Desiree "Tried it once and I liked it" K.'s Profile

So I'm giving this a solid three stars and an extra star for it being walking distance from my house.  My Yelp reviews, my rules.  

Anyway, like someone mentioned in another post, they totally transferred the La Pasadita taste from the La Pasadita Mecca on Ashland to this express Pasadita on Belmont. I had carne asada tacos with cheese, onions and cilantro as well as a chile relleno taco with onions and cilantro.  

The staff was friendly, made sure I knew there was an additional charge for cheese and prepared our food super speedy.

The Pros

I love that there's diagonal parking, plenty of room to sit inside and their menu is GINORMOUS compared to the Pasadita Shack I usually frequent on Ashland. (The other two restaurants on Ashland aren't as good as the shack (that used to have the crying cow mural) across the street).  The Express Menu has Tortas and Tostadas plus the staple Burrito/Taco options.  Oh, they even have side order rice and beans!

The Cons

I'd have given them a solid four stars if they remembered to put the cheese (I had to pay for) on the steak tacos, but meh, they were still delicious.

When that carne craving calls again we'll most definitely be back!

Have been to the SRO on a number of occasions and it's usually pretty good. Today I went straight there because it's the only place around the work hood to get a hot dog. I was super psyched to read the menu when it said "Jumbo Chicago Char Dog". YES!  Chicago style hot dog (minus the celery salt) coming right up!  

Service was quick and in no time I was back to my desk ready to enjoy the Chicago dog deliciousness.

Ready?

HUGE disappointment. How do you mess up a Chicago Dog you ask?  Well start off with skipping the mustard.  Then move on to having dill relish instead of sweet. Go further with the missing Dill Pickle Spear and top it with red onions  smooshy tomatoes and cucumber wedges...that's how.

Man, did that "Chicago style" dog suck.  

Sorry SRO, I'm sticking to your burgers from now on.

P.S. here's the real way to make a dog, bonus if you take notes and or change the name of your menu item so as to not confuse the tourists around here.

Ingredients
1 bun length jumbo all beef frankfurter with a natural casing
1 poppy seed bun
1 long squirt of yellow mustard
2 tablespoons sweet pickle relish
2 tablespoons onion, coarsely chopped fine
1/4 medium Roma tomatoes
2 pickled sport peppers
1 kosher pickle spear or fresh cucumber spear, about 5" long
1/4 teaspoon celery salt

This is definitely a two star lunch spot. I truly have experienced better in that I don't know how you mess up a BLT but they totally did. I'm sure it's because they were slammed (by a pick up order mind you) right before our lunch was made so I'm guessing the chefs were too exhausted to pay attention to detail. The bacon aka main ingredient of the sandwich was so over fried and greasy I won't be surprised if I get sick. The server clearly had tables both inside and outside and was often seen wandering around with a "not sure what to do next" face. It took over 40 minutes to get our food please note I wasn't even going to talk about that but seeing what we were served was so shoddy the wait was not even worth it. I gave them an extra star because I have had semi better lunches here in the past and their potato chips tasted pretty fresh. Not sure when I'll be back. Show owner comment »

Sister recently had a lip piercing done at Mastermind Ink.  The placement was great in that it really compliments her face structure. The studio is very clean and many of the tattoo artists can be found painting and sketching during their down time. Their talent will blow you away. In terms of price, they were running a special so it only cost
$20 with surgical steel jewelry. It's healing wonderfully.

The last time I wrote a review like this was when my sister contacted an infection at a shoddy nail salon...Republic is right up there with that day so here goes.

Went here last Saturday, (1/16/10) for a Birthday party. Was told to get here before midnight for free entry. We got there before midnight, they made us stand in line despite being on a guest list.  We made it to the door at 12:01 (showed the bouncer or whatever he was the time) and he was like "oh, we have to charge it's past 12, $10"...we should have turned around. Seriously.

Like fools we paid the cover, walked in and immediately you're hit with two competing sounds. 1/2 of the club blares Spanish music and the other half of the club blares Top 40/Hip-Hop...I get it, I know why my friend chose this place, dance music for everyone, but hey Republic get a clue... blasting both types on the same level doesn't sound good it sounds disgusting.

I digress.

We checked our coats (heads up there's a $4 charge) and then proceeded to TRY to get to the bar.

There's this thing called courtesy, if you see someone trying to get by let them especially when the place isn't crowded don't just keep standing there, don't push me because I said excuse me, just slow your roll and move the eff over...ahh...whatever.

Get to the bar, we order some mixed drinks I called Stoli I'm sure I got something watered down she got something fruity, she also felt that was watered down, when we talked to the bartender about it he played stupid and said "no that's how they always taste" (Thanks a lot buddy, I bar tend too, I know how drinks taste)...later because I knew I needed a stronger drink I ordered a Long Island Ice Tea...guess what, they poured it from a Long Island Ice Tea "Mixer"... I was like is there even any alcohol in this he's like yea, it's just really sweet. GAH! Idiots, how do you bar tend in a club and do not know how to mix a long island?! Geez.

Again, I'm here for a birthday party...whatever. Side note, many of her guests did not get in because the line was around the corner and or they showed up and Republic spottily enforced un-posted dress codes.

On to the clientele the majority of the club goers on Saturday looked like they got their clothes from Discovery ... I saw more thongs from skirts being pushed up while dancing then I care to admit. The overall energy or attitude of the people in the club was annoying at best in that most were rude, or just plain stuck on stupid.

We went to the restroom and like most clubs there was an attendant.... for the most part this attendant was cool. She was so cool that she sold Parliament and Newport cigarettes to the drunk girls and let them smoke them in the bathroom. At one point the attendant lit a stick of incense by the smokers and blew the smoke to "mask the cigarette smell".

I'm sorry Republic, last time I checked, it was illegal in Chicago to allow smoking in your establishment.

Ugh.

So back to our area after witnessing that fiasco, I had an incident with some girls jumping on the blocks where people were sitting and then hitting other club-goers in the head intentionally. My friend tried to point it out to the Security guy but he was too busy grinding on some club girl to even care.

Like seriously, this night was a joke. This club is ridiculous. There was not any diversity. The organization is terrible. The staff couldn't care less about you. By the end of the night I am positive it was past capacity. I almost got into a fist fight at the coat check because there was no order and everyone pushed until we were pushed into the coat check...yea, that's cool...not.

There are so many other places in Chicago worthy of partying at. Do not waste your time here.

Republic needs to clean up because I am positive they're headed straight towards being shut down.

I was recently a bridesmaid for one of my best friends.  At the suggestion of one of her friends, she used Karl Knize of The Wedding Eye for her photograpeher.  What stood out from our experience with him was how professional and organized he was.  It was as if he had a map of all the shots already planned out in his head.  The end result were amazing images that flattered even the least photogenic.  He was quick to get us the proofs and put them in a digital gallery so everyone could view them.   I'm not one to give five stars too often but for this, I wish I could give ten.  If you need a photographer who will not give you the run around or shoddy pictures, I suggest you take a look at The Wedding Eye, you will not be disappointed.

STOP THE PRESSES!

As of Monday, November, 16, 2009, after a four and a half month renovation, Garcia's on Western has officially reopened!

True true story.

Not sure about you all, but I was counting down the days to Enchilada goodness and refreshing Margarita bliss, and low and behold on a whim tonight and completely unbeknown to us we ended up at Garcia's during their grand reopening.

Lucky us.

So, here's the skinny.  

They have expanded in a major way.  The ceilings are higher which means more light, the dining room is wider which means no longer feeling guilty when you have a large party because you'll no longer take up the whole center or corner of the dining room.  The bar is bigger, meaning Friday and Saturday waits will be a lot more comfortable.  And in the summer we were told that the windows open so there will be a little al fresco feel to the front.  Que lindo!!  Anyway, they kept some of the "old charm", meaning don't freak out when you see some of the murals from you memories past on the North Wall.  The bathrooms have been gutted and now sport fancy schmancy dryers which normally wouldn't impress me, but for some reason had me singing their praises into the late hours of the evening.  And they have kept all of the same servers (which may or may not be a good thing for you, but for me was wonderful catching up with some of the "originals".)

Now onto the food.  Their menu has not changed too much, they've added a chorizo and frijolles appetizer along with a flauta app, and there were a couple other minor changes denoted by an italicized "new" next to it, but overall all the staples are still there and are served exactly how you remembered them.  

The house salsa and chips were so fresh that I swear the chips melted in my mouth.  

Our entrees arrived pretty fast and we could not believe how fresh everything tasted (yes, I know it was their first night everything had to be fresh... but let's let's hope it stays this way--it should, I mean it is Garcia's).  

We had a couple Banana Margaritas and I'm happy to say their recipe has not changed one bit.  

The service was good, there were times when I felt like the beverage service was a little slow but it wasn't too bad.  So it's hardly worth mentioning.

We talked to the server who said that there are some additional minor changes yet to be made, so we're really looking forward to seeing the finished project.

Fancy tidbit of info some of you may not have known, they hadn't renovated in 18 years!!  As a result this place looks fabulous.

Que bonita Garcias!

P.S. The tables look eerily similar to the ones they had before, do not be fooled, they reordered the same style in a darker shade, they're totally new. I told the server you could probably still use the old ones and no one would notice, she laughed and said I know "but everything fresh! "

Love you guys, we'll keep coming back!

Have front window tints?  Need them removed?  

Come here.

$20 for the two front windows.  

In and out in less then 10 minutes.

This place is fantastic.  Other shops were trying to charge me between $75-$200...seriously.

Go to Grand Auto Glass, you will not be disappointed.  No more tickets for me. Yippee!

I was so worried to write a review for A'Gaci because I didn't want the masses to overrun it...but now that I've seen a few others have, I'll jump in the pool.

So here's my preface, I was looking for something cute and trendy that was not going to break the bank. I wear the frugalista title loud and proud nowadays and thank goodness I found A'Gaci.

At first I was a little intimidated... I was like "oh no, another Forever 21 that will make me look like I'm trying too hard to dress hip..." but after I got past the first few racks of size zero skirts and loud patterns that may only work for the next week and then pass, I realized that this store has so much more to offer. At the end of my shopping frenzy I scored TWO sweater dresses and FIVE shirts appropriate for work and/or going out to a casual locale for under $50. Seriously. I think the girl at the register thought I was nuts because I couldn't stop gabbing about how great the store was and how I'll be back...from the look on her face I think she hears that all the time though. Ha. Oh well, I give credit where it's due and A'Gaci gets "mad credit".

Just as others have mentioned there is a pretty sweet shoe department on the second floor. I really could not believe how many cute boots and flats they had for under $30 ... in fact, I found a really adorable pair of purple flats for $9....um, hello! I was running out of time and that area was crowded so I'll have to come back.

Side note, I used to love getting my cute shoes at Charlotte Ruse...now I think I A'Gaci may have stolen my heart. We'll see.

So to summarize, I love that there's another cheap thread shop in the South Loop, I love that you can navigate the store without feeling claustrophobic, I love the funky music they play because it got me moving a little during my lunch hour, and I love how I kept discovering new areas in the store because just when I thought I saw it all poof, I would come across a whole new area.

A'Gaci rocks!

While scrambling to get home to watch the 4th episode of season five of LOST we thought it would be funny to get some food from a place called the Dharma Garden on Irving Park.

As soon as we stepped inside we could not believe how "trippy" the decor was and how similar it was to the show...

For all you LOST fans think the hatch from season One and Two.

Anyway, I was surprised to learn it was all Vegetarian, and had semi good Lard Nar. My sister got the Imitation Duck plate and my other sister got the Pad Thai. We had full intentions of going back home to eat but the owner's wife, or maybe she is the owner, anyway she instisted...let me say that again INSISTED, that we eat in and watch LOST on their TV behind the bar.

We obliged because how often can you say that you watched LOST in a place called the Dharma Garden?!

OK, so that that went relatively o.k. it was a little hard to hear the TV at times (ha, I am complaining about hearing a TV in a restaurant), sorry, and the other patrons kept glaring at us, (again, oh well about that it was her idea not ours), so we hurriedly ate and got home to finish up the last 1/2 hour of the show.

What we gathered

Service was fast, the decor is trippy, the food was OK., imitation duck tastes more like paste and not like duck at all, Lard Nar sauce was alright nothing to write home to Mom about, and the Pad Thai was pretty decent. The owners are crazy accommodating, and we will definitely be back, I think I'll try something else on the menu though.  It was relatively inexpensive I think we paid under $20 for all three dishes.