Mystery Diner: Grandpa's Place serves good food at low prices
Amid a light rain and a slate-gray sky, we hardly noticed the outdoor dining area that had been added to the front of Grandpa’s Place, nor even the renovated interior that scrubbed away any sense having been there before. Other restaurants have inhabited the same location on the outskirts of downtown Sycamore, and considering the dull weather, it was going to take more than a fresh, new look to brighten the moods of this trio of diners.
We walked in mid-morning, too late for breakfast, too early for lunch, and quickly found how accommodating Grandpa’s menu could be. The Angus burger with eggs seemed a perfect order to solve that brunchtime indecision.
With one dining companion having gone the brunch route, my other companion and I decided it was time for lunch, enticed primarily by a bowl of soup or chili. I was having the chili, but for my main entree I couldn’t decide between the Italian beef or sausage. No matter, I just ordered Grandpa’s Italian combo, so I didn’t have to choose. My lunch companion selected a grilled chicken sandwich, pimped out on pretzel bread.
When my combo arrived it was piled so high with Italian beef that I thought my order had been mistaken. Not so, because there beneath that juicy, thin-sliced beef topped with mozzarella cheese and hot peppers was an equally tasty Italian sausage. This was no breakfast sandwich, but a hearty serving of sunshine to help any big eater make it through the day.
My lunch companion savored her chicken, sandwiched between what looked to be two soft-pretzel halves, smooshed to form a bun. Something different, to be sure, but also something tasty and with just the right balance of soft dough with sufficient firmness to keep the sandwich in place.
Meanwhile, my brunch companion turned out to have her hands full, moving right to left from scrambled eggs to hash browns to a bunless 1/3-pound burger. She could have added pancakes, but chose toast instead, and all for $6.25.
Her order was one of the few items on the menu in excess of $6, a rare price at a place where most items fall in the $3-$5 range. But don’t mistake great value for cheap food. My combo, perhaps the most self-indulgent item on the menu, fell well short of that mark at $5.35. And while it may have been enormous, it also was delicious.
Perhaps the greatest example of flavor not being sacrificed for value was evident in the chicken noodle soup my lunch companion raved about, which for just $2.50 was served in a bowl with a deep bottom. My chili carried the same price tag, even topped with cheese and onions, and was worthy of equal praise.
The bottom line is that Grandpa’s Place doesn’t skimp, not in offerings, not in portions, not in hours (6 a.m.-9 p.m. daily), and certainly not in flavor. There’s nothing fancy about what they’re doing. They’re simply serving really good food at really low prices.
Leave it to Grandpa to get back to the basics.
If you go
What: Grandpa's Place Coffee Shop & Eatery
Where: 202 E. State St., Sycamore
Phone: 815-895-4200
Hours: 6 a.m.-9 p.m. daily
• The Mystery Diner is an employee in the newsroom at the Daily Chronicle. The diner’s identity is not revealed to the restaurant before or during the meal. The diner visits a different restaurant in DeKalb County each week.
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