Paige "What's Yelp?" W.'s Profile
DateChicago, IL 60625
(773) 989-9914
Renessence
Category:
Hair Salons
Neighborhoods: Lincoln Square, Ravenswood
Listed in: Around the Square
2 Previous Reviews:
-
5/14/2010
Oh, Manal.
How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
Let me also count the number of times your complimentary bang trims have saved my hair's LIFE.
As I sit here, I'm looking very coiffed. Very French. With my short, sassy little bangs all set for my trip overseas next week.
I thought I'd have to hop the pond with shaggy face-framers after my doctor had to pull a last-minute reschedule, but you were so accommodating when I called in a panic. You fit me right in for an emergency snip, and I walked out four minutes later looking like a new woman.
I have NEVER had a bad cut at Renessence, in the two and a half years since I moved to Chicago. I get so many compliments on my hair and recommend Manal to everyone.
You too. -
12/10/2007
For the first time in years -- including a year and a half stint in NYC -- I've found someone to leave my hometown stylist for.
I made an appointment with Manal in late October for a pretty drastic haircut, and she didn't disappoint me. She was very attentive to the finicky qualities of my hair (I have very thick, wavy hair that doesn't often like to cooperate with me) and gave me a sleek cut that's grown out beautifully.
Think Katie Holmes (BEFORE HER CUT GOT TRENDY, DAMMAT) without the crazy Scientologist lifestyle.
Before my cut, the staff sat me down in a room disconnected from the hair salon and offered me a selection of tea to drink while I waited. It was just getting cold enough for the steam heat to kick on, and the gentle whistling of the boiler paired with some nice background music was the perfect soother.
And when I went in for a bangs trim, feeling PARTICULARLY frazzled after a long day, my stand-in stylist offered me a glass of white wine to take the edge off. No charge!
Well, except the $10 I was charged for the trim.
Which is where the lost snaps come in. I get that this is an Aveda concept salon, but $60 for a cut and $10 for a bangs trim is a little steep for a neighborhood joint. Granted, it won't stop me from going back... On January 3...
Oh, Manal, you've got me hooked.
Chicago, IL 60610
(312) 787-5952
Magnifique Nail Salon
Category:
Nail Salons
Neighborhoods: Old Town, Near North Side
When I walked in to Magnifique Nail Salon for a mani-pedi with a fellow self-employed friend on a lovely fall Friday, the owner told us he'd only be able to get one of us in --the other (who hadn't even arrived yet) would have to come back an hour and a half later.
When my face fell, he looked back at the schedule and found a way to work us in.
Great selection of OPI and Essie nail colors. I picked a brand-new navy shade for my toes and a shimmery, sheer taupe for my fingernails. And though the time constraints were tight for us between scheduled appointments -- make one, by the way! -- I never felt rushed through my services.
The massage chairs are nothing to write home about, but the attention my piggies got was enough to forgive that. I loved the motorized buffer they used on my toenails; it made a huge difference in how smoothly the polish went on. Also had a really lovely foot and calf massage in place of the usual "hot towel and fist thumping" treatment. Mani was pretty standard, but knowing that I usually chip my nails within hours of getting one and they still look flawless 24 hours later...that's worth noting.
By the way...$35 for the whole she-bang --anytime? That does not suck. Go here. (Oh. And bring cash for your tip!)
Chicago, IL 60622
(773) 772-6656
The Smoke Daddy
Categories:
Barbeque,
Music Venues
Neighborhood: Wicker Park
I am parTICular about my barbecue.
So imagine my delight when I moved to Wicker Park and realized I live around the corner from one of the best BBQ joints in Chicago.
For a no-fail meal, follow my recommendations:
Start with a Two Brothers Domaine DuPage, on tap.
Order the pulled pork sandwich, which comes on a buttered and perfectly toasted bun. Drizzled it with sweet and smoky sauce. Thinly sliced pickles optional.
Get the side of macaroni and cheese. it comes in a crock, topped with bread crumbs. (After a 4.5-mile run in 25-degree weather, it was all I craved in the world.)
If you're feeling super-Caligula, grab a side of sweet potato fries, too. It's worth the few bucks extra.
Finally?
Smoke Daddy is owned by the same folks who run Frasca, and if the skillet cookies on both menus are the same, then it would behoove you NOT to leave before you've tried one or five of these.
And remember the part where I live around the corner? Grab one for me, please -- to go.
(Tip: If you're anti-line -- which I know you are, Yelper; I've seen your pissy Kuma's review -- go at 3:45 p.m. on a Tuesday. I was the only one in the restaurant! When I went in, the manager and servers were mixing up some new winter cocktails, and I got to try a sample of the peppermint martini. If you ever find yourself rolling down Division and can't stomach the idea of Moonshine one more Saturday night, hop in!)
My experience with Checkmate Movers is another chapter in that history.
I'm moving out of the apartment I share with my boyfriend -- long, complicated story that I promise isn't very interesting-- and down to Wicker Park, and it's all happening very fast. So I asked a few friends for mover recommendations, and a good friend offered up this company.
I'm moving the contents of a one-bedroom apartment five miles. But I need to do it, y'know, now. I sent in a request for an estimate online and got an e-mail back that night saying they could move me Saturday! Hooray.
But I called them the next day and was told that the guy who wrote me that e-mail had goofed. No Saturday availability. How about Thursday at 3 p.m.?
Fine, I said.
"Well, I can't guarantee 3 p.m. It could be 5 or 6."
Red flag.
But. Fine, I said. Just keep me updated about when they're on their way. I gave them my credit card number and hummed along, looking forward to getting out of my boxes and into my new life.
They sent me a blank e-mail with a Word document of "EXTRA CHARGES" attached. I read it over; it seemed fine, except that they couldn't offer replacement-value insurance. Which is pretty standard.
Red flag.
But. I had to move.
I responded to that e-mail later on, when I hadn't yet received a contract or a written confirmation that they'd actually show up. No response. I called back, asked for a written confirmation. They said they'd send it. NO CONFIRMATION.
Red. FREAKING. Flag.
But. I had to move!
So I took a half-day of vacation, headed back to the city and waited.
I called at 2:15 to make sure the crew was on schedule; the man who answered the phone said he'd call and check, then get back to me.
No response. Red flag.
I called five more times. They actually stopped answering the phone eventually. I got angrier and angrier; the crews got less and less show-uppier. My face, by now, is the color of that red flag. I am Paige's raging bile duct.
When I couldn't get through, my boyfriend called. Man on the phone said he'd been "very forthright" with me about not being able to guarantee a time. That wasn't really my problem -- it was more that they wouldn't give me a straight answer about ANYTHING -- but he also said "We'll see you at 3." I also never got written confirmation of anything, yet they had my credit card number and my faith that they'd show. All I wanted was a little transparency.
This is the same problem I ran into with Conviction Fitness. (Yeah, go read THAT review if you want some entertainment.)
As this fiasco wrapped up, the man on the phone ended up yelling at my boyfriend, I ended up in tears amid my disaster of boxes, dust bunnies and disassembled furniture, and Checkmate movers got FIRED.
I always say I'll pay more attention to those red flags. Next time.
Chicago, IL 60654
(312) 755-9463
Bin 36
Categories:
Wine Bars,
American (New)
Neighborhood: Near North Side
my life. To celebrate its 10th anniversary, Bin 36 has undergone quite the evolution in the past few months, including a revamped cheese menu and a huge social media push.
I love cheese, and I'm not shy about mentioning that in person or online -- so when @BIN36 started tweeting at me about their new focus on fromage, I listened.
Then I got a few girlfriends together to get a closer look. When we arrived for our reservation, Brian Duncan, Bin's wine director, greeted us
personally and treated us to gratis glasses of sparkling wine as a special thank-you for connecting through Twitter. We whipped out our iPhones to tweet our delight.
We ordered one of Bin's new cheese flights, the decadent quadruple threat called "Fat Cat." It includes my all-time favorite, Nancy's Camembert, and a sinful French cheese called Brillat Savarin. Then came a few more rounds of wine, selected from a menu organized into aptly named flights: Think "Sexy Reds" and "All-American Whites." My tempranillo/merlot blend was described as a "a mouthful of fleshy, mineral-soaked red and dark berries." Now that's sexy.
What's not sexy? The degree to which my stomach stretched to accommodate all our food. Our combination tweet-up and pig-out also included a beet salad with hazelnuts and artisanal chèvre, a brown sugar-cured pork chop served over Gorgonzola polenta, and a smoked blue cheese soufflé. Not once did a dish absent of cheese touch our table.
Until dessert. Brian brought over an order of house-made, on-the-house
maple-glazed doughnuts with mocha ice cream, then poured us each a glass of his favorite sherry, thick like honey and surprisingly...un-sherry-like. He toasted us, took a sip himself and even stayed around to snap a few photos.
After we went our separate ways, my dining companions and I returned to Twitter to give a big thank-you to our hosts, who had a packed house and still made time to spoil all 140 characters right out of us.
The tweetup is the new Yelp event:
More intimate.
Cooler nametags. (Everything's cooler with an @ by your name!)
No trolls, no question-mark-heads.
No freeloaders. (And because everyone's paying their own way? There's actually enough food to go around without having to lord over the tables like a vulture.)
So you know.
Last night, I met a few of my "tweeps" (that's the Twitter equivalent for Yelpers) for The Southern's family-style fried chicken dinner.
There were 16 of us, actually, and we took up the entire back of the restaurant, in two straight lines of mismatched tables and chairs. This is clearly the ONLY way to fly when you're about to get down with some serious homestyle chow.
I pity the server who handled our big, nerdy group, but she did it with aplomb. Pitchers of sweet tea with huge hunks of lemon started us off, but the food soon followed.
First? Collard greens, black-eyed peas and boats of homemade rosemary gravy. Then there were platters full of crumbling homemade biscuits and dishes lined with pats of salted butter and drizzled with honey. Then, the main event: The fried chicken, piled about a foot high off the table. Three platters full. The most glorious chicken I've seen since I left Kansas City (holla, Stroud's).
Oh, and a side order of cheese grits, because I can't NOT order them when I see them on the menu
Lawd a'mighty, that was a MESS of food. And that chicken was slap your mama good. It gave me religion. That kind of thing.
We ate and ate and ate and didn't even THINK about the Internet for a good hour and a half during that feeding frenzy. It was refreshing, actually. But food overload will do that to you.
My only regret for the night was having ridden my bike to Wicker Park. But the crisp night air helped work some of that Southern food baby out as I made my way home.
So, I could have had this dinner without the aid of Twitter. As long as you reserve a table 48 hours in advance, you're in.
But I might not have known its glories without those 140 characters inviting me to take a taste. And chances are, if the power of @GourmetRambler hadn't compelled me, I would have run screaming from the Southern: The Wicker Park force is strong with this one, from aviators and trucker hats to ironic T-shirts and too-skinny jeans. I'm looking at you, you (painful) hipsters stumbling out of there drunk at 5 p.m. on this particular Sunday Funday.
So really, there are just as many pros and cons for Twitter as there are for Yelp. It's all the Internet, for God's sake. I needed an anecdote.
But there are few downsides to this chicken dinner. So put your smartphone down and go eat some with 5-9 of your closest friends. Tweets. Yelpers. Whatever.
Tell 'em @paigeworthy sent you.
kthx.
Chicago, IL 60618
(773) 267-2170
Conviction Fitness
Categories:
Gyms,
Martial Arts
Neighborhoods: Lincoln Square, Ravenswood
As David Z. experienced, the owner of this business contacted me shortly after my one-star review (and subsequent harassment by PM from one of his other members, Dave M., who I actually assumed was the owner under a fake account until I saw that this man also had an account on Facebook):
"Due to the slanderous comments and lies you have posted about Conviction Fitness on Yelp I feel it's in our best interest to cancel your membership."
...Really?
I mean, fine.
Only unlike David, I'd paid for an entire year's membership in good faith that the specified equipment would be installed and the gym would be in good working order within weeks of joining. (WRONG.) Thankfully, the owner also wrote in that e-mail that he'd be refunding my membership. So good on him for that.
But seriously? If this guy's MO is to terminate the contract of every member who makes him look anything less than stellar on Yelp, I'd say there's a flaw in his business model.
But then, that would be an understatement.
This gym WILL fail if he doesn't straighten up and fly right.
I am a huge supporter of locally owned Lincoln Square businesses, and I was thrilled when this gym came to my neighborhood. It seemed too good to be true. Turns out I was right.
I am a giver of the benefit of the doubt, a huge proponent of second chances.
For members who want to lift weights, do resistance training and...things on a mat -- things I am obviously not acquainted with -- this is a great place. It's not too crowded, it's quiet and it's got a great central location. I can say that for sure.
But if you'd like a well-rounded cardio workout in a nonthreatening environment, do not join this gym. Period.
Finally, sir, you can count me among your satisfied customers: satisfied that I got my money back, and satisfied that the weather has turned enough for me to get my workouts in outside until another gym comes along.
Kudos.
2 Previous Reviews:
-
3/14/2010
So.
Remember when I wrote the first review of Conviction FItness and was OVER THE MOON that fitness had, at long last, come to Lincoln Square?
I take it all back.
I hate you, Conviction Fitness. You taunt me with your empty windows, your bad lighting, your depressing group workout space, your always-occupied machines. I've worked out once, in the middle of the day on a weekend, since I purchased that bargain-basement $399 membership. Now I see why I paid next to nothing for a whole year: I've gotten next to nothing.
As nearly every reviewer since mine has said, these facilities are seriously shoddy. And the owner seems seriously shady. When I e-mailed him to get the status of the workout equipment, I got this:
"I noticed you have only been in once since you joined. Alot has happened since then."
Yeah, rub it in.
Sir, I may not have come in to work out, but I am watching you. Not much has happened, unless you count more people getting duped by the day. I'm not going to work out somewhere that makes me feel like crap.
I keep meaning to go again, but when I walk past--I live around the corner -- it looks every bit as crowded and even more dilapidated than that cruel excuse for a fitness center up the street at Welles Park.
Now that it's warming up again, I just want my money back. I'll run outside and eat less ice cream. Maybe the rage will burn some calories, too. -
12/2/2009 First to Review
Conviction Fitness gets a fifth star for its mere EXISTENCE.
I have lived in Lincoln Square for more than two years now, and with the exception of the sorry excuse for a fitness center at Welles Park, I've had no nearby options for a workout. Unless you count my jaw. Then the possibilities are endless.
(Did that come out wrong?)
(Did that?)
Enter. Conviction. Fitness. PRAISE JESUS, I HAVE JOINED A GYM.
Just in time for the Battle of the Holiday Bulge! And my impending January cruise!
This place is certainly a work in progress. Probably two-thirds of the cardio equipment -- 10 more treadmills, a bunch of ellipticals and stationary bikes -- are on back order and won't arrive until close to January. The classes won't be starting until a few weeks from now (but there will be GRECO-ROMAN WRESTLING when they do). The locker rooms won't open until just before Christmas.
Still, I threw my money at that place like it was on fire. The owner, John Cuevas, seems like a standup guy. I visited the gym's website almost a year ago and have been in touch with him about since then about their progress, and the new member specials have been pretty impressive. Case in point: My jaw dropped when I saw the gym's New Year's special, $399 for a YEAR'S membership. You read that right. I nearly got run over sprinting across Western to hand him my credit card. They're really working hard to get neighborhood people in there; Cuevas has been living in Lincoln Square for his whole life. He even recommended a new Thai restaurant for me to try. That is, after I'd worked up a sweat a few times at my new gym.
Merry Christmas to Lincoln Square: We can finally get fit!
Chicago, IL 60625
(773) 751-1500
Fork
Categories:
American (New),
Breakfast & Brunch
Neighborhoods: Lincoln Square, Ravenswood
Congratulations, Fiddlehead. You just earned your fifth star.
I've always adored this place: Amazing wine selection, friendly servers and bartenders, chill soundtrack, great patio. Up the street from my apartment (yeah, I'm biased). Oh, and cheese. Sweet Jesus, the cheese.
But the food never really got me.
Brunch was too sticky-sweet; dinner was too salty. And everything was too expensive. Though, for that, I blame the neighborhood. And the nearby Old Town School for bringing all those ritzy North Shore people down for guitar lessons.
And then...!!!!
Fiddlehead got a new chef.
Which I found out about when one of the kitchen staff walked by with a plate full of French fries, a potent punch of roasted garlic floating behind it. Those, friends, were the new garlic cilantro fries.
I got an order for myself and was in seventh heaven -- though my breath went straight to the seventh circle of hell, I'd imagine.
The chef came from a French restaurant and has incorporated a lot of those flavors and techniques into Fiddlehead's revamped menu. I haven't tried a lot of it, though, because I still can't really afford to dine at Fiddlehead as much as I'd like.
Ah, but wait.
Enter the new weekday specials.
On Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, Fiddlehead becomes affordable for broke kids like me.
Tuesdays: $8 wine flights.
Wednesdays: $5 burgers, $8 specialty burgers and $1 off any draft beer.
Thursday: FREE CHEESE NIGHT. Sweet Jesus. Order a cheese plate to eat there; take home the same amount for free to enjoy later. Um.
Let me back up and discuss Wednesday.
I ordered a burger with cheddar, fried onion straws, bourbon barbecue sauce and an impossibly soft, toasted brioche bun for $8. Is there anything higher than seventh heaven? Because I was there. As a Kansas City girl, I'm mighty picky about my barbecue sauces, and ohgoodlord. So, try that.
Plus, Ephemere on tap? (And a buck off on Wednesdays?)
The newly pumped-up beer selection at Fiddlehead has put them toe to toe with Hopleaf, as far as I'm concerned, minus the snobbery, bad lighting and thunderous din. Actually, the lighting's still bad, but it's much more pleasant at Fiddlehead.
If you tried Fiddlehead before and weren't too impressed, give them another try. You won't be sorry.
Listed in: Around the Square
1 Previous Review:
-
12/11/2007
I've never tried the food here. But I HAVE had the alcohol!
The first time I came to Fiddlehead, I was meeting a friend who decided to be 30 minutes late. No matter; I struck up a conversation with a very friendly and conveniently attractive bartender, who recommended several red wines to me and offered me tastes of each.
He was attentive until my friend arrived and knew to step back and let us catch up after we were together. Most servers still don't have that one down.
One of my favorite things about the wine list is a series of picture icons next to the name of every wine; a key at the bottom details what the icon means (whether the wine is earthy, has berry notes, is spicy or full-bodied). It makes the selection feel more approachable, and it helps you pinpoint the flavors you're looking for when picking out a glass. At so many other restaurants, all you get is a varietal, a vineyard and a vintage. Here, they have love for the grapey greenhorns!
Fiddlehead is classy and upscale without feeling snooty. I might even call it approachable. I walked in wearing jeans and a casual sweater and never felt underdressed, but I'd be equally comfortable in a nice dress there for a date.
Can't wait to give the food a try.
We were living proof: We'd come in only 15 minutes earlier, and the actual photography took about seven minutes. And the shots he came up with? Glorious.
This man is a genius, a true talent. He captures expressions and feeling in his photos that are so charming and often fleeting. His prices reflect that -- wedding packages especially, starting (STARTING!!) at $10,000. But if you have the money to spare and want to see yourself in photos looking better, happier, healthier and...like you never imagined? Goodness, he is the obvious choice.
Chicago, IL 60625
(773) 649-0015
Beans & Bagels
Categories:
Restaurants,
Coffee & Tea,
Bagels
Neighborhoods: Lincoln Square, Ravenswood
I was wrong. Nothing will compare to how I felt my first morning there, sitting at a sidewalk table as the sun rose over Montmartre, fighting a losing battle with my jet lag, sipping chocolat chaud and munching on that flaky, warm croissant slathered with cool jam.
But I have found a pretty good solution for my Parisian croissant withdrawal: Beans & Bagels hired a French pastry chef who makes one seriously sublime crescent. You may have read about it in Time Out Chicago's "Best Things We Ate in 2009," and they're not lying. C'est magnifique.
Plain perfection or stuffed with semisweet melted chocolate: ca m'est egal. Equally delicious, and took me right back to Paris.
Apart from the croissants? I can confidently say that in the spring, there's nothing more refreshing on a Sunday morning in Lincoln Square than a break from the usual Starbucks scene. Head west to Rockwell, grab a coffee and a pastry and find a seat on the patio under the shade of some beautiful old trees.
7 Lists
"New York sass meets Midwest sweet."
- 386 Friends
- 196 Reviews
- 9 Review Updates
- 27 Firsts
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- 52 Fans
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Review votes:
1096 Useful, 956 Funny, and 1014 Cool
Chicago, IL
Yelping SinceNovember 2007
Things I Lovehonesty, brunch, babies, pasta, validation, soy chai, good morning kisses, song, red wine, fresh flowers, the rolling stones, guster
Find Me Inmy personal hell, also known as Wicker Park
My HometownKansas
My Blog Or Website When I'm Not Yelping...I'm writing, running, eating or sitting around smiling.
Why You Should Read My ReviewsBecause you're nostalgic?
My Second Favorite Website The Last Great Book I Read"Bonk" by Mary Roach. If you enjoy sex, you will enjoy this book.
My Favorite MovieHigh Fidelity
My Last Meal On EarthMario Batali's divine pasta tasting menu at NYC's Babbo.
Don't Tell Anyone Else But...I don't like Yelp anymore.
Most Recent DiscoveryThat I could eat Thai food pretty much every day.
Current CrushSmartwool socks
Four years later, Renessence still rocks my locks.
Just before Memorial Day -- the advent of a season that's normally all about the frizz for me--Manal convinced me to take the keratin-treatment plunge.
Renessence offers La Brasiliana, a low-formaldehyde treatment purported to last up to three months. It was pricey as hell, $385 for my monstrous head of hair, but if you're plagued by the fuzz like me, I'd say it's definitely worth a try. I left the salon with strict instructions for care, plus a bottle each of shampoo and conditioner -- included in the price!
The treatment did last the full three months...and my hair was beautiful, smooth and shiny till the end. (And a BONUS: it didn't fall out!)
Check out my blog post about it here: http://bit.ly/l3Ste5