It’s no bologna – sandwiches superb at Boloney’s

BARRINGTON – I drive past the Catlow Theater on Main Street in Barrington fairly frequently, and I’ve long wanted to stop in and see the historical venue for myself.

I recently found out that not only does the theater have a $5 ticket price for the feature film it shows each week, it also has an accompanying sandwich shop that makes a date to the movies a full evening affair.

Though my mother has lived just a few villages away from the Catlow her entire life, she had never been to the theater or the shop, so we decided to have a mother-child date night.

Boloney’s Sandwich Shop sits in a storefront directly next to the old theater, and I had heard several things about the diner. I heard the sandwiches were great. I heard the portions were huge. I heard movie-goers can take food into the theater with them.

Alas, we didn’t have time to see the showing of “Toy Story 3” when we visited Baloney’s to find out if that last rumor was true, but Baloney’s website says it is.

And I did find the other rumors to be spot on, as my mother and I enjoyed a quiet, nostalgic dinner at the eatery.

Baloney's has a history. That much was evident from the moment we walked into the shop.
One of the first things my mother said was, "If you know oldies, this is a great place to come because you can look at all the pictures on the walls."

Scores of old photographs of movie stars – many of them signed – hang on the shop’s walls. We immediately pointed to some of our shared favorite actors – John Wayne and Shirley Temple – before we realized we had come to eat, not gawk.

However, it was hard not to gawk when we saw the list of sandwich options available behind the counter.

Nearly two dozen sandwich, salad and soup options are available, most between a $5 and $7.50 price range.

I chose the Dagwood sandwich because of its ingredients – ham, turkey, salami, swiss, thousand island dressing, tomato and lettuce on a kaiser or onion roll – but somehow I missed the part that said those items would be stacked three layers high on my bun.

The $6.50 sandwich was literally several inches tall, and I had difficulty figuring out how to get the heaping pile of meats into my mouth somewhat politely. My mother said I shouldn’t have had any problem at all with my mouth being the size it is, but she soon stopped her kidding when she saw the equally enormous size of her $7 Reubenesque sandwich.

The corned beef, sauerkraut and swiss cheese were piled on three pieces of rye bread – two on the bottom to support the weight of the sandwich – and she was only able to eat half before surrendering to the massive Reuben. I did the same.

We were more than satisfied with our meal, which with two drinks and a bag of chips barely topped $18. The sound – and smell – of popping corn next door made me think one thing, however. There’s another date night in our future, but next time, we’ll dine in the theater.

• The Lake County Journal Mystery Diner feature sends a staff reporter to local eateries of all kinds. The diner’s identity is not revealed to the restaurant staff before or during the meal. Diners visit a different restaurant each week. Contact the diner at lcjedit@lakecountyjournal.com.