Brooster's Open Hearth Chicken — Restaurant in Lombard

Hot & Juicy! I’ve been on a pork chop kick lately & this place popped up on my google search while I was driving around on a Saturday afternoon. It sounded good so I pull in, walk up to the huge, open counter with a grill (hearth) behind it & ordered a pork chop ($9.99). Since I’m still in holiday mode, I splurged on a side of mushrooms & grilled onions ($1/ea). Then, the patient guy behind the counter taking my order, asks what I would like for my 2 sides that were included. Oh?! My head was spinning because my sugar was running low & I hadn’t paid attention to the gigantic menu on the wall to the left of me, so, I’m thinking, this is going to be alot of food & finally decide on the mashed potatoes (to go) & the green beans (for here). I paid, grabbed a bottle of A1 steak sauce (which I was very happy to see) & sat in a huge wooden booth with a checkered tablecloth. Cozy. My plate was brought out by the nice hearth guy & the chop was - fire! Sooo juicy & good! The sautéed veggies were perfect & the warm garlic bread was buttery & not overpowering. I REALLY LIKE THIS PLACE! and by the stream of carry-out orders, I can see that others do too. (Just FYI, I took a star off for “Atmosphere,” because I felt a cold draft, which nobody else seemed to mind). Good...

I thought I’d give this place a go. Unfortunately, the food wasn’t good. I ordered the 1/2 chicken, rice and broccoli, and green beans. The chicken was very disappointing. No doubt, it was old, dry, and flavorless. Based on other reviews saying the same thing, it seems like they make the chicken once per day (hopefully it’s not from previous days and reheated, although I even suspected that). Possibly, it was made in the morning before opening and that’s what is served all day long. I was there on a Sunday at about 5:30pm. They close at 8. The only way chicken ends up like that is because it’s old and reheated.

The rice and broccoli was decent, but the green beans tasted like they were canned. I can usually forgive that if the main part of the meal was decent. Not this time.

I’ll admit I was surprised that the food was this disappointing. The reviews are pretty decent. Also, the atmosphere inside was good and clean. The only saving grace was the staff. The gentleman at the register was very friendly and the other staff seemed decent too.

This restaurant has potential to be really good but needs to focus on freshness...

Walked in and ordered two eight ounce sirloins. Both with baked potatoes and one with soup and the other with beans. They were extremely tender. Not sure what they do to tenderize them but it doesn't chew like a normal steak. The potatoes had a huge dollop of margarine on them . A sour cream packet was served on the side. I asked for mushrooms and they were an additional cost of $1 for a small serving of canned mushrooms. They give you a garlic toast with the order. You got a very small cup when asking for water. The bill was $33.00 and there is an extra cost to cover the credit card cost on your bill. So there is a 4 percent surcharge. The booths did not have any cushion in the seat and they were very hard and uncomfortable. The restaurant was clean and well lit. They have tvs in case you want to watch sports. You had to clean your own table and throw away your own garbage and separate your silverware and dishes so they don't fall in the garbage. Average cheap steak with canned veggies and mushrooms as sides. The...