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The Original Pancake House has locations across the country. Even in Chicago there are locations throughout the city. However, for me, the classic location will always be the one in downtown Park...
The Original Pancake House has locations across the country. Even in Chicago there are locations throughout the city. However, for me, the classic location will always be the one in downtown Park Ridge. Downtown Park Ridge may change a lot over the years but the Original Pancake House always stays the same.
They make what their name implies, but when you specialize that often means you are the best at something. When it comes to pancakes you can keep your IHOPs and give me the Original Pancake house.
Their specialties are the Apple Pancakes and the Swedish or Dutch Baby pancakes. You have to witness an Apple Pancake being made to truly appreciate this masterpiece. Cinnamon glaze, granny smith apples, oven baked. Each one is made by hand in the kitchen. No freezing and microwaving here. The Dutch Baby pancake is like a giant pancake bowl. You have to see this thing to be believed. You could feed a family of four with this thing. I bowl of dough topped with butter, lemon and about a ton of powdered sugar.
They have other things besides pancakes for breakfast. But really, why would you go to an Original Pancake House for anything else but the pancakes?
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Kappy's is the kind of neighborhood restaurant where everyone knows everyone. The older clientele have been going there since the turn of the last century, it seems, and somehow the eternally...
Kappy's is the kind of neighborhood restaurant where everyone knows everyone. The older clientele have been going there since the turn of the last century, it seems, and somehow the eternally youthful manager knows everyone. It's the kind of place where cakes are on display in a revolving case near the front of the restaurant.
My family has always gone to Kappy's Restaurant & Pancake house for breakfast. I love their omlettes. They also have skillets that are excellent. The portions are ample, the service is excellent and the taste of the food is second-to-none.
I have eaten dinner here as well. It is not quite as outstanding as the breakfast selections, but the prices are excellent for the portions and quality you get.
Breakfast is the biggest time here and it can be very crowded. Be prepared to wait, especially on a Saturday morning.
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If you are looking for traditional Italian food in a quaint and unique setting then this place is definitely for you. While Monastero’s seems to be making most of its money through the use of their...
If you are looking for traditional Italian food in a quaint and unique setting then this place is definitely for you. While Monastero’s seems to be making most of its money through the use of their banquet hall the restaurant is also worth a visit. Small, with personal service and great food this is a great Italian restaurant that’s just a little different.
The atmosphere of Monastero’s can best be summed up in one word and that word would be small. While the building stretches an entire block the restaurant itself is a small affair. The tables are dressed with whit table cloths. This is the kind of Italian restaurant you would expect to see on a show like “The Sopranos.” It’s a neighborhood place and you can tell that many of the people here are regulars. You will not be rushed. You will receive personal service and they will be very accommodating to you.
The crowd at Monastero’s is usually older. They are couples and family’s in the restaurant. Because the restaurant shares a building with the banquet halls you can expect there to be a lot of wedding parties of all shapes and sizes. They keep the banquet halls separate from the restaurant, however, so mostly those crowds will come into play for you when you are trying to find a place to park.
There is a piano player that plays during the dinner hours. His playing is so good that it actually sounds like a music track played over a loudspeaker. The problem comes when they include a singer singing Italian songs. While his voice is excellent he is singing as though he were in and opera hall. The smallness of the room meant that when the singer was belting out his tune as though he were singing to the people in the back row it was nearly impossible to carry on a conversation.
Monastero’s has a relatively small drink menu. I had a Chardonnay to go with the fish I was eating and it was acceptable. There is a small selection of martini’s but when a companion of mine asked for a martini that was not on the menu the bartender sent the waitress back to ask her to pick something specifically from the menu. They have a decent selection of wines and spirits, but nothing fancy. As I sit here and write this I cannot think of one drink that was spectacular or that stood out and totally unique to this restaurant. They have a very small bar located right inside the restaurant but I wouldn’t try ordering anything too fancy.
The food is excellent. I had a grilled salmon fillet with green beans and a baked potato. The salmon was cooked thoroughly and not over done or over-spiced. The potato was also cooked nicely which is always a risky proposition when you order a baked potato at a restaurant. They menu is filled with a wide variety of food and much of it is more traditional Italian.
Roasted Veal Rack Vesuvio with is a veal rack marinated with Italian herbs, and then cooked with garlic, rosemary white wind and vesuvio potatoes is more along the lines of what I am talking about when I talk about Italian dishes. This is an Italian restaurant that does not just serve some spaghetti with meat sauce and declare itself Italian. This is more along the lines of fine dining.
One of my companies had Pumpking Ravioli al Gorgonzola. This is homemade pumpkin ravioli with walnuts mixed with a gorgonzola sauce. She gave it high praise and dug in with relish.
If meat is more along the lines of your taste then you are in luck. Monastero’s also offers veal dishes of all kinds, pork tenderloin, filet mignon and even barbecued baby back ribs. All of them served with plenty of sides to choose from and in excellent portions guaranteed to fill you up. Their garden salad is a little less impressive than the main entrée, however.
They also have an excellent selection of Italian dessert. Tiramisu is present as accounted for. Various cakes are present including a cannoli cake. There is, of course, a traditional cannoli available as well.
The prices at Monastero’s are very reasonable. Quality dining in a quality room without breaking the bank can’t be beat. The salmon dish I ordered is $16.95. The filet mignon will run you $21.50. Compared to other places these prices are very reasonable. For the quality of the food and service the prices are outstanding. I have been to much fancier places and spent much more for a filet and come away wishing I had gone somewhere else. Such was not the case with Monastero’s.
Monastero’s is unique because it is obvious that they care. It is like walking into a little bit of Italy right within the heart of the city. The small size of the dining area creates an intimate setting. The only problem I had with it was the singer belting out songs at a deafening pitch. Still, when there is no singer the atmosphere is perfect for the setting. The food is reasonably priced and, all in all, you will have a great meal experience here.
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I have never had a bird, but I think I have read that birds tend to like some kind of stimulation. I am not sure about television, but I suppose anything is possible. I know when we had a parakeet...
I have never had a bird, but I think I have read that birds tend to like some kind of stimulation. I am not sure about television, but I suppose anything is possible. I know when we had a parakeet we were told to put mirrors in the cage and it would entertain itself by chattering at its reflection.
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The Italian Beef sandwich is something of a Chicago original. Of all of the Italian Beef places in Chicago the one I always loved the most and recommend the most highly is the Roma's Italian Beef...
The Italian Beef sandwich is something of a Chicago original. Of all of the Italian Beef places in Chicago the one I always loved the most and recommend the most highly is the Roma's Italian Beef on Milwaukee avenue.
Just down the street from regular fast-food fare like McDonald's Roma's Original does Italian Beef the way it is supposed to be done. That means greasy, loaded with peppers and accompanied by heart-clogging cheese-fries and a gigantic soda. Make that bun "juicy" and you have yourself a meal worth writing home to the folks in Arkansas about.
Juicy means that they dip the bun into the juice that the meat cooks in. At that point forget about trying to eat this sandwich like a regular sandwich. Just get a knife and fork.
I get the sweet peppers because I am not a hot-pepper person. You can get the hot-peppers if you want. Their fries are like potato planks and the cheese-fries are drenched in the kind of yellow cheese that should not exist on this planet.
They have dot dogs and other fare too, but you HAVE to try Roma's Original Italian Beef.
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My grandmother actually used to work for Bill Wirtz. When I was a kid I used to go to a lot of games because she could get tickets. Back then the games were in the old Chicago Stadium and were...
My grandmother actually used to work for Bill Wirtz. When I was a kid I used to go to a lot of games because she could get tickets. Back then the games were in the old Chicago Stadium and were packed to the rafters. These days, well, the Chicago Blackhawks are a sad, sad team.
It costs hundreds of dollars to get a seat. The team? It sucks. Wirtz has always blamed Phil Jackson for letting salaries escalate in sports. As such, he does not believe in paying for players. He does not believe in broadcasting the games on television as a kind of punishment for people not coming to the games. He doesn't seem to understand that if he would just pay for a good team and put a quality product on the ice, people would come back.
If you want to watch a good hockey team, check out the Chicago Wolves. They play in a better stadium and they have actually won a few championships.
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When I was a child there was nothing more exciting than hearing you were going to spend the day at Kiddieland. A pint-sized amusement park set in the middle of a kind of neighborhood on the...
When I was a child there was nothing more exciting than hearing you were going to spend the day at Kiddieland. A pint-sized amusement park set in the middle of a kind of neighborhood on the northwest side of Chicagoland, Kiddieland had a magical quality as a child. There was a roller coaster, still scary as a five year old, but as an adult probably laughable.
As for me, I always loved the rides where you flew the helicopter, really just moving up and down as the machine went around and around. Then there were the cool cars that went in a circle but had these weird rayguns on them that made noise.
As you got a little older there were bumper cars and those weird hand-cart things you could ride that I don't think I can explain. There were the gas-powered cars that rode on these tracks but you had to steer and push down on the gas pedal. There was the train that looked like a real miniature diesel train.
These days, Kiddieland is falling apart. The family that owns it wants to sell it. The neighborhood around it continues to fall apart.
Sometimes things are better left as memory, I guess. Six Flags has all of those family things even if it costs you $60 to get in. Still, maybe you should stop by to see Kiddieland while there still is one to see.
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No, not really. I have never been a big fan of thrill rides. Even the most tame roller coaster tends to make me very ill. So, when I used to go when I was younger I was the guy who would stand...
No, not really. I have never been a big fan of thrill rides. Even the most tame roller coaster tends to make me very ill. So, when I used to go when I was younger I was the guy who would stand around and watch everyone else ride while I sought out Skee-Ball and arcade games. I also rode all the tame things like bumper cars, carousels and the Sky Ride they used to have before problems caused them to tear it down.
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I mean, really, this place was once a Montgomery Ward. Now it's a sporting goods store so huge you could park an airplane in here and still have room for all of the White Sox championship wear you...
I mean, really, this place was once a Montgomery Ward. Now it's a sporting goods store so huge you could park an airplane in here and still have room for all of the White Sox championship wear you could ever want.
Still, again, sometimes the chain stores get it right and this place generally does. If you need sporting goods, well, you might as well go the place that looks and feels like a warehouse. I haven't been disappointed in all of my visits here and when I go out I am mostly looking for sportswear and not sporting equipment.
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Best Buy
Category:
Appliances
5425 Touhy Ave
Skokie, Illinois 60077
(847) 933-9170
I will confess that driving in the parking lot of the Village Crossing, the shopping center where this Best Buy is located, is like trying to drive through some mass evacuation. I don't know who...
I will confess that driving in the parking lot of the Village Crossing, the shopping center where this Best Buy is located, is like trying to drive through some mass evacuation. I don't know who designed the parking areas of this place, but if you happen to see him or her kick them in the shins for me.
Once you do manage to get through the snarl of traffic and find a place to park some place in the next town and actually get into this store, you will find a decent place to shop.
I have shopped here for years and never been disappointed. I always come out feeling good about my purchase. I have bought a television here. I bought a vaccuum cleaner. I bought music. I bought movies.
It's crowded, it's tough to find a parking space, but once I get in here, I find myself enjoying the experience and this is despite the lines. The service has always been very good to me and you can't beat that with a stick.
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