The gyros omelette at Lumes Pancake House can be ordered with breakfast or lunch side choices. (Kane County Chronicle photo)

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BATAVIA – Breakfast is for champions, and Lumes Pancake House in Batavia made me feel like a winner.

The Batavia location is one of several throughout the Chicago area. Located behind the Walgreens on Fabyan Parkway and Randall Road, Lumes strives to deliver a wide variety of menu options to loyal customers day in and day out.

As soon as you walk inside, the host greets you and – if there’s enough tables – gives you a choice of where you’d like to sit. (The only answer for me is in a booth, near a window.)

Not even two minutes had passed before my waitress came over and offered me coffee, which I politely declined. I’m more of a juice person with my breakfast so I ordered a medium, freshly-squeezed orange juice. Nothing beats orange juice that comes straight from the orange. My waitress also said Lumes makes freshly-squeezed grapefruit juice.

When frequenting a breakfast and lunch eatery such as Lumes, you are bound to find a boatload of options. It can be a little overwhelming for some. That’s where my phone came in handy.

I opened up the Foursquare application and found some one-line reviews from other patrons.

More than one suggested the gyros omelette, a dish I couldn’t really picture in my head.

Knowing my love for gyros and my love for omelettes, I had to go with the suggestion.

I decided to order breakfast sides (hash browns and pancakes) instead of tomatoes and pita bread, which was listed on the specials menu.

The omelette was filled with delicious, fresh gyro meat, five eggs and feta cheese.

The pancakes and hash browns were both above par for me, too.

The eggs were cooked just right, while the cheese and gyros rounded out the dish.

Finding something different and realizing it’s as delicious as the more basic dish you were going to order in the first place is a great feeling.

• The Mystery Diner is a newsroom employee at the Kane County Chronicle. The diner’s identity is not revealed to the restaurant staff before or during the meal. The Mystery Diner visits a different restaurant each week and then reports on the experience. If the Mystery Diner cannot recommend the establishment, we will not publish a review.

There are specific pizzas available for ordering at Aliano’s Ristorante in Batavia, or customers can pick their own ingredients. (Kane County Chronicle photo)

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BATAVIA – As one of the newest restaurants to open in the Tri-Cities, Aliano’s Ristorante is trying to become a vibrant part of a downtown that has seen several other eateries close in recent years. If my experience Sunday at the establishment at Island Avenue and Houston Street is any indication, Aliano’s will be around for years to come.

Nestled near the Fox River in the River Square Shopping Center, Aliano’s prides itself on serving homemade Italian cuisine with fresh ingredients.

I have only heard positive things from others, including another member of our newsroom that visited on New Year’s Eve.

The decor inside was nice, with TVs in a bar area and good lighting and decorations inside the main dining room.

My companion and I visited during the lunch hour, so our menu featured a section of sandwiches not available during dinner.

Many of the appetizers sounded delicious but we opted to go straight for the meal itself. The attention of my dining companion was immediately drawn to the Portobello Mushroom and Roasted Red Pepper Panini. It’s served with grilled portobello mushrooms, sweet basil pesto, roasted red peppers and goat cheese. Before it came to our table, she made a point to mention how excited she was for the combination of the sweet basil pesto and goat cheese.

After going back and forth on what to order for myself, I ended up ordering a 10-inch New York style pizza, with pepperoni, tomatoes and green peppers. A lot of the pasta dishes looked particularly interesting, but the pizza ended up calling my name. And I’m glad it did.

The first piece of pizza is always the best and Aliano’s was no exception. It wasn’t overpowering with pepperoni like a lot of other pizzas of that nature I’ve tried. There was a fresh tomato – cooked, obviously – on each piece. The green peppers added a small crunch. With so much going on in each bite, I was only able to eat half and had to take the other half home, which ended up being my dinner. (If you take home the pizza, make sure to reheat it in the oven – it will taste a lot better and almost like it did when you first ordered it.)

My companion’s sandwich was well cooked, and she was thoroughly impressed with the pesto/goat cheese combination. The bread the sandwich was served on was tasty, she said, and she can’t wait to come back and taste some of the other panini options, including the Veggie Panini. She added that the mushrooms and peppers were both cooked well and not too hot.

Because of the large portions each of us received, we both took food home and had a second meal Sunday night. We were both very impressed with the food quality at Aliano’s and hope it succeeds. After we finished our meal, one of the owners came by our table to see how everything was. He mentioned that in the warmer months, he has plans to have a lot of outdoor seating and live music. Along with the tasty options on the menu, that sounds like a perfect summer afternoon to me.

• The Mystery Diner is a newsroom employee at the Kane County Chronicle. The diner’s identity is not revealed to the restaurant staff before or during the meal. The Mystery Diner visits a different restaurant each week and then reports on the experience. If the Mystery Diner cannot recommend the establishment, we will not publish a review.

The Pulled Pork Sandwich is served with a choice of side at Open Range Southwest Grill in Sugar Grove. (Kane County Chronicle photo)

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SUGAR GROVE – With the temperature creeping above 50 degrees Tuesday, my lunch companion decided to make the short trek out to Bliss Creek Golf Course for a round of nine before coming into the office in the afternoon. After learning this, it gave me the perfect opportunity to try out a recent reader suggestion, Open Range Southwest Grill.

The eatery is attached to the pro shop at the course. There were plenty of TVs inside, making it the perfect establishment to enjoy a good meal after a round on the course.

Our waiter, who was fantastic throughout our lunch, came over quickly to take our drink order and let us browse the menu. Many of the items listed were definitely infused with Southern-style flavors.

We both started off with the Cowboy Chili, a recipe made with grilled steak, smoked beef brisket, chopped tomatoes and beans. Cheese and onions can be added as well. The smoky flavors inspired by the Southwest were evident in the dish. It was obvious the establishment knows exactly what its style is.

As for our lunch entrees, I went with the Pulled Pork Sandwich. The description made the choice an easy one.

“This one is truly a local favorite,” the menu read. The sandwich features slow roasted pulled pork tossed with a smoky and tangy barbecue sauce, piled high on a toasted parker-house bun.

My companion decided on a burger with the usual fixin’s. He has tried many burgers from many different places throughout Kane County and said this one ranks right up there with the best of them. The burger was cooked exactly the way he wanted and the flavors in the ground beef rounded out the dish well. Each entree has a choice of side – my companion chose the waffle fries, which he said were terrific. Having eaten at the restaurant before, he also recommends the sweet potato fries. He only chose the regular waffle fries to try something new.

Meanwhile, I was thoroughly enjoying my pulled pork. I decided to get the “Smoklahoma Baked Beans” as my side choice, forgetting that I already ordered the bean-infused chili. No problem, though, as the beans were just as good as the chili in their own right. Featuring bits of bacon, the beans were just as smoky and just as Southwestern.

The sandwich itself was piled high with pork. The barbecue sauce was advertised correctly – smoky and tangy. It balanced both styles very well and stood out from other pulled pork I’ve tasted in the past.

The next time I’m in the Sugar Grove area, I’ll have to stop back and try the barbecue ribs or the filet mignon – both made my mouth water.

My companion put it the best when he said, “There’s nothing better than a round of golf and then coming here to enjoy the fine fare Open Range offers.”

• The Mystery Diner is a newsroom employee at the Kane County Chronicle. The diner’s identity is not revealed to the restaurant staff before or during the meal. The Mystery Diner visits a different restaurant each week and then reports on the experience. If the Mystery Diner cannot recommend the establishment, we will not publish a review.