There's a new-ish bar in the Stateline area that is serving up some of the best shrimp you've ever had.

Full credit for discovering this spot goes out to Jake Fitzgerald of Ameriprise Financial. Jake's company is a long time sponsor of the morning show on WROK. He joins us every morning around 8:50 to give us the latest stock market report.

Jake knows money, but after getting to know him a little bit more personally, I've found out that Jake also knows where to eat good food.

That's why his tip to check out the shrimp at the Trop Club in Loves Park was acted on so quickly by myself.

You might not have heard of the Trop Club. I know I hadn't. You might have driven by it multiple times without even noticing it. It occupies one of the corner units in the Loves Park business park just east of Mulford on Riverside.

Joe Dredge
Joe Dredge
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I would zoom in a little more but once you do, the picture is from a few years ago when it was called The Dugout.

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I never actually made it into The Dugout, but I'm guessing they didn't have anything on the menu that approached The Trop's grilled shrimp appetizer.

So what about that grilled shrimp appetizer? This was actually my second time grabbing some shrimp from Trop Club. However, there was a twist this time. Our bartender said that the new cook was working on some new sauces in the back and she would bring out a sampling of the sauces to get our feedback.

First of all, I'm not sure if this guy is the chef she was talking about, but if he is, give that man a raise.

We were presented with this plate of perfectly grilled shrimp along with 5 different dipping sauces to try.

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The shrimp were amazing by themselves, they truly didn't need the sauces to make them some of the best shrimp in town but the sauces took them over the top.

Here were the five sauces we were given to try and what I thought of them.

NOTE: I'm going by memory here, the actual names of the sauces might be different.

Starting at 12 o'clock on that plate:

  • Hawaiian BBQ: Our least favorite of the five but that's just because it didn't really pair that well with the shrimp. It would be incredible on some pulled pork.
  • Teriyaki: Much better than your typical teriyaki and a little sweeter. This appeals to a specific person but if that person is you, you'll love it.
  • Cocktail/horseradish: This standard cocktail sauce is so much more than standard. I have no idea what else is in this but horseradish, but it might be the best cocktail sauce I've ever had.
  • Chipotle Aioli: This one was great and possibly a little too spicy for some. My only complaint was that it seemed a bit pedestrian compared to the other sauces on the plate.
  • Peanut Thai: Hands down the best of the bunch. I had to stop myself from licking the container. Don't walk, run to Trop Club to try this out ASAP.

Just don't run there on a Monday because they are closed on Mondays. They are open the other six days of the week from 7A-midnight and 2AM on the weekends. Plenty of time to put down more shrimp than you should.

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