Cheap Date Show

Laissez les bontemps roulez, as they say in New Orleans this time of year! Join us for a delicious Louisiana-style dinner at Gumbo a Go-Go in Palatine, Illinois, and get really hungry just by listening… We also provide a biscuits’n’gravy update, a recap of the Chicago Beer Society’s Brewpub Shootout 2008, some local restaurant news, [...]

Welcome to the latest Cheap Date Show — we’re glad to have you here! Learn why Joe won the Coolest Dad of 2008 Award: we’ll give you a hint: it involves a Sky Box and tens of thousands of screaming teenagers. You’ll also hear our thoughts on theme and incidental music, along with a request [...]

It’s the first Cheap Date Show of 2008, and believe you me (whatever that means) it’s fully packed! After discussing our holidays and our annual visit to Buffalo Joe’s in Evanston, we take you for a wonderful Louisiana dinner at Chicago’s very own Heaven on Seven. We follow that up with a (return) visit to [...]

All the best of the holiday season to you from us at the Cheap Date Show! This episode is a little out-of-the-ordinary, as we talk about holiday traditions: food, movies, and family. We talk about A Christmas Carol, and in particular the film versions as well as The Goodman Theatre’s 30th annual production of the [...]

The holidays are here, so hoop-de-do. Join us for a warm drink (or two) and settle in for another episode of Cheap Date! This time around, we visit Hungry?, a new restaurant in Rolling Meadows. Listen to our review to see what we thought of this new entry to the dining utopia that is the [...]

Welcome to another action-packed episode of the Cheap Date show! This week we review ToPa Tavern and Grill in Elk Grove Village, where Joe enjoyed a Gumballhead American Pale Wheat Ale and Lisa had the famous 312 Urban Wheat Ale. And we haven’t even started on the food yet. Listen to the show for complete [...]

Yeah, I got your griping right here. Join us for a round of performance art worth complaining about, thanks to The Complaints Choir of Chicago, who appeared at The Empty Bottle last weekend. Then it’s off to Irazu Costa Rican Restaurant, where we had a wonderful dinner featuring the tastes of the Caribbean. We follow [...]

Welcome to the latest episode of Cheap Date! This time out, we visit Periyali Greek Taverna in Des Plaines for a wonderful family meal. We also spend some time talking about Halloween and lots of other stuff, too. Here is the link to listener Chris’ recap of his two weeks in Europe drinking LOTS of [...]

It’s an episode that’s full of apple goodness. You couldn’t BE more autumnal if you tried. Lisa shares her cobbler recipe, which can be found here. And her baked apple recipe is here. Then it’s a recap of Crazy Apple Butter Daze at Lisa’s parents’ house in the fields of Indiana. This week’s Cheap Date [...]

Time for another Cheap Date, Guys and Gals… Joe talks about the “Highway McFifty,” a drink he invented, and the variations thereof. And if that wasn’t enough sugar for you, we taste-test the brand-new Snickers Dark candy bar. Then it’s off to Bogie’s Ale House in Mt Prospect for– what else?– pizza and beer! Oh, [...]

It’s an evening of great Italian food and wine on this Cheap Date Show! We take in a visit to Quartinoin Chicago. Then we recap our BBQ excursion with an email from Shelly, and then Joe shares his favorite pancake recipe (originally by Ryan D’Agostino in Esquire magazine). Here it is: Wallet Pancakes • 1 [...]

We couldn’t think of a better way to wrap up the summer than with barbecue and ice cream. Could you? Our first stop is at The Texan Barbecue in Algonquin, followed by a trip further west to The Huntley Dairy Mart. Needless to say, we weren’t very hungry by the time we were through with [...]

A word of caution: this week’s Cheap Date is not at all cheap. We received a very generous wedding gift from a friend of ours, which led us to an incredible meal at Chicago’s Les Nomades. We can’t say enough wonderful things about this experience, so you’ll have to listen to the show for all [...]

We’ve got a lot of ground to cover, so let’s get to it. Condiment or food? You be the judge. It’s a new listener poll. Charlie’s Ale House on Navy Pier in Chicago was the venue for our meetup with fellow podcaster Shelly and her husband, The Fabulous Frank. Good food, good conversation, and a [...]

It’s a Cheap Date full of beer and ballpark fun! Join us as we head over to Goose Island Brewpub near Wrigley Field for lunch before a Cubs-Astros game! Listener CB also offers his Guest Review of Barnelli’s, which can be found attached to Portillo’s Restuarants all over the Chicago area. We love your emails [...]

In this week’s bonus Cheap Date episode, Emma and Becka join us for a backyard campout and some talk about our vacation week. Our Cheap Date this week is at Big Sammy’s Hotdogs in Elk Grove Village, where you can get a good, honest, dog and a Pizza Puff. You’ll also hear a little about [...]

Welcome to another fun-filled Cheap Date show! This week, we talk about Lisa’s new Sangria recipe, followed by an update on the Arlington Heights Frontier Days Festival and American English, an awesome Beatles tribute band. Our dining adventure this week is Hackney’s on Harms in Glenview, Illinois. Delicious! Thanks for downloading the show! Be sure [...]

This week, we take you along on our annual trip to Galena, Illinois. (We told you that if you do something twice, it’s a tradition. Well…) We stayed at the Belle Aire Mansion and dined at Backstreet. We also sampled lots of goodies at Galena Canning Company. Mmmmm. We have a special bonus for you, [...]

We take a culinary journey this time around: it’s a flight to Mexico with a layover in Thailand. Or something like that. El Sombrero in Mt Prospect and The Thai House in Hoffman Estates are our two stops this episode. And they were both delicious. Send you comments and other great thoughts to dish@cheapdateshow.com. This [...]