Pat "Phat" S.'s Profile

The pizza's really great, particularly the pepperoni, but I'm really giving this five-star review for the $5.98 two-slices-and-a-drink deal they have every day.  It's not a bad way to eat in this economic climate, or any economic climate, for that matter.

Careful though, this place is popular and you can end up waiting a long time if you get anything made to order after 5 p.m. or so.

I feel like the 1950s-style barbershop is a hipster trend these days, making it the second hipster trend in which I am now an accidental participant.  (I didn't realize PBR was supposed to be cool until I'd already been drinking it for five years.)  Now, by cluelessly assuming I had to go to the kind of place run by a World War II veteran to get a men's haircut, I am somehow on the cutting edge of retro cool.  Works for me.

Gabby's is a score.  (Belmont Barber Shop is also awesome, but a lot farther away from my pad.)  I doubt I'll get my hair cut anywhere else in Chicago after coming here.  It's got the old-school atmosphere that a barbershop should have, and the barbers all do a great job with the $14 (!) haircuts.  I barely had to tell RJ what to do and he got things perfect.

The wait isn't all that bad -- I've been here at 11 a.m. on Saturday and waited all of five minutes, so don't be intimidated by those reviews.

They stay open until 4, serve the world's saltiest free popcorn, and thus attract an interesting weekend clientele.  

You can probably figure out why my friends nicknamed this bar "Scraps".

Too many reviews here, so I'll make it succinct: Order the Italian beef, cheese fries and chocolate cake. Erupt in lipid-induced ecstasy. Repeat as necessary, whether you're a tourist or native.

My poor wife has been searching in vain for NYC-style pizza ever since I moved out of the city a few years back, but now she's finally found it near our place in Chicago.  Word.

Cafe Luigi is a good option if you want either a slice or a whole pie.  I like how the crust turns out, and their sauce is just the right balance of sweet, salty and acidic.  They overdid it a bit on the mushrooms, but if you like enormous piles of mushrooms then you'd probably love it.  Otherwise, a solid pick if you want that Queens feel.  (Most people say Brooklyn, but having lived in the Q for several years, I most definitely represent Queens and was not raised down Brooklyn.)

Nothing special -- there's nicer grocery stores (any Dominick's closer to the yuppy 'hoods) and uglier grocery stores (the Jewels in Andersonville or Edgewater), and this one is straight down the middle.  It's plenty big and their liquor selection is pretty good, plus they generally have good sales.  There's also never enough registers and the place is hella crowded.  It's nothing great and nothing awful, but definitely dependable.

I don't know, man, $65 to get a pair of men's shoes resoled seems way high.  I might as well buy a new pair.  They might do good work, but at that price I wasn't willing to check.

I think "Meh, I've experienced better" is the perfect description for this spot.  

First off, bangers and mash without gravy.  You can't offer up a great pub dish and then leave off the best part.  After seeing that, I was surprised the Firkin still remembered to put liquids into a glass and offer the customers silverware with which to eat.  It would almost be more fun if they forgot each and every basic of serving bar food.

The soft pretzel with cheese sauce was great, but that's pretty easy.  When it came down to the rest of the food, it just wasn't anything special.  My wife had the fish sandwich, which while very sizable was bland and dull.  Fries were good, but again those just come out of a freezer bag.  

If it's faux-Irish you're into, you'd be better off at one of the other establishments nearby, like Duffy's, Harrigan's or Hidden Shamrock.

This is without peer as falafel goes.  I have never tasted heavenly pita perfection quite like it.

One of my favorite memories of my time in NYC was when I had Fridays off; as a resident of nearby Elmhurst, I would head out to Forest Hills to get a falafel from Pahal Zan and catch a matinee premier movie.  They know how to do falafel here -- the key is to have as many possible toppings as you can, and they do: pickled beets, pickled cabbage, hot sauce, tahini, hummus, and lots of other stuff I can't remember but that tastes great added on to the falafel and pita.  (Or shawarma; that's also delicious.)  

My only quabble is that Pahal Zan is a little expensive for a falafel joint, but then you're getting gourmet falafel of the top sort, so it's worth paying a little more.  Absolutely worth the trip.

I used to stop in here all the time, on weekends and on trips home from the subway.  My wife (then girlfriend) used to beg me to take her there when she visited from out of town -- it's just really solid NYC pizzeria pizza, the kind with the big floppy slices.  Nothing special or outlandish here, but these are really good slices when you want them.