Carrie B.'s Profile

Great experience at Brunch this past weekend. I ordered an iced coffee at the bakery/coffee bar while I waited to be seated. I thought for a new trendy brunch spot in River North that I'd have to wait a while to be seated on a Sunday around 11:45, but surpringly it only took maybe 10 minutes tops. Loved the open loft-style space, very spacious and lots of tables, including a cool spacious bar for those who want to dine there, plus several flat screen tvs projecting sports games.

Our waitress was super friendly and knowledgeable when I asked for suggestions on their most popular menu items. Love the kitchy coffee mugs which are all donated. The manager Jeremy introduced himself to us and took care of our entire bill and apologized for the food taking over 20 minutes to come, even though we weren't complaining at all. I found this really impressive and I'll for sure be coming back.

Not to mention, what's cooler than the all organic, sustainable eco-friendly philosophy - very cool. Check it out, you won't be disappointed!

Yummy! When you want a burger (or chicken sandwich) and fries, and like me, you've gone to Portillo's one too many times, this is the place!

I got the chicken sandwich and my boyfriend tried the Junior burger. The whole-wheat bun was really tasty, as was my chicken sandwich. Of course we went for the combo, which included oily hand-cut fries (yum, obviously) and a drink. I asked for the pickles and Epic Sauce on the side, which had a nice zing to it.

When I saw you could order a shake made with low-fat frozen yogurt and skim milk, I was sold - I tried the chocolate. Really good, thick, and so tasty I had to ask them if they made it with fro-yo, because it tasted like a true milk shake. I felt sick a few hours later for eating way too much, so I think I'll hold off on the fries and shake next time. I'd def come back for the chicken sandwich!

Props to the funky retro decor and eco-friendly utensils and food packaging, organic Heinz ketchup on the table, and friendly staff and service.

Ever since I moved to River West, I can't get enough of Love's! I'm only a 2 minute walk away, so I find myself constantly craving their amazing smooth creamy Fro Yo - Peanut Butter & Chocolate swirl is the ultimate. Also a fan of the Cake Batter flavor, which they get in here and there.

Big fan of the hot Tuna panini (melted with cheese, sprouts, lettuce) and Tuna Wrap on tomato or whole wheat. Both are big and can easily be split with a friend.

Service is fast and friendly, and the guys who work here and have come to know me based on my regular appearance here every week!

Salads are just okay - I come for the tuna because it tastes great, fresh, not overly mayo-heavy tasting and low-fat, which is hard to find. But let's be honest, you come here for the delicious fro-yo. I am constantly craving this stuff!

My only complaint: the hours suck! They are not open on the weekends, which is when I want my fro yo fix ... and even in the summer they close at 6 pm. I think they extended their weekday hours to 8:30 pm for now, but probably won't stay that way for long.

I am one of the many annoyed customers who purchased the recent Groupon promotion for the Signature Manicure/Pedicure.  I have been trying to get an appointment for about 2 months with much frustration of leaving messages and being put on the waiting list. I was able to get in the same week I called at the last minute due to a cancellation.

The salon itself is very cute, clean and inviting with a relaxing atmosphere. I waited about 15 minutes before starting my pedicure.
The leather pedicure chairs were beyond comfortable (although far from the tub so for the shorties like me, I had to add an extra pillow and scootch down in the chair just so my feet would reach the pedicurist - kind of annoying) and they offered my water right away. The homemade scrub they used was great and felt amazing!

This is NOT a place to go if you are looking for a quick, 45 minute in and out mani and pedi - my technician Yesenia took her time and did a nice job, but I was there for over an hour and a half. If you're not in a rush, this was a great experience and they did a nice job on my nails. (On the plus side, they had You, Me and Dupree playing on DVD on their flat screen TV so that kept me entertained for a while.)

I probably won't be running back due to my horrible experience with trying to make an appointment - nobody picks up the phone, so I don't see how I could schedule an appt in the future, especially if you want same-day service.

(On the plus side, it's been almost a week since my manicure and my nails still look great with barely any chips.)

I live right down the street from here in River West and order take out all the time - great Thai/Sushi options and reasonably priced, plus generous portions.

- The Pad Thai with chicken is hands down the tastiest pad thai of any thai or chinese place - has a nice sweet flavor, so good, and a very generous portion clearly made for 2 or more people.  

- Excellent vegetable egg rolls.

- The sushi is great too - all the basic maki rolls I've ordered (yellowtail, tuna, super white tuna) are always huge - so I sometimes ask for seaweed on the outside to avoid all the extra rice. They don't make them like the standard small bite-sized maki, these are the large sized ones.

To be honest, all I have tried here is the Pad Thai, egg rolls, and various maki rolls - guess I'm a creature of habit. Never dined in yet even though I live so close.

it's very tightly-packed inside, but the outside patio has been packed all summer, so they must be doing something right! Even better, they are on OpenTable, too -- score 100 points!

Yowzers, now THIS is a beauty store on steroids! I stopped in to Ulta in the Loop today for the first time. I had no idea it was this big! Everything is organized on three floors by "facial geography" as another Yelp reviewer pointed out: brow bar, lip bar, skin, etc. I thought Sephora was huge, but this store is beyond nice, clean and highly organized. Another added plus is several mirrors and stations to try on products. Like Sephora, many of the same high-end make up brands, as well as just about every fragrance, are available in the store.

I asked for some help in picking out an eyebrow pencil. The woman was friendly and helpful as she helped me decide between a Benefit brow pencil and a high-end one from Anastasia (the "queen of eyebrows" in Beverly Hills) as well as what shade was right for me.

This is my favorite place to find nail polishes by OPI and Essie, as they always have almost every single shade in stock, as well as brand new or limited edition/seasonal colors.

PRO: They almost always have a $3.50 coupon available (I always ask) as long as you are an Ulta member, and they send tons of coupons in the mail and email as well for members.

CON: My only complaint was the sheer size of this store made me a bit lost, and the signs could be clearer as you head up the escalator. (I went up all 3 floors, then down 1, until I could even find the nail polish section.)

This is kind of unrelated, but I really needed to use the restroom and one sales lady told me they have had some problems in the past and they are not for customers - rude! You'd think since there is a full salon inside they would have a restroom. Oh well.

Finally, great tasting Chinese food and reasonable prices!

I've ordered delivery from Lan's a few times after reading so many great Yelp reviews, but I just recently ate there for the first time. Came in on Sunday night around 6 pm, only a few people inside. I stopped in on a Thursday night for carry out, and the place was slammed. The owner of this family owned place also serves as the host and server. (very funny and made several jokes, even though I couldn't understand any of them!)

I started off with a cup of hot and sour soup, which may be my favorite of anywhere I've had - not too spicy for me, too, which it often times is. I had the sweet and sour chicken along with the pan noodles with mixed veggies and chicken. Most noodle dishes often times taste bland and the sauce is nonexistent. Everything tasted super fresh and excellent. The portions are pretty well-sized and perfect for two people to split. The best part is, the prices are crazy reasonable - most places charge double what Lan's charges. The last time I ordered delivery, the prices were so cheap that I needed to order extra rice and 2 cans of Diet Coke just to meet the minimum delivery fee. Not bad! I will definitely be back.

if you are looking for quality Chinese food (or delivery) in Old Town without the steep prices, check out Lan's!

Really enjoyed brunch at Stella's! I was looking for alternative to the typical deli food at The Bagel across the street. Got seated in 5 minutes around 11:30 am, just beat the rush. The breakfast and lunch menu has everything you can want. I almost went for the challah french toast with bananas, but opted for a scrambler instead. Quick service, cute atmosphere, and amazingly low prices. I would like to come back and try out the lunch menu. Lots of young couples were pouring in. FYI: I saw a lot of people ordering milkshakes too - yum!

I wanted to try something close by for lunch, as I am getting pretty sick of the limited options to grab a quick bite in my neighborhood.

I went with Caroline A's recomendation and opted for the Grilled Chicken Sandwich from the deli. I am sure it would be even better if I kept the bacon, avocados and tomato that usually comes on it (hey, I like it plain!) but I ordered without. I asked for it on multigrain bread with honey mustard sauce. Wow, yummy! My hands were insanely stick from the honey mustard sauce, so good thing I ate this at home!
I figure if I like this, I would like some of their other sandwiches, hot paninis and wraps. Also many prepared foods that looked pretty good, too - salmon, chicken, etc. I was tempted to take home one of those massive cookies, or the huge cupcakes, but I will have to come back another time when I feel like indulging!

Also a cute gourmet place to stop in for a coffee or sweet treat and eat outside when the patio is open in the warmer months.

I've dined at Club Lucky many times, but just decided to review it for the first time. While the menu offers plenty of Italian options including pastas, chicken and seafood, I find the food to be just average. I'd much rather go to any of the Francesca's or Tuscany for my Italian fix.

I always get pasta or chicken Parmesan, so I thought I'd get something I've never tried and ordered the Chicken Francese. It was okay, but SO much better at Maggiano's. My boyfriend had the homemade ravioli, which was pretty good.

Also, be warned that you WILL wait at least an extra 20-30 minutes even with a reservation. We had an 8:30 reservation on a Saturday night, and didn't get seated until close to 9 pm, and that was after my boyfriend complained twice to the manager and hostess.

While waiting at the bar, I had a Flirtini martini, which I didn't like at all. The bartender was rude and not friendly when we asked her for drink suggestions. Seriously, I've had nicer bar service at some hole in the wall dives! There goes your tip, lady.

After waiting, we get seated in the worst possible table - a table meant for 4, literally right in front of the kitchen. So awkward but at this point we were just hungry so we dealt, but not such a great ambiance with waiters, busboys and waitresses running back and forth in between our table shuffling plates above their heads right past me. It's like they were trying to stuff one more table in, and placed it directly in the back to the point where you are basically sitting in the kitchen. (In past experiences, I've always had a nice booth or two-top table.)

Once we left, the manager stopped us and apologized for the long wait and handed us his business card to call him in the future. We didn't really care, because as my boyfriend pointed out, if you want to really take care of your customers, send them a round of drinks or comp the bill or something, not hand us your stupid business card! Too late, buddy.

I want to like Club Lucky more - it's always packed, I really like the atmosphere and the cute patio in the summer time - but I have found the food to be just alright, nothing special, the past few times I have come in.