Readers' Choice: What's Your Favorite Staycation Destination?

What's your favorite place to take the kids for a day of fun in the Tri Cities?

Guess what? You can spend a little money and have a lotta fun right here in your own backyard this summer. Even you're not planning a faraway trek this year, there's still plenty to do in the Tri Cities. Video game arcades, expansive parks and riverfront attractions are just some of the destinations you can make this summer. We want to spotlight your favorites and share your ideas with the rest of our readers. Patch has gathered the names and addresses of some staycation spots in Batavia, Geneva and St. Charles. They include: Batavia Riverwalk, Houston Street and North Island Avenue, Batavia Clark Island Recreation Area, 401 S. River St., Batavia Funway, 1335 S. River St., Batavia Island Park, 1 E. State St., Geneva Otter Cove Splash Park…

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thefunkychicken

7:33 pm on Monday, May 14, 2012

My fire pit in my back yard.   more ›

Reader's Choice for Mother's Day Brunch? Town House Books

There are many wonderful options for Mother's Day brunch in the Tri-Cities. Your favorites? Town House Books in St. Charles is No. 1, followed by Atwater's and Fiora's in Geneva.

There are a ton of great places to go for brunch on Mother's Day. Click on this story for some starters. Then there's a shorter list of finalists you selected. And now the winners. (Drum roll, please.) The Patch Reader's Choice for Best Place to Go for Mother's Day Brunch is ... Town House Books & Cafe of St. Charles! Runners-up are: Congratulations to the winners and all the great places that serve our moms on Mother's Day!

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Reader's Choice: Time to Choose Among Finalists for Best Mother's Day Brunch

The nominations are in. Now it's time to pick your favorite Mother's Day brunch!

The nominations are in for best Mother's Day brunch in the Tri-Cities! Here are the finalists, based on your recommendations and those of the Geneva, Batavia and St. Charles chambers of commerce. Some we had to leave out because they're a little too far outside the city limits. Mother's Day is Sunday, May 13. Which of the following offers the best Mother's Day brunch?   Claddagh Irish Pub, 1702 Commons Dr., 630-208-0337 Fiora’s, 317 S. Third St., 630-262-1317 Atwater's Restaurant, 15 S River Lane, 630-208-7433 The Little Traveler, 404 S. Third St., 630-232-4200 Mill Creek Golf Club, 39w525 Herrington Drive, 630.208.7272  Eagle Brook Country Club, 2288 Fargo Boulevard, 630-208-4653 Hotel Baker, 100 W. Main St., 630.584.2100 Pheasant Run …

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Rick Nagel

9:22 am on Friday, May 4, 2012

Deadline is 2 p.m. today to vote for Best Mother's Day brunch!   more ›

Reader's Choice: What's Your Favorite Place for Mother's Day Brunch?

Mother's Day is Sunday, May 13. Where's the best place to take your mom for brunch?

We're going to do this week's Reader's Choice a little like Ike and Tina Turner used to perform Proud Mary: We'll start nice and easy, and we'll end nice and rough. "Rough" because this week's topic is your favorite place to go for Mother's Day brunch. And there are so many great places to eat in the Tri-Cities, making a selection is never, ever easy. Mother's Day is May 13 this year, so we'll start collecting your nominations today (Monday, April 30), present the nominations in a poll on Wednesday and complete the Reader's Choice voting on Friday. The deadline for making a nomination is noon Tuesday, May 1. To make a nomination, name your favorite place for Mother's Day brunch in the comments field below. We'll offer a few suggestions (…

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LAST DAY to Vote: Pick All Spoked Up and Prairie Path Cycles As Finalists

This week's Readers' Choice contest is going to be a close one. Voting ends at noon today. Can you make one of these Batavia shops the winner?

Last Day to Vote Reader's Choice: What's Your Favorite Bike Shop?

Leave a review and a comment to vote for your pick.

2nd Editor's note: Due to an internal error, comments that were left on this story for All Spoked Up and The Bike Rack will count the same as a posted review. The option to leave a review was not included for these two businesses during the beginning of the contest. We apologize for the error. Editor's note: This contest was updated to include All Spoked Up in Batavia. Don't forget to vote before noon this Friday, April 27! With summer upon us people are beginning to think about bicycling along the Fox River. If you don't own a bicycle, or have friends coming to the area who don't own a bicycle, then how do you accomplish that ride? There are several businesses in the area that rent bicycles. Patch wants to know what's your favorite …

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Dick's in Geneva is Readers' Top Sporting Goods Store

Two more Tri-Cities businesses are also Patch picks. Here are the votes.

We have some winners! Patch readers have spoken, and Dick's Sporting Goods in Geneva was selected as the Favorite Local Sporting Goods Store. Dick's was chosen by having the highest number of poll votes, 12. This represents 52 percent of all votes cast. Second favorite was B & R Sporting Goods Fox Valley in Geneva, with 17 percent of the vote. Third favorite goes to BBK Sports in St. Charles with 13 percent of all votes. Dick's Sporting Goods is a nationwide chain that sells: The two-level Geneva location is located in Geneva Commons at 618 Commons Drive. Check your local Patch site every week for more reader contests. To read more local stories, click on the "News" button at the top of this site.

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UPDATED Readers' Choice: What's Your Favorite Sporting Goods Store?

Please help us pick the top shops.

Quick! What's your favorite place to get sporting goods for yourself, your star athlete sons or daughters? Got the answer? Good … now please share it with us! Patch wants to honor some of the best local businesses to buy sporting goods in the Tri-Cities. Patch has gathered the names and addresses of several places to grab your gear in Batavia, Geneva and St. Charles. They include: BBK Sports, 1900 E. Tyler Road, St. Charles B & R Sporting Goods Fox Valley, 1996 S. Kirk Road, Geneva Chicago Home Fitness, 614 Commons Drive, Geneva Dick's Sporting Goods, 618 Commons Drive, Geneva Geneva Custom Saddlery, 2s899 Nelson Lake Road, Batavia Play It Again Sports, 1501 W. Main St., St. Charles The Soccer Field, 1109 Randall Ct., Geneva "...That …

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Readers' Choice: For Tax Prep, It's Loberg, Miki & O'Brien!

With a nod to R. MacDonald & Associates, Morrison & Associates and many others.

We're in the final days of tax-prep season, and financial folks throughout the Tri-Cities are probably getting near the point of those accursed 18-hour days they have to put in to meet all their clients' April 15 deadlines. Good luck to all, and congratulations to Loberg, Miki & O'Brien of Geneva, which came through as the No. 1 Readers' Choice for tax-prep service in the Tri-Cities! In second place is R. MacDonald & Associates of St. Charles! Well done! And in third is the esteemed Morrison & Associates of St. Charles! Morrison broke a tie with Patricia Engel by having more comments. We'll attach the prestigious "Readers' Choice Award Winner" tag to the Patch listings of the winners.   Comments "Loberg, Miki and O'Brien are all-stars!! …

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Readers' Choice: Where's the Best Place to Get Your Taxes Done?

Great tax preparation combines core competency, service and trust. Who do you think is the best at it in the Tri-Cities?

There's nothing sexy about tax preparation. But this time of year, there are few topics closer to the heart or higher on the attention scale. With April 15 racing toward us faster than Dale Earnhardt Jr., it's time to make a quick decision on which tax team can take you to the finish line. So, who's good? Who do you trust? Which company is going to give you the best return, the best service and the best price? IMPORTANT NOTE: Did we miss any great tax-prep places? Let us know in the comments field below. Here are some options. The rules of this race are below.     H & R Block Income Tax Preparation Services, 1860 W. Main St. Tax PRO Services, 709 Stuarts Drive Jackson Hewitt Tax Service, 546 S. Randall Road Tardella & Company, 11 S 2nd Ave…

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Justin Eggar

7:22 pm on Wednesday, April 4, 2012

R MacDonald does a fantastic job for my corporate and personal taxes.   more ›