Twig & Barry's

I review restaurants ONLY If I would drive an hour to revisit a restaurant.  This is such a place.  Their "chicken fingers" which are actually whole breast filets, are the best I've had anywhere.  

The flavor, born from buttermilk soaking and flavorful, crunchy breading, rivals the fried chicken at The Screen Door in Portland OR.  These, joined on the menu by creative combinations of fresh, local beef, seafood, and produce; and enhanced in a quiet atmosphere of people-friendly folks and environment-friendly furnishings, combine to make Twig & Barry's a foodie treasure in the Bradley-Bourbonnais area.

My hands-down favorite in the area.

Awesome service. Employees are polite and considerate of their guests. The menu has a variety of veggie-friendly options which we were  pleasantly surprised. The food we ordered was expertly crafted, fresh, and delicious. I look forward to eating there again in the near future. Strongly recommend.

Very disappointing, poor customer service.

We came here on a Thursday when it opened at 11:00.  We came from Chicago after Chicago's Best posted about it.  Well, at 11:00 the doors were locked and the chairs were still on the tables.  We sat and watched employees meander about the store and take the chairs down.  I posted on their facebook page that we were still waiting for them to open.

Sometime around 11:12 we tried the door again and it was still locked.  We drove across the street to get hot dogs instead when we saw the open sign light up.  We returned, let ourselves in, and we were told that we could not order yet because they were still working on a catering order.  Around 11:40-something we asked the person who appeared to be in charge if we could order yet and she said she of course, that she thought we were waiting for someone as we stood at the counter.

We ordered a burger and jambalaya.  What my wife was going to order was not on their menu, although it was on their website's menu.  One of the burger patties was rare and the other well done, which was fine.  It was a good blend of flavor.  I love all of my beef on the rare side.  However, in addition to the poor service, the jambalaya had ONE piece of sausage that was slightly smaller than a pinky fingernail, about 5 pieces of bland chicken, and NO SHRIMP at all.  It was very blandly seasoned, not spicy in any way, shape, or form, and inferior to a box of Zatarains.

They also commented on my facebook post on their page that they WERE open, but didn't turn the light for the sign on.  I call BS on that.

I hate leaving a 1-star review for an independent establishment.  Had the service been better, had they actually been open and taken our order before 11:40, Twig & Barry's would've earned two stars for having a decent burger, but bad service and incorrect descriptions of menu items is inexcusable.