I stopped in Wheeling to visit my mom at work and we grabbed a quick lunch. River City Restaurant & Bar is just down the block from her, so we popped in for a quick bite.

The entrance is kind of elaborate - sprawling open area with staircases leading to upper floors. The entryway was lined with a handful of Christmas trees. Dark wooden floors, chairs and tables lined the interior. The spacious area housed a few dining areas - near the bar and also in the back for seating.

I quickly skimmed the menu since we were rushing to do everything within an hour. They have some pretty typical sandwiches - tuna melt, BLTs, reubens. Nothing really too interesting caught my eye.

Mom is a huge fan of the chicken tortilla soup, so she had some of that, along with a lamb gyro. I ordered a turkey club hoagie with a side of hush puppies. I figured that since the sandwiches are pretty simple, maybe they'll just be done really well.

So, it was OK. The bread tasted store-bought, and the turkey, lettuce and bacon were all average. The tomatoes were sliced cherry tomatoes, so they were small and kept falling off the sandwich. That was odd. Why not have full slices so you get some tomato with each bite of sandwich? Mayo was squirted into a cup on the side, which wasn't super appealing.

My hushpuppies numbered four, I think. And not a ton of flavor there or a dipping sauce.

Overall, it was average. Not bad, but nothing creative or something I couldn't slap together on my own. Thoughts to make this better: freshly baked bread, some other type of lettuce (spring mix?), whole tomatoes and a sauce - mix that mayo with a pesto or something. Or maybe a quick homemade Italian. Or maybe a balsamic.

Otherwise, pretty average lunch. But with my favorite person - so that made for a nice time.

Grade: C