Brennan’s Bar & Grill menu has ‘wow’ appeal

Brennan’s Bar & Grill in downtown Oglesby had me at hello.

Ever since a friend recommended it, I liked the restaurant’s Facebook page. From there, it was day after day of seeing the venue post pictures of what I’d call “wow” food –macaroni and cheese-filled wraps, tacos topped with cilantro, cheese and pico, and burgers elevated by sauces, among other delicious items. The restaurant made my list of places to try.

The menu turns out to be refreshing – even the standard items have a unique flavor infusion. For starters, Brennan’s features a bear claw –which is a butter and garlic, toasted French roll with whipped honey butter – or a bacon jam goat cheese crostini – crispy garlic crostini served with a bacon goat cheese dip –as appetizers. These are two items I don’t recall seeing on any other Illinois Valley menu.

It was tough to pass on those or jalapeño popper quesadillas, but being nacho lovers, my companion and I decided to go for the loaded nachos, whose description on the menu let us know we’d be in for some different tastes.

They feature crispy nachos, served with a beer cheese sauce, bacon, chives, pico and boom sauce, and much to our delight, there were pork ends scattered throughout. The sauces were thick and the chips sturdy, so they didn’t get soggy. The flavors were great. I took turns filling my chips full of cheese sauce, then boom sauce, with the chives and pico supplying complementary treats.

I ordered the sticky pork belly plate: smoked pork belly tossed in a sweet chili sauce, similar to that found in Chinese restaurants. With the option of two sides, I couldn’t pass up the street corn: elote with poblano peppers topped with Cotija, cilantro and chipotle cream, and I also chose hand-cut fries. The sweet and savory pork belly was a nice back-and-forth of flavors with the spicy corn. My companion ordered the barbecue pork bowl. She said it struck a balance of tastes. The jalapeño slices and spicy slaw provided a kick offset by the coolness of the pico de gallo. The bowl is where classic Mexican flavors met classic barbecue. The pulled pork and barbecue sauce blended well with the rice, cilantro, pico and spiciness. She wasn’t sure how the cuisines would meld because she typically thinks of them as different categories of food, but they went well together.

By the end of the dinner, we were both thoroughly pleased and talking about what items we might try next. The menu features salads, sandwiches,

If You Go

• WHAT: Brennan’s Bar & Grill

• WHERE: 139 E. Walnut St., Oglesby

• PHONE: 815-883-9782

• INFORMATION: Facebook at tinyurl.com/auwvaxcz toasted hoagies, plates and bowls, with each item combining Southwestern, Mexican, Chinese and traditional American flavors. Next time, I might get the chipotle barbecue pork chop, and my companion was eyeing the spicy Cuban hoagie.

Brennan’s, which opened last May, provides a relaxing bar and grill atmosphere, where you can head up to the bar and order a beer or drinks, or catch a game on one of the TVs. All the while, it offers inventively fresh flavors.

•TheMysteryDinerisan employeeatShawMedia.The diner’sidentityisnotrevealed totherestaurantstaffbeforeor duringthemeal.IftheMystery Dinercannotrecommendthe establishment,wewillnotpublishastory.

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