Happy Birthday to Me: Turning the Big 40; Bob Chinn's Crab House, Wheeling, Illinois

I'm officially a middle-aged man.  On August 12, I turned the big 40.  If you've been following my blog, you'll know that I recently became unemployed, got part-time work and am searching for full time employment (or some business idea I can run with).  So how can it be that Pops is going to the Brookfield Zoo, Miller's Ale House, Cirque du Soleil and the Doughnut Vault among others?  The kindness of family and friends.  Today's post is no different.  As a birthday present, Mom treated us to Bob Chinn's for lunch.

A little background on Bob Chinn's Crab House- it is one of the highest grossing independent restaurants in the U.S., always in the top ten each year.  Instead of going the traditional Chinese restaurant route, Bob wisely went into seafood when he opened in 1982.  Like my grandparents, parents and me, Bob can trace his routes to the Toishan region in the Canton province in China, where many of those came over in the Gold Rush, railroad building and pre-World War II immigration.  And in the day, Bob would talk to my grandparents on Mom's side, who owned the Phoenix Inn in Chicago, when we ate at the restaurant.

Bob Chinn's has the freshest and best seafood in the Chicago area hands down.  It is my favorite restaurant in the world, and that's saying a lot, spending over ten years in Tokyo, time in Hong Kong and Orlando.   Everyday there is a new menu for the restaurant, which looks like the one below.

On Saturday, it was a tough choice for me.  I love softshell crabs.  But I wanted to shake things up a bit and was thinking about the crabmeat vermicelli, the lobster roll and the surf and turf.  When the waiter told us that softshell crabs were in season and unlike most places which have frozen crabs, Bob Chinn's had them fresh, I couldn't help but order the crabs.  Wifey picked the onaga fish, which was also a recommendation by the server.  I chose to get my crabs done sauteed instead of tempura, salt-n-pepper or fried.   Wifey chose to get her onaga char-grilled instead of blackened.   Our meal started with Bob's famous butter garlic rolls which are complementary.

Warm, soft and garlicky, yum-oh!!!

To accompany my crabs, I ordered Bob's famous Mai Tai in a souvenir cup.  With this blog being Pop's Chicago Tiki Room, how could I not get the Mai Tai in souvenir cup?

Sweet and strong, great job Bob!!!

My crabs were perfectly cooked, tender, juicy and chock-full of that meaty crustacean flavor.  They were nicely seasoned with just the right amount of salt and spices.  As a side, I chose the fried rice.  The fried rice was really good but not as good as Grandpa's was or Dan-Tei's is (my favorite local Chinese restaurant in the Tokyo area).

If I had an unlimited budget, it would have been four crabs instead of two!!!

Wifey told the server that the onaga was the best fish she's ever had outside of Japan.  That's saying a lot since Japan, especially Tokyo, is known for the freshness and quality of its seafood.  I was able to have a bite and it was tender and flaky, not too salty but flavorful.   

The fish just looks pretty, great presentation Bob!!!

Since it was my birthday, we got dessert.  Bob Chinn's is famous for its dessert selections too.  I picked the key lime pie and wifey chose some chocolate fudge pecan concoction.  Best key lime pie ever.  Not too sweet, not too tart.  You can choose full or smaller portions of pie; we both chose the smaller portions.

Bob makes Floridians proud of their official pie.

Wifey couldn't finish her slice and I ate half of it.  I ended up pie sick from too much pie and nearly fell asleep during my daughter's production of Aladdin afterwards!  This one wasn't overly sweet even if it looks like it would be.

I enthusiastically give Bob Chinn's Crab House six crabs out of five crabs (6 out of 5? That's right!!!).  That's how great I think the restaurant's food is, superb in all facets- quality, preparation and presentation.  I already can't wait to go back for my birthday next year.

We had a small party on the next day and I ate like a piggy there.  Calories don't count on your birthday weekend, right?  I got on the scale today (Monday) and I was 1.2 kg heavier than I was on Friday.  Time to hit the gym.  Thanks for the read!