Ellen "the buffet assassin" C.'s Profile

Preface: We ordered delivery.

The food was affordable but the portions were on the smaller side and the flavor just wasn't up to par, granted we haven't tried everything we ordered yet. We ordered: Spicy beef noodle soup, lamb curry noodle soup, fish fillet & tofu over rice, beef & egg sauce over rice, sauteed string beans, and salt & pepper smelt.

The spicy beef noodle soup was incredibly small in terms of portion. It wasn't what I was expecting. If you're thinking it's going to be the Taiwanese version, full of flavor, chunks of beef and tendon, you and I would both be wrong. The fish fillet and tofu over rice was pretty bland. It was a travesty really because that one of the more expensive items on their menu when it came to full rice/noodle dishes. I only ate about a quarter of it and left the rest for another time. The lamb curry noodle soup smelled good and was one of the more promising entrees of the night. The salt & pepper smelt was sadly non-crispy by the time we got them but that's understandable. The fish though were of lower quality - small, stuck together, no eggs, just not the smelt I imagined. The string beans smelled great and looked acceptable but after eating the other dishes I didn't feel like trying it just yet.

All in all, I'd probably give this place another shot but I won't be craving it any time soon. Pictures though in the menu? That is some professional photography - those dishes look a lot more promising than the dishes were in reality!

Delivery man though was very nice. For a Chinatown restaurant, I assumed that I would be dealing with someone who expected a tip and who would lecture me if I didn't give enough. This guy did the calculations in his head and offered to give me the full amount back without taking tip. Nice, quick and friendly!

Housed in an adorable brownstone, Merlo gives a rustic, intimate feel. It's a great place for dates, double dates, and for small groups of friends to get together for a chat over good food. I'm sure they had a great list of wine since everyone else had wine on their tables, I unfortunately am not a wine enthusiast so we skipped that part of the experience.

When we arrived we were greeted with friendliness and warmth, our coats were checked and we were led to our table downstairs. There were pictures and paintings on the wall that reminded me of a combination of a restaurant with someone's nice, comfortable living room or sun room. Somewhat dim lighting with candles at every table. Out of 5 stars for romance, I would say the atmosphere was closer to 3.5.

Seated, we looked through their menu which just the right size with a good selection of salads/soups, appetizers, pastas, meats, and seafood. We were looked after well, with the waiter coming to our table after about 5-10 minutes and coming to check on us throughout the meal. But I do have to say that a table nearby left after the waiter apparently took too long to get to their table.

We ordered the artichoke tart as a shared appetizer, and for our entrees the braised lamb shank and the fried seafood platter. The waiter was kind enough to ask if we were sharing the appetizer and upon us saying yes, proceeded to serve our appetizer on two separate plates - nice, detailed touch. The tart was delicious, had a great combination of artichoke, cheese, and egg flavors. It tasted more like a quiche with a fantastic buttery crust, perfectly paired with the slightly bitter, sweet and tangy salad that adorned the side. The lamb shank was really tasty, it had some great rich flavors and was paired with some perfectly cooked potatoes and asparagus bundle. The fried seafood left something to be desired though. There wasn't enough contrast of textures or flavors, that plate definitely fell flat. The fried scallops were tasty but that was about it - everything else was the same old stuff that you can find elsewhere in a light breading. That plate was admittedly pretty disappointing, especially since there were no sauces so it got very boring very quickly. All in all, I'd come back again but not for a while.

I love that this place is open late. It has basically anything you might need, the people are friendly, though there are some sketchy people there every once in a while. Great location, convenient, coming back!

The guy was ejecting a guy who was asking patrons for money, and he felt so bad (unnecessarily so in my opinion) that he gave us free desserts. So nice of him!

Um. Yeah. This place is the worst when it comes to service. They essentially hire a punk teen who gets off on what little power he can get.

We came in with slurpees and was asked are we going to buy a drink? When we weren't sure, he said you can't bring in outside food or drink. Yes, if one of us brought in food from another place, then I could see his point. But we had gotten drinks we were there at Wingstop to buy FOOD. Last I checked Wingstop served food, am I wrong?

All I have to say is I'm never going back. STOP HIRING INANE PEOPLE THAT HAVE NO IDEA WHAT SERVICE IS!!!!

Sadly, this place has great waitstaff but the food is just way subpar for its price. Granted it's in a pricey area but the quality is just plain disappointing. The only thing that was good was the free bread you're served, even if we just have packets of butter to eat it with.

We ordered the stuffed mushrooms, which tasted like any other stuffed mushroom you could make at home. No specialty ingredients, no explosions in your mouth, just nothing that stood out. We also ordered the lobster ravioli with jumbo shrimp in a spicy sauce. The lobster ravioli may have been more homemade but the shrimp were anything but jump, the sauce didn't have any kick to it besides being overly sour. My mum ordered the seafood pasta, which was terrible. All of the pasta we had was dried pasta you get from the grocery store. The seafood that was used was of much cheaper quality than we paid. I ordered the spaghetti and meatballs and it was just plain disappointing. Even the "gravy" they say is their specialty was really disappointing. Really tomatoey with no sense of richness, felt like I was eating something I threw together in the kitchen in 15 minutes.

And for the price? Way not worth it. Sorry.

From the reviews on this page, I'm sure Dr. Shaw is fantastic, but I didn't have the pleasure. (This review is for the other practitioner at this office - the OBGYN - NOT Dr. Shaw)

Before arriving, my attempt at making an appointment took a few tries. The first, I was put on hold to the point I gave up. The second, I was asked to leave my name and number and I'd get a call back within the hour... a morning and part of an afternoon later, no call. The third time I called again to see if an appointment could be made since still! Dr. Shaw's reviews for him and his office were fantastic! Finally got that appointment, although it wasn't for the reason I initially called for, all's I gotta say is great sales!

Onto the day of the appointment. Note: if you've never been to this office before, keep in mind that the entrance to the doctor's office is on the outside of the building - Suite 103-C. I arrived 10 minutes early and with the information in hand from the insurance website went to the 3rd floor, only to take another 15 minutes trying to find the right office. The pharmacy wasn't able to point the office out to me either, but she did give me a semi-confident "I think it's outside?" I called the office but I was put on hold a couple times immediately upon pick-up, and then never getting picked up on again.

Once I found the office, expecting a bustling place, I thought I had arrived at the wrong place because the lady sitting in front was slowly looking through papers. Then another lady came by and spent some time chatting, in the 5 minutes it took me to fill out the paperwork I think they actually addressed one person that was on hold. Although 1 of 2 were nice, the office felt sterile. Maybe it was because I had read such glowing reviews I was expecting smiles everywhere, pretty little rainbows and unicorns on the ceiling and walls! I have no idea.

Up to this point my rating would have been a 3. Then, 20 minutes or so after my appointment time, I was guided into the room. My blood pressure was taken, I was asked to change, to wait for the doctor. The doctor arrived. I think on calmer days she could very well be the type of doctor that spent time making her patient feel comfortable with a little humor, a little chit chat, but today it was very rushed. All in all, let's say that the experience was very unpleasant if not a bit painful. I've been to three different OBGYNs in an attempt to search for the best one, and I have to say this was unfortunately the worst.

And my search continues! I have however found a fantastic family doctor (which is what I had called Dr. Shaw for initially).

Wow, this is one of the few places that people have recommended to me to high heaven, and it actually did not disappoint!

This is a fantastic addition to the South Loop! All the people who work here are happy, busy, and friendly. The menu is clear and concise, with some great choices - ranging on prices and unhealthy-healthy, whatever you're in the mood for. The process of ordering and being served your food by table number was simple and efficient. The design, cleanliness, and nice simplicity of the restaurant itself was comforting and lends to a more laid back environment.

We ordered a gyro wrap with potato chips (~$6) and 1/2 Mediterranean chicken with mashed potatoes ($8.50). Everything was phenomenal. You could tell everything was made from scratch, and everything was SO tasty. Even the potato chips were restaurant-made. The gyro wrap had the gyro, lettuce & tomatoes, and tzatziki sauce wrapped in a chewy pita. The gyro was flavorful and tender. The chicken was lemony, well seasoned, roasted to perfection, moist, and I inhaled it. It came with a small salad with vinaigrette, four pita slices (which is SO good - chewy but a little crusty on the outside), and a generous helping of mashed potatoes. The only thing that I had to add was salt and pepper to the mashed potatoes but that's less a complaint than just a comment. We received our food within 5-10 minutes of sitting down. And someone came to check up on us (unheard of in these types of establishments that aren't technical serviced restaurants) toward the end of our meal. The entire experience, from food to service, was phenomenal.

I will undoubtedly be back for more. UNDOUBTEDLY!!! (Forgive the excitement, it's been a while since I've written a 5 star review)

Granted I'm coming here during the fall, the wind is just starting to pick up, and this is a nice respite from the biting upcoming cold front. The people here are friendly and patient (I wasn't here when there was a line out the door though) - 5 stars! The music here is at an acceptable level - 4 stars (seems like I'll give stars for anything!). It's connected to a pedway with a few other stores and though I haven't explored yet I'm sure is connected to some sort of transportation which is NICE - 5 stars.

The selection of food here is pretty small - 3 stars. There are some flies flying here and there - 2 stars (I guess even the little buggers like to be warm). The seating area is in a weird layout - 3 stars. So.... average.... 4 stars? I need to go back to school.

Yes, cheap airfare.

Only use this airline if you need to get from Point A to Point B with something that can fit underneath the seat in front of you. And if you are cool with either sleeping or staring at the ceiling or fellow passengers.

If you're expecting any experience that is going to resemble any customer service, even on the level of American West, don't fly here. You'll end up paying the same as other airlines and still be treating like you don't exist.

And forget about calling customer service. That department is outsourced and to say the least, it takes about 10 tries to get any response that is remotely relevant to the question answered.

This place looks fantastic. Well-lit, clean, modern design, fewer people, well-ventilated, comfortable. The people there are friendly, informative, ready to help, and all in all pleasant.

I went in there looking for information in an attempt to find the best gym for what I need. Although this place seems great I can see that some quarters are tight (one being the spin room class) while others are pretty expansive. They definitely don't try to fit in as many things in the same amount of space as other gyms and that often contributes to a more relaxed feel, but the area can get a bit marginal during the late night hours.

The good - they're open 24 hours starting from 4:30am on Monday morning through Friday, but closes at 9:30 on Fridays. I believe they close around 8 or 9 on weekends. Friday closing @ 9:30 though is probably the biggest blow - still a weekday!

Other than that, the only reason I didn't sign up was because of all these honest Yelp reviews (thank you Yelpers!) and also their fees. The enrollment fee is pretty steep and although that means they're now offering 2 "free" services of your choice for that enrollment fee (out of 3: massage, pilates session, or personal training session), that enrollment plus the additional $10 pp per month didn't make enough sense to me to sign up. Great place, great people, but a little more expensive especially if there really is that annual add-on of upgrade fees.