Meghan "DJ Gloria Vanderbilt" B.'s Profile

As big fans of Urban Belly, my friend decided it was time for us to try the Korean/Latin fusion at Belly Shack. We were not disappointed.

Once we got there and checked out the menu, we decided to strategically get a few things and split them so we could try as much as possible without stretching our budget. We ended up deciding on:

-the Korean BBQ Kogi, which was flavorful and filling.
-the tostones....a huge portion for only $5 (in fact, we ended up taking home the leftovers). I would definitely recommend these!
-hot & sour soup with hominy, chicken and cilantro, which was really fantastic and will be great to have in the winter.
-Vietnamese cinnamon" caramel ice cream, which was the only disappointment. We assumed it would be cinnamon flavored ice cream, but alas, it was boring vanilla with a few shakes of cinnamon on top. Bummer.

A few people sitting by us were having the roasted squash with maple syrup and pho spices and it looked amazing. I'm definitely trying that next time!

Overall, interesting menu, good service, and conveniently located right under the Western blue line stop. I'll be back.

Last week I finally tried the famous Jerry's Sandwiches. It was awesome.

My boyfriend had come to town on a particularly rainy and cold night and we wanted to stay at home and snuggle under the covers. Problem was, we were starving. The solution? Jerry's Sandwiches! Despite being literally a five minute walk from my place, we ordered Jerry's online (Chris G for him, Lolita N for me plus two sides each) and had it delivered. The online ordering system is genius, let me tell you.

Despite the estimated '1 hour' arrival time, our food was delivered in a mere thirty minutes, both sandwiches were fantastic and we did not have to leave our house. BRILLIANT.

I can't wait to go in the actual restaurant and look at the famous beer menu I keep hearing about, and trying more of their food.

Xoco definitely did not disappoint! My friend and I split the Ahodaga, chips & salsa, churros, and mexican hot chocolate and each of us only ended up paying around $10. Sweet deal.

When you arrive at the restaurant, there will most likely be a line. We only had to wait about 20 minutes on a Friday afternoon, and one of the employees at Xoco will tell you the wait time right when you get in line, as if you were waiting in line at Disneyworld or something.

As for the food....

I would definitely recommend trying the ahodaga tortas. I'm a big fan of any sandwich that's meant to be dipped and it was excellent and big enough to share.

My only complaint is that we were given our churros & hot chocolate right away, so by the time we wanted to eat them (after our meal, as a dessert) they were both cold. Not sure how they could improve on their system to accommodate those who want to eat their churros and hot chocolate AFTER the meal, but alas...

The best part of the meal is that Rick Bayless was there that day helping out and was nice enough to let us take a picture with him (I know, we're nerds.)

I'm definitely going back to Xoco to try the dinner menu and highly recommend it for lunch!

I love the Map Room.

Obviously they are known for their wide ranging selection of beers (lots of Belgian choices-- my favorite kind of beer), but what I love the Map Room for is their food days. Specifically Sundays and Mondays.

Now granted, the Map Room is known for their International Nights (Tuesdays, but arrive early to get the food), but I prefer going on the more laid back Sundays for the free BBQ, the football games on the TV, and the lack of a huge crowd. Mondays are also good because again, there is a nice FREE spread of meats, cheeses, fruit, and a huge assortment of mustards (I am obsessed with mustard), and again, it's not as busy as Tuesdays.

In conclusion, the beer is always great and I highly recommend going on Sundays & Mondays for the chill vibe and the good food. You'll probably see me there.

I went to All-Day Tire after reading all of the positive reviews on Yelp! and I was not disappointed!

They were friendly, fast (seriously, my tire was repaired in about 10 minutes), and affordable (only $10).

AMAZING.

My experience at Lula Cafe last Sunday was everything I wanted it to be-- and more.

We knew that there would be a really long wait-- and there was (about 45 minutes), so we wandered around the Logan Square Farmer's Market for awhile. One of the hostesses at Lula somehow tracked us down at the market and told us our table was ready, which I thought was really nice and unexpected.

Some of the Yelp reviewers said that they thought the staff was a bit snotty, but our waiter was great. Very attentive, very nice....very laid back.

And the food. THE FOOD. OMG. I had an eggs benedict on challah bread with a fried green tomato and mustard seed hollandaise. AMAZING. I'm usually a really slow eater and it was so good I devoured it. The potatoes on the side were ok, but not super impressive. The benedict made up for it. My friend had something with pork belly that also was fantastic.

In my case, Lula Cafe lived up to the hype and I will definitely be back to try another one of their amazing eggs benedicts.

Everyone that knows me knows that I have a terrible bagel addiction. Seriously, it's bad. So last week, right before we hit up the beach, my friend and I decided to try CBA.

Good decision! We walk in and immediately the guys behind the counter ask us which sandwich we'd like to try. We looked over the huge menu on the wall with our eyes glazing over for awhile before finally asking the guy behind the counter for some assistance. He was very helpful and a bit flirty, which is always nice.

I ended up going for the Smittys Nook, which has turkey and bacon (can't go wrong with bacon), and gouda on a bialy and my friend got the Ned's Gold turkey sandwich with banana peppers and spicy mayo. Both were delicious.

The atmosphere reminds me of Lawrence, Kansas (where I went to college) and is very laid back with funny signs on the walls. The service was excellent, and the guys behind the counter were definitely animated and entertaining.

As a bagel connoisseur, I give CBA two thumbs up.

Intelligentsia has the best coffee in Chicago and I had probably the best latte I've had in years. Even though the downtown location was busy (being a weekday and all), I thought the staff had a well-oiled machine and people received their drinks pretty quickly.

I was only there to grab my latte and go, and it didn't seem like the type of coffee shop where people sit on their laptops and hang out for hours, so if you're into that kind of thing, I'm not sure this place is for you. But for everyone else that just wants good coffee-- it rocks.

The Farmhouse Cafe probably represents everything I dislike about brunch places-- loud screaming children everywhere, boring menu options, and unnecessarily large portions that make me feel like my arteries are automatically clogging.

I get the appeal of this place for some people--- and the vibe is definitely very Nebraska/down home cookin like Grandma used to make. Well I don't know about your Grandma...but mine would have at least cooked the potatoes that were in my dish!

Anyway, I tried approach this place with humor, and should have ordered something simple that couldn't be screwed up.

But no....I ordered something called the 'Poor Farmers Benedict' listed under the 'Eggs Benedict' section. I was a little tired this morning, so I guess I didn't read the menu close enough and merely ASSUMED this would somewhat resemble a classic benedict with hollandaise/english muffins/poached eggs, etc.

What I received was a plate full of scrambled eggs on top of uncooked potatoes heaped with bright nasty orange cheese. I also received a huge piece of toast. It was disgusting and really had no flavoring to it. Apparently the Rich Farmer's benedict is the one I should have ordered, but alas.

The atmosphere is also kind of unappetizing. I can not count how many people were eating their famous cinnamon rolls (these things are the size of a bowling ball) along with their gargantuan, calorie-laden meals and it really made me sick to think how un-healthy all of the food is there. It's obvious why the midwest is prone to obesity, eating at places like this.

Overall, Farmhouse is a breakfast/brunch place for people that probably have eaten 'down home cookin' kind of food their entire lives, so they don't know what else is out there. It is a place where there are crying/screaming children during your entire meal. It is a place for people who want to cover everything in gravy and/or cheese and follow it up with a cinnamon roll.

On the bright side, the muffins and orange juice got good reviews from my breakfast companions.

Omaha isn't exactly known for its large selection of quality breakfast places, especially out west. The last couple times I was in Omaha, I ended up at Bailey's for weekend brunch.

I will say, the menu is really great with a wide variety of options. As someone who is an eggs benedict expert, I was very pleased with their many benedict options and the fact that you could get half orders.

So then why only give it three stars?

I've been there twice and had terrible service. Look, I get it....you go there on the weekends and you should expect it to be busy. But then again, so should they. The first time I went was right after an article in the World Herald and they were slammed, so I gave them a pass even though the service was embarrassingly bad and my table was ignored for a really long time.

This last time I went, the service was equally amateur. First of all, they don't have anyone to greet you when you walk in or anyone to give your name to for a table. When this person finally emerged, it's obvious its an extremely overwhelmed teenager stuck with arguably one of the most hectic roles at a brunch restaurant.

Our service started off ok and the waitress was attentive, however it took literally 45+ minutes to get our food without any kind of explanation or just a quick, "hey we're busy, sorry its taking so long..."

Before we had gotten our food, we noticed two tables that were sat right before us had already finished their whole meal and were out the door. WTF?

Anyway, after finally getting our food and eating, we and had to literally wait 30+ more minutes to get our server to run our credit card after she had dropped off our ticket. We even had another server notice and said she would be over to get it taken care of. Which never happened. My boyfriend finally had to go inside and find someone to let us pay so we could leave.

To sum it up, good food but the way this place is run, it's definitely amateur hour. If you're going to promote yourself as a brunch place you definitely need to be able to handle a busy weekend brunch crowd efficiently. I know this review is kind of harsh, but hopefully someone will listen and work out the kinks in the service.