Marjorie "Ninja Nurse" F.'s Profile

Born and raised in Chicago, I am naturally very picky about my pizza.  Nick's has awesome pizza!  I love the thin crust, sauce (this is key), plus just enough mozzarella to cover the other toppings.

I've had the Italian beef and Italian sausage - those are good too.  But my favorite by far is the pizza.

Although I don't have kids of my own, this seems like a very family friendly place.  It would be easy to take my nephew here.  Between the outdoorsy decor, peanuts on the floor, and friendly staff - there's enough to keep him preoccupied.

I will definitely be back...

I love small, no-frill diners.  What makes this place stand out for me is the fact that they not only offer a regular American breakfast, but a great Filipino breakfast as well!  As a first gen Fil-Am, this makes me very, very happy (plus I don't know how to cook this stuff).

The Filipino breakfast consists of longaniza (Filipino version of chorizo/sausage) or tocino (cured pork - sweet flavor) or a combination of both; add that to eggs any style with garlic fried rice and VOILA!  There it is.  A taste of mom's cooking.

The longaniza is cooked just as I like it; the tocino is a bit on the greasy side.  Over-easy for my eggs - they were great.  The garlic fried rice is heavy on the garlic, so make sure you have some spearmint gum or a toothbrush handy.

My whole plate was covered with food; I usually take home the rest of my breakfast and have it for lunch.  For me, it tastes great any time of day!

Service is fast and friendly.  As soon as the folks there realized that my friend and I were becoming regulars, we got some freebies --- bacon, donuts (you know, healthy stuff).

Of course, there's more to the menu than the Filipino breakfast (which is actually not printed on the menu, but written on the chalkboard).  I took my bf here and he was pretty happy with the regular American breakfast.

Street parking is easy to find, which is great when you're starving and in no mood to drive around.

I know I'll be back - but maybe I need to do my body a favor and get my cholesterol checked first!

After two visits to this place, plus reading the reviews on Yelp, it occurred to me that this place is meant for a specific clientele --- and I don't fit the bill.

WHAT I LIKED...
- The decor. When you walk in, it's pretty impressive --- the lighting, woodwork, exposed brick, and a more intimate front room.
- The idea of the charcuterie.  Sometimes you just don't want a big meal, just something to snack on.
- The service.  The server was friendly and very attentive.  It helped that it was a slow night, but still - super nice and helpful.

WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE...
- The music.  Blaring dance music on a slow Sunday night?  Good grief!  Seriously - do you really have to?  I can understand doing that on a Friday or Saturday night - but how about giving it a rest on the Day of Rest?  Maybe I'm just getting old...
- Charcuterie portions.  We ordered a couple of meats and cheeses from the charcuterie section.  When our food arrived, the portions were really tiny - and not enough bread was provided.  If you want to make a meal out from the charcuterie, order more than just two meats and two cheeses and ask for extra bread.
- Pricing.  This place is schwanky --- come with plenty o' cash.  I suppose I'm feeling a little more frugal these days with the crunch of the economy, not to mention, I'm not in a corporate job with a corporate credit card to match.  If you're a on budget, stay away from this place!

I don't know if I'll be back - even if it is practically right outside my door.  It's a nice place to look at, but I don't think I'd like to hang there...

On a final note, I've noticed that patrons of Old Town Social are parking on PERMIT ONLY streets in the neighborhood.  It's starting to become REALLY annoying to residents (including myself).  If it gets really bad, word on my block is that neighbors will call the cops to start ticketing.  Just thought I'd warn the guilty...

Last night was my first dining experience at Terragusto.  It was my boyfriend's pick to celebrate his birthday.  To make things interesting and fresh for me, I avoided reading any reviews before dinner.  (Daring, I know!)  My experience left me with mixed feelings.

I agree with my fellow Yelpers that the food is incredible.  Having grown up with first generation Italian-Americans, Terragusto is strong competition for their mamas' kitchens.  While it was tempting, we avoided the four course meal option and the tasting menu.  Neither one of us like to weigh ourselves down with your typical huge Italian meal (even if my bf is second gen Italian-Am).

First dish was an appetizer, er, an "antipasti" called SFORMATO, described as a "silky warm vegetable custard w/ rich mushroom ragu & aged cheese."  I usually avoid mushrooms (I hate them, actually), but forced myself to be open to the experience because it was my bf's birthday.  All I say is --- WOW!  The custard was melt-in-your-mouth delicious and I even ate the mushrooms (portabello, I believe).

My main dish was the "tajarin d'alba" (egg pasta ribbons tossed in a rich albese meat ragu with white wine & parmigiano reggiano).  Delicious!  You could tell that the noodles were freshly made and the sauce was the perfect compliment.

For dessert, we shared the "pistaccio marscapone mousse with white chocolate bark" with, of course, coffee.  The mousse was light and fluffy, not too sweet.  Again, I was impressed with the flavor.

The food was probably the best part of the experience.  The server was knowledgable and nice.  Other than that, I felt like I was missing something - or maybe I just favor Taylor street Italian.  I don't know...

Stuff I was lukewarm to cold about:
***DRINKS:  My bf isn't a wine drinker (shocking 'cause he's Italian - but it's true) and I am.  I assumed that they offered wine by the glass and found out there is only ONE option.  One option for wine by the glass?  You mean to say that if I want other options, and I'm the only wine drinker in my party,  that I have to drink the bottle myself?  If that's the case, then please include some complimentary ibuprofen with the meal!!!
***OPEN KITCHEN:  The concept of an open kitchen is cool --- but not when you're cooking something that generates clouds of smoke so bad that you have to open the front door to circulate the air.  If you're going for the "upscale" restaurant feel, that doesn't do it for me.
***DECOR:  It was pretty dark in there.  Good thing their menu was in decent size print or I would have pulled out my cell phone for additional lighting.  I think some candles would have been nice.  The decor was spartan - walls were a light color (green or yellow - I couldn't tell) hung with only a few small mirrors grouped closely together.  With white and beige frames, they blended in with the wall.  It was just....uh....very plain.

While I loved the food, I like to have a complete experience when dining out.  With all my options for Italian, this isn't first on my list.

What else can I write about Noble Tree that hasn't already been written...  If you need to get comfy, buckle down and get some serious work done, Noble Tree is the place to do it.

Comfy atmosphere?  CHECK!
Place to plug in the laptop?  CHECK!
Free wifi?  CHECK!
Delicious caffeinated bevvies?  CHECK!

I love this place...  Check it out!

The coffee is the same as any other Starbucks.  It's not the best coffee ever, but it covers my caffeine addiction.  The staff is super friendly.

But the wifi connection???  Arrrrrrgggghhhh!!!

Next time I have to kill time and wait here for a friend, I'm bringing a book.

This morning was the second time I've been to Over Easy - and once again, I was not disappointed.  For the life of me, I can't remember the name of the dish I ordered, but I can vividly recall the overeasy eggs on ham with spicy corn cakes (like corn pancakes) accompanied with a spicy sauce on the side.  Very unique and yummy!

We had a friendly server who made sure my coffee cup was always full.  She made sure I got my caffeine fix!

I will definitely be back to try the other items on the menu and perhaps, even lunch.

I love book stores - especially independent ones.  This one definitely has character.  It feels comfy like your favorite pair of jeans - nothing like fresh-out-of-the-plastic bookstore chains.

It is well-organized and offers plenty of room to plop down and dig into some reading.  If I didn't have to catch a flight, I would have spent all afternoon there!

I have no experience with the cafe's fare, but I'll be sure to let you know when I go back.  Hopefully soon!

Being a fan of diners, my boyfriend and I were excited to try this place while we were in town.  Needless to say, we weren't disappointed.

I ordered the French Toast Royale.  Loved it!  You would swear that I hadn't eat for a week if you witnessed the speed I ate my breakfast...  Yum!

The server was friendly and attentive.  I liked the artwork displayed on the exposed brick walls.  It is a cozy place to enjoy your first meal of the day.

I love coffee.  I love coffee shops.

It was just my luck to find Late For The Train while I was on vacation in AZ.  The service was good.  Nice laid back, hanging out type atmosphere.

It's a perfect pit stop after a long hike.