Studio Hotrods Smokehouse — Restaurant in Illinois

I just want to update my review (below the line), as we have been back a couple times since it was posted. My husband and I went today for lunch, and the lunches are around $10, which is reasonable. He had a burger--about the size of a Quarter Pounder, on a huge bun--which he said was good. I had half a grilled cheese sandwich and a cup of chili. The grilled cheese was delicious--it has a bacon marmalade I wasn't sure about, but that turned out to be really good. It was kind of small, though, as it was only a half sandwich and about the size of half of a regular piece of bread. The chili was also good--it's made with steak, which I found interesting, as in no description does it say that. If I'd known it was steak, I might have ordered it sooner and not balked at the original price, which was high.

That's one thing I wanted to say here: they've lowered the prices on the dinner menu somewhat, so the burger's now $12.50 and the Monte Carlo is $14, which is much more reasonable than it was. However, there are still some things I'm wondering about. Why do you not have nachos or the grilled cheese on the regular menu? Why are they only at lunch? Also, why do I have to get a half sandwich/cup of soup thing instead of being able to get a whole sandwich and no soup on the lunch menu? I'd have paid the same price for a whole sandwich and dropped the cup of chili, but that's not an option. The other question is about the buffet on Sunday mornings. We tried that a couple of months ago, and I wouldn't do it again, as it was $16.95, and the options were limited. The eggs tasted weird; the consistency was like they were powdered. I expect real eggs if I pay that for breakfast. Also, it had a "build your own" burger and steak sandwich bar--except you had to point at ingredients and let an employee put them on for you, which was super awkward. I'm an adult; I can put condiments on my own food, thanks. I don't know if the buffet's improved or not, and I'm a little afraid to try it again to find out.

Anyhow, lunch was good, and we may be back for dinner now that the prices are better. We went tonight for dinner. The food was good; my husband had a burger, and I had the Monte Carlo (a Monte Cristo). It wasn't the best one I've ever had, but the ingredients were of good quality, and it was decent, as were the homemade potato chips. The cole slaw was just okay--kind of bland. The sticking point for us is that the burger was $16 and the sandwich was $17! That's a lot of money for a place in Fox Lake nestled next to the local McDonald's. I'm sure the owner is thinking of Chain business in the summer...but it's January right now, and he's going to price himself right out of business if local people can't afford to eat there.

And on that note, the waiter we had mentioned that this wasn't a "$1 beer night" kind of place--which I'm totally fine with. The people who like to drink super cheap have plenty of local places to go to do that. However, we're a middle income family--the upper end of the income level in the nearby area-- and it was pricey for us, enough to where I'd think twice about returning. That's a shame, as it's a nice place and the food is pretty good, plus it's a refreshing change from the no-tell motel that used to be in the spot. I hope the owner reconsiders some of the pricing so that he can stay in business during the...

Came here on a Saturday nite, knowing in advance that prices were a bit on the higher side, and the menu was fairly limited. I knew this in advance from a lot of Facebook posts and reviews, as well as viewing the menu online... but still I wanted to go there, I had met Harry a couple times... always friendly and always fun. I’ve followed his progress of the rehab/building of the bar and restaurant on Facebook for months with the anticipation of going when they opened. Well I went on the fly with a friend about 3 weeks after the opening, (I I had eaten earlier not knowing I was going there) so I did not eat. My friend did. His sandwich looked like it was prepared by a top chef... and it was a turkey and bacon sandwich! Presentation is everything obviously... as it just looked a lot more fancy than any turkey sandwich should be. Granted it was on the pricey side being $16. But it was a very large, FULL plate. I tried one of the seasoned fries. While not the most delicious I’ve had, it was good... very very good. The two girls behind the bar (Kim & Shannon) were very attentive to us the entire time, very friendly and made our stay (as well as others) definitely enjoyable. My friend’s food came fairly quick and hot! Drinks were reasonable to a bit higher than other places, but the ambiance (for a bar) was actually very nice. Decor is as advertised, (Rock & Roll And Hot Rods) but with high end decor throughout. It’s not a dive bar or a biker bar by any means (And again, not priced or has the look to appear as one). Still the place is very clean, well-staffed with good offerings, tasty appetizers, sandwiches and entrees that are a cut above many restaurants food in presentation, appearance and flavor). It’s a higher end establishment on a strip that really offers restaurants, eatery’s, and fast food places of lesser quality and setting. It’s worth checking out, knowing what your in for. Keep in mind that live entertainment is offered along with an open upstairs atrium during warmer weather that will accommodate larger seasonal crowds. Perhaps if u do your homework on what you are in for, you can make up your mind in advance and just enjoy a new place that offers up something different in an area that really hasn’t had such a venue. Check it out! Joe from...

Miserable experiences. Have tried this place a couple times. The first time (almost a month ago), we ate at the restaurant and had a weird experience at the front desk where the hostess told us that she’d be right with us, so we said no worries…. then she wondered off, went outside, then a few minutes later came back in - went back to the desk and ignored us, didn’t make eye contact and walked away again, and went and sat at a dining table 8 feet away and started eating… completely ignoring us. Another woman then came up to the hostess stand as another couple groups walked into the restaurant… and asked us if we were being helped. That person finally sat us at a table. It then took 45min to get our 2 drinks that we ordered along with waters. The food took another 1.5hrs and we couldn’t get refills of water as our waitress wasn’t around and didn’t want to order more drinks when our food came, because we feared that it would take a long time (this was mid-day on Memorial Day). So… fortunately the food was good, and we agreed we would try them again, chalking the experience up a bad day for the staff. So now we get to today, my dad really wanted to try the place so I ordered pickup/takeout via google ordering services an hour and a half before we would want to eat, just to make sure he’d be able to eat before he had to go to work, knowing that last time the wait was long. I called an hour after placing the online order, and the restaurant said they hadn’t received the order at all. So because I had started the process early enough I decided to try again and just order it on the phone with them, when they said they hadn’t received the first order. Luckily the second order was ready in 45min. Problem now was that the original order that they said they never received now said that it had been picked up (and my credit card had been charged)… and I had also paid again for the second order that was over the phone, when I went to pick it up. This all seemed a bit fishy as the first order hadn’t moved in the “tracking” of the order until after I picked up the second order that had...