Q: positive

A: Since Christmas is the busy season for a concert musician, we decided that the cooking of a huge Christmas dinner after a morning of work was just not on the table this year. Luckily, Blue Taj was open on Christmas day, offering a full menu of Indian goodness. We started our meal off with a mixed grill appetizer which included lamb, shrimp, beef, pork, and chicken two ways. It was very tasty, though a little scant for the price. However, dinner itself was superb. Our waiter asked us our preference on level of heat--mild, medium, hot, or India hot. We weren't up to India hot, but my saag paneer was nicely medium spiced and creamy. My husband went a level hotter with the lamb kadai, which had lots of fresh vegetables and as the name would suggest, succulent lamb. The garlic naan was buttery and toothsome, and we got a big bowl of rice for the table. Gulab jamun for dessert--there were only two, but they were really good. There was a bit of a wait for the food between each course, but it was Christmas day, and the tables were all filled, so that was likely the reason. We plan to go back.

Q: negative

A: I liked the Town Square location the one or two times I was there. But the food I got at the Tivoli location was mediocre at best. The sweet potato and chicken risotto ($16.25) was gummy and tasted like paste. The fettuccine napoli ($15.95) was better, but nothing stellar. The best thing I tried was the kid's cheese pizza. Yeah, that means the place is kid friendly. The prices are reasonable -- although from what I hear happy hour is the best time to go since apps are $3 each.

Q: negative

A: They do a horrible job on nails... I made an appointment with Vivian I think ... And the owner ended up doing my nails ... He kept getting up every 3 minutes and just left me there. I usually get my nails done at wild orchid and I went in there with my old nails still on and asked BEFORE I got them done if they could do the 3D art the same way?! they said yes but the 3D art was HORRIBLE. The owner was extremely rough on my hands and I have never had anyone so dirty do my nails. He started At the pinky and then skipped over to the thumb ... Then went back....??? It was so unprofessional :/ He cut me like 3 times!!!! The materials looked old and unwashed! I had a horrible experience they absolutely SUCK ... avoid this salon! Please listen! If u are a person that actually likes nice nails (I'm not talking about manicures) AVOID THIS PLACE for your nails.... i liked the pedis though... cant complain.... only i took my friend there for a pedi and they cut my friend really bad :/ she was new im guessing

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.