Grub Hub: Doing things differently at The Crooked Roof

LANARK – Things are a little different at The Crooked Roof in Lanark.

While some restaurants specialize in beer-battered fish, co-owner Nino Novakovic said he makes his seasoning.

"We use our own breading," Novakovic said. "If you are coming here for a fish fry, it's because you like our fish."

The Crooked Roof also sells New York-style pizza, unlike other restaurants, which sell the popular Chicago-style pizza.

"It's more of a thin crust pizza," Novakovic said. "We sell a lot of pizza because it's different."

Novakovic and co-owner Jill Luning had been serving customers in Lanark since April 2014.

"We used to have a business in Mount Carroll called Charlie's," Novakovic said. "We bought this building in January of 2014. We gutted it, remodeled it, and opened it a few months later."

During construction, the name Crooked Roof was born because, well, the roof is crooked.

"The name was fun and quirky, and we liked it, so we went with it," Luning said.

When I walked into The Crooked Roof, the first thing I noticed was how clean the restaurant was. There are stained concrete floors, dark brown tables and chairs, and a corner stage.

There are guitars on the walls, along with handmade acoustic pillows.

The restaurant sells more than 50 craft beers from a fully stocked bar.

Although the seafood and pizza are what separate The Crooked Roof from other restaurants, that is a small sample from a loaded menu.

Steaks are available, such as a T-bone and ribeye, and a pork chop meal is available with apple butter.

The menu includes a nice selection of half-pound burgers, such as the bacon cheese burger, the wasssssup with wasabi sauce and pepper jack cheese, and the heaven with blue cheese and bacon.

I'm not a huge fan of blue cheese, but Luning persuaded me to try it.

"It's really good," she said

The bacon was crispy and the blue cheese didn't overpower the sandwich, like a lot of other sandwiches with blue cheese. The chargrilled burger was also full of flavor and was cooked well done, the way I like it.

I also tried a sausage and pepperoni pizza. The crust was really soft, and the pizza was not as greasy as others I've tried.

I asked Novakovic what he puts into his crust.

"If I told you that, everyone would be making my pizza," he said with a laugh.

Pizza specialties include Hawaiian, buffalo chicken, and Alfredo chicken.

On Thursday nights, the restaurant gives customers the option of grilling their own steak outside on one of the portable grills. Friday nights feature a popular fish fry.

"The fish fry is all-you-can-eat Alaskan pollock," Novakovic said.

Novakovic said everyone is welcome to visit.

"We get people from infants to people who are 100," he said with a laugh. "We get everyone coming in here. We welcome anyone who wants to come and have a nice meal."

HIT THE ROOF

Restaurant: The Crooked Roof, 109 E. Carroll St., Lanark

Hours: 11 a.m. to midnight weeknights , until 2 a.m. weekends; closed Monday

Atmosphere: More restaurant than bar; family-friendly place

Service: Servers friendly; meals prepared fresh

Sound level: TVs and soft music playing, but pretty quiet for a conversation

Most popular appetizer: Fried pickles

Chef recommends: Burgers; pizza

Drinks: 50 craft beers; fully stocked bar

Salad bar: No

Video gambling: Yes

Reservations: For large groups; otherwise, first come, first served

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