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  • 1625 W Irving Park Rd
    Chicago, IL 60613
    1.0 star rating
    9/5/2014

    Very disappointed in The Piggery. We ordered take out from them after the recommendation of friends. And, with a name like "The Piggery" how could we go wrong?

    Oh, so easily. =/

    The total bill? $71.00. A splurge, before embarking on a Paleo diet.

    Ordered a NY strip steak, rare. They delivered a well done flat iron steak. Granddaughter of a butcher, I was not fooled. I know steak cuts, I know cooks. This was not what I ordered.

    Frites on the side? Oily and cold.

    Fried pickles? (Normally one of my favorite indulgences...) Oily, cold with the breading falling off.

    Hubz ordered BBQ pork loin. Got delivered more BBQ sauce than pork and a really sickly looking 1/2 acorn squash as his side. Pork was dry as sand, even drenched in BBQ sauce. Even our food grubbing dogs turned up their adorable noses at the leftovers from this meal.

    Also, ordered a rootbeer float... got 1/2 a styrofoam cup of rootbeer and a small scoop of ice cream.

    This was really disappointing, it's like our $71.00 meal (with tax and overly generous tip, given the attitude of the delivery driver) was an afterthought to the staff of the Piggery. Despite their proximity to our house, we will NOT order again or go visit in person. So sad. Such a disservice to the honor of the pig. =/

  • 5.0 star rating
    9/5/2014
    Listed in Sweet Home Chicago

    Haven't been here, but ordered takeout from Blokes & Birds...

    Delivery was quick, guy was friendly.

    Food was DELISHIS! Best burger I've had in Chicago, ever. Hands down.

    That is all.

  • 5.0 star rating
    8/4/2014

    I honestly do not understand all the shitty one star reviews of AoMD!

    I just got dental insurance from work and scheduled an appointment with AoMD ASAP, as I hadn't been to a dentist in SIX YEARS and knew I needed some serious work on my pearly whites.

    First of all, Sandra was amazing about finding me the first available appointment. Every time I've been into the Southport office she's been gracious and really welcoming. I do not understand where the negative impressions are coming from.

    Second, my hygienist (Ariana) and my dentist (Dr. Mell) are AMAZINGLY gentle, extremely professional and caring. (I had a root planing and Ariana called me several hours after I left the office to make sure I was feeling okay. Dr. Mell removed an infected wisdom tooth today and it was so quick, effortless and relatively painless that I hardly could believe that she'd removed a tooth!)

    Third, the *one time* I encountered a hiccup in my scheduling and had to wait for a little under an hour before Dr. Mell could see me, AoMD made it up to me by comping me a set of teeth whitening trays -- totally unnecessary (I was okay with waiting, it wasn't Dr. Mell's fault that she was tied up with another patient), but so very nice!

    Also - the whole staff is so encouraging about your dental health - they really do congratulate you when you've made improvements in your regimen and give you lots of help/advice on how to troubleshoot problem areas (for example: I have a permanent retainer on the back of my lower teeth and I have trouble flossing there and Ariana gave me some "all in one" floss threaders with floss attached to help me really get in there.)  

    I like AoMD so much, I scheduled my husband an appointment for an exam and a cleaning for only $99 (they're running a special right now.) AND, I'm going to buy their Groupon for Zoom Whitening.

    I cannot speak highly enough of Art of Modern Dentistry, their staff and Dr. Mell -- I love this dental practice, I think they're spot on and treat their patients exceptionally well. If you need a dentist, you should give these guys a chance.

  • 4.0 star rating
    6/23/2014
    Listed in Sweet Home Chicago

    I am a fan of Andies. Since buying a house at Cullom and Greenview, I'd say my husband and I have been to Andies at least five times. We've taken out of town guests here and had great meals, we've ordered takeout and been pleased.

    What I don't understand is why the dining room of this place is always so empty? Generally, there are three or four tables taken outside in the nicer weather - but every time we've dined there we've been the only people in the actual restaurant. Kind of a bummer, I'm sure they're running at a loss.

    The food is great: We've tried a lot of different options on the menu (read: my husband has tried a lot of different options, I always have the gyro platter b/c I'm a creature of habit) and they've all been tasty. Except once, when my friend Lauren got fish she was unhappy with (I tasted it, it tasted okay to me) - but, the staff was super attentive about replacing it for her. My favorites are the flaming Greek cheese (which I cannot remember the name of) and the bacon wrapped dates stuffed with chorizo. Tasty, tasty (sorry, Mary V. I disagree w/ya!)

  • 3819 N Ashland Ave
    Chicago, IL 60613
    2.0 star rating
    6/23/2014

    My husband and I had walked by Zia's a bajillion times and always thought it had a super cute exterior and we were curious to try it out. So we did this past Saturday... and we were seriously disappointed.

    The one thing that stood out about Zia's is that it is a seriously CONFUSED restaurant.

    Here's the thing: I'm fine with fine dining. I don't mind paying fine dining prices. But, when doing so, I expect a fine dining atmosphere. And, Zia's came really close to having fine dining prices, but the atmosphere SUCKED.

    First of all: Servers and bus staff. Should be neither seen, nor heard - unless needed. Unfortunately, at Zia's the servers and bus staff are more like black ants at a picnic -- pervasive and EVERYWHERE. Literally, at one point I counted 10 server staff just kind of milling around our table, having loud conversation.

    There was a disgruntled server who was pissed about her section being shuffled due to a rainstorm (I'm presuming she got moved inside?) and she stood behind our table bitching about this fact and swearing under her breath.

    Every time my husband and I tried to have any kind of conversation we were interrupted by a server or busman asking us if everything was okay, or refilling water (literally, a guy stood there and refilled my water glass after I had taken a single sip, then I took another sip as he walked away and another guy refilled my glass again.)

    I mean, I appreciate attentive service, but this was WAY OVERBOARD. When people are dining at a restaurant it's 100% likely they are most interested in the food in front of them and having a conversation with the person across from them... And, to be interrupted every 30 seconds is annoying.

    Then the actual atmosphere: Again, they are going for a fine dining look with this place. And, the actual restaurant is gorgeous. But, it totally throws off the mood to be hearing acid rock over the sound system as you eat... Think about it: Low lights, candles, a bottle of wine, an intimate dinner table... and, Lynard Skynard?

    Not a match at all.

    The food: It was okay. Just no where worth the prices they were charging. First of all, my husband ordered veal scaloppini with a morel mushroom sauce... sounds great, right? Haha, not so much! When his entree arrived it looked like he was being fed wet dog food with peas in it. Seriously, so much gravy on this entree that you couldn't see the meat or the polenta it was served with.

    It tasted better, we concluded, without the sauce (which he scraped off).

    I ordered a pork loin wrapped in panchetta - which was actually tasty, except for the fact that several pieces of the pork were served to me bloody in the center. The brocolini was over cooked and the meal was served with huge hunks of potato (in the menu it said "russet potatoes," but these were likely baking potatoes they were so big.)

    Both dishes just lacked any kind of finesse, which at the average menu price of $31.50 per entree, you'd expect...

    I hate to say this, given all the four and five star reviews -- but, in my honest opinion, Olive Garden is a better dining experience than Zia's is.

    The only thing I *really* enjoyed about this dining experience was the wine, which was excellent. A great selection, with lots of options. We sat across from their "wine cellar" and saw that Zia's has a pretty impressive selection. I had a Malbec and my husband had a Pinot/Zinfandel/Syrrah blend. Tasty. Well and generously poured. Worth the $10/glass we spent.

    Overall, though, Zia's was seriously disappointing, we really thought that this place had a ton of potential to be one of our go-to places, but I doubt we'll be coming back.

  • 5.0 star rating
    4/16/2014
    Listed in Sweet Home Chicago

    Oh my glob! Soooo good!

    A real, honest to god, New England authentic lobster shack in Chicago? I've died and gone to heaven. We tried this out b/c we bought a Groupon (2 lobster dinners for $40, a real steal) but I'll be going back again without hesitation. The lobster bucket was expertly prepared and was served whole (tomalley, back fat and all)... plus potatoes, corn, soup (lobstah bisque, yo!) and a drink...

    Plus their fish counter is amazing -- fresh stuff flown in daily from the coast, reasonable prices, plus delicious items prepared for you to take home and eat (lobster or crab overstuffed potatoes - OMYGAWD!)

    Excited to return and chow down.

  • 5.0 star rating
    1/29/2014 Updated review

    Married, having a baby... love is pretty good, actually, when it's the right person.

    1.0 star rating
    8/13/2007 Previous review
    *Love sucks.

    Because everyone knows that if you are in love you have the capability to have your…
    Read more
  • 1926 W Montrose Ave
    Chicago, IL 60613
    5.0 star rating
    6/12/2013

    Super cute clothes, not too bad prices, really friendly owner/shop girl... might not be an everyday shopping spot for me, but once in a while it's nice to splash out on a fancy dress. Which I did yesterday. And, I am happily flouncing around my neighborhood in it today. So if you see an almost middle aged chick flouncing in a super cute aqua stripey tank dress - that's me, and that's the dress I got at Hazel.

  • 4.0 star rating
    9/24/2012
    Listed in Sweet Home Chicago

    Only the best of the best dive bars are on my go-to list for carousing. My friend Dave first brought me to L&L on a rainy September afternoon shortly after I moved to Chicago -- we sat and drank from about 4pm until 11pm, and likely didn't spend more than $40 between the two of us. Since then I've been back on a regular basis for boozy fuschnickens with friends, lovers, people I hate, future lovers, past friends and randoms off the street. Every time is a special time... individually, one at a time... wait I've used that joke before!

    I love L&L for many reasons. Cheap booze, free (awesome) jukebox and good hearted staff are the chief amongst these.

    If you happen to be in Chicago, hit me up and I'd be happy to take you to L&L and show you how we in the Midwest like to get down.

  • 6157 N Broadway St
    Chicago, IL 60660
    1.0 star rating
    8/7/2012

    I've ordered takeout from this place twice because I wanted American junk food.

    Sigh. So so disappointing.

    Both times: Cold, greasy food (no excuse b/c I literally live a mile from this place). The food is way over salted, making it nearly inedible. The portions are crappy small for the price. For $10.99, I got 1/2 of a soup container of pot roast. A soup container like the one in this picture: ecx.images-amazon.com/im…

    TEN-NINETY-NINE. WTF?!?!

    Plus the restaurant charged me more on drop off than my Delivery.com invoice stated my bill would be.

    I would not go back to this place if you paid me.

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"ADORKABLE is the new black!"

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Location

Chicago, IL

Yelping Since

December 2006

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Hubz, Max Tango Canine Private Eye, Whisky Al Ramblin' Rover and Legendary Folk Singer, my Mommie, Sparky, my brotherships, my nephews, my niece, my family, Thor (she knows who she is,) other people, sushi, books, bourbon, Steven Colbert...

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Let's Discuss Diabetes with Owls

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Willie Nelson

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Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back

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Sushi, sushi and MORE sushi!!

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I'm 40.

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