Q: negative

A: Incredible. I just watched the owner and his staff berate a couple for not tipping enough here. And the lack of tip was completely warranted. They deserve nothing for a tip here. Have never experienced such rudeness. The waiter literally huffed at us for not ordering dessert. The food is nothing to be excited about for the price either. First and last time here.

Q: negative

A: Let me start off by saying that first, great location, right off the Roosevelt and Central Light Rail Stop and the newly opened bar area is nice and roomy and they have an amazing Schneider Weiss on draft. Those in my party who drank beer agreed that it was amazing. Now, on to the rest of the evening. I realize the place is small and independently owned but the meal started with confusion over the menus in that for some reason some people in my party got the dinner menu, others seemed to get the bar menu, so we had to get that straightened out. Overall, not a huge deal but indicative of the overall evening. Next, we ordered drinks. I like to try new cocktails and so myself and someone else in the party ordered them (the same one for both of us) and the rest of the party was wine and a beer. Here we go into a pet peeve of mine, the drinks took a long time to get to the table. The whole table was talking about it by the time they arrived. In addition, the cocktails, and I guess I did learn something from attending cocktail week seminars earlier this year because they were completely off balance. They had tarragon and it overwhelmed everything else in the drink and the drink was overly sour and needed more simply syrup to balance things out. My friend, who always drinks his cocktail, wouldn't finish the drink it was so out of kilter. Next, we ordered some appetizers, the prosciutto wrapped mushrooms and hot olives from the bar menu. We had five people at the table and the waitress brought four mushrooms, and they were somewhat dry, and served with a bowl of some sort of tarragon cream sauce that was completely out of size with the rest of the app. I realize they may need to charge more but if there are five people, ask them if they want an extra one so everyone can have their own. As for the hot olives, I usually love those, but they should be served with pits in, not pitted, for maximum flavor and nibbling the meat off the pit is part of the experience. The pitted olives, frankly blah. Maybe I'm not cultured enough but I've never, ever had hot pitted olives before. Next, I decided to try the Hamburg mussels, which came in a cream sauce with, I believe, sliced shiitaki mushrooms. Good mussels but lacked taste and possibly more salt? All I can say is I like mussels and I was distinctly underwhelmed by this dish. Next, main course and I had the rack of lamb, which was not half bad but it came with a stack of waffles with some sort syrup and though the waiter, I believe, mentioned they were cheese waffles of some sort, they tasted like waffles and didn't seem to go all that well with the lamb. However, the side dish of risotto with crumbled chorizo was tasty. I know, my fault, I should have read what came with the lamb but never thought of waffles. If I may be so bold, since the risotto is a starch, how about some veggies on the side? I finished the meal off with a coffee which was okay but as with much of my meal, it was underwhelming as opposed to say, the coffee at Chelsea's Corner, which is exceptional. At the end of the meal, we discussed the stars and though I hate to give two stars, the meal experience relative to the cost, two stars. I hope the owners read Yelp reviews and work on it because I want to like this place, I really do and I want to try it again. They have a lovely bar area and a charming setting and right off the rail and hey, next time with my German wheat beer, I'll try the pizza. Call me ever hopeful but I want to see this place get better.

Q: negative

A: The Skinny: drinks are meh (2) service/ambience: it is really noisy in there and the seats are uncomfortable (2) value: with all the tea joints in town, I give this one a pass. I came here to check out their milk tea. It was really weird. I guess accidentally ordered their oolong milk tea of which I am decidedly not a fan. Their oolong had an unpleasant floral overtone that did not go well with milk. Plus, they used regular milk instead of evaporated milk leading to a rather thin consistency. Definitely not creamy enough. The ambience is rather noisy with distinct echo effect in the joint. We found it difficult to have a decent conversation in there. Seats are all wooden without any cushions - definitely not comfy. Decor is pop-inspired artwork with a lot of Bruce Lee motifs. Given the plethora of tea joints in this town, I give this one a pass.

Q: positive

A:
Great experience overall. I reserved the car through their website prior to my trip. Once I arrived I rode the rental car shuttle to the large building with all other rental places. The one downside was that I stood in line for 45 minutes to get my car. They had 5 people working behind the counter and we moving as fast as they could. If you use them make sure to sign up for Fast Break and you get to skip the line and go straight to your car. The car was what I ordered. Simple to pick up. Friendly counter service. Dropping off was painless and quick too. I had no issues at all. I choose my rentals mainly based on price, so I'm sure I'll use Budget again at some point, but I would not choose them over a cheaper competitor. They were good, but not anything above and beyond the expected.