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New restaurant has people cruising to Genoa

GENOA – Word has gotten out about a new DeKalb County restaurant that has people cruising to Genoa for its food.

Cruisin’ Genoa, 313 W. Main St. in Genoa, opened Oct. 8. Cruisin’ Genoa is Robert Lange’s second restaurant. His first restaurant, Cruisin’ Gilberts, is located in Gilberts, in Kane County.

“From the day we opened our doors, this place has taken off,” Lange said. “We didn’t know what to expect because we opened during the middle of the pandemic and the strengthened restaurant restrictions. It was extremely hard, but we made it through. The town has been unbelievably supportive. We keep hearing that it’s exactly what Genoa needed.”

Cruisin’ Genoa, 313 W. Main St. in Genoa, opened Oct. 8. The restaurant has daily specials, video gaming and a full bar with eight beers and root beer on tap. In the future, the restaurant plans to host car shows and live entertainment events.

Cruisin’ Genoa, 313 W. Main St. in Genoa, opened Oct. 8. The restaurant has daily specials, video gaming and a full bar with eight beers and root beer on tap. In the future, the restaurant plans to host car shows and live entertainment events. (Katrina Milton/Leland, Illinois)

Christina Allison, the restaurant’s assistant manager, said she was happy to meet customers in person during dine-in service after months of carryout and delivery.

“We had regulars right away, and it’s nice to have them come in, sit down and eat in our restaurant,” she said. “It’s nice to interact with people again. Genoa is a great town and the people have been great.”

Cruisin’ Genoa’s hours are 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday. The restaurant will have later hours in the spring.

The restaurant features its own delivery service, carryout and dine-in. Video gaming also is available.

Cruisin’ Genoa has specials every day, including Taco Tuesday with an additional Mexican menu, corned beef on Wednesday, fish fries on Friday and steaks on Saturday.

The Friday fish fries offer five different fish, a lobster combo, a shrimp combo and a catch of the day that changes weekly. Saturday is the only night steaks are served. Steak options include prime rib, ribeye, New York strip, Kansas City bone-in strip, porterhouse, T-bone, filet mignon, filet with lobster, filet with grilled shrimp and lobster with grilled shrimp. All of the steaks are certified Black Angus beef.

All entrees include two sides: a choice of soup, salad, cole slaw, wild rice, vegetables, baked beans, baked potatoes, french fries, homemade chips, mashed potatoes, potato pancakes and baked sweet potato.

“We offer specials on different days so that our food and the ingredients are the freshest it can be,” Lange said.

Lange said what sets his restaurant apart from others is its quality food and the fact that “everything is homemade and fresh, never frozen.”

“We don’t freeze anything and we have food deliveries two or three times a week,” he said. “We make all our own dressings and soups. We even bread our own cheese curds.”

Popular items on the menu include broasted chicken, sandwiches, hamburgers and wraps.

Popular fry options include “junkyard fries,” which are waffle fries with cheese sauce topped like nachos with lettuce, tomatoes, salsa, jalapenos and sour cream with chicken, steak and pork available to be added, and “rodeo fries,” which are waffle fries with cheese sauce, barbecue sauce and pulled pork.

In addition to its food, Cruisin’ Genoa has a full bar, with root beer and eight beers on tap. Five of the beers are craft beers.

In the future, the restaurant plans to host car shows and live entertainment events. It also will host a paint-and-sip event March 25.

For information about Cruisin’ Genoa or to place an order, call 815-784-9800.

Cruisin’ Genoa, 313 W. Main St. in Genoa, opened Oct. 8. The restaurant has daily specials, video gaming and a full bar with eight beers and root beer on tap. In the future, the restaurant plans to host car shows and live entertainment events.

Cruisin’ Genoa, 313 W. Main St. in Genoa, opened Oct. 8. The restaurant has daily specials, video gaming and a full bar with eight beers and root beer on tap. In the future, the restaurant plans to host car shows and live entertainment events. (Katrina Milton/Leland, Illinois)

Source: The Daily Chronicle

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