Patricia "PJ" K.'s Profile
DateNorthbrook, IL 60062
(847) 205-5353
Whole Foods Market
Categories:
Grocery,
Health Markets
Listed in: My Neighborhood, It's Noon, Let's Roll...
1 Previous Review:
-
5/13/2008
I cannot say enough good things about this place. I honestly do not know where to start in giving you a list of all the things I love about this particular Whole Foods.
They have a great salad bar accompanied by hot/cold entrees, sides, veggies,etc. You get the feeling of a true market as they have a gelato station, coffee and chocolate shop, express asian restaurant, soup stands (several throughout), sushi bar, antipasti bar, shrimp bar, bbq to go stand, etc. I could go on and on.
That doesn't even begin to mention the amazing products they have. Their giant wall of cut fruit is always a favorite of mine. Great combinations, very fresh. My friend is a huge fan of their many samples. Running around the store eating those is a tasty meal itself!
There is a large section for seating if you want to enjoy your salad bar lunch onsite. It also appears they have cooking classes, wine tasting and countless other gems that make them stand out from any other grocery store I have seen.
I'm a big fan... can you tell?
Tip: There are several areas with soup. Veggie soups are near the salad bar. Meat soups are near the, well, meat. And seafood soups are on the shrimp bar.
Oswego, IL 60543
(630) 554-3014
Walmart
Categories:
Department Stores,
Grocery,
Mobile Phones
1) This Walmart is the cleanest, most organized Walmart I have ever been into. Ever.
2) During the day, the store is lit by way of the sunlights in the ceiling. Yay for going green!
3) The place is huge. Almost too large. I know they have to house a lot of stuff but it takes like a full five minutes to walk from one end to the other.
4) Unlike their competitors, nobody is managing checkout. If the lines get too long, that just means you wait too long. There are about 30 checkout lines but nobody to run 25 of them on a busy Saturday afternoon. This seems odd to me.
I've seen a few Boston Market's go under over the last few years so I didn't know what to expect walking into this one. However, it was really clean and it looked as though they finally modernized the look and feel of their dining areas. I was kind of impressed, actually.
As for the food, I went with a turkey carver on multigrain. It was delicious and as with most Boston Market dishes, a bit more than I needed to eat. The giant cups they gave us for our drink orders were daunting and I was glad I opted for lemonade instead of what might have added up to being a liter of soda otherwise.
Two things I hadn't ever seen done at a Boston Market before had to do with service. First, after we paid for our orders, the staff brought our plates to the table of our choice. This is nice but seems silly when we still have to fill our drinks and such. It was almost a wasted service, if you ask me. Second, there were signs on each of the tables stating that upon conclusion of our meal, we were to leave the remains on the table for the staff to clean up. I love when people do the dirty work for me so I happily obliged.
When the server asked what level of spices (nothing, mild, medium, hot) I went with mild on my sweet and sour chicken. I didn't want anything too bland so I figured mild was a pretty safe bet. OMG, wrongo! Yeah, my lips were burning after only a couple bites. I will say, however, that it was mighty tasty and that I did my best to finish a pretty significant chunk of it. I also had a few bites of Mike's Pad Thai which he also ordered mild. His was very slightly less extreme as mine but still had a pretty powerful kick.
Overall, I thought the food was great, despite their interpretation of "mild" heat. I think that by asking for no spice that I would enjoy it even more. My only other complaint would be that I had to flag down our server for water. There were only a couple tables full of people but I felt the server was MIA too often. And every second counts when your mouth is on fire!
I cruised the menu for my standby favorites but I spotted a Hawaiian fajita. It was huge. Seriously, I ate as much as I could and handed the rest to my boyfriend. Even after both of us ate a ton, half the entree was still on the plate. Wowza. And let me tell you, it tasted great. Perfect blend of authentic Mexican flavors and textures with a bit of a Hawaiian twist. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
I'd also like to give them kudos on their guacamole. It is so refreshing to find a place that doesn't overload the guac with lemon juice to preserve it. I also appreciated that it wasn't too spicy, something that has been hit or miss lately.
We were there on a Tuesday night in early August so I wasn't at all surprised that they were pretty slow. So obviously, we were well attended to and the staff seemed happy to have us there.
However, I returned with a coworker recently and found it to be really good. Maybe they worked out the kinks, maybe I'm ordering slightly different off the menu. Either way, I liked it enough to look forward to it as an option again.
My boyfriend graciously drove up to Glenview to meet me for lunch today. Thanks Mike! And I thought Roti might be a good choice but I was a bit worried since it was so hit or miss a couple years ago. I'm happy to report that it was again fantastic. I find myself especially enjoying their roasted veggies and the cabbage slaw. The meat is better than I remembered but I did order a veggie roti recently and found that just as satisfying, if not even more.
I am also happy to report that after being open for nearly three years, the place is probably just as clean as it was the day they opened. In fact, I had to look at the date of my first review to remember when they opened and was shocked that it has been that long. So kudos to them for keeping the place looking fresh.
Listed in: It's Noon, Let's Roll...
3 Previous Reviews:
-
12/4/2008
Second visit was an A+
Third visit was disappointing.
The steak was really chewy -- to the point of unappetizing. A total let down. In fact, I didn't finish even half my meal because of it.
Now, it must be said that they offered 50% off to all of our employees (and perhaps another local business or two) to introduce themselves to the area. They were PACKED! Seating was full but we found that the table's speed of turnover helped. It seemed like someone was always finishing up as another group of diners were ready to sit down. I was impressed how well staffed they appeared to be. They were certainly ready for large crowds today. Despite what was technically a full line, it moved VERY quickly. -
11/11/2008
Pita Inn meets Chipotle.
This is the first new restaurant in ages to make me smile. I had the roti steak on flatbread. Similar to the Chpotle assembly line, you walk through your order selecting all the fresh ingredients. There selection is pretty decent and they don't just wait for you to blurt out your order. Instead, they walk you through item by item so that you are fully aware of all the selections. Not only do you have a variety, but the amount they put on your creation is generous. By the time you get your finished product, it is exploding with food! Yum!
I have to say, I was very pleased with my creation. The steak was delicious and all the ingredients brought fantastic flavors to the dish. It came with a side of cous-cous which I found decent but nothing amazing. The baba ghannoush side we ordered was good but they definitely gave on oversize portion. I felt it really went to waste.
The restaurant itself is very clean and slick. It looks very much like a chain but they insist that it is not a franchise. Who can complain? All the cleanliness of a franchise but still having the locally created benefits? Sounds good to me!
This place has won itself a place on the lunch cycle. -
11/11/2008 First to Review
Pita Inn meets Chipotle.
Apparently, there are two entries for this. See my other one for more details.
Other than the freezing AC, I have one other minor complaint. I really have a hard time when the staff comes over eight thousand times to refill my coffee. My cup of joe is a perfectly calibrated combination of coffee, sugar and creamer. Topping it off is complete chaos to my formula and I do not like it. And I don't like having to repeat that six times before my food comes.
So now onto the food. I ordered the banana pancakes and they were, I must admit, great. There was roughly a half of a banana cut on top. The pancakes themselves then had slices of banana cooked into them along with some nuts. Overall, it was pretty good and I didn't feel I needed a lot of syrup, which to me is always a good sign.
Chicago, IL 60618
(773) 248-2822
90 Miles Cuban Café
Categories:
Cuban,
Sandwiches
Neighborhood: Roscoe Village
I ordered the veggie sandwich and a guava/cheese empanada. I thought both were excellent. The sandwich was busting full of yummy veggies. I could only eat one half and even that was a struggle. I highly recommend that those with smaller tummies, try to find someone to split an order. I also splurged with the guava/cheese empanada, which was equally as awesome. Each bite had the right combination of flavor and texture. I was glad to have something with a different flavor profile to accompany the veggie sandwich.
The service was great. I went to grab a water bottle from the cooler but was quickly informed by the staff that they had tap water readily available outside. Unfortunately they were out of ice and in the hot sun, the water turned quickly warm.
The outdoor seating isn't anything spectacular but was sort of perfect at the same time. One of the best parts about it was that it was off to the side, not really near the entrance. This eliminated patrons from walking through to place their orders and left those of us seated peacefully off to the side. It's the little things, ya know.
Austin, TX 78704
(512) 447-7825
Jovita's Mexican Restaurant
Categories:
Mexican,
Tex-Mex,
Music Venues
Neighborhoods: 78704 (South Austin), So-Fi (S. 1st St. District), Bouldin Creek
The restaurant itself is interesting. It certainly has seen it's wear and tear - for better and worse. In some ways, it gave the place personality. In other ways, it felt dirty. My biggest complaint is that there is no signage for the bathrooms. So after a failed attempt to find the woman's room and a desperate need to wash the margarita spillage of my hands, I used the sink in the men's room. Later, I found that the women's room was on the other side of the building. And you might be surprised to find that the mens room was cleaner than the womens. Urgh.
We ordered margaritas, which tasted great but were a little sloppy. It'd help if they didn't overfill them and/or they wiped the glass after pouring. It's the simple things, I tell ya. We ordered a few appetizers and they were actually pretty good. Nothing too fancy, just what we needed.
The band was fun and the acoustics worked well, which I had worried about when we entered. The place looks like it can hold quiet a crowd but there couldn't have been more than 30 people total. When I finally found that elusive bathroom, I did see that they had even more seating in another area that was completely vacant. I have to wonder how often, if ever, this place fills up.
Listed in: My love affair with Austin, TX
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Chicago, IL
Yelping SinceApril 2008
Things I Lovephotography, bicycling, traveling, good books, party planning, girls nights out, my adorable son, my amazing friends
Find Me Inthe gym.
My HometownFrankfort, IL
My Blog Or Website When I'm Not Yelping...I am raising my son, snapping photos and enjoying my wonderful friends.
Why You Should Read My ReviewsMy explorations include the city and its many suburbs.
My Second Favorite Websitehttp://www.flickr.com, http://www.facebook.com
The Last Great Book I ReadUnbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption
My First ConcertNew Kids on the Block
My Last Meal On EarthStuffed French Toast from Blackberry Cafe in Tinley Park.
Don't Tell Anyone Else But...I throw like a girl.
Most Recent DiscoveryGoign to the gym can actually be enjoyable.
Current CrushA certain firefighter that always makes me smile.
* Their catering menu and quality is awesome. I've now ordered for 3-4 different luncheons and will certainly have them in mind for many more.
* They have a trail mix bar. And it is full of yummy goodness.
* They have some great pre-made meals next to the salad bar area. It has all sorts of sammiches but also some ethnic flair like the amazing steamed buns filled with bbq pork I picked up last week. Yum!