Margie's Candies

Margies Candies
1813 West Montrose Avenue
Chicago, IL
Neighborhood: Ravenswood
Margie's Candies website
We are lucky to have this candy and ice-cream establishment in our neighborhood here in Ravenswood. There's also a second location in Bucktown. The one in Ravenswood is right off the Montrose Brown Line stop and it's incredibly tempting to walk in every time we pass by. Margie's is probably best known for its ice cream, but also offers cakes, pies and plenty of hand-made chocolates. They even have a few sandwiches on the menu for those who want more than the occasional sweet fix. However, ice cream was on our minds for this particular visit.


It was difficult to choose only one item from their extensive list of shakes, malts and sundaes. We finally decided on the Terrapin Sundae, a concoction of two large scoops of ice-cream topped with butterscotch, whipped cream and a small chocolate turtle on top.


Each sundae also comes with a generous serving of delectable hot fudge and two delicious sugar wafers. They also allow you to personalize your sundae by choosing from their dozen or so flavors of ice-cream. Despite this option, we chose traditional vanilla, and were more than satisfied with our sundae. Each topping was succulent and savory, and the hot fudge is to die for. We must emphasize the size of their sundaes. We split this $5-6 sundae and we both had more than enough to satisfy our sweet tooth(s). One minor complaint is that it's a rather small place with limited seating and it can get pretty crowded on a warm summer evening. They do however have some nice outdoor seating during the summer months, so that's a plus. Overall, the excellent quality and value of Margie's Candies makes it a must-stop Chicago ice-cream shop. We give it an 8.9 out of 10.
Quality of Food: 9.4
Value: 9.2
Atmosphere: 8.3
Customer Service: 8.7
Overall: 8.9

Chicago Brauhaus

Chicago Brauhaus
4732 North Lincoln Avenue
Chicago, IL
Neighborhood: Lincoln Square
Chicago Brauhaus website
We both have German in our blood and we both love a good German beer, so we decided to venture to this Lincoln Square staple with our good friends Brad and Lindsey. The Chicago Brauhaus serves traditional German specialities like wiener schnitzel, bratwurst, and plenty of sauerkraut. We went on a Friday night and this place was hoppin'. They had a polka band playing polka music, along with some occasional weird European electronica. They also have a dancefloor for those who like to dance.


We started with, what else, a round of beer. A liter of Hofbrau Lager to be exact. Yes, a liter each. In other words, 33.81 fluid ounces of German deliciousness. The Brauhaus has about a dozen German brews to choose from with about 6 or 7 on tap. None of us were brave enough to try the Boot, however, which I believe is 2 Liters of beer.


Well, the beer was delicious and refreshing and although we did not get actual dinner here, we got a few appetitizers to tide us over. We started with a giant pretzel accompanied with butter, spicy brown mustard and horseradish. We followed with some fried Jalapeno Poppers. Maybe not traditional German fare, but tasty nonetheless.


Overall, the food was very good, but we noticed that most of the entrees were fairly pricey. In our opinion though, this place is worth checking out for the atmosphere alone. If you like German music, food and tradition, or just a fun, lively atmosphere, this is the place for you. And of course, the Germans know how to brew a good lager as well. We give it an overall rating of 8.3 out of 10.

Quality of Food/Drink 8.1
Value 6.7
Atmosphere 9.1
Customer Service 9.0
Overall 8.3

Welcome

Hello friends. Welcome to our blog. We are Chad and Jenn, two new arrivals to the city of Chicago. We love food, drink and dining experiences. As we wine and dine in and around the Windy City, we hope to share as many of our dining experiences with you, our viewers, as we can.

Here's how our rating system works: We will rate each restaurant according to 1) quality and taste of food and drinks, 2)value, 3)atmosphere and 4)customer service, and then give each restaurant an overall rating of 1-10, 10 being the best of course. We will then have our very own list of the best according to these ratings.