Read about us in the May 4th, 2001 Daily Southtown.

Take the Trek to Branmor's

Bolingbrook may be a little bit of a drive for some of us to go for a nice dinner, but Branmor's American Grill in the far southwest suburbs is definitely worth the trip.

Haydee Dobrovolny, a manager and owner of the seafood and steak restaurant, said the restaurant has a regular clientele that enjoys Branmor's high quality service and cuisine, but the restaurant has also established itself as a place for special occasions.

"With a lot of the calls I take for reservations, there is usually a special occasion involved," said Dobrovolny, who owns the restaurant with her husband and head chef, Walter Dobrovolny, and their partners, Christine and Christopher Birck.

We weren't there for a special occasion, but Branmor's is now on our list as a place we could go to celebrate a birthday or anniversary.

The restaurant's Frank Lloyd Wright-inspired architecture and decor make it a fun place to visit and dine. Haydee Dobrovolny said that when the owners decided to open a restaurant, they contracted with an architectural and design firm in Florida, and the idea for a Frank Lloyd Wright inspired structure came from the firm.

"They researched everything, and they put bits and pieces of all of his work in this restaurant," Dobrovolny said. "We were really happy."

Other Wright-inspired touches around the restaurant include art glasswork that replicates Wright's and a picture of Falling Waters, a Wright-designed home in Pennsylvania.

The staff and the setting were very welcoming and we felt very relaxed.

We started our meal off with the crab and shrimp stuffed mushrooms, which Dobrovolny said are a very popular appetizer on the menu.

The large mushroom caps were filled with shrimp and crabmeat, then topped with a lobster cream sauce and confetti peppers ($6.95).

Appetizers ranged from $10.95 for the jumbo lump crabcake to a cup of homemade soup for $2.95.

We both had the Branmor's House salad at $3.95. All of the restaurant's dressings are home-made.

The Australian Lamb Caprese is made up of lamb chops set on greens blended with Balsamic Vinaigrette, sliced Roma tomatoes and mozzarella cheese, topped with French fried onions ($12.95).

The Muscovy Duck salad is a char-grilled Muscovy Duck breast or chicken breast on spinach, served with roasted apples, Roma tomatoes and peppered walnuts, topped with Gorgonzola cheese and French fried onions (12.95 for duck, $8.95 for chicken breast or $5.95 plain).

While we didn't try any of the pasta dishes during our trip, there are several interesting ones from which to choose.

Pastas range in price from $19.95 for the Lobster Pasta to $11.95 for Pasta Marinara.

My husband enjoyed an 8-ounce filet mignon for his entree ($22.95). He ordered it medium rare and was very pleased that the kitchen got it right. He said the juicy and thick steak was done perfectly.

All steaks are served with a choice of garlic basil mashed potatoes, the house rice blend or baked potato. My husband selected the mashed potatoes.

Other steaks offered include Chateaubriand, which serves two; porterhouse; Ribeye; New York strip and sirloin Gorgonzola. Steaks range in price from $53.95 for the Chateaubriand to $16.95 for the sirloin Gorgonzola.

I selected and then thoroughly enjoyed the Salmon Saute ($16.95), a filet of salmon on mashed potatoes with a lemon-citrus oil, crowned with spinach and garnished with tomatoes.

Seafood dishes range in price from market price for Australian Lobster Tail to 16.95 for Shrimp Especial, a kind of coconut shrimp.

The restaurant also offers a half-dozen special which range from $26.95 for Australian Lamb Chops to $15.95 for the Chicken Madeira.

We tried to save room for dessert.

Since we ordered our dessert to go, we wanted something that would be easy to transport. A velvety fruit-topped cheesecake was the winner.

Some of the restaurant's other tempting dessert items include Flourless chocolate waffle, which Dobrovolny says is very popular, Bananas Foster Profiterole and others.

Desserts range from $4.95 to $6.95.