David "The Worm Guy" G.'s Profile

I got kicked out of Rossi's because I didn't have ID and then had someone buy a drink for me. It's not like I was doing anything illegal. They were just doing their job, I guess.

It was loud and some hoochie mamas were dancing to an annoying Ting Ting's song behind me and kept bumping against me. I didn't want to say anything because it looked like the tall blonde could kick my ass.

Then a drunk dude kept asking me to put a $20 into the jukebox and choose some songs. He said that Johnny Cash didn't suit me. I chose some Who and Buzzcocks songs, but that was before I got booted. Never got to hear my songs.

For years I've had friends rave about Noble Tree, always wanting to meet here to get work done or to just sit around drinking coffee and reading books. I can see why they were so enthusiastic.

I really love this place. I came here to meet a few people so we could sit around on our laptops and write. The coffee is good, the wi-fi is free (with purchase). What more could I ask for? There were three floors, but I didn't really get to check out the third floor. It was laid back and quiet and cozy and it wasn't crowded when I arrived at around 11:30 AM.

The people who work there are really nice. One of the servers even asked us if the music was too loud, a courtesy most coffee shops would never extend, as if they didn't care.  If I wasn't engaged in a conversation for an hour and a half  I could see how I could get a ton of work done.

The menu is pretty big, loaded with coffee, drinks and baked goods. I ordered a latte and a bagel and carried it to the second floor up steep stairs, nervous that I was going to spill. I found my friends at a table and was delighted to see that the place actually had surge protectors, another convenience other cafes are never nice enough to provide. One thing I noticed were the plethora of books on the shelves. I didn't get a chance to browse. Maybe next time, because I am planning to come back next week.

This place is great! It looks a bit like a Crate and Barrel catalog meets Michelob commercial. The bar even has a back lit shelf. I came here for brunch with my sister. We arrived at the right time, sometimes after 10am on Sunday and it was almost empty but started to fill up afterwards. A good place for a few people or families since I saw a few families with kids dressed like they just got out of church. A couple of individuals came for brunch and sat at the bar.

I ordered the Green City Market omelet. It had spinach, red bell peppers and cheddar cheese and it came with hash brown potatoes and toast. To drink I ordered mimosa made with blood orange juice. A highlight of the day was the Malasadas. My mouth is actually watering thinking about them. They were kind of like portugese doughnut holes. They were fluffy and tasty and left me wanting more. I would go back just for the Malasadas.

Newly unemployed and wanting to be creative and to keep my mind sharp, I made the decision to finally sign up for a class at Story Studio. I was intimidated by the idea of being around other people whose very lives center around the craft of writing. But it was only a 3 hour course. What harm could it do. I signed up the day of the class and had no problem at all checking in. I was pleasantly surprised by the diverse makeup of the class, both in demographics and experience level. We're all there for the same reason. To learn more and to let our creativity blossom.

The building was amazing. It was vast and industrial, exposed brick, hardwood, visible ducts and conduit. Complementary coffee and tea and snacks and a very friendly staff. I took  "That's Not Funny", a class on writing humor. We sat in a cozy room on chairs and sofas with optional writing cushions. They made me feel very comfortable writing in a strange environment and sharing my impromptu work. The instructor was great. I took home more than I thought I would... I've taken writing classes before and they just spit at us the regular recycled information. Story Studio was a whole new experience.

They really made me want to take one of the longer multi-week courses. They get a bit pricey, but i'm willing to open my wallet for some quality instruction.

When I was reading some reviews I thought BPC was going to be some pretentious cafe with pretentious sandwiches filled with snobby college students and snobby wanna-be authors. That'll tech me to go in with preconceived notions. I really enjoyed the place.

I met a friend here to do some writing because misery loves company. I ordered the Garden Party. I'm not a vegetarian, but I'm a big fan of vegetarian sandwiches. It was loaded with veggies and had a slice of dill harvati which made all the difference. It turned a potentially bland sandwich into a.. well... garden party. I also ordered a skim latte, which was quite good. I just don't like drinking coffee out of those giant mugs.

BPC  has wi-fi, but you have to pay for it. If you bring your laptop you have to go on the intra-net and order it... they use an outside service and it's a little pricy. $2.50 for 30 minutes and 9 cents for each additional minute. It's almost like calling a sex line.  Needless to say I took a pass.

The atmosphere of the place was rustic and antique. Everything looked like it was made of old wood, and old product containers lined the shelves. It was interesting. I spent at least five minutes trying to figure out what they all were and whether or not potato chips really used to come in drums. It has two floors. The first floor was pretty hectic at times (it was lunch time) but the upper floor seemed more laid back (you actually have to go to the upper floor to use the restroom).

Ugh. I'm probably never ordering from here again. Every  time I want some cheap Mexican food and I'm too lazy to go get it myself, I get delivery from El Ranchito. It was decent for a while but it got gradually worse and worse. The last time I got some chorizo tacos and an order of nachos. It was cold and bland and I think the nachos made me sick. It's almost like they took the least fresh ingredients and just threw them in a styrofoam container and shipped it of... because anyone who would be ordering food at 11:00 PM is probably drunk and wouldn't notice, right? Wrong. I think this was the last straw. I'm not going to pay for food that was so carelessly thrown together regardless of how cheap it is.

Villa May disappeared for a while with no explanation. Then when I ordered from a different place that wasn't as good, the delivery guy said he remembered me because I used to order from Villa May and he used to deliver to my apartment. He explained to me that the owner had died, but they will be opening again soon. After it re-opened I didn't really see a difference in customer service. They still deliver in less than an hour and the delivery guy always throws in some small talk, which I appreciate.

The thin crust pizza would be average except I really love the crust. It's not tough and overbaked like a lot of thin crust is. It's crispy and buttery and holds pretty well. Last time I ordered a Margherita pizza, which is one of the wettest pizzas you can get. The crust held together without being too tough. I'm a fan.

I went to 44th Ward Dinner Party for a large event. It was crowded as hell as I think about 100 people were crammed in, and the floor space is meager to begin with. Not sure why they allowed such a large event with so few tables. I was kneeling on the floor half of the time. But let's forget about that.

I ate two types of sandwiches. The Belmont harbor, which was a grilled cheese sandwich with apples and bacon. No, you read that correctly. Apples. You would never have thought it would be any good, but I loved it. The apple provided an uncharacteristic tangyness that complemented the savory cheese and bacon. The second sandwich I tried was a vegetarian sandwich that contained goat cheese and mushrooms and a few other things i can't really remember. All I can say is that my mouth is watering thinking about it.

The sandwiches were served with potato chips. They're home made, thin, crispy and delicious. I think I would actually go some day just to have a cold beer and potato chips.

I know what raw fish smells like, and that's what Lawrence Fish Market exudes. Someone is chopping fresh raw fish somewhere. That's actually a good thing. What Lawrence Fish Market lacks in ambience it completely makes up for in the taste and quality of the sushi. Walking in, I didnt expect it to actually look like a dirty storefront. Everything was there that people described. Boxes everywhere, car seat, ancient gumballs,  paper menus, fishy smell. My sister ordered ahead of time and when I arrived it was ready, arranged beautifully on a tray. I rushed it to the suburbs, trying to keep my car cool.

We ordered california rolls, dragon rolls, and spicy tuna. The dragon rolls were excellent and huge. As for nigiri, we got a variety, and I have to say the white tuna is everything everyone said it was. It melted in my mouth. Not only were the pieces huge but they were cheap. Nigiri was only $1 each. I noted that at my regular place they average about $2.50. An entire tray of three rolls and 10 pieces of nigiri was only about $23. If I saw a picture of the tray and didn't know where it was from, I would have guessed more like $35. Having recently lost my job, I will definitely be back to pretend that I have a lot of money to spend on great sushi.

I've been to Potbelly twice, each time I wasn't impressed with the sandwiches. They were ok, but not as great as people were telling me. I tried different versions of the vegetarian sandwich and both times I found it bland. The best part was the bread which was lightly toasted so it was crispy on the outside and soft on the inside.

The ambience of the place is like a typical fast food joint. It was clean, but loud and full of screaming children. I felt like yelling, "someone spank that child already!". If you choose to eat in, don't bring anything to read because you will be distracted.