Hannah D.'s Profile

I've been known to pull out of their parking lot CRIM (Crab Rangoon In Mouth)

This has been my go to Chinese take-out place since I've been adhering to meatless Fridays.  Their shrimpies are delish.  I enjoy them in the form of egg foo young and fried rice.  Also, for welcome back to meat Saturdays, I usually get their beef chow mein...with the pan fried noodles that are actually real noodles that have been fried in a pan. (you would think that's not too much to ask, but it's been hard for me to find...I usually end up with those brown noodles in a bag that people put on their salads)

My order is usually ready for me in 20 minutes and prices are more than reasonable.  I always leave with 2 substantial bags of food for less than 30 bucks.  That's enough to feed my humble family of three for days on end.

The most consistently great Starbucks.*

Honestly, you would think in the number of times I have been through their handy dandy drive-thru that at least once I would hear a less than enthused voice asking me to try their new product and then taking my order.  No Sir Re Bob!  Every single time I've been here I've had great service, and it actually feels genuine.  Which either makes them great actresses or people who actually care about giving you your beverage.

So yes, if you find yourself in the burbs craving the buck, come to this one.  You'll have leave with a nice warm feeling in your belly.

* (Was that a proper sentence?  Should it have read:  A Great Starbucks with the most consistency? Damn I need a proofreader.)

You know something's up when your waitress won't look you in the eye.

We arrived on a Friday night, and the place was packed which is usually a good sign.  The host was very adamant about us returning in no more than 10 minutes because he felt a whole slew of tables were just about to finish.  Okay, so my girl and I used the ladies room (one person occupancy suggested) then walked next door to the overpriced camping store then walked back.  Yes, we made back within the allotted time limit.

The fun-sized waitress looked like she was having none of that (fun that is).  She came as soon as we sat down, I don't even think we got our outer garments off.  She acted like we should know exactly what we wanted to order already.  Perhaps we looked like regulars.  We politely told her we needed to look at the menu.  She returned in 2.5 minutes.  Did we know now?  Um, no sorry, we need more time.  And each time she came to the table she avoided eye contact.  Was I growing a goiter I was unaware of?  Perhaps a hump?  Nope, I looked as normal as I could. She was just weird.

Being the carnivore I am, I craved meat.  Steak.  So I ordered the country fried steak, with a side of mashed potatoes and mac and cheese.  What can go wrong with mac and cheese.  Well, obviously something because my mac and cheese was all wrong.  I can't really describe it, cause it looked right and smelled somewhat right.  It just tasted wrong.  Kinda chemically and plastic.  The mashed potatoes would have been good, but they put their gravy on it.  And I was definitely not a fan of their gravy.  It had way too much herbage going on for me.  And unfortunately it had overtaken my taters.

Thank the lord my meat was untouched.  That was the only part I finished.  And I still felt like it could have been better.  The waitress also broke my heart when she told me that no, I could not substitute the coleslaw for something else.  I had to live with it.  There.  On my plate.

I might give this place another chance since others seemed to have had a better time.  Perhaps it was an off night, or maybe I chose the wrong sides.  It could happen.

I was raised in the NW suburbs of Chicago.

That was my excuse for never having experienced sushi till moving to the city.  Sorry current NW suburbanites, you do not have that excuse anymore.  You can thank Sushi.....Ya!

A cute lil place nestled in a strip mall.  We went kinda early on a Saturday and had no problem getting a nice corner table where we could OS (over-sushi) as much as we wanted without being judged.  

One thing we did notice was that it was very child-friendly.  Did I feel inferior to them because they had better chopstick dexterity than I did? Yes.  That was until I noticed that they had lil "training wheels" connecting them at the top to aid their lil paws in getting their food.

Damn, where was this place when I was 3?

The eel stood out as being extra yummy, as we realized we ordered two rolls that involved it.  It was a tasty mistake.  I also especially liked whatever mayo-esque creation of sauce they put on their crunch roll.  
The service was attentive and friendly and ended our meal with two cute pieces of watermelon.

Note: Check out the wall art on your way to the bathroom.  Particularly the one on the right.  Tee hee hee.

No I did not get a happy ending.

(For those of you still reading)

Midway through my cross country road trip I found myself with some massive shoulder/neckache action goin on.  Since my only traveling partner was a cat with tiny paws, I decided that I needed some professional help.

I have to admit I was a lil apprehensive about going to a massage parlor, for reasons that I will refrain from mentioning here.  I decided to just "relax" and go with the flow.  If it ended up being weird or traumatic, at least I'd have a fun story to tell my friends.

But alas, it was neither weird nor traumatic.  It was actually quite nice.  When I first saw Ari, my massage therapist (as her name tag read) I underestimated how much power she can actually pack in her tiny hands. (I think she used her elbows too) She mainly focused on my shoulders and neck to which I was eternally grateful.

Moral of the story: When you're in a new place, don't be afraid to try new things, even if they have really bad stigmas attached to them.

If the sushi ends up being half as good as the enthusiastic welcome we received as we entered, then I was in for quite a treat.

I wasn't quite sure exactly what the nice sushi chefs and servers said.  I'd like to think it went something like "Oh Welcome Sweet Hannah, the Blossoming Flower has come to grace us" But I think it was more just like. "Welcome!"

Since the place is newly opened, it kind of still has that new car/sushi restaurant smell/decor.  Our server was a nice young lad, just relocated from Detroit.  He was very attentive without being too attentive.  We were able to take as much time as we wanted to look at the menu.  To make our menu perusing more enjoyable, we were given complimentary miso soup and some sort of vinegary radish-like salad.

I was very pleased with the sushi we had that night.  We tried the usual staples of a california roll and tuna maki, as well as their special tempura rolls shrimp crunch and shitake mushroom.  Those who know me know I usually prefer my sushi batter dipped and deep fried, but tonight I opted for a more healthier choice: The Baked Salmon roll.  Warm cream cheesy salmon goodness!

What sealed the 5 star deal for me was the complimentary dessert for my friend and I.  Mochi, in all the flavors of the rainbow.

Not many things will get me out of bed before 9am on a Sunday.

A promised visit to Con Pane is one of those few things.  You want sweet, have a nice cinnamon bun with or without raisins.  You want savory, have a nice Baker's plate.  I thoroughly recommend the gruyere and chive bread, but don't worry if you can't make up your mind looking at the vast menu of carb goodness.  You can choose 3 different slices. (nice thick ones!)

The large coffee drinks are just that. LARGE.  I think I would have been okay with a small, but I went big.  No worries though if you can't finish it, you can ask for a to go cup to bring your beverage with you.

And the nice people at Con Pane might even offer to pour it for you.  Or maybe I just don't look like a Proper Pourer.  Oh well, I did appreciate the gesture.  Thanks guys!

You can say I like seafood and bargains.

My companion and I had 12 oysters, mussels, rock shrimp and clam chowder.  That's a whole lot of aquatic creatures for only about 30 bucks.

And how did I get such a deal?  I took advantage of their happy hour, which is indeed just the hour between 5-6pm Monday through Friday.

The service has always been great, the bartenders and servers seem friendly without being overly fake.

It's also seems that the other patrons of the Oceanaire are friendly and happy to be there.  I've shared fish with strangers and gotten warned about what my date could have possibly been setting me up for after eating all those oysters.

Little did she know I was the one ordering the oysters.  Tee hee hee.

I am thankful for many things this Thanksgiving.

One of those deliciously sinful and decadent things, happens to be the meringue cake from Karina's Cake House.

I first met this cake at a party a few weeks ago.  One bite and I was hooked.  I have no words to do it justice, but I still went around to guests asking them if they've tried this cake, how it contains some sort of crunchy goodness.  I was not the only one enamored with this cake.  Soon I had a following of people, who like me, wanted to know where in god's great earth this blessed dessert came from.

The hostess then introduced me to the cake bringer, who I then started to interrogate about the cake.  What exactly was in it, where did she get it, where was the on the night of the....well you get the gist.

I decided to bring the cake to my family for Thanksgiving, so they can join in my thankfulness.  I arrived at Karina's, but had to park in the adjacent parking lot reserved for another business (shh..don't tell) because the 4 or so spaces in front of the bakery were filled.  It also seems that there is parking on the street, but that was filled as well.

Inside, the bakery is run like a semi-oiled machine.  A few hiccups here and there, the take a number thingie being out of numbers, and the basic honor system you have to be on in order to get served.  All in all, I was in and out in less than 20min, on a holiday mind you.  There is not very much in terms of seating, so I propose you take your goodies home to share.

So yes, this year I am thankful for Karina and her lovely cake house.  Bringing happiness into my life and my thighs, one slice at a time.

Very attentive waitstaff.

And not in a "all up in your bizniz" kinda way.  More like a "Oh my, is she allowed to have green tea, sir?" way.  Let's just say they pay close attention to any stern looks given during your meal there.

The Ninja roll lived up to its name.  A deep fried roll that was served with a spicy sauce that stealthily made its way into and out of my companion's digestive system.  I think numchucks were involved.

They also pay attention to the amount of food ordered/consumed.  This works well to combat any possible chance of OS (over-sushied).  We had ordered 2 rolls each, giving us 4 as a team to eat.  As our waitress took our last plate away, she remarked at how she was not only happy, but surprised that we finished all that food.  This in turn, made us not order the 5th roll we were thinking about earlier.

Don't worry Lemon roll...you may have been safe this time, but soon you will meet your destiny...in my belly!