The Sky Box

Downtown DeKalb is no mecca for sports bars, let alone fine dining, but there is one standout spot in the area at an affordable price: The Upper Deck. It was about the only place on the DeKalb strip that even looked remotely alive around 7 P.M. The walk through the door was quite surprising, the speakers were blasting and The Dream’s hit single “She Rockin’ That Thing” was playing in the background. The music instantly won me over. This song was followed by music from Keri Underwood, Keri Hilson, and many others. The atmosphere of the restaurant was very clean and neat and gave off an aura of sports. If you enjoy watching sports, this was the place to be. In the restaurant, were signed jersey’s of Bears, Bulls, Wolves, and even NIU Huskie players. Even if you’re not a big sports fan, it’s still a pretty relaxing get away. The restaurant has eight forty-two inch flat screen TV’s and each was displayed a different sports broadcast from boxing to baseball to women’s basketball and so on. So you can bet with their sufficient amount of TV’s, if there’s a big game or your favorite team is playing, it will most definitely be on.

The customer service was especially fantastic. The manager, an NIU student named Kyle Schwan, consistently checked up on our table to make sure everything was fine and made us feel very welcomed with his keen sense of humor. I don’t know if it was due to the fact that we were two of about ten customers in the restaurant, but regardless he always seemed to be right there when we needed him for a joke or service. Our waitress wasn’t too far behind him either, I don’t think there was one time during my meal where I even had to request for a refill.

The menu consisted of the same kind of menu that you’d find at any sports bar, nothing more and nothing less. Although the menu was very normal, it was probably the best tasting food I have ever eaten. On the contrary, it may be a little bias though because I’ve been eating nothing except dormitory food. Their main dish was the prized Hangover Burger. This quarter-pound burger was topped with American cheese, ham, scrambled egg and homemade Bloody Mary sauce. It was named to appeal to college students who’d probably eat the burger in its name sake for a price of $8.29. My friend Bobby and I didn’t think we were hungry enough for a quarter pounder, so we ordered the boneless wings instead. We took advice from Kyle who said, “The most popular dish are the wings with various sauces.” The wings came in a bundle of eight for only $7.29, which was a pretty solid price. We noticed when we received our food that fries were not included nor were they on the menu, which was a little upsetting. We later learned, that you can order them, by request. The reason they weren’t on the menu was a question no one could answer. For the most part, the prices were pretty reasonable for an average college student, such as myself. The price range was between $5.00-15.00 for appetizers and entrees.

The Upper Deck was a great place to eat and relax. It’s opens early and stays open late. Also has a bar for those old enough to drink. If you’re on the downtown strip, it might be the only place with a light on. The food was great and the service was even better. The atmosphere is a wonderful place for college students to come eat and hang out. They’re building a game room in the down stairs portion of the restaurant so that could attract more customers. This was the first time I ate outside the dorm or delivery, and it was memorable. To top it off, the husband of a elderly couple named Paul Sawyer paid for our bill and also for the waitress’s tip. Look for Upper Deck in the near future to become DeKalb’s number one spot.

4 stars
The Upper Deck
722 E. Lincoln Highway
(815)761-9621