Jacob "Chitown Masala" J.'s Profile

I've come in a few times for brunch only, typically after attending Sunday service at Moody Bible church down the street. First thing to understand about Perennial is that their entrees are small so it's wise to order a side or two to share if you have a bigger appetite. The cost doesn't match the amount of food, but the plating, skill and ingredients, well I guess it could match those if that means more to you. Most every time I've found the food agreeable and left pleasantly happy. Most every time the same dishes were ordered including: Crab cake eggs Benedict, smoked salmon and potato tart, french toast, duck confit tart and breakfast croquettes for sharing. This combo of items seems to work for me, maybe you'll like it too. I've added some photos for your viewing pleasure and to help you decide. I love the bright decor, colored curtains draped across the ceiling, use of white birch trees, almost every little and last detail has an accent down to the detailed legs of the dining room tables.

Indian groceries available in Elgin!

The counter guy has got a smile on his face with every customer that walks into their store. It's not a huge store, but they have just enough to spice that fish the right way, make rice, some dhal and other curries to compliment that next meal you don't want to spend too much time on. A few freezers with popular favorites like assorted, ready made naans, other breads and vegetables. They have a refrigerated shelf with popular drinks like Thumbs up soda in the bottle and assorted fruit drinks like fresh mango. While in the store the clerk was telling us about their catering services which may start soon. I think he also said that the samosas they offer fresh in the store are made daily and available for catering as well. It's funny, when Googling for the correct address I came across a Facebook page for the store ?!.

A Sara Lee outlet store within minutes of Chicago limits!  It's located off of Harlem and Touhy and can be reached via I-90 or 94.

Pretty much any item from Sara lee's most popular food lines and some related brands.  Such as ball park franks which sell here for about $1.19 a pack or Hillshire Farms brats or sausages for around $2.39 If you are at all familiar with grocery store pricing you'd know already that both of the brands I mentioned are typically priced from $3-4 for the hot dogs and $5-6 for the brats or sausages.  Breads, buns and those garlic also go for a very reasonable price.  Other than the Sara Lee brands the outlet store carries some herbal teas and an in state made jam.  There are tons of ready made options which can help you out when planning family dinners or having a breakfast on the go.  For those times when you need a quick gift for a gathering there is always a pie of some kind on sale and may serve from five to ten.

Good location with easy to find parking.  Since its on the corner you could easily pull up, hit the hazard lights and be in and out quick.  Not that locals appreciate you doing this..  Inside this store they make great use of this long dark wood shelf which does a great job to divide the room and makes me think, I too could use that in my place!  Too bad they didn't have pricing info for me, but what they did have was a perfectly made Chai latte.  Weird how each Starbucks makes drink after drink, differently.

I wonder if Yelpers out here are aware that they can update reviews, so many dated 2 star reviews. I have shopped here and didn't find it as horrible. The food court is pretty weak and its correct it should not be called a food court with one working food counter that hardly gets business. Most of the stores cater to high end clothing as some have suggested and there are a number of shoes stores. I was able to stock up on some decent clothes and got a pair of bad ass Pumas for a great price, so I'm happy. Guys.. stuff sold at normal stores in California is more expensive than stuff in the Midwest. We have outlets that are huge-mongus and laugh at yours, with that said, I found good deals here and a decent selection at this time. Drawbacks.. not enough parking and something about the kids working stores here. It's like this air of entitlement, not everyone just the lazy ones that don't entrance greet or clean up after the store. I'll take sale price over regular price any day.

Tourist review.

Yeah it's a tourist spot, so? I just flew in from Chicago with my laptop bag and carry on in tow, tired and waiting on broil to scoop me up. Walked the Wharf a few times looking for the right place to eat, the Franciscan scared me off originally because of its high prices. In the end, this is where I enjoyed a freakin good meal. There are a lot of steps going up when you are lugging luggage and not sure what was going on with the elevator. The hostess wasn't nice or anything, hardly an entrance greet and sent me to a table in the back since I was solo. It was pretty early when I got there and after watching me come up those steps I'm surprised she took me on an escapade rather than seating me at any one of the many tables open and nearby. Although she wasn't happy with my request I asked for a table overlooking the water. Once seated everything got better. The fruity mixed cocktail was strong enough to send me into a nice haze. I've never had clam chowder so good and with real seafood in it. What the fuck have I been eating in Chicago! Fake chowder I suppose. Then the crab came doused in a garlic sauce which was heavenly. My problem was not knowing how much strength to use when breaking the shell and a bit of self consciousness, not wanting to soil myself too much in the process. An older couple seated nearby saw me struggling and the lady said simply.. "first time?" "It's a messy job but just go for it, you'll love it. You can always get more napkins" She's right! Fuck it, so I get dirty in a white linen cloth place, I'm just some silly tourist. Yes it was pricey, but the food was excellent. At the time I was there I was able to get in on the Prix fixe menu and dessert came at the end. A bit of their own home made frozen vanilla custard was the perfect end.

I've added photos for your viewing pleasure.

Their thin crust is excellent, its debatable how crispy it is. I've had it once so far and it had a chew to it, but I was pleasantly surprised with it and look forward to ordering it again. Their pan pizza was heavy with a ton of cheese on top. Between the two styles the thin crust is the winner for me. We ordered the Bacaroni which was composed of bacon, pepperoni, onions and a special sauce. The sauce was so tasty and tangy my buddy thought it had to be jam of some kind, jam! heck no. It's a marinara sauce for sure, just unsure what's in that sauce that made it tasty. Sauteed onions add a bit of sweetness to sauces, could it be that? who knows, its good stuff. The exterior of the restaurant needs a washing, it's just an all glass store front which looks darkened at night. Standing up close looking in is when you feel welcome. Inside the appearance is like your seated in the middle of a courtyard. Pillars against the walls and a hanging flowered terrace over the waitstaff area. With the way that the heating vents are setup nearly every inch of the restaurant is warm at all times, great for this winter since it's been so terribly cold. The mood of the room is welcoming and the staff was cool, collected and knew the menu. Many of the other customers seated nearby were families having a calm Sunday dinner. BYOB and there is a liquor store across the street. Pizza pricing is moderate and in that I mean we ordered two pies one specialty thin and one pan with two sodas came out around $30 before tip. We got more than enough food with ample leftovers.

I tend not to give five stars to many places, but their thin crust has won me over.

What you should know about Honky Tonk BBQ: BYOB. At the time I dined here it was Cash only (At the time I wrote this review it was cash only, I've been told that since late Jan 2010 they now accept cards, I'm not sure and it's wise to call ahead). Their barbecue is different than most of the BBQ you get most anywhere else in Chicago. It's perfectly cooked meats served plain. You then choose from three sauces (offered on every table) and cover it as much as you like. Their sauces come in; something like a peppery or hickory flavor, honey mustard and a sweet and tangy type. For most that are used to having prepared meats served with sauce applied while cooking, it's a lot different since the sauces are at room temperature. I prefer barbecue with sauce applied while cooking, burnt on, soaking in it, smoked, whichever. I visited with two other guys, one got the pulled pork sandwich, the other the brisket sandwich and myself with rib tips and 2 dinky dunkers of brisket and pulled pork. The brisket was dry and the buddy that ordered that sandwich was not satisfied. The other one with the pulled pork wasn't satisfied either. I thought my dinky dunker pulled pork was fine, once I doused it in sauce. Btw, dinky dunker is just a cute name for mini sandwich, there's nothing extra special about it. The bread was an Artisan sandwich bread, soft on the inside with an almost crisp crust. The rib tips were pretty good served plain over a soggy piece of garlic bread. I took some of my food to go. On day 2 I threw everything into a wok with barbecue sauce, a bit of mango, hot spices and sizzled them all together. I took that soggy garlic bread and toasted it till it became a crisp wafer. Having that bread extra crispy with BBQ'd leftovers was bangin! Oh yea, I also got a corn bread muffin which was sweet to the taste and it contained bits of creamed corn (I'm guessing); which was a nice surprise.
If going, I'd suggest going with a group, getting a bunch of food to share like their sampler platter and a few different sides. This way you may still have space for dessert! Pluses.. sweet staff and service with a smile. Our waitress came over often to check up on us and an older lady (maybe the owner) came over just to thanks us for visiting and remind us that they are there to help, that was cool.
If hitting the Honky Tonk on a weekend, finding street parking can be a headache and time consuming task but, they are open till 11pm, so there's still time.

I got back to town just in time for NYE and with no plans, heard about a "Metromix" party going on and figured why not! It's hosted by Metromix right, it should be pretty wild since the website has an enormous following and per the Internet a couple hundred tickets were sold. Well... that wasn't the case, not as busy as they led on and when some people noticed that there was a lack of interesting others, they started leaving to other bars in search of better. Tix were $100 for general admission, standing room only, with 5 hour top shelf open bar (including all 70 craft beers) and hors d'oeuvres. Reserving a table and admission for the NYE shindig was quite a bit higher. I'm going to guess that the employees did a "dry run" practice to make sure their service was on point, the night of the event, because it was top notch. Since we were standing at the bar, we kept missing out on the appetizers as they were passed around by service. The appetizers were brought out to all the booths first and then to all of those standing by. This lounge is pretty big and it's possible that there were up to two hundred people seated at booths plus another fifty plus walking around. Even with that number of people on the floor, the room doesn't look crowded. The design and layout allow the room to look spacious, comfortable and always accommodating. Most booths fit four and some held up to six. Décor composed of dark woods on the tables, walls and bar, while seating was an off white or khaki like color, possibly leather. We stood at the bar and kept missing out on the appetizers as they came round, so I made a mention to the sweet bartender "Joan" and she had a waiter bring out a sampler plate for us. After that the waiters repeatedly checked on us the rest of the night, always bringing more food! Awesome. The hors d'oeuvres of the night were special for the event and not from their everyday menu, including items like fresh mozzarella on bruschetta with a tasty balsamic blend, crispy butter flied shrimp which were almost tiger sized and a bite sized steak option. Everything looked and tasted high quality. The booze was just raining that night, imagine top shelf spirits and you can drink any of their craft beers. In retrospect, going from Belvedere vodka to premium bourbons to La Fin Du Monde as a finisher, was not the greatest idea. I could go for a second round with their bourbons; the selection isn't the typical of what you might find at most other bars.
Nice spot for meeting a first date or a drink with friends after work. If you drive you can valet or find parking within short walking distance behind the bar.

I'm noticing a trend here, I found floating things in my tap water and noticed another reviewer did also. The coffee is better. Besides that, this place is all about bacon flights and eggs. Don't make a noob mistake like I did and get a bacon flight AND bacon waffles. The bacon waffles had bites of bacon throughout and came with a large strip. I was bacon'd out by the time I was done. The bacon flight was interesting with five flavors of bacon. How often do you buy different flavors of bacon? When I see it at a grocery store I wonder and wish they had samplers. HERE! Here you can try the lot of them and be open to trying different ones in the future. I liked three out of the five and could return for those over and over. Many of the breakfast items center around savory, there are sweet items like the waffles and French toast but they are, well plain. I'm somewhat of a brunch snob, when having French toast or waffles love the ones that come with fruits and some sort of sweet crème and that isn't how it's done here. If you'd care for something different B&E also has a dessert bar with items like chocolate ganache or fruit tarts and assorted cupcakes. Since the place is still fairly new, it would behoove you to call ahead on weekends.