| rev:text
| - Italian food is some of the cheapest food to make. I really think an Italian place needs to set themselves above and beyond in order to justify their existence. They need to have good service, good ambiance, and good food. This place really did not have any of those things.
Ambiance: Chicago Joe's is basically in a converted old house. That in itself is unique and charming but the charm pretty much ended there. The place is cramped and you sort of pass through the kitchen to get to the bathroom. The ladies bathroom does not have a handle on the inside. It is just a rolled up piece of duct tape that you pull. I had some serious anxiety that I would end up in a "hilarious" comedy movie scenario where the "handle" would rip off and I would be trapped in there.
Service: our waiter was incredibly sweet but he was really struggling. He told us we were his only table. He never asked if I wanted anything to drink and maybe it was for the best anyways as the wine came in jam jars. Paying was quite a confusing hassle as he said he did not mind splitting up the checks but then it was a difficult task anyways since they use a written ticket system.
Food: the bread was good but I read somewhere that it is from Great Buns bakery (they are legit). The salad was standard. But the food that I tried...no. I normally like to get something unique at restaurants, but I just had a feeling that it might not be good, so I got the cheapest and most standard thing on the menu: spaghetti and meatballs. Not enough of the traditional spices. Something slightly off about both the meatballs and the marinara. I cannot put my taste buds on what was exactly lacking. I looked around for some red pepper. It may have needed some more garlic, or some basil. I don't know, it was just very boring and had no depth to it. And I paid $15 for that.
Everyone knows what lasagna looks like. So I found it alarming when people kept asking what my boyfriend got because it did not resemble traditional lasagna in any way. It came in a ceramic dish drowning in marinara but the top layer, oh boy, that top layer. I was honestly a little terrified about what I can only call a small meat brick as the top layer. No bubbling cheese, just a compact brown square of ground beef. That just made it look very unappetizing. And it tasted like my meatballs did (bland). So there is that.
I came here for a friend's birthday so I actually had a pretty great time with my dining companions, and like I said, our waiter was very nice. But it really falls short in so many areas that I would never recommend this place to anyone.
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