forward. We …

Mandile’s Restaurant, 2160 Lake Cook Road in Algonquin, grabbed this week’s Chowdown Showdown title for having the most romantic restaurant in McHenry County. As of Friday afternoon, Mandile's had 39 percent of the vote. Here are how the other restaurants chosen as finalists in this week's Chowdown fared: Montarra Grill, 1491 S. Randall Road in Algonquin, came in second with 21 percent of the vote.  Bonefish Grill, 1604 S. Randall Road in Algonquin, came in third with 19 percent of the vote.  1776 Restaurant, 397 W. Virginia St. in Crystal Lake, came in fourth with 9 percent of the vote.  …

Valentine's Day is right around the corner. With that in mind, this week's Chowdown Showdown will be focused on finding the most romantic restaurant in McHenry County.  This is the place you turn to when you want to impress a date. Where you take your significant other when you are celebrating an anniversary. Let us know which restaurant in the county you think fits this bill by commenting below. We will take votes through 5 p.m. Tuesday. From there, we will select finalists to square off in the finalist's Showdown. Voting will start Wednesday morning for the finalists' Showdown and continue …

Duke's Alehouse and Kitchen, 110 N. Main St., Crystal Lake, grabbed this week’s Chowdown Showdown title for having the best bar in McHenry County. As of Friday afternoon, Duke's had 53 percent of the vote. The runner-up, The Tracks, 108 W. Main St., Cary, had 42 percent of vote. The Cottage, 6 E. Crystal Lake Ave., Crystal Lake, had 3 percent of this week's vote.  Check back on Sunday for next week's Chowdown Showdown. 

For this week's McHenry County Patch Chowdown Showdown, we asked readers which bar is the best in the county.  Thank you to everyone who submitted their votes by commenting on our Chowdown Showdown article for this week.  This week we have three finalists:  Duke's Alehouse and Kitchen, 110 N. Main St. in Crystal Lake The Tracks, 108 W. Main St. in Cary The Cottage, 6 E. Crystal Lake Avenue in Crystal Lake You can cast your vote for your favorite spot by submitting your answer in the poll below.  Voting will continue through 12 p.m. Friday. Check back first thing Saturday morning to find out …

Jersey Mike's, which has sup shops in Lake in the Hills and Crystal Lake, grabbed this week’s Chowdown Showdown title for serving up the best sub sandwich in the county.  As of Friday at noon, Jersey Mike's Subs came in with 2,155 votes, which was 52 percent of the total vote. Jersey Mike's has locations at 285 N. Randall Road in Lake in the Hills and 5006 Northwest Highway, Suite E, in Crystal Lake The runner-up, Galloway's Chicago Subs, 1295 Randall Road in Crystal Lake, brought in 1,782 votes and 43 percent of the total vote count.  Trailing in third was Bubs Subs, 260 S. Randall Road in …

The Great American Bagel in Crystal Lake grabbed this week’s Chowdown Showdown title for having the best bagels in McHenry County. As of Friday afternoon, The Great American Bagel, 6232 Northwest Highway in Crystal Lake, had 56 percent of the vote. The runner-up, Bentley's Bagels & Brews, 124 S. Randall Road in Algonquin, came in second with 43 percent of this week's vote in our weekly Chowdown Showdown poll.  Check back on Sunday for next week's Chowdown Showdown.   

For this week's McHenry County Patch Chowdown Showdown, we asked readers where their favorite place in the county is to get a bagel.  Thank you to everyone who submitted their votes by commenting on our Chowdown Showdown article for this week.  This week we have two finalists:  Bentley's Bagels & Brews, 124 S Randall Rd, Algonquin, IL 60102 The Great American Bagel, 6232 Northwest Hwy, Crystal Lake, IL 60014 You can cast your vote for your favorite spot by submitting your answer in the poll below.  Voting will continue through 12 p.m. Friday. Check back first thing Saturday morning to find …

It’s the start of a new week, which means it is time to kick off this week's Chowdown Showdown Challenge.  The weekly Chowdown Showdown is meant to be a fun and easy way for readers to pick and vote on their favorite places to get certain entrees in McHenry County. Each week, we will ask you to tell us your favorite place to get a bowl of chili or a burger or a stack of pancakes. This week we are looking to McHenry County Patch readers to let us know, where is your favorite place to get a bagel in the county?  You can let us know your favorite by commenting below (only one vote or comment per…

For this week's McHenry County Patch Chowdown Showdown, we asked readers to tell us where their favorite restaurant in the county is to enjoy Thai food.  Thank you to everyone who submitted their votes by commenting on our article.  This week, we have three finalists: Krystal Thai, 230 W. Virginia St. in Crystal Lake, Wild Orchid Thai Bistro, 6000 Northwest Highway in Crystal Lake and Green Peapod, 1225 N. Green St. in McHenry.  You can cast your vote for your favorite spot by taking our poll below.  Voting will continue through 12 p.m. Friday. Check back first thing Saturday morning to find …

Day go Dogs in Algonquin grabbed this week’s Chowdown Showdown title for having the best hot dogs in McHenry County. As of Friday afternoon, Day go Dogs had 59 percent of the vote. Here is how this week’s finalists fared: 1: Day Go Dogs, 2761 W. Algonquin Road in Algonquin, 183 votes 2: Portillo's Hot Dogs, 855 Cog Circle in Crystal Lake, as well as several other locations, 56 votes 3: The Home Depot and its hot dog stand, 4447 U.S. Highway 14 in Crystal Lake, 28 votes 4: Dante’s in Algonquin, 24 votes 5: Tommy's Red Hots, 191 Randall Road in Lake in the Hills and 363 Virginia St. in Crystal …

For this week's McHenry County Patch Chowdown Showdown, we asked readers where their favorite place in the county is to get a hot dog.  Thank you to everyone who submitted their votes by commenting on our article from earlier this week. This week we have five finalists: Day Go Dogs, 2761 W. Algonquin Road in Algonquin The Home Depot and its hot dog stand, 4447 U.S. Highway 14 in Crystal Lake Tommy's Red Hots, 191 Randall Road in Lake in the Hills and 363 Virginia St. in Crystal Lake as well as other locations in the area Dante's, 10400 South Illinois Route 31 in Algonquin Portillo's Hot Dogs…

It’s the start of a new week, which means it is time to kick off this week's Chowdown Showdown Challenge.  The weekly Chowdown Showdown is meant to be a fun and easy way for readers to pick and vote on their favorite places to get certain entrees in McHenry County. Each week, we will ask you to tell us your favorite place to get a bowl of chili or a burger or a stack of pancakes. This week we are looking to McHenry County Patch readers to let us know, where is your favorite place to get a hot dog in the county?   You can let us know your favorite by commenting below (only one vote or comment …

For this week's McHenry County Patch Chowdown Showdown, we asked readers where their favorite place in the county is to get a salad. Thank you to everyone who submitted their votes by commenting in our article from earlier this week. This week we have three finalists: Diced Fresh in Algonquin, Mimi's Cafe in Algonquin or Benedict's La Strata in Crystal Lake. You can cast your vote for your favorite spot by submitting your answer in the poll below.  Voting will continue through 1 p.m. Friday. Check back first thing Saturday morning to find out if your restaurant has been chosen as this week's …

It's Monday, which means it is time to kick off this week's Chowdown Showdown Challenge.  The weekly Chowdown Showdown is meant to be a fun and easy way for readers to pick and vote on their favorite places to get certain entrees in McHenry County. Each week, we will ask you to tell us your favorite place to get a bowl of chili or a burger or a stack of pancakes.  This week we want to know, what is your favorite place to get pizza in McHenry County?   You can let us know your favorite spot by commenting below. You will be able to submit your vote through 5 p.m. Tuesday.  From there, we will …

In the spirit of starting the year out right, this week’s Chowdown Showdown will take a rare but healthy step forward.   In 2011, we sought out the best burger joint, Italian food restaurant and the places with the most delicious Chinese cuisine in McHenry County.  With many starting up the New Year on a new diet, this week we want to hear where is the best place in McHenry County to get a salad.  Let us know by commenting below (only one comment/vote per user, please!). We will post a poll first thing Wednesday with the restaurants that receive the most votes (comments) as our finalists. …

Cucina Bella in Algonquin grabbed this week's Chowdown Showdown title for having the best Italian food in the county.  As of Friday afternoon, Cucina Bella had 43 percent of the vote, leaving Bimbo's Ristorante in McHenry, the runner up, with 25 percent of the vote.  Check back on Monday for next week's Chowdown Showdown!

For this week's McHenry County Patch Chowdown Showdown, we asked readers where their favorite place in the county is to get Italian food. Thank you to everyone who submitted their votes by commenting in our article from earlier this week. This week we have five finalists: Biaggi's in Algonquin, Galati's in Cary, Cucina Bella in Algonquin, Da Baffone Cucina in Crystal Lake and Bimbo's Ristorante in McHenry. You can cast your vote for your favorite spot by submitting your answer in the poll below.  Voting will continue through 12 p.m. Friday. Check back first thing Saturday morning to find out …

Who doesn't love a tip on a great restaurant they haven't already tried in the area? That was the idea behind the Chowdown Showdown when Patch.com editors launched the feature this past year.  Every week, we have asked readers to tell us where is the best place to get pizza, a burger, a bowl of chili, Mexican food — and the list goes on.  It's a feature that is meant to be fun. It's gotten competitive, at times, for some loyal customers. But the main purpose is to give people some new ideas on places to try.  With that in mind, we decided to list out all of the Chowdown Showdown winners, as …