We may not do our own reviews at MenuPages, but our legions of users have it covered. Here are three of the best from the past week:
This April 30th review for La Gondola from Sandy highlights a genre we like to call strip mall chic, wherein a really good restaurant hides itself in a really crappy setting (and what could be worse than a strip mall? Even a rural shack has more dignity):
I have been eating @ La Gondola for almost 3 years, not only is the service great, but all entrees come with Soup or Salad and hearty italian bread, not sure what previous reviewer was talking about, anyhoot, expect delivery and pick-up to be slow during peak times, they are very popular, and all dishes are made from scratch, Pizza is also very good Chicago style “cracker crust” the crust does have little flavor but the marriage between the sauce and mozzarella is delish! always ask for extra thin crust, that’s the way to eat chicago style pizza, all in all La Gondola is one of those little “authentic” eateries hidden in a strip mall, more than once i have seen celebrity’s and news personalities, don’t be fooled by location, it’s casual but still a white table cloth establishment, not unusual to see someone wearing Levis next someone wearing Armani, very genuine independant restaurant, you won’t be dissappointed.
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The ovaltine at Hing Kee may not have been decadent enough for Spatter on April 28th, but mere mortals will be more than sated:
A friend and I went to this restaurant seeking a Vietnamese specialty–Bo La Lot (ground meat wrapped in betel leaf). Unfortunately, this was not what was served. Instead what was served was Bo rau que (meat wrapped in basil). Which wasn’t what I was looking for and the meatballs weren’t that great.
We started with shrimp and pork spring rolls. Hands down the best spring roll I have tried–tasty filling of perfectly minced pork and filets of shrimp with vermicelli,lettuce, fresh basil, and other herbs served with a tasty dipping sauce. Highly rec.
My friend had a Chinese chicken dish, which I cannot recollect the name. She really enjoyed it. There was an enormous portion given (just like the spring rolls). Boneless pieces of (dark meat) chicken in a savory sauce with piles of celery, carrots, bamboo, and water chestnuts.
I had the condensed milk hot ovaltine. A bit disappointed. I was expecting a richer, more decadent ovaltine. But I think the ovaltine my mom made when I was a kid was richer than what I had at Hing Kee. Actually the ovaltine tasted like ovaltine & water.
The waitress was really kind. I brought in a name of a vietnamese dish I wanted to try and when she couldn’t figure it out, she asked multiple other employees for their help. That was really kind of her. Definitely above and beyond your typical server. Everyone was very polite!
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Finally, we could not help but include this quicky from April 25th about Kroll’s South Loop, entitled “My Car Club LOVES Kroll’s”:
I am the Secretary for the Chi-Town Grand Prix Club and we go to Kroll’s at least once a week… We love the food, atmosphere and some of the wait staff… The prices for the food and drinks are excellent and it is a great place to watch sports!!!! We LOVE Kroll’s~ Mz Butta
We are huge fans of Mz Butta’s work, and sincerely hope she continues to contribute her wisdom to the MP community.
