Bob Chinn's Crabhouse: Wheeling, IL

Bob Chinn's has been around a long time and is well-known throughout the Chicago area. Bob's buying power has allowed him to buy the most fresh fish available and it is flown in everyday.

We started to frequent Bob Chinn's around 1987. We have been there so many times it would be impossible to count.

Bob Chinn's is noisy and large, capable of feeding over 600 people at one time, so I guess you should expect that. If you are looking for an intimate dining experience, this is not the place to go. If you are looking for the freshest seafood around, then your search has ended.

We have taken people from Japan, England, Korea, Taiwan, Seattle, Los Angeles and Baltimore. They have all said they have never had fish as fresh. We actually have several friends that insist on going to Bob's every time that are in town (last night we took one of these people) and of course, we never refuse.

Here are some of our favorite menu items:

Appetizer-

• Florida Stone Crab Claws
• Blue Crabe Claws (garlic)
• Ex-Crab-Aganza
• Oysters Rockefeller - You've never had one like this
• Sashimi Combo
• Peppercorn Seared Ahi Tuna

Main Course-

• 20 oz Alaskan "Red" King Crab Legs (Steamed with melted butter)
  Bob wants you to use his special sauce, but just use the melted butter. Bob does not always know what is best. Also we recommend their parsley buttered potatoes and coleslaw.
  
• Onaga - Cook it anyway you want, Bob's version is good, but we prefer chargrilled.
  
• Ahi Tuna - Get it chargrilled with grilled onions on a sizzling platter
  
• Scallops Au Gratin- Very heavy meal, but delicious
  
• Steak- Neither of us have had a steak here, but a few of our friends have and they say it's the best steak they've ever had. Then again, they are eating steak at a seafood resturant, so who knows. One of our guests highly recommends the strip steak.

There are so many choices that are good it is hard to just pick a few, but we can only write so much.

Bob's is to open their first franchise in Kenosha, WI. The restaurant has been under construction for over a year and it looks pretty dead there. I hope it opens and is a great success, but I guess we will have to just wait and see.

If you go just be prepared to wait if they are busy. If you go enough, you can get a VIP card that gets you in much more quickly.

www.bobchinns.com