Cargo Bar - Sydney

Not Bad for a Weds Night

My first night out in Sydney after the conference was a quiet dinner out in the city.  

We went to this place on the wharf off of Pyrmont Bridge.  They offered a $10 Rump Steak which was cooked perfectly and pretty tasty.  I was pretty happy, although the small (less than a pint it seemed) glass of beer was $8.  

The steak fries were really good, I do have to say that!  The Little Creatures Beer was also pretty tasty!

Overall, there is no tipping in Australia.  But so fat the three places I have been to, shows me that it is a "get up and get it yourself" kind of culture here.  At Cargo Bar, you never really interact with anyone except the bartender.  You order everything there and they bring it to your table.  So far, no where I went do you get water at your table, not does a waitstaff tend to your needs really, you have to flag someone down or go to the bar to get it.  Even at the hotel restaurants, this the case,  The Breakfast buffet, the only thing the waitstaff did was clear my plate, not a single word spoken, no water, even coffee was get it yourself.  

The quality of food is good, the price (it was a Weds Special) was good.  Normal price was $22 and I would not say it was worth $22.  Would I go again?  Maybe, but there are also so many places to see!  I would say, on a week night, Cargo Bar is worth a stop!

Prarie Moon - Evanston IL

Shrimp Po' Boy

Okay, it was sloppy and messy and really quite good!  

I had to eat the bread separate, but it was still okay. The shrimp was seasoned well and had a little kick..  The Fries were ok.  

My only beef was that you can choose Fries or Fruit and not a veggie!  As a diabetic, sometimes the veggie is the right choice.

I go here pretty often, but usually just have a beer with the guys I go with.  This was the first time of several where I actually had the food.  I have to say, I will have some again, and the burgers looked really good too!  

http://www.prairiemoonrestaurant.com/v3/

Wings over Evanston - Evanston IL

Poor Customer Service, but good wings

We used the prices on their website which states a certain catering combo was $110.  We called and ordered, indicating we were using the web based menu.  We made the order plus some additional menu items to fee 15 people.

The store didn't give us a total at the end of the phone order but when the food arrived it was about 20% more.  When we inquired, the driver didn't know, so we had to call.  We were told the price changed and the web wasnt correct.

When we argued the point, we were told that it says "subject to change" but when we checked, it didnt.  We were basically told, too bad, pay it and deal with the owner in the morning.

In hindsight, yes, we should have asked for a total at the end, but how they handled the situation was reprehensible.  They should have honored the online price since their own error was undisputable.

We definitely will never order from them again!

The failure was fixed the Next day.  The overcharge refunded and all is good now.  Though how the store manager at the time handled this, is still not good for business.  A patron should never have to go through this, particularly if there is proof that it was the fault of the service provider.

On the plus side, the wings were outstanding!  

Poag Mahones - Loop

Pinche Turkey Burger

My Crew took me out for lunch yesterday for Boss's Day.  I have an awesome team of guys and I really appreciated it!.  We decided to take a little extra time to sit down and enjoy our lunch, so we headed to Poag Mahone's in the Loop. 

I had the Pinche Turkey Burger, which is out of sorts for me.  But I have been eating a lot of junk lately and tried to go healthy.  It was good, my own fault allowed it to be under cooked a bit, but overall, it was tasty.  It comes with avocado, tomato and chipotle mayo. I got it with a side salad, which was really good too and one of the guys with me got the crinkle cut fries and they were really good!

The draw back was the FOOD BILL.  $12 for a burger .... OUCH!!!  It was good and all, but not worth $12 considering it was rather small.  Poag's get an A for atmosphere, service and taste, but the FOOD BILL gets a C-. 

Not sure they care though, from what I read in their menu ... Poag Mahone translates to kiss my ass in Gaelic!  Still, a decent place if you don't mind dropping a little extra cash!  I've had the regular beef burgers there and they are awesome. 

Twisted Spoke - West Town

Once again on the quest for the best Bloody Mary.  The Twisted Spoke, has a rep for having some really good ones, So I thought I would give it a try.  I brought along a friend, who prefers mimosas, and of course, they had those too!

So to start with, they had 6 or 7 different kinds of Bloodies, so I picked the spicy version of their original, It was good!  I have to say, I enjoyed it and the beer chaser was a nice addition.  For $8 it was well work it.  Was it the best or my favorite?  Well, I am going to have to say .... No.  Bad Apple still rocked my Bloody world.

There was an app that caught my eye, which I had to try.  Bacon tempura.   You cant go wrong with bacon!  The garnish was an avocado, caper and radish slaw, which was killer good!  The Bacon Tempura, rocked!  It came with a maple ponzu dip which really added to the tempura.  I have to say that I was impressed with this new find.

Brunch was also just as impressive.  I ordered the house-made corned beef hash.  This was amazing!  Big chunks of corned beef, Some seriously good potatoes and a bit of rasher to add color!  Top it off with 3 poached egg and some toast, I was in heaven!  My friends had something with some champagne cooked spiced pears and cooked brie, with tht home fries, rashers and eggs, wow...those pears rocked! 

Service was good, though they mixed up my credit card with another table in the end and it took a few minutes to correct, overall it was not bad and a really good experience.  I will definitely go back there again! 

Brickhouse - Springfield, Il.

 This past weekend I was in Springfield Illinois attending a conference.  For the most part, Springfield is not a hopping place and most places near the convention center close at like 5pm.  However, the lunch hour has several good choices and one place that was recommended was the Brickhouse.

http://brickhousegrill.net/

I like to try foods that are indigenous to the area and on Friday afternoon, I was introduced to the Horseshoe.  This is a slice of Texas toast, with your choice of meat piled on the top of the bread.  You can choose a burger, ham, turkey, roast beef, etc.  Then a pile of fries are loaded up on the plate and finally, the entire dish is covered in melted cheese.  A serious heart attack on a bun, but it was killer tasty!

But this was not the only treat!  We opened up with bacon wrapped, jalapeno and cheese chicken skewers.  Seriously....I could have made a meal of these all by themselves!

Overall, the Brickhouse gets a high rating for some seriously good pub grub, friendly service and a fun atmosphere.  I am definitely going to make this a favorite lunch spot the next time I am in Springfield!

Goose Island Agrees to 10-Year Lease in Lincoln Park - Lincoln Park - DNAinfo.com Chicago

Goose Island Agrees to 10-Year Lease in Lincoln Park - Lincoln Park - DNAinfo.com Chicago

Im so glad!  This has been a favorite of mine for decades.  I love the beers, the fact that they have a hand cask ale on tap most of the time and the food is great!  I was there a few weeks ago and  enjoyed a great salad and of course a proper pint of ale!

You just cant go wrong here and the food bill is pretty reasonable!

Bad Apple

On a whim, I thought it would be interesting to try a place I have seen for months and have always wanted to try.  Bad Apple in Lincoln Square. 

To begin with, the interior is way cool, with some interesting wall sculptures that you have to see for yourselves.  They do a Team style service, meaning that everyone in the place can wait on you, you don't have a single person assigned to your table, so that makes it pretty convenient if you need something quickly. 

For starters, I ordered a Bloody Mary, which was phenomenal.  They use a house made horseradish infused vodka base and their own blend topped with some great relishes.  I was floored, as this was truly one of the best Bloodies I have had in quite a while. 

Since I was there with one of my favorite peeps in the world, we shared a goat cheese fondue, which was really good.  She is a professional foodie and had to agree with my evaluation of ...... mmmmmmmmmmmmm!

For Dinner, there were a couple of good sandwiches, a house made sausage with giardinara and one with grilled jerk capon.  The sandwiches were both good sized and very well plated to add to the experience.  For sides, we got an heirloom tomato salad and truffle fries.  Both were good, not great, but good.  I enjoyed everything, no complaints.

Overall, service was good, food was good, drinks were great and the food bill .... not good, not bad.  2 drinks, an app and 2 entrees, tax and tip, about $60.00.  I think the sandwiches were a little high but since they are not typical fare, it was worth the extra cost.  So I'm not complaining, but just putting it out there so you are aware.

Great Place, I would go again!