Lisa Parro is a Public Relations Specialist that is a proud new parent of a baby boy. When she can find a babysitter she loves getting together with her good friends over a delicious meal. She's always looking for new restaurants to try with her friends and turns to Check, Please! as her source for interesting restaurants around town.
I still think about
the goat cheese spinach dip. The fish tacos haunt my dreams. I pine for the
three-layer chocolate cake with the longing of an addict. If I would’ve known
that was to be my last meal out in a restaurant, I would have slowly savored
every bite. I would have snuck another sip of my husband’s beer. But little did
I know my son would be born less than 36 hours later, which means my husband
and I no longer spend our Friday and Saturday nights exploring new restaurants
or relaxing in the comfort of our favorite haunts but instead take turns
soothing our newborn while waiting for the pizza delivery guy or grabbing
takeout from the local barbecue joint. We’re parents now, our lives turned
upside-down with all the joy and craziness that accompanies this new stage in
life.
But now that David
Michael is one month old, we wonder if it’s time to introduce him to our shared
love of dining out. We refuse to be the red-faced couple hopelessly rocking the
screaming baby while clamoring for the check just as dinner is served.
Therefore the timing must be perfect; he will have to be fed, changed, and well
on his way to dreamland when we embark on our maiden voyage. And we’ll likely
take him somewhere close and familiar – likely Two Brothers Roundhouse in
Aurora, where we enjoyed our last meal those four weeks ago.
Two Brothers
Roundhouse is easily our favorite restaurant, and not just because it’s less
than two miles from our house. When we moved to Aurora seven years ago, the
Roundhouse – which opened as Walter Payton’s Roundhouse in 1996 – was easily
the top restaurant in town. Situated in an 1850s limestone trainyard (the name
reflects the building’s original use as a spot for locomotives to turn around),
the Roundhouse was a microbrewery that housed a multi-level restaurant, bar,
comedy club, cigar bar, outdoor entertainment space, banquet facility and a
museum honoring Payton. The Payton family eventually disassociated from the
facility, signaling the beginning of the end of the restaurant’s glory days. A
series of management debacles that led to a bankruptcy filing – coupled with
the ensuing decline in the quality of the food and beer – caused my husband and
I to scout out a new favorite restaurant about a year ago.
That’s when we
discovered the Two Brothers Tap House, a no-frills restaurant attached to the
Two Brothers brewery tucked away in an industrial complex in Warrenville.
Despite having no signs advertising the hard-to-find building, the place was
packed every weekend – a testament to the quality and variety of the beers and
the locally grown, largely organic dinner offerings. So when we heard rumblings
earlier this year that Two Brothers was interested in purchasing the
Roundhouse, it was like learning our two best friends were getting married.
We were among the
first customers when the newly christened Two Brothers Roundhouse opened this
summer. Like the Warrenville location, the Aurora restaurant also features
delicious food made with sustainable ingredients and complex, expertly crafted
beer. It’s once again packed with patrons every time we visit. The dinner menu
includes a wide selection of small plates, including pork belly tacos, skirt
steak tacos, vegetarian empanada, chili relleno, and spare rib risotto – all of
which I can highly recommend. The only dishes I don’t care for are the marrow
toast, which was too greasy for my taste, and the beer carpaccio, which
featured too many onions. For dinner entrees, you can’t go wrong with the
Roundhouse burger (made from organic beef with a generous helping of adobo
sauce), the aforementioned fish tacos, applewood smoked ribs, or the daily fish
special.
Soon, our newly
expanded family will return to the Roundhouse. It will be the first step in
introducing David Michael to our lifelong love of restaurants. Perhaps he’s
already inherited the dining out gene, which my husband got from his parents; I
apparently absorbed it through marriage. If so, it won’t be long until he’s
inviting us to check out his top spot. I just hope he offers to pick up the
check.
Two Brothers
Roundhouse
205 N. Broadway
Aurora, IL 60505
(630) 264-BREW (2739)
