Reviews by Friends of rmatta

Meredith says "Big Star wins!" about Big Star - Chicago, IL

Meredith — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 05:48:05 GMT

I really love the new Tex-Mex cantina in Wicker Park - Big Star. The owners of Avec started Big Star... nice group. Let's just say I went there 3 nights in a row so it must be good. Located across from The Violet Hour on Damen near Milwaukee. Great vibe, greater food and drinks. I'm in love.

The highlights...

- $2 tacos (chicken, fish, pork, veggie)

- Impressive tequila & bourbon list. Plus, a ginger & beer cocktail that I love. Most cocktails are $7.

- On tap: Goose Island's Matilda ($6), Lagunita lager ($4) & Schlitz ($1)

- Super fresh quacamole, handmade tortillas

- Chill atmosphere, friendly staff

- Good music. They play records. Yes real records on a record player! Mostly rockabilly, old country (think Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash)

Go early-ish for any hope of getting a seat at the bar or seats anywhere, for that matter.

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Matt says "Chimney Rock Cabernet was not a crowd pleaser but I liked it" about Chimney Rock Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Sauvignon

Matt — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 17:35:37 GMT

We held a wine tasting in our office yesterday with all of our employees. All age ranges and all different tastes in wine. I thought the Chimney Rock Cabernet was plesant, smooth and packed a punch in the back of your mouth. I would describe it as having a medium body with a hint of plums. I like a nice full body red wine without a lot of tannins that make your mouth pucker. Apparently a few other members of the staff thought the Chimney Rock Cab was a little boring and light for what they expected from a Cab.

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leon says "The best sheet feed scanner ever and the best gadget I own!" about Fujitsu Scansnap S510M

leon — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 21:17:52 GMT

About a year ago I purchased a Fujisu Scansnap S510M. For some reason I never spent much time with it until recently, and I've fallen in love with it...it's the best desktop feed scanner I've ever owned or used. As a well known geek-about-town in most of the circles I travel in I get a lot of questions about my favorite hardware and software. This fast scanner is now at the top of any list.

The Fujitsu Scansnap S510M is probably the single most critical component of my home office. It is a feed scanner (not a flat bed) that scans pages so fast it is mind boggling.It only rarely jams, and when it does, I just hit one button and the entire front component flips out for easy clearing. It could not possibly be any faster or easier to get documents scanned.

I can stack 40 pages of two-sided documents, hit one button, and walk away while the documents are scanned at an insane 18 pages per minute. It can handle documents as small as business card or as big as legal pages and it scans both sides...

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tim2 says "quite possibly the best veggie burger I have ever had" about Hop Haus - Chicago, IL

tim2 — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 06:24:33 GMT

When my coworkers were discussing Hop Haus for lunch one day, the question on everyone's mind was which wild game burger (kangaroo, ostrich, bison, boar, etc) to have that day. Being vegetarian, I wasn't sure what options I would have - but I had never been and wanted to give the place a try. The menu has a pseudo burgers section and listed a "Homemade Vegan" burger. I know what you are thinking...vegan?...how could that be any good? Well, I have got to tell you that it was quite possibly the best veggie burger I have ever had. This one was cooked perfectly and was dressed with sauteed mushrooms, avocado and italian dressing. I was completely impressed and would absolutely recommend anyone try it.

It is worth noting that our party arrived right at noon and were able to get a table without a wait. The rest of the group enjoyed their wild game burgers. The total per person (no drinks, including tax and tip) was around $15.

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corywilkerson says "A very capable phone lacking a little consumer polish" about Motorola - droid Cell Phone

corywilkerson — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 21:14:32 GMT

I like the Droid. I do. It's just not my iPhone.

I was an overly-active iPhone user for nearly two years. I loved the entire iPhone experience - hardware and software alike - except for one glaringly obvious failure: the inability to consistently make and receive phone calls. In short, my somewhat reluctant move to the Droid had its genesis in a certain, unnamed carrier's inability to reliably service a major metropolitan area, not in the device itself.

The Droid, in it's current state, is really just Google's Android OS running on a touch-screen device, built by Motorola (apparently with considerable input from Google). This isn't a groundbreaking device, similar Android phones have existed on the market for quite some time; it's just that the Droid managed to cull together one of the best touch screens on the market to date, a full QWERTY slideout, a 5MP camera and opportunistically launched in-tandem with Android's 2.0 release, a generational leap forward for that platform.

As one would...

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monibug says "Don't leave home without it!" about Garmin - Nuvi 360

monibug — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 17:05:26 GMT

This Garmin Nuvi GPS device is small, compact, and easy to use. The LCD display is bright and clear both at night and during the day. Maps load faster than other systems I have used so far. Locations are easy to find and directions are easy to follow. They are accurate most of the time. The GPS sent me on a wild goose chase only once, when driving around the Bay Area, so make sure you update your maps, when travelling to a new location. It comes with a nice leather case and a windshield attachment, but it would be nice if it also included a small sachet for power adapter and other accessories.

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Jolie says "buyuggsboot.net is a scam! Ugg Boots from China that are fake." about www.buyuggsboot.net

Jolie — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 05:22:46 GMT

Background on Buyuggsboot.net

A friend of mine at Viewpoints recently passed along a site called www.buyuggsboot.net. She found it online. www.buyuggsboot.net is a web site that sells all styles of Ugg Boots at discounted prices.

We werent certain if www.buyuggsboot.net were the real or not. But after a thorough review of the site, we thought it was legit. Buyuggsboot.net looks like a reasonable reseller of Ugg Boots. The page is designed well, the pictures look authentic and they make claim to having the real deal. They also consistently site throughout the web site having customer satisfaction commitments.

To add to the thought it was authentic, the pricing seemed good but not amazing. As you probably know a typical pair of Ugg Boots cost about $110. On Buyuggsboot.net the cost was $89.00- approximately a $20 savings. Seemed like a good deal, but they werent so cheap that I thought it could be scam. As an aside, last year Nordstrom had a similiar sale on Ugg boots so the pricing seemed...

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wildcatkatie says "I am now a fan of boxed wine because of the Target Wine Cube." about Target Wine Cube

wildcatkatie — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 17:32:44 GMT

Target Wine Cubes are just another reason why I love this retailer!

I would not call myself a wine snob. However, I do appreciate a good wine (particularly red). I want a wine that goes down easily and has a lot of flavor. Harsh wine is the worst! That is why I have never been a fan of boxed wine. It has never tasted right to me; it is always too chalky and rough. I just tried a Target Wine Cube over Thanksgiving dinner and it has forever changed my opinion of boxed wine!

Target Wine Cubes come in three sizes: (1) a 3-liter box equivalent to 4 bottles of wine, (2) a 1.5-liter box equivalent to 2 bottles of wine and (3) a 4-pack of small boxes equivalent to just over a glass of wine. They are perfectly packaged in colorful square boxes that you can stack and carry just about anywhere. The box was designed so that air does not enter the packaging as you drain the wine in to your glass to drink. This means the wine lasts four weeks after opening the box!

Target Wine Cubes come in eight different...

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Buggheart says "This is one tempting soap!" about LUSH Temptation Soap

Buggheart — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 02:22:18 GMT

While I still like stuff from LUSH, I have too much of it and am trying really hard to not buy any new stuff until I make a huge dent in my stash of products. Yep, I have a huge Rubbermaid box just full of bath and body stuff that I MUST use up.

So while I was recently digging thru that box, I found a bar of LUSH's Temptation soap that I don't even remember buying. I know it's an apple-scented soap and I love apples so I'm sure that's what cause me to buy it but that's really all I knew until a few weeks ago when I unwrapped it and stuck it in my shower to give it a try. Good news! Temptation soap is a hit!

LUSH.com describes Temptation as follows: Named after the Adam and Eve story, this apple soap exists to lure people off the road to smelly hell and towards scented heaven. It tempts the reluctant bather to the tub with the scent of freshly bitten apples. We put refreshing orange blossom absolute in this soap too, along with warming cinnamon leaf and mystical myrrh. How does the...

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