Erica "Rico" S.'s Profile

Very good. Mexican that is affordable, with a wide range of options. I usually get the Burrito Suizo Especial with steak and something else on the side. You don't really need anything on the side at all, as this burrito is HUGE but alas, I can't stay away. Yesterday, I tried a tamale and holy jesus-it was amazing. I wish I had gotten three of those for dinner with a side of rice and beans. Definitely next time I come back, I will forgo the burrito and hit up the tamales, as they were some of the best that I've had. My boyfriend ordered chorizo and they cooked it up fresh for him right in front of us. This place is nice in that you can see exactly what they are cooking for you. We always order to go and it is always finished in less than fifteen minutes. Everyone that works here is friendly and courteous, which is nice as well. I enjoy eating here a lot and will hope to continue to be brought here for some good, to-go mexican.

I enjoyed Pirro's when I went. We really wanted some Italian food, and we wanted somewhere close to where we were, and Pirro's was it. I walked in not really knowing what I wanted, while others in my party were craving some spaghetti and meatballs. I sat down and realized that I wanted some baked penne. It came with ricotta and mozzarella cheese, in a marinara sauce. It was exactly what I was looking for. Previous to the main course, I had a craving for soup, since it was kind of chilly. They had a minestrone and the soup of the day was a spicy black bean soup. They made sure to note that it was extremely spicy, although I had it and it was not as spicy as I could have wanted. However, it was delicious, albeit a smidge weird, as we were at an Italian restaurant. But, I didn't complain. The boyfriend got a chicken alfredo pizza, which was very tasty and when I go back, I might have to get that. Also, another of our party got the chicken parmesan, which was quite large, so if you order it, get ready to eat (or cut it in half and save the other half to take home, as this smart gentlemen did.)

The atmosphere was nice and quiet, if you're looking for a date night, this would be the place. Especially a walk around the square after, it would be super romantic. Also, there was live music, and they were playing contemporary hits to some great older music. I'll admit, when they played Bowie, they really won me over.

All in all, I enjoyed my experience and will be back when I'm in the area.

I've been to Red Ivy multiple times and every time, it hasn't really left much of a good impression on me. There is dancing yes, but there isn't really a dance floor big enough to dance on. The back room is nice if you have a private party to attend, but more often than not, I'm in the front. It's set up very strangely, but I guess they did what they could with the space. I've never eaten the food here, but honestly, I probably wouldn't want to come here during the day. The drinks are a tad overpriced, unless you are with party that comes with a drink special. The waitresses are nice as well, when I use them, but the bartenders are a little slow sometimes.

I guess the way I'm describing the place isn't terrible, but there are two big reasons why I would prefer to not come here again:

1) Bathroom attendants. I have nothing against them themselves, but it is always awkward for me when I just want to use the bathroom and wash my hands really quickly. I do know how to put soap on my hands. It is also awkward if you are all out of cash and have only been using your card at the bar-you can't very well tip the bathroom attendant with your card. And then you feel awful because you can't tip.

2) There is a particular bouncer that has been rude to me two out of the three times that I have been there. I'm sure he does not remember me either time, but I definitely remember him. He checked my ID and snatched it away from me, as if I did something wrong. When I asked him why, he said it's because I was coming in the bar alone. I replied that I was meeting my boyfriend, to which he said "I didn't see no black guys walk in here." If it's not obvious at this point, my boyfriend is not black. I do not have an issue with this. For someone to call me out on an issue they have which has nothing to do with me because I do not know them, is just completely unacceptable. Also, so what if a girl is coming into the bar alone? Frankly, it made me uncomfortable and completely soured the evening that I was going to have there. At that point, I wanted to leave as soon as possible. I probably won't go back to this bar for this reason, but that's ok, because I know there are other patrons that will be there for Red Ivy.

Alas, everytime I am on this strip of Clark, my group ends up here. It's never my first preference and I try to avoid it at all costs, but if I've had enough drinks in me, I won't complain too much about it and I will go.

Previous to the last time I was here, I had only been at the downstairs, which is quite large. This past time, I went upstairs, as my party likes to DANCE (which I am perfectly ok with). The night I went, it wasn't crowded, so that worked out in our favor. We were dancing up a storm until we had to leave abruptly. But, no one seemed to really bother us while we were there, and I guess since I was with a lot of dudes and we were clearly a couple traveling party, so no one was too creepy. I didn't like that the coat check was 3 bucks and you couldn't hide a coat in another coat, but I guess in the summer this isn't that big of an issue. All in all, the way I feel about these places is that if you try hard enough to keep to yourself, you can have a good time with the people you went out with in the first place.

I will agree with others that this place always has an interesting mix of people, which is pretty nice.

I love it.

There's not much I can say about Portillo's that hasn't already been said. It's delicious-it is what it is. Do you want a high quality hot dog? Do you want delicious Italian beef on a delicious roll? Do you want french fries that you can get cheese sauce with? Idk about all these people saying things like "gross looking cheese sauce." Have you ever had any cheese sauce that isn't gross looking? All in all, this cheese sauce is always served hot and the french fries are good and crunchy, usually with the correct amount of salt. Excellent combo. Burgers here are good too.

The salads always look delicious, but I never get one. I have had pasta at this location, and it's also good. I have friends who swear by the ribs. Also, there's beer at this location, which is a plus!

This location gets crowded, as it is the only Portillo's actually in Chicago, BUT they have very quick service and usually there are no mistakes. I will be back, but I am thankful that it isn't closer to my house, or else I would be there like every week and I'm really not trying to gain hot dog-italian beef-cheeseburger-french fry weight.

This is THE bar. I once tried in the summer to go in the late evening, and it was very crowded. I should have known then that I would love it.

On Saturday, the boyfriend felt in the mood to get up and start watching some soccer. So up we went. I made him leave early because I felt as thought it might be a little crowded, and when we got there, there was only one other dude who left when his game was over. However, once ours started, people started filing in and it go to be pretty crowded. I had the breakfast burrito and my boyfriend had the spicy chicken sandwich, which we both enjoyed a lot. I was very into the burrito, as I wanted some eggs. As an fyi, you can't get egg whites, which was a smidge disappointing, but I carried on!

The bartender was very friendly, the Saturday special was good, and the game was on. I don't know, this bar really gets five stars for being a place where I can go to watch soccer that I don't know that much about in the morning, and I don't have to stress about not having the channel. Also, it is very close to my house, so it makes it well worth it! One day, when I'm not on a budget (so probably never), I'll get lots of crazy beers that they have on tap or in bottles. There's a big selection, which is also a big plus in my book.

I've only been here after midnight, but I have to say that it wasn't as awful as I was expecting. I generally stay away from this area, as it isn't really my scene at all. However, my friends were here, so off I went to meet them.

It wasn't that crowded, especially for a Saturday, which I fully appreciated. The tunes were Top 40, which isn't necessarily a bad thing and the service was quick. We stayed towards the back of the bar, which was a good call, and we enjoyed our time. Going to the bathroom is a little strange, as it is in a very weird spot, but once you find it, isn't so terrible. Also, there are pool tables, which I found to be a change of place from the usual dance and drinks atmosphere (not that I played.) All in all, I wouldn't turn my nose up at the place if someone said they wanted to go back.

Oh, Duffy's. Inherently, I should hate you-you are not the Duffy's of my college days (because I didn't go to college in Chicago), and your clientele probably is the suckiest other than that other bar that I don't like, but, but. I enjoy coming to you just the same. Maybe it's because you have great drink specials. Maybe it's because, after the said drink specials, you can get shake a tail feather on the dance floor. Maybe it's because this is where I realized that I liked my boyfriend. Maybe it's because on certain days of the week, I miss college. For whatever reason, I can't completely hate you.

The Friday night all you can drink special from 6-11 just can't be beat. It really is all you can drink. Be sure that the doorman knows what you're giving him 20 bucks for though, as the first time I went, he gave me the wrong wristband and I had to go back and ask, which was a little obnoxious, as the waitress was pretty rude about it and didn't believe me. However, after that, it was smooth sailing. It's a little difficult to get a drink at the bar, especially with some of our favorite inhabitants of Chicago standing around it and taking lots of shots to try to show off to all the hot girls that frequent this place, but if you can squeeze your way in between the juiced up arms, or if you happen to be over 6 feet tall, you're in it to win it.

And yeah, the floor's are sticky, the bathrooms are gross and at some point, you'll probably see about ten girls crying their eyes out at 10:45pm, I'm pretty sure you're only there for one of the various drink specials, or to prove to everyone in the bar that you are the best dancer in the place. And the food isn't half bad either. So I'll go back, but I wouldn't be there every week. That's just ridiculous.

Pizza is my boyfriend's favorite food. Well, it's my favorite food too. Said boyfriend grew up in McHenry County and totally has a yelp that he hasn't updated in a month. So I'm beating him to the punch and reviewing his favorite pizza place, Georgio's.

I was scared to try it, as it had been built up in my mind as the holy grail of pizza, but the first bite of that delicious deep dish pizza had me no longer concerned. We ordered spinach and sausage (a tradeoff for me eating pizza two days in a row) and it was very flavorful. Honestly, when has the combination of spinach and sausage every been bad? But, the proportions of both of the toppings were equal with the cheese and the sauce. The sauce wasn't too thin and it wasn't too thick either-the perfect consistency. And the crust. The crust was very delicious and yes, lacking the cornmeal, but it was crisp and sturdy, and paired very well with the sauce and the toppings. And it warmed up well (in the microwave!), even if my boyfriend prefers to eat it cold.

We went pretty early on a Friday, around 5ish, so it didn't start to get crowded until after. I probably wouldn't go to the bar late at night, even though the beer prices are low. I also thought the service was spot on, as we got everything in a timely manner and were well taken care of, we even got asked if we wanted more beer when our glasses were empty. All in all, a welcome first experience for me! I'll be back again, most definitely.

Usually, I stay away from Wrigleyville. That being said, when I was told that I was going to go, I thought of only one thing that could make it better: and that was going to Ian's when I was good and ready to eat some pizza. So instead of going to a strip club (like some in my party wanted to), I dragged them in to get pizza because I knew what I wanted: Mac and Cheese Pizza.

I happened to be with a bunch of U of I alum's who all screamed "It's just like Antonio's!" Which, it is. There are different pizzas, you order by the slice, they put them in the oven, THERE'S FREE WATER. Obviously, my party enjoyed the fact that it was like their favorite, so I felt secure in bringing them there.

Two in my party ordered one of the gross combos, as I forgot to tell them about the Mac and Cheese pizza. Because I felt truly terrible about not letting them know (they didn't know it was there), I let them try some bites of mine. They loved them. I also got the special at the moment, which was the pulled pork, which was delicious. A touch of spice with the cheese, which was a good call.

There aren't that many places to sit, but as soon as we got our pizza, a large table opened up and I plunked down and got to eating. I'm sure that this place gets fairly crowded all the time, especially because it's open late and has pizza by the slice. So. Get there early? go during the day? These are all good ideas. Or wait in line.

I feel as though you could be disappointed at some point with a pizza choice, but then again, I think it's good to get one you know you'll enjoy, so at least you'll be satisfied. Also, the people that work here are very nice, especially since it's so late at night! I asked to use the bathroom and they pointed me to where it was and were not mean about it at all. Unfortunately, I probably won't be back soon, because I'm not ever this far north, but if I am-I will be putting a slice of pizza in my stomach.