Karen G.'s Profile

I think that I may have a new favorite pizza.

I absolutely love this style of crust. The edges bubble up high, have some charred spots here and there and is quite chewy. The crust in the middle is soft and thin, Jersey style. I tend to eat pizza like this with a fork since it's floppy and wet too hold.

The menu is limited and there was a note on it that they don't allow substitutions/additions. This is not the place to go if you are looking for a traditional build-your-own pizza by selecting from a list of toppings.

But, if you are adventurous, then you really should give it a try. I ordered the special of the day with pesto sauce, fresh mozzarella and mushrooms. Wow. Great pizza.

We also split a Caesar salad...plenty for 2.

To top it off, the decor is just up my alley. Very indie with a great patio and friendly staff.

I'll be back.

After driving by Lenny's for a few years, I finally decided to give it a try today.

I was disappointed.

I don't think that more is always better. For me, it's not about finding a place that will cram as much meat into a sandwich as possible as it is about a balance of good ingredients. I ordered the Kaiser roll turkey and provolone. They were out of rolls..how can you run out of a basic ingredient like this?...so they substituted a small size of the sub bread. Then they piled on way too much turkey and gave me the thinnest slice of cheese I have ever had...it was thinner than a single slice of the deli turkey! I topped it with lettuce, oregano (which I couldn't really taste at all) and mayo. The sandwich was just blah.

I like the hot sub sandwiches like you get at Penn Station a lot more. While they do have a handful of hot sandwiches, all of the basic deli sandwiches are cold.

As a plus, they do offer delivery. That is, if I liked the food. Even with the limited delivery options out there, I can think of a half dozen options that would beat out Lenny's for me.

I like Greek food a lot, but Spiro's feels like the place I would go with my parents or grandparents, not my friends.

The food is fine, but doesn't wow me. Doesn't expect anything buy classics here.

I'm a sucker for ambiance, and Spiro's feels like it's stuck in the past. I know it's a big hit with the older generations, but I think they are overdue for a makeover to both the decor and menu.

I much refer locally owned restaurants over national chains, but I have to admit that Red Robin has some great food. They have a huge menu, so everyone in your group should be able to find something they like.

They make great burgers and chicken sandwiches...I'm not sure I've ever tried anything else.

The only drawback for me is that it is over the top kid-friendly. Which means it's really loud, there are kids everywhere and it feels wall-to-wall people. There's a buzz of high energy in every direction. It's not the place to go if you are looking for a relaxing, peaceful meal.

That said, when you are looking for good, fast service and a lot of American style options and tasty food, Red Robin fits the bill.

Penn Station is my favorite place to get a sub-style warm sandwich. I like this location a lot and have always gotten friendly, fast service. Always.

I get the same sandwich every time. I get a small dagwood (create your own). I put on it turkey, provolone, lettuce, oregano, mayo and ask them to add grilled mushrooms...which isn't on the list of options but I saw it on another sandwich and they've never said no.

The bread itself is great...white bread is the only option but it has a slightly oiled/buttery top. Yum.

I stick with chips, especially when they have Sun Chips, but they have real cut-up a potato fries for those of you that are french fry fans. And they make homemade lemonade...not really my thing but I'm a fan of any restaurant that makes lemonade from real lemons.

If you find yourself eating at Subway, Jimmy John's or Quizno's, and have never tried Penn Station, you owe it to yourself to give it a try.

I've driven by this Thai place for years but never stopped in until last night.

I'm glad I did.

There are a handful of Thai restaurants near my home, but none that I think are so great that they beat out the others. Lately I've been grabbing my Thai take-out from Land of Smile, just a little east of this place on Olive, so I was happy to get a comparison.

First, I like the decor much better than any of the other Thai places nearby. The wood walls and tables give is a warm ambiance, and I like that it doesn't have the classic out-of-date knick knacks around that you often find at Asian restaurants.

I have 3 dishes that I like best at Thai restaurants and I wanted to see how they compared with my other choices. I was glad that my friend ordered one of them, the panang curry. The portion size was perfect...enough to finish it all but not feel stuffed. My single bite taste was a little spicier and soupy than I get at Land of Smile, but I liked that it wasn't filled with slightly undercooked vegetables (the Land of Smile version comes with green beans, carrots and onions that could be a cooked just a little longer before being tossed into the sauce). That said, I still liked it enough that I would order it here.

I ordered the Kee Mao noodle dish with chicken and the flavor was perfect. This is only the second place I've had it, and was surprised to get spaghetti looking noodles instead of the flat egg-noodle style noodles they use at Land of Smile. I have to say I think I like the Land of Smile version better but I did enjoy my meal. Carry out I would probably grab it from the other place, but I would much prefer to eat-in here and would order this again.

The only other comment was that my friend ordered hot green tea, and the water wasn't really hot enough to tun the tea bag into steaming tea...we asked for a top off with hot water but I'm not sure it really helped.

I'll definitely give this try again and will explore the menu a bit more.

Since Jilly's is just a few blocks from my home, I wish I liked the place more.

I stopped in for the first time last week since they moved into the expanded space, and I got about what I expected. The food was fine, but I just don't like the vibe of the place. The chairs are pretty uncomfortable to sit on and it feels like it's the hip place to be...which turns me off. I like going places that feel relaxed and friendly. There's something about Jilly's that comes across as pretentious to me, and I don't like that the emphasis was put on ultra modern over giving their customers a comfortable place to enjoy a meal.

All of that said, the food was good and the service was fairly quick given how crowded they were. If I was rating this place as as a carryout option, it would be 4+ stars. For eating in, probably 1. If they added outside patio tables that are comfortable, I would push it up to a 4 since I would eat there then. But as it stands, it just gets a 3 from me.

Fast Eddie's is a local tradition, and it deserves all the hype it gets.

First off...if you haven't been to Fast Eddies, you need to go with proper expectations.Here's what you will find if you go on a Saturday (day or evening) or Sunday day (not sure about other times).

- it's really hard to find a spot parking. Plan to drive around circling a couple of lots and walking a bit.
- you probably won't find a table to sit down...if you find a group with a couple of extra chairs, ask them if you can sit there...they will say yes!
- if you do find a table, don't let it go or you won't get another one
- wall to wall people inside and out
- now that the inside is non-smoking, it's more crowded outside...and that's where the real action is
- a really limited menu of just 5 or 6 things - all of it is meat except for fries
- plan to stand in line for about 20 minutes to get to the register where you order and pay for your food, then go back to your friends and watch the number ticker for another half hour until your food is ready...but you can also eat for under $4 and the food is really good, so it's worth the wait
- it gets pretty loud outside when the band is playing...I ended up with a sore throat from talking so loud to be heard
- you'll find all ages and types here. Bikers, 20 somethings and a lot of suburban folks in their 30-50s.
- don't bring the kids. They can't get in. And don't try to take any food carry out. It's not allowed.
- cash only ...but they do have an ATM inside the bar near the front door

If you go with friends, expecting to stand and wait a while for food, you'll have a great time. How could you not at a place that decided to buy the street from the city to create a massive covered patio space when the city went smoke-free.

As a long-time fan of Brandt's, I was eager to see who took over the space here since it has the best patio seating in the Loop in my opinion. I am happy to see that Nico did not disappoint.

I was there on a gorgeous spring Thursday evening, and the place was really empty. Plenty of seats inside and out...I hope it's not a sign that they aren't picking up steam because I like the atmosphere and the food was good.

Inside the layout is basically the same as it was with Brandt's but the shocking red walls are gone and now it has a classy romantic feel. We sat outside on the patio. Our waitress was great. She found that delicate balance of coming by often enough to make sure we never felt neglected or had to wait on another beer, but didn't intrude either.

We had the cheese plate, which was pretty stingy in my opinion, but I did enjoy it. They brought some bread drizzled with olive oil...assuming this is complimentary for all since our cheese plate came with it's one bread (same bread minus the olive oil). For dinner I ordered a homemade pasta with asparagus, garlic and olives...left out the capers. It has a wonderful olive oil sauce that wasn't heavy at all. My date has a beef stew looking dish, that looked better on the plate than I expected...I would go back and try it next time.

The menu isn't very extensive, but has a handful of salads, pastas, sandwiches and entrees. The wine menu by the glass was a full page and they had a handful of draft brews...I really enjoyed the local one I hadn't tried before - Civil Life Wheat.

This is a great addition to the Loop and I'll be back.

I don't sew, but my mom does.

This was her go to store my entire life, whether she needed fabric for clothes or curtains, or just things like zippers and buttons.

I spent a lot of time in this store with her when I was a child. Recently, she agreed to make me a wedge pillow so we went shopping together for material to cover it. I found exactly what I wanted...even though I didn't really know what I wanted.

I also like the fact that it is next door to an upholstery fabric store. So if you can't find what you want, and might go for something thicker, you have another store without having to get in the car.