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anniversary ballot results…
RESTAURANT CLUB’S 9TH ANNIVERSARY BALLOT
RESULTS
BEST RESTAURANT OF THE YEAR
1. Rose Angelis (164 points)
2. Broadway Cellars (161 points)
3. Honky Tonk Barbeque (108 points)
THE REST
4. Podhalanka (90)
5. Vella Café (64)
6. Deleece Grill Pub (60)
7. Room 21 (59)
8 / 9. (2-Way Tie) Hot Woks Cool Sushi, Koda (49)
10. Zed451 (40)
11. Mixteco Grill (37)
12 / 13. (2-Way Tie) Hub 51, Olé
Olé (32)
14. Mado (26)
15. Veerasway (25)
16. Pizza Art Café (24)
17 / 18. (2-Way Tie) L. Woods Tap & Pine Lodge, Urban Belly (17)
19. Erba
(15)
20. Trattoria Trullo (14)
21 / 22. (2-Way Tie) Burt's Place, Chelsea Grill (13)
23 / 24. (2-Way Tie) Shochu, Wilde Bar & Restaurant (12)
25 / 26. (2-Way Tie) Ja'
Grill, Tapas Las Ramblas (9)
27. Epic Burger (5)
WORST RESTAURANT OF THE YEAR
1. I Monelli (7 votes)
2. Beer Bistro (2 votes)
3. (7-Way Tie) Fat Cat, Hub 51, Ja' Grill, John's
Place,
La Tache, Smak-Tak!, Sticky Rice (1 vote each)
BEST FOOD
1. Bway Cellars (5)
2. Rose Angelis (3)
3. (3-Way Tie) Mixteco Grill, Podhalanka, Zed 451 (2)
WORST FOOD
1.2 I Monelli (5)
2. Fat Cat (3)
3. (3-Way Tie) The Beer Bistro, Hub 51, Ja' Grill (2)
BEST VALUE
1. Podhalanka (4)
2 / 3. (2-Way Tie) Honky Tonk, Koda (3)
WORST VALUE
1. I Monelli (4)
2 / 3. (2-Way Tie) Fat Cat, Hub 51 (2)
BEST ATMOSPHERE
1 / 2. (2-Way Tie ) Room 21, Rose Angelis (3)
3. (3-Way Tie) Broadway Cellars, L. Woods Tap & Pine Lodge, Veerasway (2)
WORST ATMOSPHERE
1. I Monelli (4)
2. Epic Burger (3)
3. (2-Way Tie) The Beer Bistro, Fat Cat (2)
BEST SERVICE
1. Broadway Cellars (5)
2 / 3. (5-Way Tie) Honky Tonk, Hub 51,
L. Woods Tap & Pine Lodge,
Podhalanka, Vella Café (2)
WORST SERVICE
1. I Monelli (9)
2. The Beer Bistro (3)
3. Deleece Grill Pub (2)
FAVORITE WAITPERSON OR BARTENDER
1. Polish Lady @ Podhalanka (4)
2. Capone Tourguide @ Room
21 (3)
3. (3-Way Tie) Guy @ Broadway Cellars,
Drunken Owner @ Honky Tonk
Barbeque, Toni @ Mythos (2)
BEST DRINKS
1. Fat Cat (3)
2. Shochu (2.5)
3. (4-Way Tie) Big Jones, Broadway Cellars, Room 21, Veerasway
(2)
BEST DESERTS
1. Rose Angelis (6)
2 / 3. (3-Way Tie) Mado, Podhalanka,
Vella Café (2)
BEST BATHROOMS
1. Room 21 (3)
2 / 3. (3-Way Tie) Deleece Grill Pub, Hot Woks Cool
Sushi, Veerasway (1)
WORST BATHROOMS
1 / 2. (2-Way Tie) Burt's Place, I Monelli
(2)
3. (6-Way Tie) The Beer Bistro, Blu Coral,
Honky Tonk Barbeque, Hub 51, Mado, Nohana (1)
BEST ATTENDENCE
1. Matt Priest (32 R.C.'s)
2 / 3. (2-Way Tie) Mat Calvert, Renee Woodward (26)
4. John Hayes (20)
5 / 6 / 7. (3-Way Tie) Blake Johnson, Alexis Leverenz, Jeff Leverenz (17)
8. Matt Lango
(14)
9 / 10. (2-Way Tie) Sarah Calvert, Pfeffer Eisin (13)
11 / 12 / 13. (3-Way Tie) Alyssa Hayes, Jen Priest, Miyuki Shimabukuro (12)
14 / 15. (2-Way Tie) John Cunningham, Lisa Knight (9)
16. Brian Tallerico (7)
17. Jeff Dunlap (6)
18. Chris Hayes (5 or so)
19 / 20 / 21. Ben Bass, Elizabeth Lindau, Lauren Tallerico (5)
RESTAURANT CLUB’S 8TH ANNIVERSARY BALLOT
RESULTS
ATTENDANCE WINNERS
1. Mat Calvert (32 RC's)
2. Matt Priest (29 RC’s)
3. Renee Woodward (26 RC’s)
4. John Hayes (23 RC’s)
5. Jen Priest (19 RC’s)
6. Sarah Calvert (18 RC’s)
7. Alyssa Hayes (15 RC’s)
8. Jeff Leverenze (14 RC’s)
9. Alexis Leverenz (13 RC’s)
10. John Cunningham (12 RC’s)
BEST RESTAURANTS
1. HB, Home Bistro (147 points - 3 x 1st place
votes and 2 x 2nd place votes)
2. Bonsoiree Café (122 points - 4 x 1st
place votes and 1 x 2nd place vote)
3. Carnivale (91 - 2 x 2nd place votes and
2 x 3rd place votes)
4. Crust (81 - 3 x 2nd place votes and 1 x 3rd place vote)
5. El Llano (70 - 3 x 1st place votes)
6. Il Fornello (65 - 2 x 1st place votes,
1 x 2nd place vote and 1 x 3rd place vote)
7. La Madia (53 - 1 x 2nd place vote and1
x 3rd place vote)
8. A Mano (52 - 1 x 2nd place vote and 1 x
3rd place vote)
9. Demera (48 points - 1 x 1st place vote,
1 x 2nd place vote and 1 x 3rd place vote)
10. / 11. (tie) Marigold Indian Restaurant (46 - 1 x 1st
place vote and 2 x 3rd place votes)
10. / 11. (tie) South Water Kitchen (46 - 1 x 1st
place vote and 1 x 2nd place vote)
Other vote-getters for "Best Restaurant": Cordiss
Bros. (31), Jury's (27), Orange Garden (26), Indie Café (22), Thai Spice (22), Sura Thai Bistro (22), La Canasta (18), Hema's
Kitchen II (18), El Nandu (16), Sapore
di Napoli (16), Icosium Café
(14), Twin Anchors (12), Agave Café (11), Cousin’s (11), The Gage (11), Café Bionda (11), Il Fiasco (8) and Emilio's Sol y Nieve (6)
WORST RESTAURANTS
1.
2. Demera (2 votes in the original contest and 3 in
the run-off)
3. Icosium Café (2 votes in the original contest and
2 in the run-off)
4. Tagine (2 votes in the original contest and 0 in
the run-off)
Other voter-getters for "Worst
Restaurant" (1 vote apiece): Amelia's Mexican Grille, Bin Wine Café,
Blue Stem, Bonsoiree Café, Bowman's, Crew Bar +
Grill, El Nandu, Il Fiasco, Lao Sze
Chuan, Moxie and Thai Spice
Comments:
Amelia's Mexican Grille - “Only cuz they messed
up Matt's order.”
Demera - “I felt like the meat quality was pretty bad at Demera … felt kinda tough & stringy.”
Orange Garden - “I always expect it to be great, but then it’s just so-so.”
BEST FOOD
1. Bonsoiree Café (4 votes)
2. / 3. (tie) HB, Home Bistro (3 votes)
2. / 3. (tie) El Llano (3 votes)
4. Il Fornello (2 votes)
Other vote-getters for “Best Food” (1 vote apiece): Agave Café, Amelia's Mexican Grille, Cousin's, Demera, Hema's Kitchen II, Icosium Café, Indie Café, Jury‘s Food and Drink, Sapore di Napoli, South Water Kitchen and Sura Thai Bistro
Comments:
Amelia's Mexican Grille - “To me, their guac is mmm good.”
WORST FOOD
1. El Nandu (3 votes)
2. / 3. / 4. / 5. (tie) Bin Wine Café (2 votes)
2. / 3. / 4. / 5. (tie) Icosium Café (2 votes)
2. / 3. / 4. / 5. (tie) Lao Sze Chuan (2 votes)
2. / 3. / 4. / 5. (tie)
Other vote-getters for “Worst Food” (1 vote apiece): A Mano, Blue Stem, Demera, El Llano, Marigold Indian Restaurant, Moxie and Twin Anchors
BEST VALUE
1. El Llano (5 votes)
2. / 3. / 4. / 5. / 6. (tie) Demera (2 votes)
2. / 3. / 4. / 5. / 6. (tie) Icosium Café (2 votes)
2. / 3. / 4. / 5. / 6. (tie) Jury’s Food and Drink (2 votes)
2. / 3. / 4. / 5. / 6. (tie) Tank Noodle (2 votes)
2. / 3. / 4. / 5. / 6. (tie) Thai Spice (2 votes)
Other vote-getters
for “Best Value” (1 vote apiece): Agave Café, Amelia's, Cousin's, Hema's Kitchen II, Il Fornello,
Indie Café and
WORST VALUE
1. La Canasta (3 votes)
2. / 3. / 4. (tie) Crust (2 votes)
2. / 3. / 4. (tie) The Gage (2 votes)
2. / 3. / 4. (tie) Indie Café (2 votes)
Other vote-getters for “Worst Value” (1 vote apiece): A Mano, Bin Wine Café, Bonsoiree Café, Emilio's Sol y Nieve, Marigold Indian Restaurant, Orange Garden, South Water Kitchen and Twin Anchors
Comments:
Twin Anchors - “A bit pricey for ribs, although apparently Ribs ARE pricey. What's up with that?.”
Emilio's Sol y Nieve - “It was actually a better value than I remember, but still a little overpriced (esp. Sangria).”
Crust - “So expensive”
BEST ATMOSPHERE
1. / 2. (tie) HB, Home Bistro (3 votes)
1. / 2. (tie) Carinvale (3 votes)
3. / 4. (tie) Indie Café (2 votes)
3. / 4. (tie) Sura Thai Bistro (2 votes)
Other vote-getters for “Best Atmosphere” (1 vote apiece): A Mano, Agave Café, Amelia’s Mexican Grille, Cousin's, Crust, Demera, Jury’s Food and Drink, Marigold Indian Restaurant, Orange Garden, Parlor and Twin Anchors
Comments:
Parlor - “The back patio is nice.”
WORST ATMOSPHERE
1. Tank Noodle (4 votes)
2. / 3. / 4. / 5. (tie) Cordiss Bros. (2 votes)
2. / 3. / 4. / 5. (tie) Demera (2 votes)
2. / 3. / 4. / 5. (tie) El Llano (2 votes)
2. / 3. / 4. / 5. (tie) El Nandu (2 votes)
Other vote-getters for “Worst Atmosphere” (1 vote apiece): Amelia's Mexican Grille, La Cocina de Frida, Lao Sze Chuan, Orange Garden, Phở 777, The Rail and Twin Anchors
Comments:
Demera - “So hot.”
El Llano - “It's all about the food.”
BEST SERVICE
1. HB, Home Bistro (4 votes)
2. / 3. / 4. / 5. / 6. (tie) Café Bionda (2 votes)
2. / 3. / 4. / 5. / 6. (tie) Cordiss Bros (2 votes)
2. / 3. / 4. / 5. / 6. (tie) Jury's Food and Drink (2 votes)
2. / 3. / 4. / 5. / 6. (tie) La Madia (2 votes)
2. / 3. / 4. / 5. / 6. (tie) Thai Spice (2 votes)
Other vote-getters for “Best Service” (1 vote apiece): A Mano, Agave Café, Cousin's, Crust, The Grafton, Il Fiasco, Marigold Indian Restaurant and Twin Anchors
WORST SERVICE
1. Demera (4 votes)
2. / 3. (tie) Hema’s Kitchen II (3 votes)
2. / 3. (tie) Il Fiasco (3 votes)
4. Amelia’s Mexican Grille (2 votes)
Other vote-getters for “Worst Service” (1 vote apiece): A Mano, El Nandu, Indie Café, Lao Sze Chuan and The Rail
Comments:
Amelia's Mexican Grille - “I think they were reluctant to fix their mistake.”
Demera - “It was pretty bad.”
Demera - “They got our order all wrong (not too surprising considering the complicated ordering structure).”
FAVORITE SERVER
1. / 2. (tie) Lefko @ Blue Stem (2 votes)
1. / 2. (tie) Tany @ Thai Spice (2 votes)
Other vote-getters for “Favorite Server” (1 vote apiece): A Mano, Bonseree Café, Cordis Brothers, Cousin’s, Crust, The main guy @ HB, Home Bistro, The Italian guy @ Il Fornello and La Madia
Comments:
A Mano - “I didn’t actually like the waiter, but he gave us all something to talk about, because all the girls liked him, but none of the guys understood why he was so well liked.”
Cordis Brothers - “The waitress smartly suggested I order the ribs.”
Cousin’s - “The guy talked to us about Turkish wine for like, a while.”
La Madia - “The guy, while seated at our table mind you, listed “patience” - an adjective - among actual food items, when asked about the ingredients in the risotto. How awesome is that?”
BEST DRINKS
1. / 2. / 3. / 4. / 5. (tie) A Mano (2 votes)
1. / 2. / 3. / 4. / 5. (tie) Carnivale (2 votes)
1. / 2. / 3. / 4. / 5. (tie) Crust (2 votes)
1. / 2. / 3. / 4. / 5. (tie) El Nandu (2 votes)
1. / 2. / 3. / 4. / 5. (tie) La Madia (2 votes)
Other vote-getters for “Best Drinks” (1 vote apiece): Agave Café, Amelia's Mexican Grille, Bin Wine Cafe, Blue Stem, Cousin's, Cousin's, Demera, Indie Café and La Canasta
Comments:
Demera - “I enjoyed the beer in crusty old bottles.”
BEST DESSERTS
1. La Madia (3 votes)
2. / 3. / 4. (tie) Bin Wine Café (2 votes)
2. / 3. / 4. (tie) Marigold Indian Restaurant (2 votes)
2. / 3. / 4. (tie) South Water Kitchen (2 votes)
Other vote-getters for “Best Desserts” (1 vote apiece): Icosium Café and Twin Anchors
BEST BATHROOMS
1. / 2. / 3. / 4. / 5. / 6. / 7. / 8. / 9. (tie) Agave Café (1 vote)
1. / 2. / 3. / 4. / 5. / 6. / 7. / 8. / 9. (tie) Amelia's Mexican Grille (1 vote)
1. / 2. / 3. / 4. / 5. / 6. / 7. / 8. / 9. (tie) Cousin's (1 vote)
1. / 2. / 3. / 4. / 5. / 6. / 7. / 8. / 9. (tie) Crust (1 vote)
1. / 2. / 3. / 4. / 5. / 6. / 7. / 8. / 9. (tie) Il Fiasco (1 vote)
1. / 2. / 3. / 4. / 5. / 6. / 7. / 8. / 9. (tie) Il Fornello (1 vote)
1. / 2. / 3. / 4. / 5. / 6. / 7. / 8. / 9. (tie) Phở 777 (1 vote)
1. / 2. / 3. / 4. / 5. / 6. / 7. / 8. / 9. (tie) South Water Kitchen (1 vote)
1. / 2. / 3. / 4. / 5. / 6. / 7. / 8. / 9. (tie) Sura Thai Bistro (1 vote)
Comments:
Phở 777 - “It has a beaded doorway leading to the restroom area…”
WORST BATHROOMS
1. Thai Spice (3 votes)
Other vote-getters for “Worst Bathrooms” (1 vote apiece): A Mano, El Llano, South Water Kitchen, Tank Noodle and Twin Anchors
Comments:
Twin Anchors - “A whole table full of people had to stand up so I could get to their TINY and gross bathroom.”
RESTAURANT CLUB’S 7TH ANNIVERSARY BALLOT
RESULTS
Here are the final results for the Best (and Worst) of
Restaurant Club for Year Seven (
22 total restaurants received votes for Restaurant of the Year, and Kitchen
Chicago was the overwhelming winner (and site of tonight's anniversary
dinner). It finished with nearly three times as many points as the runner-up,
Wave.
Also of note: Kuma's Corner sneaked into the top 10
despite Mat Calvert being the only one who voted for it. But if Calvert, who
tied for the most RCs attended, says it's good, then
you know it's good...
TOP 10 RESTAURANTS
1. Kitchen
2. Wave (Contemporary American/Mediterranean in Streeterville)
3. Glenn's Diner (Seafood and breakfast in Ravenswood)
4. Sola (Contemporary American/Asian in
5. Bistro Campagne (French in
6. Twisted Spoke (Burgers & BBQ in Lakeview)
7. Mia Francesca (Italian in Lakeview)
8. Simply It (Vietnamese in
9. Feed (Soul food in
10. Kuma's Corner (Bar food in Logan
Square)
ATTENDANCE AWARD
(tie) Mat Calvert and Renee Woodward, 28 RCs attended
WORST RESTAURANT OF THE YEAR
the uninspired Southern-accented Bourbon
BEST FOOD
the five-course sustainable/organic cornucopia at Kitchen Chicago
WORST FOOD
the greasy Polish buffet at Red Apple (several people apologized to me,
since it was my RC ... they should know that I voted for it, too)
BEST VALUE
the cheap falafel at Taste of Lebanon
WORST VALUE
the pricey slabs of meat at Custom House
BEST ATMOSPHERE
the chalkboards and cereal boxes at Glenn's Diner
WORST ATMOSPHERE
the picnic benches and TV set at Calvin's BBQ
BEST SERVICE
Kitchen Chicago
WORST SERVICE
Spacca Napoli (I want to know what the
story is here...)
BEST WAITPERSON
The waitress at Glenn's Diner ("who made fun of the terrible people
at the next table ... even beyond that, she was great" -- Jeff D.)
BEST DRINKS
The enormous margaritas at Picante Grill
BEST DESSERTS
(tie) Custom House ("dessert sides!" -- Jen), Sola
BEST BATHROOM
Sola
WORST BATHROOM
Taste of
RESTAURANT CLUB’S 6TH ANNIVERSARY BALLOT
RESULTS
TOP TEN
RESTAURANTS
(28 total restaurants received votes, including 17 with
multiple votes.)
1. Opera
2.
3. Fat Willy's
4. Kaze
5. Gulliver's
6. Menagerie
7. Dine
8. Agami
9. Le Bouchon
10. Mrs. Murphy &
Sons
ATTENDANCE
1. Mat Calvert 38
2. Renee Woodward 28
3. Matt Priest 26
4. John Cunningham 22
5. Sarah Calvert 20
6. Matt Lango 19
7. Pfeffer Eisin 18
8. John Hayes 17
9. Jen Malone 16
10. Lisa Knight 14
WORST
(tie) Jalapeno Sabroso, The Kerryman, and Resi's Bierstube
BEST FOOD
WORST FOOD
Jalapeno Sabroso
BEST VALUE
(tie) Fat Willy's, Gulliver's, and Hachi's Kitchen
WORST VALUE
BEST ATMOSPHERE
Opera
WORST ATMOSPHERE
(tie) Resi's and The Kerryman
BEST SERVICE
Dine
WORST SERVICE
Resi's
BEST SERVER
Carl at Dine (amusing runner-up: "the crazy old lady at Biasetti's")
BEST DRINKS
Blue Fin
BEST DESSERTS
Dine (the widest margin of victory in any category)
BEST BATHROOM
(tie)
Opera and Mrs. Murphy & Sons
WORST BATHROOM
(tie)
Fat Willy's and Village Tap
RESTAURANT CLUB’S 5TH ANNIVERSARY BALLOT
RESULTS
Well, 18 of you have voted (thanks!) and we have our winner… Joey’s Brickhouse!
1. Joey's Brickhouse
2. Tsuki
3. Green Zebra
4. Beat Kitchen
5. Lucia Ristorante
6. Shaw's Crab House
7. Fireplace Inn
8.
9. Silver Seafood
10. Blue Bayou
RESTAURANT
CLUB’S 4TH ANNIVERSARY BALLOT RESULTS
This year, I've received 26 ballots (out of 43 members). With two 3rd place votes
(Alyssa & Lisa), three 2nd place votes (Nikki, Jen & Johnhayes) and three 1st place votes (Calvert Dave &
Caryn), for a total of 8 votes (out of only 13 diners) and 170 points, Wildfire narrowly edged out Tango Sur (158 points) and Green Ginger (154), with La Mora (106) and Tank (88) rounding out the top five.
1. Wildfire
2. Tango Sur
3. Green Ginger
4. La Mora
5. Tank
6. Coobah
7. Andalucia
8.
9. She She
10. A Tavola
RESTAURANT
CLUB’S 3RD ANNIVERSARY BALLOT RESULTS
The ballots are in and I've received a very
respectable 25! Thanks for voting everyone. I'm proud to announce
that this year's winner is... CAFE LAGUARDIA! It was voted #1 by Mat Calvert, Amy
Sheerman, Nate Vercauteren
and myself.
1. Cafe Laguardia
2. Tre Kronor
3 / 4. TIE: Weber Grill
3 / 4. TIE: Prego
5. Satko's Kitchen
6. Player's Club
7. Hillary's Urban
Eatery
8. Alice and Friends
9. Costa's
10. Russian Tea Time
RESTAURANT CLUB’S 2ND ANNIVERSARY BALLOT
RESULTS
Another year has been forked, chewed and swallowed.
And oh, what a year it was. But as much fun as we've had, let's not
forget that Restaurant Club has sustained some serious blows over the past 12
months. We lost some members: Morgan, Aaron, Mack, Elkins, Audra and Demetri. Remember them? We lost a restaurant
too: Pasta Diavolo
is no longer with us. And we also lost the chance to procure
RestaurantClub.com to some money-hungry entrepreneurs who are sitting on it and
refuse to stand up for less than $1,500.
But you know what?
We're still dining.
And showin' no signs of slowin'. Join me in celebrating another
glorious year as we recap the ballots, crunch the numbers and take a look back
at the moments that had us laughing, crying and ummm,
eating...
THE BEST (OVERALL)
Here they are... The Top Ten Best Restaurants of Year Two.
The total number of points each eatery received follows its name:
1. PARS COVE - 313
2. SETTIMANA CAFE
- 226
3. 404 WINE BAR - 118
4. CAFE LULA
- 109
5.
6. PIECE -
65
7. BISTRO ULTRA
- 63
8. GEJA'S CAFÉ -
56
9. ANGELINA
RISTORANTE - 52
10. THE EXECUTIVES - 55
The Details
Along with an impressive five 2nd place votes (from Nikki, Sarah Calvert, John
C., Jodi and Pete), Pars Cove was the first place choice for an even more
impressive SIX people, three of whom were the leaders in overall attendance
(Myself, Mat Calvert and Jen - the other three were Brian, Megan and Aleixs P.). It was obviously pretty difficult for any
restaurant to beat those three weighty votes. But Settimana
Cafe came somewhat close nonetheless. It received 1st place votes from
SEVEN Clubbers (John Hayes, Sarah Calvert, Lisa, Alyssa, Amy, Elizabeth and
Pete) as well as one 3rd place vote from Jen. In fact, seven of the top
thirteen attendance leaders placed Settimana
somewhere in their top three. A worthy adversary
indeed. 404 Wine Bar made a strong showing too, taking third place
with only three votes! But that's certainly possible when all three votes
(a 1st, 2nd and 3rd from Nikki, Calvert and Lango,
respectively) came solely from diners ranking amongst the top six in
attendance. Cafe Lula came in just behind 404 with only three 3rd
place votes - all of which came from people in the attendance top 4 (Myself,
Mat Calvert and Nikki). And
The Best of The Rest
Here's a list of the other vote-getters in the "Best" category
(points in parentheses):
TIPAROS (48) / LOS CACHORROS (48) /
ROCKIN' RIBFEST (46) / PACIFIC CAFE
(41) / LA CUMBAMBA (38) / HI RICKY (31) / MAIZ (30) / FREDDY'S
RIBHOUSE (27) / ROSEBUD (26) / MI PI (25) / PEPPERLOUNGE (24) / CRAB
ST. SALOON (22) / ANDIE'S (22) / LA DONNA (20) / ART OF PIZZA (13) / BISTRO
MARGOT (13) / TILLI'S (13) / ARCO DE CUCHILLEROS (12) / ATHENIAN ROOM (12) / LUCCA'S (12) / ADDIS ABEBA (9) / BROTHER
JIMMY'S (4) / DAVE & BUSTER'S
(4)
THE BEST IN INDIVIDUAL CATEGORIES
Best Service
What does this category really imply? Quick and
accurate delivery of the food? Nice smiles and friendly chit-chat?
Frequent refills on coffee and water?
Drinks conveniently left off the bill? A nice
butt? Who knows? Calvert would like to include a "Best
Waitperson / Bartender" on future ballots. But it seems to me, many
of you already substituted that imaginary category for the one actually listed.
I received parenthetical messages specifically citing the following
servers: The bar tending gal at Bistro Ultra, the bar tending fella at Mod, the Polish (?) waitress at 404 Wine Bar and
the Italian waitresses at Settimana Cafe and La Donna
(my personal favorite). That being said, here are the winners for
"Best Service". Please note that these votes were not weighted:
1) 6 VOTES - PARS COVE (Mat Calvert,
Jen, John Hayes, Brian, Jodi and Megan)
2) 3 VOTES - ANDIE'S (Nikki,
Sarah C. and John C.)
3) 2 VOTES - ARCO DE CUCHILLEROS (Katie
B. and Katie F.) / MY PI (Aaron and
Guy) / ATHENIAN ROOM (Liz and Sarah
P.) / SETTIMANA CAFE (Lisa and
Pete)
4) 1 VOTE EACH - La Donna / 404 Wine Bar / Geja's
Café / Freddy's Ribhouse / Ina's /
Pasta Diavolo / Mod / Phoenix / Hi Ricky /
Rosebud / Pepper Lounge
Best Atmosphere
It's hard to argue with the romantic ambience of Geja's
Café - everyone leaves knowing they're destined for action later in the
evening. And if my memory serves me correct, we actually sat inside a
little hut of sorts at Addis Abbeba. That was
cool. My Pi feels exactly like a deep dish pizza house in
1) 4 VOTES - 404 WINE BAR (Calvert,
Nikki, John Hayes and Alyssa)
2) 3 VOTES - PARS COVE (Sarah
C., Megan and Pete) / ROCKIN' RIBFEST
(John C., Colin and Nate)
3) 2 VOTES - GEJA'S CAFÉ / ADDIS ABEBA /
PEPPER LOUNGE / MY PI / TILLI'S
4) 1 VOTE EACH - Tecalitlan / Athenian Room / Settimana
Cafe / La Cumbamba / Piece / Crab St. Saloon / The
Executives / Rosebud / Bistro Ultra / Arco De Cuchilleros
Best Value
It doesn't get much better than great pizza and rarely do you spend more than
$12 gorging yourself on it. So it makes perfect sense that pizza places
performed well in this category. Cafe Lula and Athenian Room pride
themselves on cheap eats, so it's no wonder they appeared near the top three.
But it was the very affordable My Pi with three votes that came in just
ahead of them. Pars Cove scored 5 votes and placed second for its $18
"All You Can Eat" Persian Meal Deal. And it's quite possible
that its great value put it over the top in the "Best Overall"
category. But Piece gets the award. And I've got no issues with that as
winner. I tend to order pizza based on price (as opposed to the
grossly-underestimated "serving recommendations" most menus include).
At only $16 or so for a large pizza, I figured I'd need close to the whole
thing to get full, so Jen and I ordered one with pepperoni and mushrooms.
That was the last time I can remember taking home left-over pizza.
Wow.
1) 6 VOTES - PIECE (John Hayes, Matt
Lango, Brian, Sarah C., Alyssa and Alexis)
2) 5 VOTES - PARS COVE (Myself, Jen,
Lisa, Megan and Pete)
3) 3 VOTES - MY PI (Colin, Guy and
Aaron)
4) 2 VOTES - CAFÉ LULA / ATHENIAN ROOM /
LA DONNA
5) 1 VOTE EACH - Settimana Cafe / Bistro Ultra / Pepper Lounge / Tiparos / Rockin' Ribfest / Art of Pizza / Geja's Café
/ Hi Ricky
Best Food
A very important category - as it should be. The top two here finished as
the top two in the overall category (albeit in reverse order). Geja's Café placed third. Again, had it not suffered
from a small list of attendees, this might've placed higher. You ain't NEVER
had fondue this good and Geja's Café never fails to
prove it time and time again. Pars Cove strides into second place with
the best Middle Eastern food I've ever had (though that's not to say I'm a
connoisseur of the cuisine - cuz I'm definitely not).
The warm pitas and spreads alone make it worth going. But Settimana Cafe finished first. And I could agree with
that - in a never-ending parade of tasty Italian restaurants throughout the city,
Settimana ranks near the top. And the portions
were great too. The risotto and thin crust pizza quattro
formaggio were probably the best I've had outside of
1) 5 VOTES - SETTIMANA CAFE (John
Hayes, Sarah C., Lisa, Elizabeth and Pete)
2) 4 VOTES - PARS COVE (Mat
Calvert, Brian, John C. and Megan)
3) 3 VOTES - GEJA'S CAFÉ (Jen,
Carolyn and Alyssa)
4) 2 VOTES - ARCO DE CUCHILLEROS / MI PI
5) 1 VOTE EACH - Cafe 28 / Pepper Lounge
/ Andie's / MOD / Tilli's /
Rosebud / Phoenix / Bistro Margot / La Donna / Lucca's / Bistro Ultra / Rockin' Ribfest / Athenian Room /
Art of Pizza
THE WORST
Restaurant Club doctrine states that the chooser of the year's worst RC will purchase
an alcoholic beverage for the chooser of the best. Nikki McIlroy, meet Megan O'Connor. Megan, what're you
drinking?
How does one measure the badness of a restaurant? Well, let's see...
Addis Abeba wasn't horrible, but considering there
are two similar-tasting Ethiopian places that charge less and serve more on the
VERY SAME STREET, you gotta wonder what they're
thinking. Sauce? Sauce... hmmmm...
I don't even remember what they served there. Things covered in sauce I
guess? Offensive in its banality and forgetableness. Brian hated Los Cachorros, but I'll have to ask him why. It was my #2
choice overall - I had a great time. He probably felt as though he were
being served late-night, foil-wrapped, drunk-ass burritos and being charged
restaurant prices. Soul Kitchen: in the words of Elizabeth Lindau, "snotty service, overpriced entrees and no
soul." Misleading names should always be penalized heavily. La
Cumbamba tends to serve whatever they're cooking and
charge you whatever they feel like making. That didn't exactly do it for Mat Clavert. And as you can see, even the majestic Pars
Cove had its detractors (Alyssa and Amy). The payment process was an
utter disaster, so perhaps that figured into their hatred. We'll have to ask them tonight. Tilli's was bad. I'm not sure I've ever been to a
noisier, more crowded restaurant in my life. And their hipper-than-thou hostess
was a total biznatch with her "Stand by the bar
until every single member of your party is here and sitting quietly with his/her
hands folded" schtick. And
Phlair? I didn't go, but I heard that
everything was tasteless, somewhat overpriced and billed in a mysterious,
indecipherable foreign script. But when it comes right down to it, who in
their right mind would ever expend the strength necessary to open the front
door to a place as shitty as Euro Cafe? No one.
Ever again. We learned our lesson and we
learned it well. If any discrimination toward Romanian Cuisine exists in
the Chicagoland area, let Euro Cafe lay claim to all
the blame. Unbelievable.
We sat in an unlit, empty room and were tended to by the queen of the
living dead. Most dishes were mushy, cold and gray or some combination thereof.
One word: Mamaliga (cornmeal)...
1. EURO CAFE (LITTLE
2. PHLAIR - 83 (Alexis F.,
Megan, Lisa, Sarah C. and John Hayes)
3. TILLI'S - 75
(John C., Lango and Nikki)
4. PARS COVE - 39 (Alyssa and Amy)
5. LA CUMBAMBA - 38 (Mat Calvert)
6. SOUL KITCHEN - 30 (Katie B.
and Elizabeth)
7. LOS CACHORROS - 22 (Brian)
8. SAUCE - 8 (Jodi)
9. ADDIS ABEBA - 6 (Colin)
OK, OK, so Phlair received votes from one more person
than Euro Cafe. But like the "Best Overall" category, votes are
weighted. But lest someone complain about the near-tie that occurred,
keep this in mind... of those voting either Phlair or
Euro Cafe "The Worst", only Jen Malone attended both. Yet her
clear unfavorite was Euro Cafe. And her vote
came complete with an exclamation point ("Euro Cafe!"). That,
alone, was enough to soothe my worries about the possible inaccuracies of my
system.
Bistro Ultra, Dave & Buster's, Crab St. Saloon, My Pi, Rosebud and Lucca's
also received some votes for "Worst Restaurant", but they were cast
halfheartedly by folks who hadn't been to too many RC's this years and seemed
to be voting for them merely out of being forced to do so.
ATTENDANCE
As I've already proudly stated, this year's Attendance
Award is mine! And like Mat Calvert before me and thousands of future great
eaters we've yet to meet, my anniversary meal tonight will be paid for by the
other lubbers present. The individual's enthusiasm for RC is what keeps
it from joining the "We should totally have a club..." graveyard, so
it seems just that attendance should be appreciated accordingly.
While the average RC member (who responded) attended approximately 12
restaurants over the past year, a few of us went above and beyond the all of duty...
1. MATT PRIEST -
43
2. MAT CALVERT
- 38
3. JEN MALONE
- 34
4. JOHN HAYES /
NIKKI McILROY - 28
6. MATT LANGO
- 27
7. SARAH
CALVERT / BRIAN TALLERICO - 22
9. LISA ROHDE
- 21
10. JOHN CUNNINGHAM / ALYSSA
STONE - 20
It should also be noted that Sarah Calvert missed the first 3 months of C due
to living elsewhere and should prove to be "one to watch" in future
Attendance Contests. Look out!
CHOOSERS
Is this worth mentioning? Some may think not. But God Bless the
choosers, who also do their share to keep RC afloat in a sea of urban apathy.
The following eleven people accounted of 39 of the 51 restaurants chosen.
In the years to come, let's aim for a greater distribution of these
duties. If it's been a long while since you've chosen, or, perhaps you
haven't gotten around to doing so at all, it's time to take hold of the torch
and run. "Run", I say! Run ahead in the tracks laid forth
by these heroes. Heroes? That's right -
that's what I said. In a day and age such as this, people like these are
needed now more than ever:
MATT PRIEST - 7
ELIZABETH - 6
NIKKI - 4
JOHN C. - 4
MAT CALVERT - 4
JEN - 3
ALYSSA - 3
LISA - 2
BRIAN - 2
ALEXIS - 2
KATIE B. - 2
Wow. This e-mail has gotten way outta control.
OK, I'm done. I'll see many of you tonight and the hopefully, the
rest, at a Restaurant Club in the near future...
...or somewhere else; that would be fine too.
RESTAURANT CLUB’S 1ST ANNIVERSARY BALLOT
RESULTS
Why don't we start on a negative note? Without
further ado, here are your 11 worst restaurants… At the bottom of our list, we have
6 restaurants with one vote each. Let's give a shout out for the following: the
highly strange tastes of OFIE, the forced punk rock thematics
of FUEL, the offensive service of THE KIT KAT LOUNGE & SUPPER CLUB, the
Denny's-quality soul fare at WISHBONE, the vegetarian's nemesis THE METRO CLUB,
and BELLA VISTA, which has since heeded our advice and closed the doors to its
cave-like interiors after years of serving medicore
Italian food in a city full of far more excellent examples of the cuisine.
We then have a three-way tie for third. Clocking in with two votes each, we
have the limited menu offerings of the very crowded BOSTON BLACKIE'S, the
somewhat pretentious "globally-fused" flavors of FEAST and finally,
the toddler-targeted animatronic antics of THE JEKYLL
& HYDE CLUB (which also closed minutes after we paid our check).
In second place, it's hard to argue with the three votes thrown at GILGAMESH.
The food, although quite possibly highly authentic, was just plain bland. And
not a fine dining experience do a couple of ornate throw-pillows make...
And last and certainly also least, let's put our hands
together for our hands-down champion. After 52 different restaurants and
a wide selection of cuisines, atmospheres, and overall experiences, one has to
be impressed with any single restaurant that emerges with 7 votes as the
absolute worst. Was it the service which insisted on feeding us the same dishes
as a group, regardless of what we ordered? Or maybe it was Megan's pile of goo?
Or maybe it was the lukewarm Tandori chicken? Or
maybe it was the mango smoothies? Or maybe it's the letter 'N' missing from the
eatery's name, which would turn the owner's home country into the more logical
adjective one would use to describe the type of cuisine served there and modify
the word "Restaurant". Who knows? But no matter how you slice it, it
was definitely GAYLORD INDIA RESTAURANT. It has been suggested by some Club
members that the chooser of this establishment, Megan O'Connor, be kind enough
to purchase a drink at some point in the near future for the one who selected
our best restaurant experience, which will become apparent in the upcoming
paragraphs.
LEAST FAVORITES:
1. GAYLORD INDIA RESTAURANT (8 votes)
2. GILGAMESH (Closed - 3 votes)
3. JEKYLL & HYDE CLUB (Closed - 2 votes)
4. FEAST (2 votes)
5.
6. METRO CLUB (2 votes)
7. KIT KAT LOUNGE /
SUPPER CLUB (2 votes)
8. BELLA VISTA (Closed - 1 vote)
9. WISHBONE (1 vote)
10. FUEL (1 vote)
11. OFIE (1 vote)
And now, we move on to our favorites. I think it's a pretty impressive list. My
own personal top 10 would probably match up with 9 of them and I would've
gladly returned to any of them…
And the winning restaurant, with a whopping 177 points as the result of SIX
votes (two 1st's, three 2nd's & one 3rd)... THE METRO CLUB ! !
!
That's right - it's schnitzels all around! Billed as the only Austrian
restaurant in
FAVORITES:
1. METRO CLUB (177 points - 12
attendees - 2 x 1st place, 3 x 2nd place & 1 x 3rd
place vote)
2. BEN PAO (161 points - 10
attendees - 4 x 1st place & 1 x 2nd place vote)
3. ADOBO GRILL (126 points - 7
votes, including 1 x 1st place & 3 x 3rd place votes)
4. IXCAPUZALCO (125 points - 5
attendees - 2 x 1st place & 1 x 2nd place vote)
5. ECHO (122
points - 10 attendees - 1 x 1st place, 1 x 2nd place
& 2 x 3rd place votes)
6. ETHIOPIAN DIAMOND (104 points -
14 attendees - 1 x 1st place, 2 x 2nd place & 3 x 3rd
place votes)
7.
8. MISTO (92 points - 9 attendees - 1 x 1st place & 2 x 3rd
place votes)
9. PRIVATA CAFE (84 points - 7
attendees - 1 x 1st place & 2 x 2nd place votes)
10. MEDIEVAL TIMES (82 points - 7
attendees - 2 x 1st place & 2 x 2nd place votes)
11. MASHED POTATO CLUB (80 points -
8 attendees - 1 x 1st place & 1 x 3rd place votes)
12. SOUL VEGETARIAN EAST (59 points
- 6 attendees - 3 x 1st place, 1 x 2nd place & 1 x 3rd
place vote)
13. KIT KAT LOUNGE (58 points - 13
attendees - 1 x 1st place & 3 x 2nd place votes)
14. FEAST (55
points - 14 attendees - 1 x 1st place & 2 x 2nd place
votes)
15. BOSTON BLACKIE’S (49 points - 16
attendees - 1 x 1st place, 1 x 2nd place & 1 x 3rd
place vote)
16. SOUK (47 points - 8 attendees -
1 x 2nd place vote)
17. EZULI (45 points - 11 attendees
- 1 x 1st & 1 x 3rd place vote)
18. THE PALM (31 points - 11
attendees - 2 x 3rd place votes)
19. SHINE (29 points - 7 attendees -
2 x 1st place votes)
20. FUZIO (28 points - 15 attendees
- 1 x 2nd place & 2 x 3rd place votes)
21. VINCI (28 points - 7 attendees -
1 x 1st place & 1 x 3rd place vote)
22. OFIE (20 points - 11 attendees -
2 x 3rd place votes)
23. RAW BAR AND GRILL (19 points -
12 attendees - 2 x 3rd place votes)
24. LA TASCA (19 points - 5
attendees - 1 x 2nd place vote)
25. RED LIGHT (17 points - 8
attendees - 1 x 1st place vote)
26. GAYLORD
27. TIZI MELLOUL (11 points - 6
attendees - 1 x 3rd place vote)
28. GILGAMESH (Closed - 8 points
- 13 attendees - 1 x 2nd place vote)