Andrew V.'s Profile

Strawberry lavender - shazam!!!

The guac rocks. Tremendously tender tampiquena. Fantastic fish tacos.

BYOB - even better. Yeah, there's generally a wait. Because its excellent food at a reasonable price in a comfortable, homey atmosphere. Get over it and come early, stay late.

Been here or picked up carry-out on at least a couple occasions. First visit did not inspire me. The inside of the restaurant is kind of dark and depressing. Note to self: only get carry-out. I don't want to sit in here again.

Had the orange chicken, not a fan. But on a subsequent trip tried the Schezwan beef - success. Very tender, not too syrupy. Hot & sour soup was ok, not one of my favorites. And saw some little shrimps in it so be forewarned if you have allergies.

All in all decent for a neighborhood average Chinese restaurant. I wouldn't go out of my way by any means to come here, but if you live in the neighborhood its fair enough.

The Bristol is OK. Its better than OK. But something left me from saying wow. Can't put my finger on it though since it seems to be firing on all cylinders.

Lets start with waiting for a table. Plenty of room upstairs to do so, have a drink, and have some appetizers. I was curious about the scotch olives as I suspected they were something similar to olives all'Ascolana, but with a pork sausage stuffing instead of chicken livers. These were pretty good, but did not blow me away. On to the duck fat fries. These were really good. On par with those found elsewhere around town. I did not care for the house-made ketchup though. Something was off about it. But I'm not big on ketchup in the first place so no big loss.

The cocktails, as mentioned by others on here looked inventive. I had wine however so can not comment further. Moved downstairs shortly thereafter for the main event. Apple salad - good. I'd get it again. Beef tongue crostini - very very good. Three sizable pieces with very rich flavor. Not quite as rich as bone marrow, but one could get another small plate and make this the centerpiece. My neighbors seemed a bit put off by the choice though. Their loss.

Then the pompano for two. This was one big honkin' fish. Served whole, smiling up at me ready to get in my belly. Damn. This was exceptional. Simple preparation accentuated how tender and flavorful it was. Did I mention this was one large fish? Might have been enough to feed three people. Maybe if I hadn't had all of that beef tongue I could have put it away.  

The atmosphere was inviting, upscale yet casual. And all of the staff were very friendly and accommodating. We were told to order everything up front, which wasn't a problem but would discourage me for coming back to have one of those long marathon dinners, unlike say Avec  which I find very conducive for that. So why only three stars? I'm not sure. I suppose something intangible just didn't move me since everything seemed to be in order and done well. Maybe I was expecting a little more charcuterie. Or maybe a few more choices since they did seem to run out of a number of items. Or larger beer and wine selection. Can't put my finger on it. Recommended, but it didn't leave me as excited to return as Avec or the Publican.

One of my favorite beer gardens in the city. I definitely spend more time here in the summer because of that, which is too bad because the beer selection also delivers. German of course is the specialty, both on tap and in bottle, and there are many selections from which to choose.

The potato pancakes are really good too. Glad to have this in the neighborhood. Definitely a great spot for a beer or three with some pretty good food, that is not your standard bar fare, to boot.

Needed a hat for a Halloween costume and remembered driving past this place before. I don't know about the "Plus" but they sure do have hats. Never before have I seen so many hats in one location. If you need a fedora, beret, bowler, stocking cap, whatever - this is your place. Uncanny.

Return of Delicatessen Meyer? Not quite, but that isn't necessarily a bad thing. Because, wow they did an incredible job of renovating the space, multiple levels and even sporting the old Meyer sign on the inside. I predict I will be routinely turning over a lot of money to Gene's.  All sorts of imported specialty items to make my gullet happy. Mostly German, but also Polish and others.  

Had to exercise some restraint so I didn't just start picking up more than I could carry (or use), but I will be back ASAP to stock up - and to add more detail to my review.

Did I mention they have five kinds of headcheese in their deli case? Five kinds folks. Outstanding.

I have to concur with Anne M. about Blue Stem. This is a great place for people who don't like martinis to have "martinis".

Lefko is outgoing, very friendly and a character yes. But getting back to the cocktails, do not expect a Matchbox, Violet Hour, Peninsula, Tiny Lounge, etc. spirits list or experience. For one, the gin selection is very limited - no North Shore, Plymouth, Hendrick's, or anything beyond Bombay. Vodka seems to be the primary base here, but not being a vodka drinker I didn't really pay attention to the selection. The liqueur and amari selection is also lacking. Came in one evening wanting a Negroni - alas no Campari. That said, I did manage to get properly squiffy on a very sizable cocktail. But having sampled the typical offering here, think breakfast fruity drink with extra booze.

I'll give it 3 stars because it can be a fun place, I've never seen it overly crowded and the patrons seem to be pretty laid back. Chances are you will get some free samples of the various concoctions that Lefko is either experimenting with or leftovers from having made too much of something for someone else. If you want to get crocked off Hi-C, then you've got your very own little playground. But if you want a "proper" martini or traditional cocktail, keep on moving - there is little to see here.

OK, as far as I am concerned when it comes to pulled pork, the sauce always goes on the side. The person eating should decide how much sauce is preferred. Heck, great pulled pork doesn't even need much sauce, if any at all, to best enjoy the purity of the meat's flavors.

Unfortunately the pulled pork sandwich I had at Smokin' Woody's was drowning in BBQ sauce. Way too much and way too sweet for my liking. This was really too bad, as it seemed the pork itself might have been pretty good underneath all that. I suppose I should have qualified my order with "sauce on the side", but I just expected that any proper purveyor of pulled pork (nice alliteration, eh?) would automatically do so to showcase their product.

They were out of tater tots so I tried the sweet potato fries - which had the taste and consistency as if they had been sitting around too long under a heat lamp. An off day? Many seem to rave about these fries...

Since they are in the neighborhood and its much faster for me to get to than Smoque , I'll probably give Woody another try. But with the above caveat in mind. Pollute my pork again with a gallon of sauce and we are done though.

+1 star for having Reissdorf Kolsch on tap. Still spotty service though.