It seems like I haven’t been eating out all that much, or at least not talking about it here. Unfortunately, that’s not the case, it just seems as though nothing has been noteworthy enough to put here, or I’ve been going to the same place over and over (ala lunch). I mean, I could talk about Chipotle or Potbellys, but those are prevalent enough that I’m sure someone can just go.
Anyways, I’ve got a couple of reviews that I want to throw up here. Hopefully I’ll get two up today. Can you tell I don’t want to study? 🙂
Much like La Scorola, Amelia’s is a place that I go by quite a bit. Being that it’s just down the street from my apartment may have something to do with that, though. Anyways, what really got our attention was that we were at a movie a month or so ago, and there was actually an advertisement for Amelia’s while we were waiting. What further added to the story was that we weren’t at a theater in the city, but instead out in the suburbs. It seems like an odd crowd to be advertising to, but it seemed to work in our case.
Anyways, Erin and I headed there two nights ago. Everytime we’ve walked by the place has looked quite large, probably because it’s on the corner. However, upon going in and being seated, it wasn’t very big at all. In fact, there were probably only 10 tables in the dining room area. Granted, there was a bar, but that was quite secluded from everything. The inside was cozy though. The walls were painted a warm yellowish color, and the interior seemed inviting. In the warmer months, they have an outdoor eating area, which would be nice to visit and just sip margaritas . However, the location doesn’t really aid to the outdoor eating: on the corner of Grand and Ogden.
We were asked which seat we would like, which I’m not that comfortable with. Both Erin and I have a hard enough time trying to decide on where we’re going to eat, more decisions just aren’t a good thing. Chips, salsa, and water were brought out promptly. The chips were good, but for those of you that know ElTorro in Champaign, these weren’t as good. They reminde d me of whole grain chips, but they had a good crunch to them. We were brought out two types of salsa, a hot, red salsa, and a mild, green one. When I say mild, that’s not a stretch. I don’t think there was any heat to it at all. The red one on the other hand was probably a little more hot than a store bought medium salsa, which is what I like.
Meals on the menu ranged from typical Ameri-Mexican fare (tacos, enchiladas, burritos, fajitas, etc), to more seafood entrees. Erin decided to play it safe with the chicken tacos, while I went with the steak fajitas with corn tortillas. Our meals didn’t take very long to arrive, but it gave us enough time to talk and enjoy the chips. Unfortunately, we finished our chips, and weren’t asked if we wanted a refill of them or not.
The meals looked quite well done when they came out, but I was disappointed in the amount of steak I saw on my fajita platter. I was hoping that the vegetables were just heaped on top of a bounty of steak below. Unfortunately, that was not the case as everything was mixed together. The grilled vegetables consisted of green and red peppers, onions, and cucumber, the latter of which I had never had in this combination before, but it added great flavor. The pico de gallo (sp) was fresh, and the guacamole was quite tasty also. I do wish they would’ve given me a 3rd plate, though, to assembly my fajitas on, instead of relying on the condiment plate.
Erin’s tacos were hidden under a bed of lettuce topping, but were also tasty. In my opinion, the chicken had been marinated or cooked in too much cilantro, but I’m not much of a fan of cilantro to begin with. Good thing that Erin wasn’t feeling top notch and couldn’t taste it, because she’s not that much a fan either.
Again, as with most Mexican restaurants, the proportions were huge, especially after having the chips. Erin really wanted to get fried ice cream, but just couldn’t stomach anything else.
The margaritas were excellent, though, and I would definitely go back just to sit outside and sip one. You could just taste the bite of the tequilla, which is how I like it. The only downside was the size for the price.
Atmosphere:..9/10
Staff:…………7/10
Food:…………11/20
Total………….27/40
Price:…………$10-25 per plate excluding beverages
Amelia’s Mexican Grill
1235 W Grand Ave
Chicago, IL 606622
Phone: (312) 421-2000
Happy birthday bro!
There really haven’t been many good links to post, but today there’s been a few.
I know that Aaron has talked about Guitar Hero already, but I must put in my 2¢. “It rocks.” The game is incredibly fun.
Last night Aaron and I ran a few errands which included stopping by Crate and Barrel, and then hitting up the Best Buy. Binford actually was the one who wanted to head up to Best Buy originally, but I had a $45 gift card I still needed to use there, so I thought it would be a good idea. This is when Guitar Hero was purchased. Needless to say, the rest of the evening comprised of jamming out.
The only downside I see to it? We don’t have two guitars right now. Well, and there’s the fact that the controller isn’t wireless, but that’s already been solved. I’ve been thinking about buying a child’s guitar toy and actually making my own controller, since that’s really all these are, with the potential addition of two buttons and a wammy bar.
Hmm…
Today, somehow, we got on the conversation of the BowFlex. Don’t ask how, we somehow got to it by means of Chuck Norris. Anyways, a guy at work here saw an infomercial one night about the new BowFlex Revolution. Anyways, I was looking at them and noticed the “low low monthly payments”. However, after seeing the total cost, it seemed awfully strange.
Digging a little deeper revealed that in addition to $2500, you have to spend $200 to have it shipped to you. Ok, so total is up to $2700, but we’re only paying $37 a month. A little math later, we get that annual payment is $444. However, Bowflex isn’t nice enough to give it to us for no interest penalty, oh no. Instead, they give us an awesome 12 month fixed rate promotion of 16.99%. Such a deal. So, the first year’s interest is $458.73. So, by paying the minimum monthly payment, you actually don’t make back the interest. You’re, in fact, in the hole the initial purchase plus $14.73, and you’re a year into it, and I’m sure not using the damn thing anymore.
Let’s fast forward to the end of year two. You’ve payed BowFlex $888. So, if this was an interest free purchase, you would still owe $1812, which isn’t too bad. But now you figure in the first years interest, which is the above $458.73, plus the second years interest (based on $2714.73 and a standard rate of 21.8%), which is $591.81. All the sudden, you’re in the hole the initial purchase plus $162.54. Ok, but lets say you forgot to make a payment, or didn’t pay the “low low low monthly price” one month. That means your interest rate jumps to 25.8% (WOW!), so now you’re in the hole the initial purchase plus $271.13.
As you can see, it just spirals out of control, since you have never actually paid back any of the interest AND take a chunk out of the principle. With these interest rates and the required low monthly payment, you can never actually pay it off. I guess that’s one way to make money, eh?
Now, I’m not saying this is the company’s fault, far from it. And yes, I know my math isn’t perfect, but it’s close enough based on the amount of interest and the monthly payments. It just shows you how easily it is to get suckered into a “deal”.