Kevin "kapgar" A.'s Profile
DateSaint Charles, IL 60174
(630) 444-0610
Arcedium Coffeehouse
Categories:
Coffee & Tea,
Desserts
Nice and spread out and very clean inside. Plus I really dig the bar where you can sit. The coffeehouse has free wifi but it could handle a few extra power outlets so people can charge their devices as they browse the web.
The menu has some diversity to it but I have no idea how much customization is available as I only ordered a straight-up menu item (Aztec Mocha).
There is also a room off the side that can be closed off presumably for meetings or private gatherings. That's a nice touch.
Muskegon, MI 49441
(231) 755-1555
Captain Jack's Bar and Grill
Categories:
Beer, Wine & Spirits,
Restaurants
Is it worth it? Well, it's not bad. CJ's has a great selection of beer to choose from and a good beachside diner menu. But the food was average, at best. Hot, yes. Fairly quick to the table when the staff remembers you are there. But not much flavor to the fish & chips and fried shrimp that my wife and I got. We also got some live entertainment in the form of an acoustic guitar player who sounded pretty good playing some hits from the 80s and 90s with an occasional Beatles tune peppered in the playlist.
The location is nice looking over at one of Michigan's famed sand dunes. But the dune is just high enough to keep you from seeing the pristine waters of Lake Michigan and the variety of gorgeous speed and sailboats coming in and out of the waterways to the public marina. Shame, too. It would be a helluva view.
Byron Center, MI 49315
(616) 583-1650
84th St Pub & Grille
Category:
American (Traditional)
This is a very cool place! In terms of food, it reminded us of a favorite pub back home in suburban Chicago. It was hot, good, and served up very quickly (I ordered a buffalo chicken wrap while my wife had a chicken quesadilla). The prices were affordable. The wait staff was friendly. The selection of on-tap beers was great, including local favorite Bell's. And the interior of the place reminded us a lot of a more spread-out Applebee's with the central bar and surrounding tables, flat-panel TVs everywhere, and sports memorabilia covering the walls.
Would we go again? Sure. But, of course, that is tempered by the lack of likelihood of us ever finding ourselves in Byron Center, MI, again. Nothing against the town, there's just nothing there. It's almost as if this pub is an oasis in the middle of nowhere along Route 131.
I love sugar
I love chocolate
I love dessert
I love fruity fillings
I love portable foods
So why not cupcakes? I guess I always saw them as something you buy on a lark from a bakery when picking up some larger order. I don't see them as a solo product that can sustain an entire business.
But given the quality of the product that Foiled Cupcakes has put together along with a very cool website that uses human speak instead of canned, formal e-commerce language, an owner who has her finger on the pulse of the Web 2.0 world, and some very cool product names and flavor combinations, I can see myself changing my tune about the viability of the cupcake business model.
I placed my order via their website and had my cupcakes two days later (I wanted them on a particular date; they *are* capable of a one-day turnaround). I received a confirmation e-mail immediately and a confirmation phone call the night before the delivery. My product was there exactly when they said it would be and they were delicious.
And let me just say that I love their red velvet cupcakes. Despite everything I said above about my love of sweets, yadda yadda yadda, red velvet cupcakes have always sweeted me to death. I can never finish one because it's just too much. But FC's red velvets have the perfect amount of sweetness. I love them.
Well done, Mari!
Milwaukee, WI 53202
(414) 271-2007
Safe House Nightclub
Categories:
Bars,
American (Traditional)
Neighborhoods: East Town, Downtown
I should know by now never to do that.
We went there on a Thursday night at 5:30 p.m. during what should've been a dinner rush and still our expectation was thrown out the window upon entry.
We got there and the "secret passage" was standing open. Nobody checking to see if you had the secret password as this place is renowned for doing. We just entered.
It was a little hole-in-the-wall place that apparently weaves to and fro through several rooms and passageways most of which we were unable to experience.
The food was barely average with it being actually about a step below your everyday diner menu. My wife had the "spycial" friend shrimp basket with garlic mashed potatoes and I had Ze French Dip. Her shrimp was a little hard and the garlic mash left a lot to be desired. My French Dip was decent enough despite being salty and my fries almost tasted twice cooked, they were that hard (considering these and the shrimp, I think the deep fryer left them in a little too long).
Our waitress stopped by a couple times and then was rarely heard from again.
As for the theme, it's a spy joint with memorabilia from spy films and books and the like. Yet, the way I was built up for it, this place was supposed to be a gangster themed joint. I don't know where this perception came from, but I was expecting Al Capone and John Dillinger, not James Bond. And where we were sitting, the memorabilia consisted of signed photos of Britney Spears and the Backstreet Boys and James Denton from Desperate Housewives along with one collage from Octopussy and another from a Connery era Bond flick. Some consistency there.
To say we were bummed out by the experience is an understatement. This place has a reputation and you would think they would do everything in their power to maintain it. They didn't.
But one thing I also discovered in my long conversations with the husband-wife owners (we almost always sit around talking to them for nearly 15 minutes when we go pick it up), is that they've only been the owners of the place for about two and a half years. I mentioned how my wife and I had driven by the place for years and had never tried it. Probably better that we didn't. From what the owners tell me, there was little quality control of the product from the prior owners. They bought it, but rarely showed up and just let the teen employees run it. The hardest obstacle they've had to overcome has been getting people to want to come try it again after having had a bad experience a while back.
I'm here to tell you all, folks, that I have had bad experiences with indie (and chain) pizza places in the past. Yes, these experiences have kept me from going back. But, for anyone who had a bad Antonio's experience dating to before 2007, please give it another shot. The owners are there, literally, every day from open to close. They have a method and desire to make great pies and they've always done so for us. Forget the past, people. You'll thank me.
And, no, I don't work for them or get any freebies. Just great pizza and good conversation.
1 Previous Review:
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10/4/2008 First to Review
For years, my wife and I have passed by this place and kept saying how "we need to see what they're all about." And we never did. Until recently.
We finally stopped in and got ourselves a couple pizzas. One thin crust and one double dough. And both were fantastic. All the ingredients were in good proportion to one another and the flavors were to die for. Plus they have a quick turnaround. We stopped in and placed our order and they had it ready to go 15 minutes later.
And to top it all off, the go over the top to please customers. We stopped in one time five minutes before they were to close hoping against hope they would help us out... and they did. Even though it meant staying open later than their posted hours.
God love Antonio's.
But today I made myself stop there. I had to see if it was worth the hype.
Oh was it.
As soon as I stepped in, the owner greeted me and treated me like an old friend. He explained his menu to me and started handing me samples of his soups (Beef Barley and White Bean Rosemary today) asking me to enjoy them while he assembled my Italian sub sandwich. Then I looked in his cooler to find a bunch of different custards... all made in house. I bought a small container of the orange dreamsicle that the owner told me would make me feel like I was lost in an orange grove the second I open it.
Hold on.
Okay, he's not joking.
My mother joined me there a little later to eat and she had a slider burger, which was actually larger than a full-size McDonald's burger. She also got their seasoned steak fries with homemade bleu cheese dipping sauce. Damn!
The entire time I was there, he was engaging me in conversation, telling me how his foods are made and how he always orders the best ingredients possible. This was more than evident in the salmon salad. It was an 8 ounce slab of salmon on top of a bed of ridiculously fresh greens.
Yeah, you'd swear I was an employee hyping this place. Nope, just someone who's sure to return.
The good news is that it can be attributed to growing pains. While the cupcake top the first time was almost crunchy, I recently purchased more and they were much, much better. Softer, moister and just downright more enjoyable. Their selection was also much wider ranging and they finally posted a daily menu of what varieties you can expect on a given day.
The only problem I have is that I still have trouble swallowing the idea of paying $3 for a cupcake.
1 Previous Review:
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12/15/2008
To be honest, I'm not sure what to make of this whole cupcake fad.
I love cupcakes, don't get me wrong. They're fantastic both in their sugar infusion capability and the fact that they're not such an insanely large dessert that you go into sugar coma or have to worry about spending the next several hours at the gym because you feel bad.
But to set up an entire storefront around them? That bewilders me a bit.
And that's exactly what Sugar Monkey Cupcakes is... a storefront for nothing but cupcakes.
I will grant them the benefit of the doubt in that they're less than a week old and maybe they don't have all that many different recipes just yet and are still working on their repertoire. But when I went in there, they had maybe a half dozen varieties with anywhere from six to a dozen of each of those types. There was also a sign on the door stating that once they ran out of stock, they would close their doors for the day, regardless of their posted hours. Perhaps this is just temporary as they gauge their demand and adjust their daily supply accordingly. But it still kinda freaks me out a bit considering how high-rent downtown Naperville is.
As for the cupcakes themselves... the frosting is to DIE for. I picked up a half dozen red velvet cupcakes and shared them with my officemates and everyone was ga-ga. The bottom part of the cake was very moist and flavorful as well. However, the muffin top was a bit crisp. I've had my fair share of cupcakes and I've never had one that was crisp. I guess the best way to think of it would be by comparing it to brownies... soft center pieces, harder toward the outside. Now do you see what I'm saying?
I hate to have to rate on more than just the food by thinking about some uncertainty regarding their business plan. But in this economy, you kinda have to, don't you?
And the sub (Italian; that's still Mediterranean) was fantastic. Great, fresh meat and cheese and fantastic bread.
But I did indulge in some baklava. Freakin' awesome. It's taking me several sittings to finish it because it's so rich. I'm such a puss.
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Geneva, IL
Yelping SinceJuly 2007
Find Me InChicago suburbs
My HometownWhat's your definition of "home"? Where I was born or where I mostly grew up?
My Blog Or Website When I'm Not Yelping...I'm blogging
Why You Should Read My ReviewsThey're so few and far between that they must be for good places.
My First ConcertKenny Rogers and Crystal Gayle
My Favorite MovieThe Shawshank Redemption
My Last Meal On EarthMy wife's beef stroganoff