Sushi Para

Ok, it's not in the Tri-Cities, but that is good since I might be tempted to break my ideal of not having credit card debt if this place was closer!
This is a sushi restuarant on Dundee Road right off of Route 53 in Palatine (?). They do have a regular menu, but we go for the All-you-Can-Eat sushi. What's really nice about this place is that it's not a buffet, but you actually have a special menu that lists all the items you can order. You mark down what you want and then the food is brought to your table as if ordering "entrees" off the menu. What's even nicer (compared to the Sushi Cafe in S. Elgin) is that the menu contains more than just rolls! It has salad, soup, appertizers (try the shrimp dumpling and won-ton things), rolls, tempura vegetables (we ask for all brocolli), sushi on the rice (tuna, eel, salmon & more) and of course all types of rolls (our favorite is the Michigan)! Now you would think this would be up there with the $40 price tag of Todai (a sushi buffet chain) or more expensive then the roll only deal at Sushi Cafe of $24.95, but no - it's only $17.95! While it's a nice meal out, the value is AWESOME! While the drive is long and the price is out of our range for weekly meals, we find excuses to go back to this place. We have been 3 times since I discovered this place when looking for an alternative to Todai.
The tempura chicken dinner is great also! This is what my youngest son gets who doesn't like sushi (even though that is slowly changing - he likes the pre-packaged sushi from Sam's Club now). The dinner comes with soup and salad and several big pieces of chicken tempura for $12.95. What's even better is the tempura is light and tastes great!
Obviously I can't recommend this place enough if you are in the area or even if you're not, it's worth the effort to get there!

Beehive Tavern & Grille

Went here with the family for dinner because it was part of our AA Dining Rewards program. We had been once before a few years ago for the same reason. Forgot how good the food is here! We shared the nacho appertizer (which now seems to be a staple order at every restaurant) and it was big and very good!
Overall the food and pricing were on average for a sit-down American food restuarant and it will continue to be on the radar for a place to go when we are looking for a meal out.