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Review content:
I empathize with the person below who used to work at Al's Charhouse. First of all, working for any chain restaurant is sure to make for a lousy experience. If you're a waiter, you are basically is server purgatory if you're working for a restaurant that serves food that is as bad as what they offer at Al's. Being a server probably requires a lot of patience and kindness- and the only thing that could possibly make such a profession worthwhile is to know that the food you're serving is good! At Al's they served us really bad steaks and there was nothing really unique or interesting about their food. The basically just follow the fried food formula. Their salads are aweful. And today, we have the food channel and shows like Diners, Drivins. There's so much you can do with food. You can really be creative. Instead we got places like Al's which serve the same type of fare that has been clogging arteries and causing high lbood pressure and cholesterol for years- and occassionally it's ok to have food like that, but it's only worth it if it's really good. I live in La Grange like one of the previous people who posted a comment, and i don't like the fact that we have places like that in the neighborhood. Palmer's, next door, is a little better, but their food is pretty boring and fattening too. Then you got Casa margarita which serves the same low-end Mexican food that you can find in thousands of other taquerias or mexican joints in the state and around the country. You're right, Francesca's is a breath of fresh air, their food is good- not breathtaking, but at least they have a standard. Baccino's too has a standard, even though they ain't the greatest. I went to a place called Han202 last night, and their actually trying to do something different- they have a 5 course mean (and it is well done) for 20 bucks. They are being innovative! They are being pioneers for managing to serve quality at that price. All we have in this area that is any good is Vie, and it's really the only place worth going to for a good dining experience, but it is overpriced for what is delivered that's for sure. I used to live in California, and in our neighborhood we had great restaurants that strove to establish an original identity. Invariably, they were small restaurants, not monstrous entities like Al's. And they people in the restaurants didn't wear corporate attire and sing you a rehearsed birthday song like they did for my son, who thought it was stupid. You really don't get that feeling that ""this is your place, this is a special spot in your neighborhood."" Whoever the owners are (and i'm sure they're nice people), they just don't get it. They're running the place like some cheesy resort restaurant that underdelivers on food quality. The world doesn't need more corporate chain places that make food that has no uniqueness or freshness. La Grange deserves better! I get a plumber because he's better at fixing the toilet then i am. I go to a doctor because he understands medicine better than myself. I want to go to a restaurant to experience something i can't at home. My wife cooks way better than Al's, or Palmer's, or that Chinese place on Burlington, or Santiago's, or Via Bella. If you're doing something for a living, it should be something that somebody cannot do at home (or at least not that easily). I pray that somebody with some creativity and self respect as a restaurant owner, somebody who wants to offer something genuinely special opens up a restaurant in la Grange, and drives out Blueberry Hill, Santiago's, even Tipi Thai (though it's not that bad, actually it's DECENT). La Grange is beautiful, it has so much too offer- IT DESERVES BETTER RESTAURANTS.
Cons: Bad food, lame service
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