Pat "Phat" S.'s Profile

For the VW Service: These guys are friendly enough, but they're friendly while ripping you off in true dealer-service fashion. I only brought the car here because my usual guy (Cassidy Tire & Service - they're great) couldn't do a VW diagnostic for the check-engine light coming on, so it was off to the nearest VW dealer. Like any dealer I expected wildly inflated prices for work that wasn't necessary, and when FJ told me we needed a long list of repairs totaling $4,772 (!) for a Jetta with a book value of only $6,250, I was not at all surprised. When they then knocked that down to "only" $1,700, throwing all of those numbers into question, I knew I was making the right decision to only get the $238 thermometer repair and kick everything else to the curb. (Though by opting out of their inflated head-unit replacement price, I also ended up paying $68 to confirm that my non-functioning radio was, indeed, not functioning.) I'm sure even that $238 was too much, but whatever, I get the car back to go somewhere better. Avoid dealer service like the plague.

Hire these guys for your dog! Now!

We're very happy working with Katie's team, as they're totally professional and efficient. Any issue is often handled before I even realize it's an issue, and Katie's near-instant responses to any questions are a big help. I'm particularly impressed with how digitally savvy they are -- you can manage your entire relationship online, get dog-walk reports on your phone, and get regular email newsletters about the company. We also get a written report every day of Fitz's adventures on his walk, and we look forward to seeing him star in a video on their YouTube channel.

Fitz can vouch for Windy City Paws, even if it's only via barking and tail-wagging, but they're great.

I just drank some awesome wine last night, so for that totally arbitrary reason, I'll write an obnoxious-wine-review description of LPAC appropriate for Lincoln Park.

I'd say this gym is inoffensively pleasant: classes-heavy girl gym comes immediately to the forefront, followed later by just a wisp of muted machismo on the weights floor and a good aftertaste from the clean locker rooms and free towels. But as a dude whose tastes were formed by the 1920s-era gym from college, I tend to prefer my workout spots balanced between the bold aging of rusted pullup bars and the sweetening contrast of cute girls on treadmills. With a decent dose of the latter but none of the former, LPAC is a good-but-not great vintage -- not the sort that really stands out in a "STRONG POWER MOTIVATION DESTROY" collection. That's even truer for the high price of $90 per month.

I can't beat the location, though - I live just down the street, so hellz yeah for convenience. Also, members occasionally score some free beers at LPAC block parties. To that I say, "Word."

Never hire this company. Ever.

Amana hires them to do local service for busted appliances. During the first appointment to fix our dishwasher, the technician hadn't shown by the time the four-hour window (for which I had to take off of work) was almost over, so I called and was told he was on his way. Did he show? No. Did he call to let me know he wouldn't show? No, I found that out when I called in again and was told he had gone home for the day and I would have to reschedule. Awesome.

I rescheduled another service appointment and had to take off work yet again. That guy was nice enough and got the dishwasher running, although the part was plenty expensive. He told me to complain to customer service, which I did. They called back letting me know I'd get a 10% discount once I called in. I did so, then found that the 10% discount only applied to the service call, not the total. So I got a whopping $12.90 back for having to miss eight hours of work.

This company sucks hard.

Order the Porky banh mi. It's life-changing baguette, daikon and mayo goodness.

I docked it one star for slightly high prices, but that's pretty typical of all French Market / West Loop spots.

This week has been my first time in KC, and the eating culture here is terrific. Coal Vines fits that: a simple menu centered on a solid wine list to go with the coal-oven pizza. It's not the same crispy style of pizza I expected from living in New York, but the softer, medium-thickness crust goes well with the fresh-tasting sauce. I also tried a pasta dish that had really strong flavors of spicy sausage and garlic, which I like but might be a bit much for some people.

Perhaps a bigger draw than the food, though, is the incredibly beautiful crowd at this place -- on a Wednesday it was absolutely filled with gorgeous women, most of all the waitresses. If I were a single dude in KC, my coal-fired pizza expenditures would be increasing about 4,000 percent right now.

I love this restaurant -- when the Indian in-laws come to town, if we're not heading to Devon, we're heading here.  All of the food is very rich and well-spiced, and the desserts (if you like the Indian super-sweets, as I do) are amazing.  (Kheer and gulab jamun are my drugs.)  There's an impressive bar and good service, too.

Sam told me he doesn't know how to turn on a computer, so he'll have to trust me on this positive review.  And it's very positive.

I went to a stylist recently because I had a coupon. They gave me the exact same haircut I always get (even when I told them to be creative) for $30 more than usual, so I immediately decided to go back to my barber routine.  I needed something near work in the Loop -- enter Civic-Opera Barber Salon, and my man Sam.  

This place is definitely old-fashioned (see intro sentence), and that's exactly what I want.  Straight razors, shoe shines and lad mags abound, and they do a great job on the cut, too.  The shoe shine and cut cost me $22 plus tips, so it's a little bit more than a few of the other barbershops up around Lakeview, but I was happy to pay for a quality experience.  I highly recommend it.  (Calling ahead for an appointment is also recommended.)

Frosting, yo: This was probably the best cream-cheese icing I've ever had.  The cake was nice and moist, and of the four flavors we tried (vanilla, cookies & cream, orange creamsicle, red velvet) I think they're good enough to make picking a winner impossible.  It's good this place is 3 miles from home or I'd be one fat dude.

Definitely the most well-maintained of the L lines -- with the station upgrades completed, like the one at my home Diversey stop, they're almost all in good shape.  The purple line express at rush hour is a useful addition, and there might be some slowdown in the winter, but even then I give props to the CTA for the rarity of late brown-line trains.

And for shallow enjoyment, the brown line is also notable for very high levels of passenger hotness, thanks to its run near the young / social-heavy neighborhoods.  It's a much better visual part of the workday than spreadsheets and PowerPoints.