MaureenC

I remember when Todai first opened and it was such a big deal.

Now, all I see is overpriced buffet.

Sushi quality, I think, is not the greatest. The hot food is okay. What I really like are their dessert options. But that’s about it.

Today = blah in my book.

I LOVE Francesca’s on Taylor. The food is great, the ambiance is awesome. The menu changes so it’s unpredictable whenever you visit. Even though the menu changes, whatever food I order from them turns out superb. five stars!

Best pad si ew i’ve tasted. Also the pad thai is not bad. This is the Thai restaurant I go to whenever I’m craving [and i’m in the area].

Don’t get the penang curry though. I’ve tasted better.

What can I say about Rockit? Well it’s a little on the crowded side, but what the hey. Sweet potato fries are GREAT. New York Steak was great too…. but what’s really good is their KOBE BURGER. That thing melts in your mouth. I’m normally not a fan of thick beef, but this does not even count. It’s thick, about 1 inch thick kobe beef, but it’s soooooo friggin delicious. Y’all have to go to Rockit and get that Kobe burgeR!

O yes, drinks r expensive. I had a disgusting Cosmo (urgh that guy did not know how to make it) which cost me 9 bucks. But their 007 was good. Try it!

I guess I expected more from this restaurant. It’s located in Chicago’s River North neighborhood, very close to Reza’s on Ontario. Anyway, the food was pretty tasty. No complaints there. The guacamole was great. But I think the service needs some improvement. The hostess was very nice, though, which was a plus. However, our waiter was okay. He could have done a better job in my opinion. Anyway! Besides the average service, the food was otherwise good. And they have a wide variety of tequila (it’s also a tequila bar). I only know Patron, I didn’t know so many more tequila existed! The guacamole was excellent, the entrees were good (sorry guys, i forgot what they were called), the desert and drinks were fabu.

The only thing that annoyed me was the service. So instead of 4 stars, I am giving them 3. Sorry Zocalo! I will return again in the future and I hope I get a better waiter!

Another Mexican restaurant review from me! I already mentioned before that nothing can beat Dos Reales’ taste as far as Mexican foods go (located in Champaign, IL). However, I must contend that Uncle Julio’s comes pretty close. The food was really good. The service was pretty good as well. They even gave us FREE desert b’cuz it was our first time there. The owner also came and greeted us and hoped that we would return there in the future.

The bad part is the parking. They have a lot, but it’s VALET. urgh!!! Also, they don’t serve HORCHATA. What kind of Mexican restaurant are you if you don’t have Horchata? I was very disappointed about that.

Otherwise… a good place to eat and have awesome conversations! I shall return, Uncle Julio!

I went to this restaurant after driving around downtown and finding no parking for Billy Goat’s Tavern. Arvin had been here before and he loves steaks. I’ve never been here, hence a review from me!

Anyway, this place is a little on the high-class end of restaurants. Good service (though our waiter was a big slow). O yes, I haven’t mentioned, this is a steakhouse! They cook their steaks in an 1800 degree F broiler and serve it on a 500 degree F plate (careful not to touch it!!!) so that your steak does not get cold as you eat.

Anyway, we ordered a bottled spring water and red wine for Arvin (i forget which kind he ordered). Arvin had cesar salad for starters and I stuck with the house bread (which was delicious with the butter). We then had our steaks. I think he got a filet, butterfly cut… and I had a ribeye. I ordered mine medium.

The steak was really really really good. It was probaby the best steak I’ve ever had! I thought my Ribeye was better than Arvin’s filet. The fat in the ribeye (i did not eat it.. i sliced it all off) gave it so much flavor. Pair the steak with the mashed potatoes, and it was perfect. Their mashed potatoes were really good as well.

I only finished half of my steak. I gave the rest to Arvin. heheh. He was all too happy to finish it. Afterwards, I had my usual cappuccino (this is slowly becoming a habit of mine) after my meal.

Overall, I would return to this place again. The steak is great. The price is a little on the higher end, but you get really good quality food. My only qualm is that the 500 degree plates cooked my steak while i was eating so it was slowly becoming well-done as i ate.

Great steakhouse. Went there for lunch and they were gracious enough to give us the dinner menu when we asked. Service was great. The waiter was friendly and super awesome. Attentive to our needs and even gave me a bigger cut of my salmon (they didn’t have the lunch-sized salmon) free of charge.

Tried the steaks from my friends and it was really good. I forgot what they were though — this review is really late and we ate there about a month ago or so.

Atmosphere here is very Chicago-ish. Good stuff. Would recommend to everyone and I will return, this time for STEAKS. lol.

Went here to celebrate my birthday this year.

The atmosphere is pretty nice. I mean, you’re on the 95th Floor of the Hancock! So nice views. We were fortunate enough to be seated next to the windows, however we were facing the north side of the city, which was ok.

As far as the service, it wasn’t the greatest. I felt it impersonal. I mean, the waiter was nice but we had a number of waiters that night — one giving us bread, another for water, and then another one gave us our food. So I thought that was a big impersonal for such a high-end place.

Now for the food. I think I had a New York Strip which was pretty tasty. Arvin had a Filet Mignon. He asked for it butterflied but they did not give it to him that way. It was okay in the middle so he said he’d keep it, though the waiter did offer to replace it (and then what, wait another 45 mins for steak? ha!). The part that annoyed me was that when Arvin ordered it butterflied, I noted that the waiter DID write it on his notepad to have it butterflied. And it still came out wrong. Again, I expected better for a supposedly high-end restaurant.

As far as appetizers go, I forgot what we had (it was some complicated name) but it was good. Overpriced for the amount that you get but that is expected.

All in all, I think this restaurant is a bit overrated. Romantic, true. But service is less than average in my opinion, and there is lack of attention to detail.

I don’t think I’ll go back here again. If you’re a Chicagoan, then maybe this is a thing that you HAVE to do here in Chicago but otherwise I think you can find better restaurants and better service for a lower price.

Recently went here with friends who love steak. Walked up to the front door, where they knew that we were walking in so they opened the door for us. They greeted us warmly and led us to our table right away. Very friendly staff. They also had coat check so that was a plus. Ambiance was pretty good. Not too loud, lighting was just right. The servers really pay attention to you. Water refills was no problem. Server was very accomodating to our needs.

As far as the steak, each of us had a steak. One had filet mignon, another had another 32 oz steak [i forget which one he ordered] and I got a 12 oz. NY strip. The steaks were very very tender and quite tasty. Mine was ordered medium, and it came out medium. It was great. Mashed potatoes, though, were a little too salty for my taste.

Didn’t have room for dessert, so ordered plain coffee. Nothing special about it, but I like to end every meal w/ coffee.

Ended up w/ half my steak in a doggie bag. That steak was huge. Bring an appetite if you end up coming here.

I would recommend this place to friends. Enjoy!