Archive for January, 2008
January 31st, 2008
We had a great experience at this casual restaurant located at the corner of Alpine and Harrison.
The menu definitely keeps with the casual feeling of the restaurant - there is nothing too fancy on it. Out of the variety of choices they offer, including salads, steaks, pastas, and sandwiches, the pasta and sandwiches looked the most appealing to us.
We decided to try one of each. Out of the pasta category, we tried the cheese tortellini with feta cheese, sun dried tomatoes, and spinach. This was a different combination, but was actually quite tasty. If you don’t like feta cheese, though, we wouldn’t recommend it because it is a strong flavor in the pasta. We tried the grilled chicken bruchetta sandwich. It came on an herb focaccia that completely made the sandwich. It was delicious and the focaccia added an extra boost.
Our service here was excellent. The staff was all very friendly and fun.
The food is not expensive at all, only costing between $8 and $20. We really enjoyed Michael’s and recommend it to anyone looking for a casual restaurant with excellent food quality and service.
[Michael’s Bar and Restaurant is located at 4578 Harrison Ave. Call them at 815-229-6096.]
January 27th, 2008
Just Because is a pretty new coffee shop located on the corner of Riverside and Owen Center roads. It’s right across from the new Super-Walmart, which is great because there really aren’t any coffee shops on that end of town.
Just Because is a fairly large location. There weren’t too many tables inside so it feels fairly spacious. It would be an ideal place to work on group projects.
The food menu had a good selection. They offered a sort-of “build your own panini.” You could choose the meat: turkey, roast beef, ham, or salami; cheese: cheddar, provolone, mozzarella, or Swiss; and pesto: parsley basil, garlic artichoke, or roasted red pepper. We definitely recommend the garlic artichoke over the parsley basil. The parsley basil was rather overpowering. The garlic artichoke was subtle but extremely flavorful. All panini creations are $4.75. You can also get their soup selection for $2.
To accompany our paninis, we ordered chai tea - our favorite! They have many different flavors that we thought were fun, because you can create a more unique flavor. We decided later that next time we will try something outrageous next time like chocolate cherry or raspberry coconut instead of our traditional vanilla. They also offered traditional coffee drinks, fruit smoothies, and a variety of cold blended coffee drinks.
Our experience at Just Because was great. We had an excellent panini and chai tea. The also have a drive thru for quick coffee runs! Go out and try this exceptional new café!
(Call them at 815.316.2510)
January 20th, 2008
Katherine Heigl’s first outstanding movie performance was in Knocked Up. Her latest movie, 27 Dresses, was even better than her summer hit. She is sure to become a solidified movie star with this awesome movie.
The main character, Jane (Heigl), is addicted to being in weddings. She has been in 27 weddings, and keeps all of the ridiculous dresses in a closet. Her obsession with weddings is kind of weird; she even cuts out wedding announcements from the newspaper and keeps them. Her love of weddings, coupled with her pushover tendencies, make Jane unable to say no to any wedding. She is asked to be in the wedding of the man she loves and her sister, and she accepts. This becomes quite a problematic situation, and Jane struggles to cope.
This movie is very enjoyable. It has its touching chick flick moments, but it’s mostly light-hearted and funny. Katherine Heigl is a really talented actress, and she is perfect in her role. The leading man, James Marsden, is also fun to watch; this role is very different from his last few roles in Hairspray and Enchanted. This is one of the better romantic comedies we’ve seen in a while!
Go see 27 Dresses for a fun girls night out, because it probably won’t be at the top of any guy’s “to see” list. You’ll really enjoy it!
January 14th, 2008
Morbid and funny are two words that do not usually belong together. Tim Burton, however, makes this a theme throughout his films. Sweeny Todd: Demon Barber of Fleet Street is the newest addition to Tim Burton’s list following favorites like Sleepy Hollow and The Nightmare Before Christmas. Sweeney Todd, based off of the popular musical, recently made its debut as a big-screen adaptation.
This delightful musical stars Johnny Depp as Sweeney Todd and Helena Bonham Carter as Mrs. Lovett. Sweeney Todd travels to London to search for his wife and daughter he lost many years ago. Upon arriving, he meets up with Mrs. Lovett who owns an unsuccessful pie shop. Sweeney Todd decides to reopen his barbershop above her pie shop as an expression of vengeance upon the man who stole his wife and daughter, and they both become a hit. The problem is that these pies are made with the remains of the men from Todd’s barbershop. Ick!
The movie was very well done, overall. It had an abstract quality that made some of the goriest scenes seem not so gruesome. The blood itself even looked more like ketchup then actual blood. We still found ourselves cringing during some scenes, but overall it is not as difficult to watch as one might think.
All of the songs were terrific. Who knew Johnny Depp was such a great singer? Our favorite song was “Johanna.” The whole soundtrack is fun and entertaining, and offers another way to enjoy the story.
Overall, Sweeney Todd was an interesting movie, to say the least. Its morbid quality created an eerie atmosphere, but the plot line kept us interested. Go see it for a different, entertaining movie you surely will not forget. Also, see if you can find how many actors and actresses were from Harry Potter. We recognized three. Enjoy!
January 6th, 2008
We recently wanted to go out to a nice dinner with some friends. After searching for a restaurant, we decided to try out Table 13 for a tasteful atmosphere and some fine cuisine.
Table 13 puts a fun twist on one of our favorite appetizers, bruchetta. Besides two normal tomato bruchetta breads, they serve two kalamata olive bruchetta breads for $5. This spread, which consisted of kalamata olives and other spices, was really tasty and a nice change from normal tomato and pesto.
We were in the mood for pasta that night, so we tried two of their numerous pasta dishes. The gnocchi in the tomato basil sauce was excellent, though the sauce was not exceptional; it tasted like your run-of-the-mill tomato sauce. We wish we had tried the four-cheese sauce with the gnocchi. After trying a bite of a friend’s, it was apparent that this was the best sauce for the gnocchi. It was very thick and cheesy, and much more flavorsome than the tomato basil sauce. Both types of gnocchi cost $13
The other pasta dish we tried was the wood grilled chicken breast in vodka sauce over penne pasta for $17. This was a more basic combination with pieces of chicken and vegetables and pasta. The vodka sauce, though, was very good. A little creamier than we were expecting, but a good, tangy flavoring.
Our experience was enjoyable. It was relatively quiet in the restaurant and the staff very friendly, so we enjoyed our night. If you’re looking for a nice, classy experience without ridiculous prices, we recommend you try Table 13.
[ Table 13 is located at 1313 Auburn St. Their phone number is 815-964-1300.]
