Steve "Vivid Tangerine" A.'s Profile

Pizza done right. There are plenty of mediocre pizza places all over the world. Somehow papa John got it right. No matter if you are near hurdland Missouri or overland park kansas or Kaneohe bay hawai, papa John does it right. Thin crust is thin like a softly buttered waifer and the original crust is fluffy and not heavy. My wife and I were happy and saddened when this pj's opened near us. Papa Johns would no longer be our special traveling pizza, we would just have to enjoy it at home. If you are in need of a buffalo wing fix. I would say three stars. Our little ones love their cheese bread.  The two litter cost is outrageous but overall we keep coming back because the service is good and the pizza consistently above par.  Oh and the new seven cheese pizza is a winner. Finally something that four of our five kids will eat with no need of persuasion.

Honey Bee was on point today. I tend to think that if there are plenty of elderly in a place, then you know the food is better than average and that the food is reasonablly priced.
Today my father, the twins, and myself were getting breakfast after a long day of doctor appts. I got salmon and lox scrambeled eggs. My father claiming not to be a good catholic got steak and eggs and pancakes. We both had coffee, the girls had apple juice and ate my pancakes. The pancakes were yummy as always. And my eggs were great, but don't get it if u don't like lox which is mildly fishy.  My Dad said he was picking up the tab so naturally I ordered blintz to go!  Strawberry and bannanas for the girls to compliment their pancakes. The blintz were phenominal. The girls gobbled up the fresh bannanas. My father even said it was tasty.  Though they don't have late hours the owners are always there to smile at your children and shake your hand hello. FYI Peter is his name and European style hospitalty is his claim to fame.

Holy Family church is one of the few multicultural catholic churches in Chicago. Holy family is the second oldest church in Chicago pre-dating the Chicago fire. Holy Family has a history steeped in survival,change, and most importantly love. Father Jerry Boland is an excellent orator and a very thoughtful yet truly empathatic individual. Though I am sure he could preach fire and brimstone, love and new testament equality and forgiveness is what he sermonizes about. The church is one of the most beautiful structures I have had the pleasure of seeing and the choir is phenominal. You could do worse than to come shake hands and feel welcomed at the 9:45 Sunday mass.

Oh, Dave how I longed to give you four stars! Alas it was not meant to be. We got mac and cheese instead of fries to feed to our lil' one and behold there was something green and indeterminate mixed in there. I've seen my daughter Ella make that face when the dog licks her on the mouth. No one could stomach that concoction. Dave has no one ever told you let no man break asunder the mac and the cheese? At least call it mac and buggery gross green slimy thing sneeze or something.
Now I had never had the rib tips before and ordered them on a whim, the twins gave them two sticky thumbs up. They were pretty darn good. The rice soup was a soothing before meal treat.  Being that my wife, 2 boys, twin girls, and myself are a crowd where ever we go, the wait staff was friendly and they did not treat our children like some horrible STD that should not been seen in public. The main course for me was the Dave burger. It's a man meal baby. If you only get the burger and fries and soup, this is four stars. Unfortunately I can't get the taste of that mac and cheese out of my head. the rest of the meal was ho hum. The ribs tasted like ribs. The fries tasted strangely like fries. The chicken strips had a hint of Rosemary . . . Rosemary moves my wife like raspberry moves me. . . Straight to the in house outhouse. The night ended on a pleasant note. The waitress, unwilling to accept the coupon via iPhone allowed us to email it to them and printed it so my wife got her free birthday treat, which the 11 yr old left melting on the kitchen floor only to later shout, "Hey, somethings leaking in here."

Brookfield is a great town to live in!  Our restaurants are getting better. Fine Thai and Back in the Day cafe. The Zoo rocks and if you're wheelchair bound the firemen will help you out of your house until you get a ramp! They carried me down in my wheelchair three times for doctors appt at no charge. Code enforcement exists so just get your papers up front.

I really feel that taco stop could be a really warm endearing place were it not for reality. Taco stop has a couple of great deals, but the service is sub par.  Restaurants are part of the hospitality industry and there is very little to be found here. My family had finally found a local place where the food was decent, only to discover that the food was as inconstant as the moon. Once we went in and they had no guacamole. How the heck do you run out of guacamole?  But we are good loyal brookfielders! At least until you call in your order, drop the call (da** AT&T), call back to complete your order and have an employee insult you, hang up on you, call you a liar and a prank caller! Well fortunately for us we have fine Thai and back in the day cafe to call upon. Both tiny establishments that hopefully will move in when taco stop goes to join the great wentworth nickel and dime soda counter in the sky. A single tear I will shed for taco Tuesday.

I hardly knew ye!

This restaurant is mislabeled as fast food. I think that those who go here should be aware that good food made from scratch (try aisle 13) may just be worth the wait.
One of my teachers refers to fast food joints as filling stations. Back in the  day cafe has no business tempting us into their location with thoughts of greasy old burgers, rude but amusing servers, and segregated seating. Billy Joel said (sung) it best, "the good old days weren't always good, and tomorrow ain't as bad as it seems."
Now onto the food! OMG! I had bacon chowder. My twin 20 month olds loved it, even though there was a hint of something spicier than the black pepper. My wife thought it was cayenne, the waiter said red pepper, the chef said cayenne. Darn my wife for a know-it-all.  My wife's minestrone was one of the best I ever had, It should have had some bread to counter the saltiness, but it was still very very good. Now we had heard the soup was good, however there was no kids menu.
Our children are gorgeous, well behaved, not too picky and they sleep through the night however they should not have a platter of  meatloaf and  gravy. Simon, the soon to be three, older brother decided it was mac and cheese and nothing else (until his sisters ordered hot dogs).  Mac and cheese is not on the menu, however, never say no to the customer was in effect and Simon got his mac and cheese. Though unfair, he was forced to share and I didn't eat close to half. His sisters abandoned there fries for some of that cheesy goodness.
Our Anthony (11 going on jaded) was scarfing down his chicken Parma over spaghetti so fast that none of us got more than small scraps. I had a special in the menu being pushed by our genuine waiter. I can't spell it but it was chicken with lemon in a white sauce over spaghetti. I had some garlic bread which was the only thing not superior, sadly it was only good crispy Around the edges garlic bread.  My wife had the Philly cheese steak and when she starts talking about her moms cooking (being Sicilian and all) I quickly offered to trade tastes. This was a mistake. How could I decide on the spot how to wrest her food from her and eat it without seeming overly callous. It was her birthday after all.  In a move that would have impressed my older and much larger brother, she gathered food and plate to her side of the table leaving me only
to wonder why the east coast (I saw puffy in new York production of raisin in the sun) never tasted so good.
I usually don't have dessert because I am rapidly leaving behind that fit Marine corps body, but who can resist when ice cream and brownie come on the same plate?  When I was a kid, some of the brownie mix would creep over the edge of the pan. It would be soft and gooey and crunchy all at once. This is almost as strong a memory for me as licking the spoon.  Back in the day took me back to the good old days and added ice cream and fresh caramel. My wife had tiramisu that didn't taste  of sponge to me (I don't have Italian tastebuds), it was very tasty. The boys has canolis (sp) with chocolate chips and real whipped cream. Maybe they had a Michael Jordon night where every shot went in.  Or maybe it was a Cheers night and everybody knows your name. No customer I saw left hungry or unhappy. There are great things in the future for this team of teacher and student turned restaurant genius. At this rate Brookfield will rival oak park and hide park for culinary delights. The north side will be a thing of the past and I will be able to say, "it all started at back in the day cafe. "

dream a vivid dream of me