Fox's on the River almost set to open
The advertising has started for one of Batavia's newest restaurants, but the doors aren't open quite yet at Fox's on the River.
"All of our inspections are backed up right now because we had some delays with Nicor," said Frank Fox, who has operated numerous restaurants in the Chicago area and hopes to open his Batavia location at 31 N. River St. by Thursday or Friday.
"This is just a beautiful location for us," said Fox, who has owned restaurants in Beverly, Oak Lawn, Orland Park and Mokena since 1963. "Everything about it is very positive and we hope people keep an eye on when we finally open, and then they come running."
Fox's becomes the latest establishment to occupy this North River Street building with the popular back patio setting along the river.
In November of 2008, Venice Tavern closed its doors and then Shawn Michael's Bistro had a short and mysterious run in that spot last summer.
"We have the plumbers here and will get all of the other inspections again and hope to open late next week," Fox said on New Year's Eve.
That downtown shuffle:Just in case you haven't been paying attention to downtown Geneva - or maybe were out of town for some time before and during the holidays - there has been a restaurant shuffle along State Street.The restaurant below the old theater marquee changed when Citizen Kane moved across the street into the former Isabella's location, and the spot below the theater marquee became occupied by The Ale House, a microbrewery and pub.Ale House owners Brian Harrington and Lori Hackman are hoping to please Geneva residents and visitors with menu offerings that one would consider a notch above the normal pub fare.The sweetest of news:I've been eating plenty of chocolate the past two weeks, and I suspect I am not alone.Some wonderful news was revealed that made the holiday weeks even sweeter. Those "experts" we all hear from on occasion regarding our health are now saying that dark chocolate is even better for us than first thought.The latest? First, it makes you smarter by increasing cerebral blood flow, which means I better start eating pounds of this stuff. Second, it weakens heart attacks. They admit more research has to be done on this one, but it appears those chocolate eaters who suffer from heart disease are less likely to die from an attack. Third, research is showing that something called theobromine in chocolate can harden tooth enamel. Word is that someday we'll see that dark chocolate compound working its way into toothpastes and mouthwashes.The bottom line? Any time is a perfect time of year to go ahead and enjoy that dark chocolate.Some fancy burgers:Burger lovers who patronize the Grand Victoria Casino in Elgin will be happy to know that the Prime BurgerHouse has opened on the casino pavilion.The gourmet burgers a taste from Elgin Community College's culinary arts school that earned a spot on the menu of 10 burgers through a competition held the past few months.