Kelley "YelleK" F.'s Profile

I'm a long time customer of Mancini's. The food is great and consistent. I love their vodka cream sauce for pasta - they have fantastic pizza and salads, as well. But I have to say, I'm even more of a fan of their service. Their staff  is always friendly and always good humored, which is just as appreciated as their good food.

Love is....no, it is not some naked cow-eyed child on the pages of your daily paper...Love is Thai and Japanese in one meal. Love is ordering online. Love is Bua Hana.

Bua Hana appeals because I am one of those people who often wants a little bit of a variety of things and Bua Hana certainly delivers! Speaking of delivery, they have teamed up with one of my other faves, http://GrubHub.com. This may seem trivial but being able to order and pay online is a huge bonus. Fewer mistakes, don't need to have cash, etc.

Finally, their food is awesome, and as such, I am a repeat offender (twice this week). Tonight's menu included tom yum soup, avocado rolls and their veggie tempura roll. All three, out of this world good. Earlier this week it was massamun curry and shiro maguro. Again, both were delicious. I cannot say enough good things!

The ingredients are fresh, your meal comes complete with chopsticks and napkins, and it's all delivered on time, with a smile.

I won't be back. I think the concept is lost on me. I don't care to cook, so I'm not sure why I'd go out to eat and then be expected to be that involved in my meal. We had brunch there this past weekend and I can't say that I was impressed.

The staff was friendly but often not around when you needed them. I had multiple questions, being a first timer and all, but there was simply no one to tell me how many eggs were actually used in the omelet when the question arose. Maybe I put far too much thought into my onion to egg ratio...

Frankly, I find the whole concept irritating at best and the food was mediocre. I find the use of all those darn sticks stupid and confusing. I didn't care for the options that could be added to the omelets either - very basic or weird (edamame?). Don't get me wrong, I love edamame but couldn't quite wrap my head around putting it in my eggs...I know, where's my sense of adventure, right?

While there were few other patrons, everyone was stepping all over each other adding things to their bowls. And I did love the Roti bread, I woulda killed for a piece of toast.

And come on, only one kind of cheese (it was some sort of plastic-y version of "cheddar")...

I love Jak's! We order it for lunch quite a bit because they offer such a variety of food that almost everyone can find something - we've got several people who are primarily vegetarian. They are always friendly when taking the order and while delivery can be a little slow, they've never once screwed up an order.

I love their Mama Nature and their fish and chips. I also love the fact that I can get a fruit cup rather than fries (I'm not a big fry fan) and its actually fresh fruit.

I've never actually dined in so I have no clue about the atmosphere. However, being in the West Loop area we don't have a huge selection of places for lunch. And when we're ordering for the entire office its nice to have a place that offers so much variety.

Ok, I love cheese so it's no surprise that I would highly rate a cheese shop - however, were the shop to be poorly staffed or annoying, I might be inclined to rate it lower, at the expense of good cheese. That all said, the Marion Street Cheese Market is fantastic! The staff is wonderful - so nice and so very helpful. My sister and I stopped in just before the holidays and during a time many retail employees were just at their wits end, but the Market's employees seemed happy and genuinely interested in helping us make our selections. They gave us samples and recommendations. The selection is a nice one and they offer a variety of things to pair the cheeses with, from wine to olives. Overall, an excellent experience. It was my first visit but I can promise it won't be my last!

This place has quickly become one of my favorite places to frequent.

I've now dined here four times and each visit has been an exceptional experience. I've had their beet and goat cheese salad a couple of times and it's out of this world - as long as you love beets as much as I do!

I've also had their pizza "The Goat" (yes, I've got some sort of goat/beet fetish) and their butternut squash ravioli - both better than I expected.

I find their prices reasonable and their wine list is pretty good. I like their down to earth staff and clean but cozy decor. I would recommend eating here. Apparently we were pretty lucky tonight. We showed up around 6pm without reservations and I heard them turning people down who didn't hold reservations up until at least 8pm. If you're in the area, stop by - they're worth it!

----UPDATE-----

So, now I'm a regular here - I love the atmosphere, the friendly, relaxed staff and, of course, the great food. I think I dine here about every other week (or more) and my friends and family are about as taken with 225 as I am.

They just posted that they do brunch now, so I'm going to have try it out.

If I could give something a million stars, WCPT would be the recipient. I love this station and wish I had more time to listen. Their shows allow for actual debate, present the facts without distortion and their hosts aren't there to just listen to themselves speak!

I am a huge Stephanie Miller fan too and glad they play her show every morning!

I just got word that they're moving from AM 850 to AM 820 - just FYI.

Well, my lunch from My Thai was a disaster. Yes, I know I only work about two blocks from this place but I wanted delivery - don't ask. They took my order and said it would take about 45 minutes. About 15 minutes later the delivery guy confirms my address and says he's in front of my building. So I go outside and stand....I continue to stand....and stand....I gave up after a couple of minutes and returned to my desk. The phone rings and its the delivery guy wanting to confirm my address again and to tell me that they had given me the wrong order and he would be back in 5 minutes. I said fine and I would stand outside and wait for him.

So, I'm standing....and standing....and standing again......

I give up and go back inside. I decide to wait a bit before doing anything. About 15 minutes pass and I call the restaurant. They tell me he's left with my order and it should arrive soon.

About a half hour passes and I'm finally about to cancel the order when the delivery guy calls. Apparently, they had really screwed up my order and he had to have them remake everything. I still tipped him because its not his fault and he was gracious enough to try and refuse the tip but I forced it upon him. LOL.

Now let's get to the food. The pot stickers were the fried kind, not steamed and they were cold and had a fishy taste. I moved on to my cold veggie wrap thing (think giant spring roll), which was pretty tasty. And finally, my main course, tom yum soup (tofu).

Well, I guess I am spoiled by the Thai place by my house because their soup was seriously lacking. It had about 6 large chunks of green pepper floating in it, some tofu and a couple of giant mushrooms - honestly, I felt like I was shrinking and my food was expanding - these mushrooms were HUGE! I like all the other stuff that's usually in my tom yum soup - the bean sprouts and the other crunchy bits.....this was just...kind of boring....

Oh, and from a coworkers experience, avoid the pad thai here - when you order chicken or beef they don't put any veggies on it (uh, wtf??). You get peanuts, meat and noodles. And the tofu kind, while it comes with veggies, tastes a bit like the smell of wet dog.

Today was the end of My Thai for me....I would seriously suggest going elsewhere if you can! I'm not sure how people gave this place 3 stars. Now, I don't think they deserve negative stars like Comcast but two stars would really be pushing it...

Don't bother going here. I've been here a few times lately (for pick up only) hoping that the last bad experience was just an anomaly.....while the wings are ok, the service sucks and for me, its not worth the attitude and the unprofessional manner of the staff. I can go elsewhere and get comparable food with much better service for about the same money. If I want to be ignored, I can stay home and be with my cats - and its free!

I do realize that food service isn't the end-all be-all for some but I've done it and could "fake" my way through the shift - its not really the customer's fault that I took this crappy job, at least that's how I see it. Eye contact isn't that difficult, people!  Believe me, you can tear your eyes away from the tv for the 18 seconds it takes me to place my order - the television will still be there when I've left the counter! I promise!

I did branch out a little this last time and tried their potato salad, which, while still not "mom's" potato salad, was pretty good. But again, I'd forgo decent premade potato salad and get my wings elsewhere because of the inattentive, poor service.

Ok, so I am obsessed with their Tofu Pad Thai, Chicken Satay, Tom Kha and Tom Yum soups. I admit I love Thai food but Thai Oak Park makes the BEST pad thai and for a long time I thought they had the best chicken satay - but alas it appears they've changed the recipe and its got way less curry now - which is an utter shame because I loved it before (totally coated in curry - YUM). I don't actually dine here very often, I prefer to have them deliver - some weeks its upwards of three times (I know, I have a problem - isn't admitting it the first step?).

There are other things on their menu that I've tried that have been above average but I really have a hard time branching out because my "staples" are just so good! I haven't tried their massamun (another thai favorite of mine) because I have another place that makes it so good, I don't dare order it elsewhere because I know I would be disappointed.

By the way, their portions are huge, so come hungry - any of the main dishes could easily be shared by two or three people and I really think their prices are fair. Their service is always excellent, both dine in and delivery. All-in-all I think they're one of the best places near my house. Next time you're in the area and craving Thai, give them your business!