St. Charles' Crazy Fox beckons with cocktails, elevated pub fare
Peter and Daniela Zaikowski took a vacant spot on Main Street in St. Charles, gutted the space from top to bottom, installed new kitchen equipment and furnishings and began welcoming thirsty locals in mid-January to the Crazy Fox Bar & Grille. Smack dab between a pizza place and a Mexican restaurant, the cozy bar relies on modern American pub food, elevated just enough, and a nice array of drinks to attract a crowd as eclectic as the menu.
<b>Motif:</b> The casual 2,200-square-foot space, designed by Daniela, seats 70, and the curvaceous bar (the only holdover from the property's previous incarnations) seats around 20 parched customers. The husband-and-wife team have decades of experience in managing restaurants, but it was Daniella who learned her way around a sander to bring the bar back to gleaming shape. Although not a sports bar, there are five TVs offering good sight lines if your favorite team happens to be playing. Since it's relatively small, the place can be quite noisy at lunch and dinner time.
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Food:</b> The menu lists all-American bar faves such as burgers, chicken wings, nachos, sliders, fried pickles and chili as well as some nice surprises for those not in the mood for standard pub choices. Chef Leo (he goes by one name a la Beyoncé and Sting) turns out Crazy Fox charcuterie (imported meats and cheeses); baked French onion soup, prepared daily and arriving with a cap of melted cheese; Caprese or Mediterranean (actually Greek) salad; and some unpredictable entrees. There's salmon baked with a honey mustard glaze, sprinkled with bread crumbs and escorted by roasted spuds and other vegetables, as well as a charbroiled New York Strip, chicken Parmesan and a born-in-Chicago-but-hard-to-find platter of Chicken Vesuvio that's sure to perfume more than a few tables with its heady dose of garlic and white wine. Specials will appear on the menu beginning in February, so look for a lamb chop appetizer, Portobello mushroom starter, pasta primavera with shrimp or chicken and other offerings. Monday is always half-price burger day, with other specials scattered through the week.
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Liquid consumption: </b>Be sure to try one of the half-dozen or so specialty cocktails: Daniela has a solid background in bartending, and she teaches the finer points of mixology to everyone stepping behind her bar. Among the 14 rotating beers on tap, expect seasonal brews, ciders and IPAs; feel free to mention some of your favorites to the owners because they are intent on keeping up with what their customers like. As well as stocking 54 different craft beers, Crazy Fox offers an evolving selection of fine wines in mid-range to keep prices affordable at $7 to $11 a glass.
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Crowd:</b> Since the menu is so varied, clientele can range from families during the day and in the early evening to couples enjoying wine and charcuterie and groups of friends supping on nachos and beer.
<b>Overall:</b> Right across from the Arcada Theatre, the new spot offers deft and friendly service, and Peter says diners should feel free to arrive clad in jeans and a T-shirt because there's not a lick of pretense at Crazy Fox. “St. Charles is a great little town and we hope word-of-mouth helps us stay here for a long, long time,” he said.
Crazy Fox Bar & Grille
104 E Main St., St Charles, (630) 940-2876
Hours: 11 a.m. to 1 a.m. daily