William "williamt" K.'s Profile

Well, Nana is cute as a button. The space is actually pretty large, but it feels very homey. The greeting at the door was very warm and inviting. Then, well... dop. We were there for New Year's Eve. Kim39 and I had an early dinner reservation at 7:00 so that we could get home in plenty of time before midnight.

Go:

1. The service was glacial. We were there for almost 3 hours. Right off the bat, we sat for more than 30 minutes before our drinks came. That's a no-no, Nana (sorry, he he). The restaurant was almost full, but not overly-crowded, so I don't know what the problem was.

2. The food was just OK, maybe barely 3 stars on its own.

3. They didn't offer any champagne for NYE diners. They had Prosecco, but nuts to that.

4. And comic relief... we were seated right next to a small area clearly designated for a band. I figured, "it's 7:00, so we'll be out of here before any band shows up". Wrong. The band started up at 7:30, before our drinks arrived. We reveled in every drum solo throughout the night. Snort.

5. Comic relief 2... at nearly every course, they took our silverware and didn't replace it. So, our next course would come, the server would bolt, and then we'd be stuck with our fingers as utensils.

So, some of my review is NYE-specific, but mostly not. We laughed about the whole escapade because you try these new places for the fun and the adventure. Nana just didn't work out, but our NYE was great nonetheless.
yow, bill

Friends, seemingly, has 2 defining characteristics.

First, the staff and ambiance is very friendly (imagine that, ha!). Did you ever notice... scowling servers is so often a part of the sushi place experience. I preferred and enjoyed the friendliness.

Second, the decor is ultra-modern. It's pretty cool. It felt like a set from Woody Allen's "Sleeper" or a high school play based on Woody Allen's "Sleeper". Holly thought it looked like the inside of a whale, albeit an ultra-modern white whale.

Food was great. Sake! The whole deal.

Friends is a very fun, friendly place worth an effortless 4 stars.
hi-YA... yow, bill

The Green Lady had great ambiance and beer selection. The bartender was very amiable as well. Excellent.

Extra special... they had those special PumKing beers. Mmmm.
yow, bill

This is a wonderful experience. It was fun and worthwhile, and you work as a little team. It's really enjoyable and all for a good cause. The volunteers in charge could not have been nicer.

Bring your kid along... and a couple a bucks to donate as well.
Bill

Danny's is a real local bar. Not a chain or TGIF or some downtown Naperville place. There aren't a million flat-screen TV's all over the place. No fancy aperitifs. No hot, young servers trollop-ping about. No manicured entryway.

It's just a local bar in a strip mall (right next to the pawn shop). It was nice. And the prices were pretty reasonable. I think the highlight was the Killian's on tap.

I asked our (very nice) server if they had chicken fingers on the menu. She replied that they did, but they were very large... more like chicken hands.

I'll go back again.
yow, bill

PS - I have this mental image stowed away in long-term memory. Parked outside Danny's was a small compact car with a large plastic, misshapen foot attached to the roof advertising foot massages for $25. Excellent.

Well, I took the boy out for his first golf game. I hadn't played in 30 years (cough). And we survived to tell the tale.

So, I'm a total noob, but I thought the course was great. The old school guy at the check-in counter was a hoot. Ty got to play for free (they have some kid deal at certain times of the day). And the clubhouse afterward was great for a celebratory brew and a treat.

For noob golfing, I say 5 yelp-stars.
Oh, and for God's sake... FORE!!!!
yow, bill

It's OK. It's not as good as Steak n Shake next door. And Portillo's... cmon, Portillo's is in its own league far beyond the grasp of SmashBurger.

Ty had a burger. I had a hot dog. Everything was OK, but I think the best thing overall was Ty's chocolate shake.

Two telltale signs of mediocrity: 1) the omnipresent red and black "Smash" hyper-marketing, and 2) the tricked out Coke machine with all the buttons.
just ok... yow, bill

Everything is OK at the Bangkok Village.
Food, service, ambiance, etc.
Not bad.
Medium OK.
Or, as Yelp would say, "A-OK".
ok... yow, bill

Yeah, an easy 4 stars for Yerba. I had a great carne something-or-other that was just outstanding... with the steak and the chorizo and the peppers and the sauce and the tortilla and the... I think it's the best Mexican food that I've had here in the burbs. And I got to sit outside on the sidewalk in the beautiful weather. Ahhhhh.

My only real dings... no beers on tap and the salsa wasn't all that.

I'll definitely go back for the good grub. And if they get Dos Equis on tap, then I'll change my name to Yerba and move in.
Si.
Buenos noches, Yerba-Bill

It's a 3-star sports bar. Pretty cookie cutter. I think they have a few more beers on tap than the average bear. That's about it.

I almost dinged Mullens a yelp-star for the cranky, little zombie-girl who brought us our drinks... or the crappy Bull losing again... but bah, whatcha gonna do.
peace.... yow, bill