DINER23 RANT

Picture this..I am in bed. I have the tv on in the backround. Tyler Florence's low and slow brisket recipe being spoken quietly in the backround. Next thing I hear is this whiney female voice talking about ground pork and beef, canned mushrooms, canned cream of mushroom and cheddar cheese soup. Beef and onion soup mix, onions, shake and bake packets, evaporated milk and an egg. AAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!!! It's Sandra whats her name and the evil meatloaf in the crockpot recipe!!!!!!!!!!

Hugo's Frog Bar Naperville,IL

Hugo's Frog Bar. A great place to have a hearty cocktail, glass of wine from an amazing wine by the glass list and a few great beers on tap. The food is? We like to eat in the bar. Order mini sliders or mini lobster roll sammies with a side of shoe string fries. Salad first? Ok, how about a nice iceberg wedge with yummy bleu cheese dressing for a $1.00? How about a dinner salad for a $1.00? You can try a bowl of creamy, chunky clam chowder! Oysters? Yes, you have come to the right place. The briny, meaty little buggers are fresh shucked and brought to you with a vinegar spice dip and the traditional horseradish-ketchup sauce. The wait staff is very friendly and efficient. This place does a great business. It is always busy. We usually do not eat in the dinning room. The main menu food is ok. We have had hit and miss experiences in the dining room.  Bloody Marys are good but the bartender forgot to include the "garden". You know you have to have celery, olives maybe brussel sprouts?
We do like this place, yes it is owned by the same people who own Gibson's. So they have a good formula. One other thing, sometimes as the evening goes on, the bar gets very crowded and noisy. The place really swings.

FLO Chicago ave. Chicago,IL

Flo is a very good Mexican restaurant to enjoy a meal. It has ambiance, comfortable friendly wait staff and oh did I mention good food? We had a wonderful dining experience. I had a pounded chicken breast that was stuffed with goat cheese, pepita pesto and spinach. The sauce was a wonderful spicy red sauce. I had a side of jalapeno cheddar potatoes that rocked my world. Oh and the margarita's were exceptional and good. One of our dinner guests had steak tacos, it was a special. The steak was chopped into small bite size pieces and was tender to the max. The desserts are fab!! Coconut cake was tender, moist and flakey. OK you get it this place is one of our favorites. The price was right too. Try Flo!

Glen's Diner on Montrose, Chicago, IL

Well, we tried to eat there. We tried to experience the hub, the buzz the thread that is about this place..only to be told "no room at the inn". Too busy was Glen's, no food did we try! Ok enough Yoda..This place does have a "force". We felt it in the few moments it took for them to tell us to leave..I really do want to like this place and I want to be able to review it for you. Till the next time.
UPDATE: We made it in. It was a Sunday. No fish specials on Sunday : ( The food was pretty good. I can see the value on the fish specials. I had crab cakes. They were ok. I have had better. Everyone else had a great meal. Marlon, Sturgeon, Salmon all good. The potatoes and asparagus that came with those meals were cooked perfectly. The clam chowder was brothy vs. over creamy (I like it that way) a lot of clams, veggies to make it good. Nice wine list and the service was very good. I could see that being an issue when they get very busy though. This particular Sunday there were a lot of families with small children there. The place seems family friendly, although I wouldn't try it on a busier night. Over all I give them 3 Triangles for food and 3 Triangles for service.

BrasserieV Madison,WI 1923 Monroe St. Madison, WI

You are in Madison Wisconsin, maybe you were there to catch Willy Porter @ the Barrymore..anyway want to dine at a fab gastropub? BrasserieV is your place. There is not a lot of seating but no one seems to mind. People wait, chat, have a refreshing Belgium beer or glass of wine and hang out. The feel of this place is warm and inviting, the vibe is comfortable and friendly. The very talented chef Rob creates delicious food offerings sure to please any one's palette. We eat there every chance we can. The menu changes so there is always an anticipation of excitement when you dine there. The beer menu changes too and even though you may feel sad a favorite brew has gone, there will be another one to take its place. Give it a try you won't be disappointed. We give them 3 Triangles for food and service. Great Job!!We were just there again, in town for the Madison Food and Wine Show. I had the Moules-Frites – a heaping bowl of mussels prepared in the House broth (a classic Belgian preparation of garlic, wine and butter), AMAZING!!! Another member of our party had the Glazed Maple Braised Pork Belly, Pleasant Ridge Polenta, Potato-Crusted Fennel. There was also the Steak-Frites12 oz. flat iron steak, cabernet pan sauce, sauteed greens & frites enjoyed by Colin a member of our dining party. All good! This place really is a gem of a find. I think Diner23 might have to change their triangles from 3 to 4. I'm thinking....

Rustik - Logan Square at 2515 North California, Chicago, IL, 60647.

Rustik is closed..so sad it was a great place.

Veerasway-Fresh Indian 844 West Randolph, Chicago IL

This little spot on Randolph is a fresh innovative bright spot in the dining scene. Let us get something straight, I am NOT a huge Indian food fan. Now, I must say that I loved the food here! My dining mates (who do love Indian food) love this place too. Win, win right? Yes! The staff was helpful, fun and very knowledgeable. The decor was clean, crisp and very welcoming. Our server was very good and totally steered us to the right things. I had the Veera green cups salad. It is butter lettuce topped with endive, yellow tear drop tomatoes, red onion, paneer cheese, cashews and spring mix sprouts. The dressing is a coriander leaf vinaigrette.
We had the Monsoon Mirchi as an app. Banana peppers stuffed with lentils and Indian cheese that is fried in chickpea batter. This dish was hot!! We were warned and we were not disappointed. I had the tamarind date chicken kabobs. Delicious! This is dark chicken meat kabob and onions are basted with a sweet and spicy tamarind-date glaze then char grilled. Others in our group had the Spring mutter paneer which is curried fresh green peas with Indian cheese in a cream tomato sauce topped with fresh pea sprouts. The Masoor lentils accented with red chiles, toasted cumin seed , garlic and curry leaves was fabulous. FYI this was the stuffing in the Monsoon Mirchi. They have a pretty good wine/beer list. Their mixed drink list is interesting. One member of our party ordered the drink "Bengali Tiger". This spicy,green cardamom, black cardamom and vanilla bean infused vodka, tamarind-date puree, pineapple with spicy ghost pepper drink was WOW. It was wow if it was an app. This drink and its consistency was like a soup. It was good but not as a drink. They do have other options that are good like Mumtaz Maharita. This Indian version of a Margarita is really WOW.
Diner23 gives Veerasway 4 triangles for food, service and ambiance.