Kris "Random" B.'s Profile

Went to Roy's last night for a intimate birthday celebration with two of my girls and it was fantastic!

Started the evening off at the bar, because our reservations were at 8:15pm, which is later than I usually like to eat dinner on a week night.. but if there is liquor involved, it makes it easier :)

Got the lobster potstickers - very good.  Very lobstery, but not overly "seafoody" if you know what I mean.  Had the Hawaiian Martini and felt very James Bond with the stainless steel martini glass.  Also had the Hawaiian Colada, and both were very good, and very sweet.  Which is exactly what I was looking for.

Service at the bar was great, the bartenders were super busy, but very friendly and nice.

We were seated, and opened the menus and ta-da! They had inserted a nice little "Happy Birthday" message personalized for our birthday girl.  Which I know, I know, super easy, but it was very thoughtful and a little something most places don't do, right?  Our server was fantastic - she knew her wines like nobodys business, and gave excellent recommendations.  I ordered the 1888, which I hadn't really given much consideration to at the bar, because it sounded more tart, but our lady recommended it, so I tried it, and I'm glad I did - a welcome change to the sweet drinks I'd been drinking.

I ended up going with the Restaurant Week Menu, which was really good - a 'sampler' appetizer, I picked the blue crab crusted mahi mahi, and the pineapple strudel.  I do wish they would note on the menu that the appetizers are a sampler, and you're not picking one because I deliberated over the sushi, the shrimp and the short rib for a bit.  The mahi mahi was excellent - nice and creamy with the crab on top.  And the pineapple strudel was good - I think it would be an excellent breakfast.

My companions had the Winter Fusion, and actually got the same things - the shrimp appetizer, the salmon entree, and the chocolate lava cake dessert.  I tried the salmon and the cake and both were very, very good.

We also got a nice plate with a birthday candle (no singing, thank goodness!) and a scoop of what looked like ice cream, but tasted like sherbet.  It was really, really good.  At the same time, you wanted to believe it was ice cream, but also wanted to believe that it was sherbet.

Anyway.  Excellent meal, lovely ambiance (maybe a tad on the too dark side though), and excellent service.

I would love to go back and try some of their other items.

It would be a disservice to say I "ate" there.  I would like to say I "experienced a meal" there.  Staff was SUPER friendly (I'm inclined to believe the owners are actually working the floor this week), and very helpful.

My friend and I both had the burgers - hers was the #8 (a 'usual toppings' type burger) and mine was the #4 (chiles, fried egg, and bacon).  Both were amazing.  The bun was soft, and lovely, but stood up to the egg middles.  The beer selection is awesome (no miller lite here!) and they are going for the old-but new again cocktails.  No coke or pepsi products either - a local soda (with real cane sugar!) or their own flavored sodas.

The Parmesan fries with truffle cream were good - even just on their own without the cream I was in heaven.

The atmosphere was great - not too cramped, but not too spread out, music was at a good level (I love kuma's but I don't like to shout), and there was adequate space if you were to bring a large group.

Needless to say, I'm a fan of DMK and will be happily recommending this place to others (as long as they promise to bring me! I want to try the milkshakes and ice cream sandwiches!)

My good friend and I were making a stop at Spice House, and she insisted I come here.  Boy am I glad I did!

Smelled delicious, free samples were amazing, and the staff was really helpful!  I know very little about teas (except I like them) and I'm still without caffination, so I had to get a little lesson from the very nice lady.  I walked out of there a very happy girl and had one of the best cups of tea when I got home!

These people know their tea, and are happy to share their knowledge - not pretentious at all!

Stopped in here today and tried the Mint Hot Chocolate.  And it was QUITE delicious.

Granted, it threw me for a loop with the table service... not used to that in a coffee shop, but it was nice.

People watching on Lincoln Avenue? Amazing.  Too bad it was so rainy and narrowed down the pedestrians.

I would definitely go back and try their food - the menu looked great.

So I've seen the good, the bad and the just plain ugly reviews.  And having visited B&B quite a few times in the last six months or so, I'll give you my take on it.

They do make good coffee.  So good, I've been known to visit twice in one day.  Pretty good for a girl who gave up caffeine right?  They probably also remember me because I have that really annoying drink order (who orders a decaf frappe anyway), but I've never questioned if they'd secretly switched my drink to leaded (ahem, Starbucks).  I've also got the annoying bagel order, which they've never scoffed at me, or said no to my requests, like other bagel establishments.

And contrary to some reviews, I do see the folks being nice and friendly (including mr. mustache) - granted its not your bubbly, sugary, over the top friendliness - but again, this isn't Starbucks.  Lets not forget these are people we're talking about, and not some coffee shop trolls.  While I'm not saying that its ok to be mean or rude to a customer, I've never seen this happen.  I have seen certain folk be completely rude and derogatory to their staff (you know who you are crabby lady) and the employee smiled, apologized for the misunderstanding, and tried their best to fix it.  Then again, I don't think any amount of coffee would have fixed that lady that day.

I've worked from their dining room on many occasions, and from their patio when its open.

I think this is one of those places you just have to try for yourself.  They do get slammed during the morning rush hour, but I usually go afterwards and my experiences have been just fine.

I've been here twice in one week.  And yes, I'm proud to admit it.

Why?

I've been in town for several days (I grew up here in TC and currently live in Chicago), and really really needed a shake.  Went through the drive through and for some reason I ordered a chocolate malt (I'd never had one before.. crazy, I know!).  Anyway I digress.

Malt was delicious (and not just because it was my first one) and service was quick and great.

I went back today, ordered another malt (just as delicious) and a chili dog.  I'm glad I didn't intend on eating it in my car - it was HUGE.  And yummy.

I'm now on a quest to beat Sparky's malts, and I kinda hope I don't find a better one!

I've never had Thai food before - I grew up in a relatively small town, with little access to ethnic food (aside from Mexican and Chinese).  So my co worker suggested we go here for lunch and I was willing and ready.

I can't remember the specific dish I ordered, but it was great! It was the smaller portion (they apparently have a bigger portion) and I ended up eating maybe a quarter of it, and it was great for leftovers.  The service was quick and nice, very simple.  Their potstickers were fried and made out of a little thicker pastry, but they were good.

I was impressed - would probably order from here some nights to switch up from ordering chinese.  Would love to go back and try the Pad Thai (I've made it at home a few times, and would love to see how unauthentic my version is! :))

My coworker and I met up here to work one morning (yes, we work out of the office a lot, if you've read some of my other reviews).  Anyway - t was my first time here and I was pleasantly surprised.

It's a bit small, so like others have noted, you may not have a table, but really, if thats the worst thing about this place, I'm happy.  I'm still on the decaf binge, and I wanted a cold refreshing drink since it was nicely warm out.  Unfortunately they can't do any of their iced coffee drinks in decaf (which is pretty common, so I had a back up).  Their smoothies?! AMAZING.  I was so impressed, to the point where I've been craving them.

And they have free wifi.  Somebody else there had a salad and it looked REALLY good as well.  I'd like to try their food, but their smoothies will keep me coming back.

My co worker and I met up here to work for the morning, and I'm not sure I understand why all the negative reviews?

I'd read the reviews before I visited, so I guess maybe I was expecting the worst, but I was pleased with my coffee (a decaf mocha - i know, I'm that girl who still likes coffee drinks but gave up the caf).  Anyway - the mocha was one of the better I've had in a while - it wasn't overly sweet like so many I've had.  Actually complimented the coffee flavor very well.  The guy (I'm guessing he owns it?) at the counter was pleasant and quick, and they have free wi-fi.

Their menu sounded interesting, and some of the other drinks sounded good.  I thought it was a good working atmosphere - the music was at an appropriate level to carry on conversation, or to work quietly, it wasn't distracting.

I didn't find the prices any more expensive than most other coffee houses.

Granted, I haven't been back, but it was a good experience for me.

I'm a fan of this place.  Monday nights = $3 burgers, $3 draft beers.  And they have some GOOD beers on tap (no, not miller lite and bud).  Seriously the best night for deals.  And the burgers are the same burgers they have during the week for $8.  So now when I go in there on non-Monday nights, I feel obligated to order something else, knowing the burger is an awesome deal at $3 :)  Their regular fries are my favorite - they have a little spicy seasoning.  They also have sweet potato fries and tater tots.

I've had the nachos (eh, not such a fan), the Cuban (not a traditional cuban, but their take is still really good), obviously the burger (I like that they have black olives for a topping), and the "drunken sundae" which is a fabulous dessert - but you'll definitely want to share it.

The staff is super friendly - we've had the same waitress every time we've been and she remembers us.  Have been there on various nights and they seem really well run, even on crazy fridays and saturdays.

I highly recommend!!