Palermo’s 95th – Oak Lawn, IL

18 10 2008
  • 4849 W. 95th St.
  • Oak Lawn, IL 60435
  • (708) 425-6262
  • Website
  • Menu

Palermo's 95th in Oak Lawn, IL

This is a review I’ve been holding for a couple months.  Honestly, I forgot about it.  When I was in town for a job earlier in the year, my girlfriend’s parents took us out to dinner the night before.  We drove home this weekend to see my niece and whenever we head to my parents, we stop at J’s parents on the way.  We came in to Oak Lawn late Friday night and drove past Palermo’s 95th.  I remembered I never did a review so I got out and snapped a few pictures.

J has always said Palermo’s ruined her on pizza.  Nothing she’s had anywhere else has even come close to living up to the standard Palermo’s 95th set.  I thought she was being dramatic, but I’d give her the benefit of the doubt.  When her parents suggested we go to Palermo’s for dinner, I was up for the challenge.

Palermo’s is on 95th Street in Oak Lawn.  There’s parking behind the building, but if you’re not there early, good luck.  We stopped in for a late dinner on Saturday night.  We thought maybe we’d be ok since it was after 8:00, but we were wrong.  The wait was only about 15 minutes so it wasn’t bad.  Had we been earlier, we could have waited up to two hours for a table. Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Chicago, Illinois, Italian, Local Flavor, Oak Lawn, Restaurant, Reviews

Get-A-Way Saloon

6 10 2008
  • 9489 Red Arrow Highway
  • Bridgman, MI 49106
  • (269) 465-5932
  • Website
  • Menu
The Get-A-Way Saloon in Bridgman, MI

The Get-A-Way Saloon in Bridgman, MI

As a Southsider, the Get-A-Way Saloon is hostile territory.  They make no bones about being Cub fans and the decor and menu reflect that.  I noticed a billboard for Get-A-Way on I-94 while heading home.  I was supposed to take an Amtrak on Saturday from Chicago back to East Lansing, but my niece was still in the hospital and I wanted to hold out one more day to see if she’d get to go home and I’d get to hold her one more time.  That didn’t happen, but now I needed to get home.  My parents like to gamble at Four Winds in New Buffalo and J had been sick all weekend and wanted to get out of the house, so they both agreed to drive halfway.  My parents kept driving and as I was on the phone with J to set up a meeting point, I saw the billboard and told my parents to pull off the highway.  Five minutes later, J was pulling in to a gas station near the highway so we could make the switch.

After saying goodbye to the new grandparents, J and I continued down Red Arrow Highway to grab some grub.  We pulled into the small, neighborhood bar covered with ivy just a few minutes before the White Sox ALDS game.  On the sign out front were the words “Cubbies Why?”  Below that was a scoreboard with the score from last nights NLDS game with the Dodgers in which the Cubs lost.  We made our way though the swinging doors to find a bar covered with Cubs jersey and memoribilia and a dining room.  We started to go towards the dining room, but none of the TV’s had the NASCAR race on which was our first priority, so we headed to the bar.  The tables in the bar were empty so we took one where we could see both the race and the Sox.  Even the table had a big Cubs logo and right before the Sox game started, the bartender, who was wearing a Cubs jersey, turned the channel.  We weren’t going to say anything, but another guy at the bar wearing a Sox jersey did and the game was turned on. Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Bridgman, Burgers, Dive Bar, Michigan, Pub, Restaurant, Reviews, Sandwiches

Gold Coast Dogs – Downtown Chicago

1 10 2008
  • 159 N. Wabash Ave.
  • Chicago, IL 60601
  • (312) 917-1677
  • Website
  • Menu
Gold Coast Dogs in Downtown Chicago

Gold Coast Dogs in Downtown Chicago

It’s just not possible for me to go to Chicago without getting an Italian Beef.  Let me back up for a second and tell you why I was in Chicago.   You see, my brother and sister-in-law are having a baby!  They’re set up to make Thursday morning the latest possible day the doctor would let the pregnancy go, so I hoped on an Amtrak and headed home.  The Amtrak doesn’t quite make it home though.  In fact, I’m still an hour and a half short.  So, once I got to Union Station (an hour late.  Thanks, Amtrak!) I had a thirteen block to Millennium Station to catch a METRA train to get a little bit closer to home.  From there, my dad would have to pick me up and drive me the rest of the way. 

So, like I mentioned, Amtrak screwed up my plans and I missed the 12:30 Metra out of town.  I had to wait for the 1:30 and I was starving.  Now, there are a ton of places to eat in the theater district where Millenium Station is.  In fact, J and I had a great date one night just down the road at a place called Petterino’s (review HERE) before seeing Wicked at the Ford Theater.  I didn’t have time for anything like that.  I needed a sandwich shop.  I walked a few blocks from the train station then turned around to head back and eat at one of the 6,546 Subways in the three block area.  As I was crossing the street, I noticed a sign for a hot dog shop a block off of Randolph on Wabash Ave. 

Gold Coast Dogs is a small Chicago chain with locations at the airports, train stations and a few stand alone shops all in Chicago.  This particular Gold Coast Dogs shares a building with Popeyes Chicken.  It’s a very bland, strip mall looking store front.  Not very inviting.  I could see the menu from the sidewalk and I saw they served Italian Beef so I went in.  Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Chicago, Downtown, Illinois, Restaurant, Reviews, Sandwiches

Not a Food Related Post But, …….

30 09 2008

GO SOX!!!!


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Categories : Chicago, Illinois

Malarky’s

20 09 2008
  • 3210 Deposit Dr NE
  • Grand Rapids, MI 49546
  • (616) 808-2956
  • Website
  • Menu
Malarkys at I-96 and Beltline in Grand Rapids

Malarky's at I-96 and Beltline in Grand Rapids

After an amazing day in Traverse City, we headed back to Grand Rapids for the night.  We couldn’t find a hotel under $100 up north,so we came back as far as Grand Rapids and found a Red Roof Inn for not even half that much.  After getting settled, we both got a little hungry, so we hoped in the car and started heading towards downtown.  First, we wanted to check out Fresh Market, but it was too late and they were closed.  That would have to wait until the next morning.  For some reason, our GPS took us the long way back to the Interstate and we ended up on Beltline Road.  Just before we got to I-96, we hit this bar that looked like a chain, but wasn’t a chain we had ever heard of.  I-96 West was closed at that interchange, so we had to drive around and come back.  On the way back, we just decided to give Malarkey’s a try.  Really, all we wanted was a drink and an appetizer, so why keep driving when there was a place right here.

Once we got inside, Malarky’s again looked like a chain.  The hostess station was right inside the door in it’s own little room.  Through a doorway to the right was the bar.  To the left was the dining room.  We made our way into the bar and found a pub table along the wall, so we sat down.  A waitress noticed us and came over for a drink order.  I got a 14 oz. Bud Light and J got a frozen daquiri.  the waitress came back with a 24 oz. Bud Light instead.  It was only $.50 more so I just took it and didn’t say anything.  She tried to walk away, but we stopped her to put in an order of nachos. Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Bar, Grand Rapids, Michigan, Reviews, Sports Bar

Chicagoland Speedway – Joliet, IL

8 09 2008
  • 500 Speedway Blvd.
  • Joliet, IL 60433
  • (815) 722-5500
  • Website
The outside of Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, IL

The outside of Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, IL

My final stop in Illinois this week was at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, IL for the IRL Peak Antifreeze Indy 300.  I went to school in Joliet and this track was being built during my senior year.  The first race was the summer after I graduated.  Chicagoland doesn’t sell individual race tickets.  The only way to get tickets to any of the races is to buy tickets to all the races.  That first year, a buddy was able to get Busch series tickets off eBay, and until this weekend, that was the only race I had been to other than NASCAR qualifying.  My dad’s cousin buys the track pass every year to get tickets to the Nationwide and Sprint Cup race, but they couldn’t care less about the ARCA/IRL weekend.  For the last few years, I’ve wanted to get their IRL tickets, but I always had something going on.  This year, it just worked out that I was going to be in town, so my dad asked for the tickets and he and I finally got to go to an IRL race.

Chicagoland is great for the Indy Cars.  It’s the last race of the year and for some reason, the track provides a really racy surface for the open wheelers.  The two closest finishes in IRL history have come at Chicagoland and this year added another one as Helio Castroneves edged out Scott Dixon by .033.  The race saw a lot of three wide and side-by-side racing and that’s not just for half a lap.  This was going on for 10 to 15 laps at a time. Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Entertainment Venues, Illinois, Joliet, Reviews

Portillo’s Hot Dogs – Oak Lawn, IL

22 08 2008
  • 4020 W. 95th St.
  • Oak Lawn, IL 60435
  • (708 ) 422-1384
  • Website
  • Menu
Portillos Hot Dogs on 95th St. in Oak Lawn near Chicago

Portillo's Hot Dogs on 95th St. in Oak Lawn near Chicago

I said this a month ago when I reviewed the Portillo’s in Crestwood, IL (review HERE).  I LOVE PORTILLO’S!  The thing I miss the most about Illinois and Chicago cuisine is the Italian Beef sandwich so anytime I get a chance to get one, I make sure I do. 

J and I were at her parents before continuing our trip south to my parents for the annual Homecoming celebration.  We got in late and had plans to go to a 24 hour restaurant for breakfast, but we were too tired and just went to bed.  When we woke up, both of us were starving.  After playing Mario Kart Wii with her mom for a while, we got up and went looking for lunch.  J asked what I wanted and I said I didn’t care.  She knows me all too well and suggested Portillo’s.  I thought we were going to the one on Cicero we always go to, but she said there was one closer to her parents place near Christ Hospital.  Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Chains, Chicago, Illinois, Local Flavor, Oak Lawn, Restaurant, Reviews

Greek Islands Restaurant – Chicago

10 08 2008
  • 200 S. Halsted St.
  • Chicago, IL 60661
  • (312) 782-9855
  • Website
  • Menu
Greek Islands Restaurant on Madison and Adams in Chicagos Greektown

Greek Islands Restaurant on Madison and Adams in Chicago's Greektown

We were in Chicago for the weekend for a friend’s wedding.  Our hotel was the Crowne Plaza Metro in Greektown.  On Sunday morning after a night of drinking, we decided to meet up with some friends from Ohio that we don’t get to see often and have lunch before we went our separate ways.  The night before, I went for a walk to kill time and check out the restaurants in Greektown.  We checked out of our hotel then walked down Halsted.  I had read a little about a restaurant on the corner of Halsted and Adams called Greek Islands.

We walked in Greek Islands and were met by an older gentlemen welcoming us to the restaurant.  He showed us to table on a landing in the dining room.  We were seated and starting looking over the menu which is very traditional greek food.  A bus boy brought us some water and the waiter came over to take the order.  We weren’t quite ready to order, but we did put in drink orders.  They had both Coke and Pepsi.  Three of us got Pepsi’s and J got a Diet Coke.  The drinks that were served were little glass bottles, so there were no refills.  I’m guessing they were six ounce portions, so we had to go light before the meal got there. Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Chicago, greek, Local Flavor, Restaurant, Reviews

Crowne Plaza Metro – Chicago

10 08 2008
  • 733 W. Madison
  • Chicago, IL 60661
  • (888 ) 444-0401
  • Website
The Crowne Plaza Metro just off the Kennedy Expressway in Chicago

The Crowne Plaza Metro just off the Kennedy Expressway in Chicago

Everyone loves going to weddings.  Especially me….I hope that didn’t come off too sarcastic.  We got lucky this year only having one, but that one was in Chicago.  The reception and hotel of choice was the Crowne Plaza Metro located in Greektown just outside of the Loop.  I’m much happier when the reception is at the hotel.  It makes taking advantage of the open bar much easier.

We got to Chicago a little after 3:00.  We were coming from Oak Lawn and hit a little bit of unexpected traffic on the Stevenson, so we didn’t quite make it as early as we wanted to.  The hotel is located right off the Kennedy, so we didn’t have to do much driving through town.  I started driving around looking for a parking garage.  There wasn’t one close.  There were a few surface lots that had $9 overnight parking, but we had quite a bit of extra stuff in the car that we didn’t want to drag into the hotel.  We ended up opting for the valet which is the only on-site parking the Crowne Plaza offers.

After checking in, we headed to our room to relax and get cleaned up.  The ceremony was at nearby Holy Family Church, but we opted to skip that part and just go to the reception.  The room was gorgeaous.  Our room had one king bed.  Around it was a built in desk to one side and a built in dresser with a 27″ flat panel TV.  The interesting thing was the doors in the room.  There were none.  It wasn’t a huge room so to make the space bigger, they elimated doors.  The closet had curtains and the bathroom had a sliding screen.  Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Chicago, hotel, Reviews

Chuck’s Cajun Fest – Burbank, IL

9 08 2008
The pulled pork and mac n cheese from Chucks Southern Comforts Cafe as served at Chucks Cajun Fest

The pulled pork and mac 'n cheese from Chuck's Southern Comforts Cafe as served at Chuck's Cajun Fest

A few weeks ago, I was in the Chicago area for a soccer game at Toyota Park.  While I was looking for places to eat, I came across Chuck’s Southern Comfort Cafe (review HERE).  I sent the website to my girlfriend since her parents live right down the road and when she saw the website, she thought I was sending it to her because of the ad for Chuck’s Cajun Fest which was on the front page.  We just happened to be heading to Chicago that weekend for a wedding and a stop in Chicago usually means a stop at her parents house as well.

We slept in Saturday morning since the fest didn’t start until noon.  It was nothing too fancy.  The event took place in the parking lot of St. Albert’s Church in Burbank, IL.  There weren’t a whole lot of people there when we got there but they just opened up for the day.  Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Chicago, Festivals, Reviews

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