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frankfortstationdaily.com dining out
the frankfort station | January 23, 2020 | 29
The Dish
Palos Country Club makes push to expand Murphy’s on the Green offerings
Upcoming entrees,
desserts, breakfast
designed to attract
more customers
Thomas Czaja, Senior Editor
In 2019, the Palos Country
Club in Orland Park
celebrated its 100th anniversary.
This year, the business
is looking to get its second
century of operation off to
a good start by enhancing
Murphy’s on the Green, its
restaurant.
The menu at Murphy’s
was redone last year by
former general manager
Pat Pykett and head chef
Joe Wojcik, who was hired
this past March.
Now, the plan is to add a
number of entrees, breakfast,
several desserts and
more, with those possibly
appearing as soon as early
this March.
“In the summertime,
people just love to come
and sit out here, and we
keep adding more patios,”
Pykett said. “We want to
make [Murphy’s] more of
a restaurant. We have a
million-dollar view here,
and we do a wonderful job
in the summer. What we
are trying to do is attract
more people in the offseason.”
As they work on updating
the menu, making sure
people know Murphy’s is
open during the winter is
key to attracting more customers.
In addition to the
bar area at Murphy’s, there
is a dining room, as well,
that Wojcik said starts to
fill up on the weekends.
Recently, Murphy’s on
the Green has been running
a special on two filet
mignon dinners for $25
beginning at 4 p.m. on Fridays
and Saturdays. That,
along with Friday fish
specials and video slots introduced
by Murphy’s last
year have helped attract
new customers.
“The fact we’ve survived
for 100 years for a
business is quite an accomplishment,”
Pykett
said. “The present owners
have been here since
the early 1970s, and it is
a family-owned business,
which is very important.”
For Wojcik, the chance
to come aboard and enhance
the menu — with
new steaks and seafood
among the upcoming entree
offerings, along with
desserts for the first time
and plans for a breakfast
menu, too — meant playing
a great role in shaping
the future of Murphy’s.
He and Pykett already revamped
the menu when
they arrived last year, with
a number of items now
available, from starters
to flatbreads to salads to
sandwiches to panini and
burgers.
“We decided to start off
with sandwiches, salads —
kind of light fare to draw
in the golf crowd and let
people know we are open
to the public,” Wojcik said
of the restaurant within
the country club. “Our
next plan is get into the
full-sized entrees. We are
pushing soups now that
it’s winter.
“We have some really
nice soups — one to two
soups daily that are house
made with real fresh ingredients.
We do a lot of
cream soups.”
While chicken dumpling,
chicken rice and
bisque are just some of the
soup offerings emphasized
during the cold season, the
Murphy’s on the
Green (at Palos
Country Club)
13100 Southwest
Highway in Orland Park
Hours
• 11 a.m.-8 p.m. daily
For more information ...
Phone: (708) 448-
6550
Web: paloscountryclub.
com/-murphys-on-thegreen(2)
Murphy’s burger ($10),
served on a toasted brioche
bun, is the restaurant’s signature
selection popular
year-round. Cheese can be
added for $1, and premium
toppings — which include
sauteed mushrooms, caramelized
onions, avocado,
bacon and fried egg — can
be added for $2.
“Our burgers are chargrilled,
seasoned simply
with salt and pepper,”
Wojcik added.
With the new menu, the
business plans to likewise
add several more panini and
sandwiches to its current
offerings. The chicken panini
($9.95) already on the
menu has spinach, artichoke
and mozzarella cheese on a
rustic Italian loaf. It is a top
seller among paninis.
Diners also can get eight
wings ($9.95) under the
starter selections. Wojcik
offers the wings with either
traditional Buffalo sauce
with blue cheese dressing,
sweet chili mango glaze
or lemon ginger sauce. A
honey barbecue sauce is to
be added for them with the
menu expansion.
In general, since Wojcik
has put his touch on the
menu, Pykett has noticed
the effect and response by
diners.
The Murphy’s burger ($10), a signature selection at Murphy’s on the Green, is shown
here with cheese and bacon. Photos by Jacquelyn Schlabach/22nd Century Media
The shrimp Louie salad ($11.95) features chopped romaine, topped with large shrimp,
tomato wedges, cucumber and boiled egg, complete with a tangy Louie dressing.
“There’s been unbelievable
feedback,” Pykett
said. “People say they
can’t believe it’s the same
restaurant.”
Those pleased with the
changes already made are
likely to be even more satisfied
with what is still yet
to come. Whether the upcoming
desserts — likely
to feature cheesecake,
some sort of brownie sundae
and more — the new
entrees, sandwiches/paninis
and other additions,
Murphy’s is looking to
keep growing into a place
that has dishes for any
taste.
It is all part of the continual
effort to shift the
mindset of customers to
help them realize that
while Palos Country Club
definitely remains a place
for a round of golf, or weddings
and banquets, it also
features Murphy’s.
“Most people, for places
like this, it is not a place
that pops into your mind;
‘Let’s go to dinner there,’”
Pykett said. “We want to
change that mentality to
bring people in.”