annie "I eat on the job."

Pros: The decor is really fun, and the staff is casual but efficient. Our nice waitress let me order off the kid’s menu, despite the fact that I am not kid-sized.

I start with the good aspects of Earwax because I want to say something good about this place, but that good thing will not be about the food.

I ordered a mocha cappuccino, and it wasn’t as hot as I would’ve liked, but more importantly, it just wasn’t very good. Strange aftertaste. And the foam was more like a shield than anything.

Food-wise, I got a grilled cheese sandwich with soy cheese and fries. The sandwich just had a whole bunch of problems – again, it wasn’t warm enough, the rye (?!?) bread tasted too dry (not enough fat in the pan) and the soy cheese was just all wrong. Don’t get me wrong – I love soy cheese normally, but this sandwich needed some sprouts or tomato slices or avocado to spruce it up. Non-melted, lukewarm soy cheese on dry rye bread is just so tragic.

But the thing that got me was the boring fries. The serving was generous, but I got bored after my fifth lukewarm, dull fry. They tasted like the fries you buy frozen in the freezer section of a grocery store.

In conclusion, I’ll probably go back, because I want to support them and their plethora of vegan dishes, but next time, I won’t be shy about asking the server to stick everything – coffee included — in the microwave for 60 seconds.

The Buca food I ate was carry-out, which means I’m totally in the dark about the decor. But I’m all about the taste of the food and was able to focus completely! Except for the shaggy white dog that was running around my ankles while I was eating.

Tufano’s is a favorite for a few of our Italian aunts & uncles, so of course we had to go check it out. When we first sat down, we squinted at the chalkboard on the wall which was difficult to read due to a million erasures and the glare of the sun. “No menus?” we asked the waitress. “No menus,” she said. “Sorry.” I appreciate the whole freshness of the constantly updated menu thing, but I like holding a paper menu in my hands and puzzling over it.

Later she overheard me saying I was surprised that we didn’t get any olive oil with the bread and brought some over right away, which is good service, but made me feel like a terrible person.

Question, though: is my mother the only older person annoyed by noisy restaurants? We had a two toddlers and harried-looking young mothers on one side of us and a noisy older party on the other side. And there were lots of middle-aged and older people in the restaurant who didn’t even seem to notice the commotion. Normally I just roll my eyes when my mother complains about noise, but in this case, she was right. I couldn’t really hear the person across from me and kept shouting, “Sorry, what?” at my mom. But once we got our food, we all stopped talking anyway. It was delicious.

Don’t forget to bring a fat wallet, because they only take cash.

O’Briens! I’ve been preparing myself to gush the whole ride home. I went with a large group and they were extremely accommodating; there’s a gorgeous patio area (very light wood/ almost tiki look) and the food was out of this world. I’m too sleepy from gluttony to go on, so I’ll just get to the most interesting part: the food. Oh, and the great beer selection.

they have these checkered tablecloths like everyone’s at a picnic. in reality you’re sitting inside a restaurant on randolph street surrounded by those faux old-time photos of italian-looking people.
but whatever; whoever giordano was, i’m pretty sure he wasn’t an interior decorator. giordano’s does pizza, and they do pizza well. their servings are huge, considering how much you pay. i ordered the small deep dish (about $13) which supposedly feeds 1-2 people. even after having a healthy appetite to begin with and not eating all day, i was destroyed after chowing down 2 out of the 6 slices. my sister was thrilled to see that i brought home leftovers.
our waiter, while brusque, didn’t give us the bum’s rush despite that fact that it was dinnertime and was very tolerant of our “let’s all just throw money and credit cards in the center of the table” method of payment.

my pizza was 5-star, but since my friends’ and my take-home bags got mixed up, i got stuck with her garlic pizza leftovers. the garlic bits on top were crunchy. what? in my lifetime, i’ve eaten more garlic than the smelliest man alive, and i’ve never had it crunchy.

My sister and I are suckers for anything falafel-y, so we headed out to this eatery on the northside. They have all the staples, like hummus and very strong coffee. They also have a wine & beer that can be “delivered to your table” from a place close by (skirting a liquor license). Every dirty table was immediately cleared and re-set by the man working, who was extremely pleasant and chatty. When we asked for the check, he said, “Really? Are you sure you want to go?”

I tried Beef & Brandy on my quest to find a cozy place with Wifi. As I creepily peered in the windows, I could tell they had lots of booths (very ’70s all around) and all-American type food. Well, if you call avacado halves stuffed with tuna salad all-American, though you could probably be called a terrorist for saying it.

So I came with my laptop and my sister and sat down at the one booth with an electrical outlet. That’s where my luck ended. The Wifi connection was terrible; for a few minutes it didn’t work, and then it was so slow as to be pointless. Keeping me from my celebrity gossip is a sure method of getting one star, ‘kay? My sister said her coffee tasted like it was from Dunkin’ Doughnuts, and she’s more of a Starbucks girl, but that’s just snobbery.

One older woman sitting by us had a plate of steamed broccoli so colorless as to be frightening. Its hue reminded me of cadaver scenes from CSI.

And they do have Jell-O on the dessert menu. I’m not sure what flavors, though. You can ask the waitresses, as they were all very sweet and helpful.

I fell in love with Jury’s as soon as I walked in the door. It smelled like one of those supper clubs where people went on first dates in the 1970’s. The waitresses are all wearing white shirts and red aprons and they’re all busy carrying around all-American food like tuna melts and reubens.

And they bring you bread in a little basket with olive oil and butter as soon as you sit down. It’s that type of restaurant. I kind of like it.

They’re really famous for their burgers, so of course, that’s what we ordered.

Rachel Ray famously came here when she visited Chicago for her $40-a-day program. Not that that’s a huge deal. If it had been Alton Brown, on the other hand…

Okay, seriousness. First of all, the dining area inside is absolutely tiny: 6 tables or so, but there is a beer garden and some nice sidewalk seating. They hit you very hard with the whole retro feel to the point where you feel like you have to close your eyes for a minute to keep from going insane. Not a big fan of the interior decorating.

The waitress and I did a little dance around the whole veggie burger issue; I love veggie burgers but don’t want to pay $8 for a Boca Burger, so I normally only order veggie burgers if the patties are made in-house.
“No, it’s not made in-house,” she said, “but I can tell you it’s very good.”
“So it’s not a Boca Burger or anything,” I said. (Sorry, I just really hate them)
“No,” she said, so I (with some hesitation) ordered the veggie burger.
Annnd upon biting into it, I was pretty sure it was a Gardenburger. Miss, did you really think a girl who was a vegan for years wouldn’t know a Gardenburger when she tasted it?

food at 1 AM: it doesn’t have to be gourmet, but man, it had better be good.
happily (can i hear a yay?) huck finn comes through. go there in the early mornings to see the new doughnuts being put out. the “texas” doughnuts are worth a look just ‘cause of their sheer size. curl up in the comfortable booths. hear the staff chatting amongst themselves. it’s an experience, and a very nice one at that.

word on the street is every first-timer who goes there has to order the doughnut with a scoop of ice cream on it. guess i’ll save that for my second trip.