Brian "armchairdj" D.'s Profile

I won't add to the kvetching about parking because, hey, why are you idiots driving the the gym? Save some carbon and burn some calories; walk or bike to the gym.

Oh, yeah, why would you bike? There are exactly 3 outside bike racks and they're in an incredibly narrow alley between the bldg and the parking garage. People by the dozens lock their bikes to the saplings outside. The staff told me to park my bike in the parking garage. Um, hello, that's the steepest parking ramp I've ever seen. I'd need to rev my engines over at Target and bike across Logan Blvd. at full speed to build up enough momentum to get up that ramp.

The locker room's also a nightmare. Here's a hint: If I am dressing and undressing, I NEED A FRIGGING BENCH. How is it that only 1/3 of the lockers in this joint offer benches so I can sit down and tie my shoes?

Overall, this joint is like Bally Total Fitness but without the contract. It's great not having to sell your soul for a three-year contract to use a cheap, full-featured gym. But you get what you pay for.

On the plus side, the pool rocks and is rarely crowded. I've only had to share a lane 1x in the several weeks I've been using it at various day and evening hours.

Look, I grew up eating at Chi-Chi's at the Lakeview Square Mall in Battle Creek, MI. What do I know from authentic? All I know is that the pinchos vegetarianos releases dopamine directly into my brain and the guacamole's affordable and delicious. I'm vegan and too scared to ask what's in the refried beans. I just order them without the normal dusting of cheese and hope for the best. The pico's probably the best I've ever had - spicy and sweet in equal measure. My peeps and I eat here weekly.

Been going here for years. Now that I live in Logan Square, I'm a regular. Unfussy but solid service, great and varied entrees, affordable brunch, yadda yadda yadda. Plus a permanent menu of staples like the $7 tineka peanut butter sandwich and the $8 chickpea tagine that I can always count on no matter what's on special.

My only complaint is that the specials are rarely vegan. I love the aforementioned staples but would love it if they weren't so often my only options. That said, the staff will always do backflips to do you up a vegan version of the specials when that's possible. For a $12 salad where 90% of the food cost is a fancy cheese, that's pretty pointless, but often they can remove a single garnish and meet your meat- and dairy-free needs. Woo-hoo!

I'm not reviewing this place based on long-ago rock shows or storied punk history. I'm reviewing it as a bowling alley. On that tip, the quality depends on when you come.

Head here on a Saturday night or during league play at your own risk. The counter guy treats a crowded lobby as an excuse to get in touch with his inner asshole. I've never dealt with such aggro contempt from somebody working a service job.

Come when it's not crowded, though, and the Fireside offers a good time. The antique equipment may be error-prone, but I'll take it over Lucky Strike Lanes any day. On a quiet weeknight, you'll see local hipsters enjoying ironic beer and old-school bowling at a reasonable price. Absent a crowd, the counter guy keeps his fight-or-flight vibe at bay. Waveland Bowl may be bigger and more conducive to serious bowling, but for low-key social outings the Fireside fills a niche.

Now that I no longer live in Wicker Park, I find myself missing Sultan's Market. If you don't mind long lines and brusque service, the cheap and delicious food is worth it. Bonus points for the plentiful vegan options, including the dry but inexplicably tasty $1 vegan date cookies.

My old review of this place was pretty hateful. Maybe it's because I always went after working out at Bucktown Fitness across the street and my testosterone level was elevated every time I went. Regardless, if you're at all Type A about slo-mo service and cashiers who disappear for 10 minutes at a time, you might want to adjust your expectations before setting foot in here.

When I lived in Wicker Park, the closure of Filter to make way for a B of A nearly killed me. Now that I live in Logan Square, I was elated to learn that I'd get a real neighborhood cafe to save me from the annoying Starbucks @ California and Logan. (Ever notice how everyone in Starbucks is annoying because you hate them for going to Starbucks when really IT'S YOURSELF YOU HATE FOR GOING THERE?)

Anyway ....

New Wave Coffee rocks for the following reasons:

--Free, fast WiFi. I played World of Warcraft there all day on a laptop with less latency than I get at home with my crappy Comcast cable internet.

--Decent, competitively priced coffee: I pay the same for a large New Wave soy latte as I do for a short Starbucks soy latte. And it's normal soy milk, not the high fructose corn syrup-laden stuff they pass of @ Sbux. They brew both dark and mild coffee all day for the espresso-averse.

--Vegan-friendly menu: Sinful desserts sans egg and dairy.

--Cool decor: You can't go wrong with framed Cars and Men at Work LPs.

--Super-friendly staff and owners!

New Wave Coffee does exhibit a few problems. But they're small in number and easily fixed, which is impressive for a business that opened in the dead of winter and immediately got overwhelmed with pent-up demand. I'm hoping the proprietors monitor this site so they can feel the love in the following constructive criticism:

1. The service is too slow

The person at the register should have one job: Getting people's orders and money as quickly as possible. Nobody cares if their coffee or food takes 10 minutes if they can just go sit down and wait for it. But if you have to stand in line forever before even placing your order, you quickly go insane.

At New Wave so far, the cash-register role seems overburdened with too many extra responsibilities. It's fine for the register person to get pastries. But grinding coffee? Preparing oatmeal? Having to wash hands and put on/remove gloves over and over again? NOT APPROPRIATE for this role.

The person at the register should do nothing that requires hand-washing or pausing more than 30-45 seconds in the flow of orders. Get my money into the register, my order into the baristas, and my butt out of line!

2. The food choices are too limited

I know the menu is a work in progress, but I'm not super-excited by the prospect of a portobello-based vegan sandwich. I'm a vegan and I hate mushrooms - picky, I know, but still. I expect to spend many, many hours weekly @ this place for the foreseeable future. I'd rather find something healthy, vegan and mushroom-free there than have to nip around the corner to Lula at lunchtime every day for an amazing $7 tineka peanut-butter sandwich.

Given the neighborhood, veggie, vegan and uber-healthy options should abound. And given the food quality at nearby establishments, a few average sandwiches probably won't cut it long-term. The food at Filter was't uniformly great, but there were LOTS of options for any dietary need. That's something to aspire to.

That's it: two long, detailed complaints that are pretty easy to fix, and a lot of succinct praise for everything else. This joint is a welcome addition to the neighborhood and looks, based on early sales volume, like it'll be there for a long time to ocme.

My favorite Chinese restaurant, full stop. Hip, attractive and knowledgeable servers who rarely veer toward the over-familiar. Excellent specials and desserts. A separate vegan menu on every table. Back when I ate meat, the green beans with pork side dish perfectly complemented the super-hot, slightly sweet, scallion-adorned firecracker chicken. Now that I'm vegan, I go for the mapo tofu and those same green beans without the pork. People make a big deal about the decor, which I do love, but I return to Opera again and again because the kitchen's just as impressive as the furnishings.

I loved this joint on my first visit on a quiet night in summer 2007. Great food, decent service, a nice, laid-back ambiance.

However...

I just got back from a repeat visit a year later on a busy Saturday, and the difference in service was striking. Granted, the back patio was bustling, but that doesn't excuse a waiter who disappeared for 20 minutes at a time and couldn't be found when we had drink orders.

I'm vegan, but I'm not some extreme PETA reactionary idiot. I get it that some restaurants equate "vegetarian" with "vegetables and a whole bunch of cheese." That's why I'm careful when ordering. I explicitly ordered my entree without cheese or sour cream. There was no ambiguity. I even made sure the salad dressing was dairy-free. But when I received my dinner - a vegatarian dish consisting of a volcanic rock bowl full of veggies - it included a gigantic glob of cheese covering half the food.

On my second attempt to flag the waiter down and let him know this was a problem, he tried to say he'd put the cheese on the side so it wouldn't interfere with the rest of the food. When I insisted that I needed a new entree, he complied - but didn't bring it out till a full 20+ minutes later, when the rest of my party was completely done eating.

Unrepentantly terrible service really tarnishes my impression of this restaurant. We were a party of 8, including 2 out of towners. All were somewhat underwhelmed because of the services. I want to like this place, but they need to step it up a level even if they're busy.

Vegetarian and vegan food choices abound, most of them top-notch. The  inventive chefs know how to whip up a special. It's easy to eat as healthily or unhealthily as you want; the menu is that diverse. If you're feeling decadent, go for the fry pies, especially the peanut butter and jelly ones. Get an order for your table to share or your insulin level will soar like the foreclosure rate, then plunge like the consumer confidence index.

I've been a customer here since moving to Chicago in 1996; I even did mail-order from them when I lived in San Francisco for three years. Eric, the manager, is a total mensch. They stock the best selection of indie comics alongside the superhero stuff, and they're always ready with a good recommendation.