Lynn Sorice wanted to keep the tradition alive when she bought McCook Bohemian Restaurant & Bar four years ago. She also wanted to make sure newcomers knew the place was for them too.
The restaurant at 8300 Joliet Road has served Bohemian cuisine since 1991 — duck, smoked butt, meatloaf, sauerkraut, homemade bread dumplings, stuffed cabbage rolls, roast pork, Hungarian goulash, fruit dumplings, pickled beets. The breaded pork tenderloin, duck, and smoked butt are the best sellers, and for good reason. Kathy from Indian Head Park has been coming for the smoked butt alone. She likes it that much.
But Sorice also stocks the kitchen with half-pound burgers, crispy chicken sandwiches, BBQ ribs, chicken wings, pizza, spicy cheese curds, and Czech-mex tacos. The bar is spacious, lined with TVs for sports, and the dining room is big enough to host parties.
“We have different food to suit everyone’s taste buds,” Sorice said. “Some come for the traditional, but we have so much more. There’s something for everyone.”
The strategy is working. Sorice sees customers who moved away returning to meet friends and family, many wearing restaurant shirts they bought on earlier visits. Plenty of people pass through the area and stop in, drawn by the neon Route 66 sign out front.
The restaurant is open Monday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 10:30 p.m., and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. for food orders. Daily specials run throughout the week. Karaoke happens Friday and Saturday nights beginning at 9:30 p.m. in the bar.
