Cass "Honey" B.'s Profile

It's that time of year! This a premium location, which means it's fancier. There are actually private offices to do your taxes in with your representative, as opposed to a big open room with a couple desks. If I were a small business owner or someone with circumstances which I did not feel like sharing with the rest of the office, I would file here for sure.

Our tax professional was nice and helpful, she offered some additional advice which wasn't really solicited but will be useful in the future. The price here, if I remember correctly (because it's been a few years since the last time I was in to a regular H & R) was a little steep, about $200 for a joint federal and state return. Premium locations offer the Peace of Mind for no additional charge, so that was nice.

More clothes than anything else. There were a couple of home goods, but not much. I was actually surprised at the size of the store; from the front it doesn't look like it would be that big. I don't know what their typical stock looks like, because it was my first time in, but I wasn't impressed.

One of the consignors was standing right next to door the entire time I was in with her pile of stuff in the way. I had to squeeze by her and some other woman who was blocking the other side of the entrance. The employees didn't seem to mind that someone had to be inconvenienced to enter the store as they were busy yapping away behind the counter.

I'll preface with: I did not actually eat any sushi; not into the whole sushi thing myself (personal preference). Anyways...

The atmosphere here reminded me of a smaller, slightly more upscale (in finishes) version of Mt. Fuji. The dining area isn't huge, and I found the entrance a little awkward, (what's with the two door thing going into Asian places?) seems like they could have used that space more effectively. In any case, their bathroom doors are pretty and I like their floors?

I didn't actually eat anything Japanese at all here. I decided to go with the Chicken Lettuce Wraps, which weren't bad I liked them better than the ones at PF Changs. My husband had (the name escapes me now) some standard Chinese spicy chicken dish. General Tso's maybe? We ordered the crab cheese wontons, which weren't that great in my opinion.

The size of the American Chinese food portion of the menu was decent, so I'd say this is an okay place to bring someone who maybe hasn't tried Japanese food before, and may be on the fence about doing so. Next time we're in, I may continue my quest to find some sushi I actually like. You gotta love a place that gives you your coupon back after crediting your bill and tells you to come back and use it again!

I like the decor, for a moment I forgot I was in an outdoor mall. It's very "mannish" what with the $1 bills stapled to the wall behind the bar. We stopped in because I had a coupon of course.

Decided to try the Bombers, and I had a Conca Verde Panzerotti. Course, I'm not a fan of beer so we didn't order any because my husband only like Belgian Whites. Our bombers kinda... fell apart. Like, the ingredients fell outta the middle when trying to eat them.

The service was alright. The food was alright. This is the kind of place I would try again and see about something else on the menu. The food wasn't bad, and it was not too expensive. In fact, we didn't get to use our $25 or more coupon because we spent like $24.95 or something stupid like that. There wasn't a wait when we arrived, and based on my first experience I don't think I would wait for very long.

I'm rating this place against my experiences at other Old Chicagos. Working at Buckley for seven years, I've been to this location many many times for going away parties. The service has always been decent even for our large groups and they are very accommodating. There is plenty of space throughout the restaurant and the bar area is larger than some of the other locations I've gone to. I should probably mention that this is the only location that manages to deliver pizza rolls (which is the appetizer we usually order) before the meal and when I'm hungry, I appreciate that. I guess they take longer to make than the others and the fact that the staff knows that and plans accordingly is a plus.

For the price you pay I'm sure they could give you more. I had the lobster sauce rainbow trout. The food was good, very flavorful and I enjoyed it; it just didn't stick around long after my visit meaning I was hungry again only a couple hours after. Didn't really care for their caesar dressing on my salad, I would probably stick with the house next time. I was a little turned off by having to scrape my fish from it's skin and the nice little fin that was left on it, but I got over it. Lots of menu variety here. Our service was excellent. The atmosphere is dark and moody, the decor is a celebration of African animals. Not the kind of place you'd bring a gaggle of kids but maybe a date?

Stick to the pizza. You may be tempted to stray to some of their other offerings, but based on my first experience here with other items... my calzone was the best. The buffalo wings, boneless buffalo wings and fries here are bad. Pizza is really a matter of preference, so I'm not going to go into too much detail about what I liked and didn't like about my calzone. If I were rating the other things we had they would have gotten 1 star, but I've had worse calzones from supposed Italian joints in the area. They have delivery, which is nice...

Fried chicken? Yeah that's about the only thing I was interested in on the menu and I'm not a huge fan to begin with. Meh. The cost is a little ridiculous. Waiting for 15 minutes to be seated when there are several larger booths open because we are only a party of two? Even more ridiculous. (Especially when you are the only two people stupidly waiting.)

Pleasant service. Bitter salad, with loads of ranch dressing. Do you wash your lettuce? More dressing than leafs. What's the appeal here people? Is it these "Parker House Rolls"? I never was a biscuit kinda girl. Come to think it of it, I decided I'm not a big fan of comfort American food in general. The salty mashed potatoes and gravy at KFC are better.

I think the only other place I've paid this much for fried chicken is White Fence Farm and theirs was better. Granted, you do get a lot of chicken.. but still I wasn't impressed. All and all, underwhelmed. Too small a menu to bother coming back, and waiting 30 minutes for "made to order bird" just isn't my cup of tea. Paid a lot, enjoyed too little.

So, I went in, and didn't see the review until I was checking in go figure. I had some time to kill waiting for my car to get detailed. I got some waxing done. The kid at the front counter didn't know what the name of the person who was doing the waxing, and had to ask someone before calling her over to let her know I wanted something. Bad first impression.

The tech took her time, I have to give her credit it was absolutely the longest waxing session I've ever had. She kept touching my hair on (on the top of my head) which was a little creepy but anyways... everything for the most part seemed to go okay. Strike number two, the girl tells me all about how she hates waxing and just tweezes and uses a razor herself. (Okay, first of all I didn't ask, and second I'm supposed to trust someone that won't even do it to herself?)

When I left and looked in the mirror I had some cuts on my forehead. WTF? I spent the first five minutes of my visit listening to her pitch about all the services they offer at the spa despite not soliciting the information.

I recently noticed this shop but it seemed like every time I tried to stop in it was closed! I was getting rather frustrated, seeing the pretty stained glass in the window and not being able to go in and check things out. I finally got my chance during the Carriage Parade. I didn't spend too much time walking around. It looks like there are several different vendors that sell different kinds of art and some food items here; another place to pick up something local. I didn't buy anything, maybe next time!