Resale to the Rescue!

So I recently changed careers and found myself in need of an entire business-casual wardrobe. The thought of going to the mall and clothes shopping makes me break out into a sweat, not to mention the serious dent in my pocket book this was going to be. But thanks to two wonderful, and far more fashion-savvy, smart shopper friends I discovered the wonderful world of clothing resale.

Now my husband and I enjoy shopping at thrift stores to see what fun retro goodies we can find but I have never had luck shopping for clothes at thrift stores. The stores my friends recommended, however, are different. Enter Clothes Attic'd, 605 E. Ogden Ave. in Naperville and two Clothes Mentor locations - Naperville @ 582 S. Rt. 59 and Schaumburg @ 1402 N. Roselle Rd. to save the day! These places are higher end quality resale shops and have only name brand clothes. They have a strict policy on the quality of the clothes they accept - no ratty worn out sweaters or pants with a stain on them here.

Clothes Mentor is a small chain and I have checked out several of their locations. The Naperville and Schaumburg locations are by far the best as far as huge selection goes. In addition to all kinds of tops they also have a large selection of jeans, slacks, capris, dresses, jackets, shoes and jewelry. I was particularly happy to find several pairs of slacks between the two locations for my petite height. If there is a particular brand you love they have some of the big names highlighted on their own separate racks like J. Jill, Gap, Ann Taylor, etc. A few of the items I purchased still had the store tags on them!

Clothes Attic'd is along the same line as Clothes Mentor, but a single store with a smaller selection. Although they have less clothing I think the quality is even better and they also have cocktail dresses and a large selection of nice jewelry.

Both of these stores have amazing prices. Ann Taylor slacks for $14! An Eddie Bauer sweater for $8! Between these stores I was able to get an entirely new work wardrobe for under $300. A-mazing!

I only wish I had known about these stores sooner. I could have avoided mall clothes shopping all these years...

Sports bar solace -- 601 Bar & Grill, Addison

At the corner of Mill Road and Army Trail there is a small strip mall that formerly housed Solace 601, a fine-dining Italian-French restaurant.

I don't know if it wasn't doing very well, or if the owners just wanted to take things a new direction, but the space has been reinvented and is now 601 Bar & Grill (601 W. Army Trail, Addison). That's much more our speed, so we decided to stop in on a recent Friday evening.

The owners must have done a big renovation -- the space has a big bar, lots of tables and high tops, and a dozen or more TVs.

We were seated promptly next to a picture of the Stanley Cup-winning Blackhawks and the most popular people in the restaurant. Half a dozen or more people squeezed themselves in next to my husband just to say hello to them. And around the bar were a bunch of middle-age dudes on their fourth beer who had absolutely no inside voice.

But 601 saved itself. Because the food was quite good and the service was excellent. The menu is heavy on burgers and wings, but also includes other sandwiches, pizza and a few entrees for giggles.

We started with nachos, which were very good chips, covered in beans and taco meat, slathered in convenience store cheese sauce and dotted with tomatoes, scallions and sour cream. Not bad, but would've been better with real cheese and pico de gallo.

We both ordered burgers: I had the California burger (avocado, green chiles, jack cheese, hold the mayo); the husband had the pizza burger.

Pretzel buns are awesome. The burger patties were juicy and cooked well (but not well-done). And the toppings were mighty tasty. We also both had waffle fries, which were sufficiently good though not seriously outstanding.

Service was very, very good -- seemed like nobody walked by our table without grabbing a used napkin, refilling the water, asking how the food was or *something*. Extremely attentive and friendly.

I just wish for a few more booths (I only spotted one) and a few less loud-mouthed dudes...

Na na na na, Nana's!

Nana's is a classic. My in-laws ate here when they first moved to Streamwood 31 years ago. And The Original Nana's Hot Dogs is still there at 1102 E. Irving Park Rd. in Streamwood, serving up some of the quickest and tastiest hot dogs and fries around. (And yes, you want the ORIGINAL Nana's...don't let any other Nana fool you...)

The decor isn't much to look at; a high counter, a few tables and booths about, all worn and needing a fresh coat of paint. When the weather is nicer they have a few tables & umbrellas outside. BUT, you aren't here for the decor. You want a dog! You want it fast! And you want it cheap!

All the dogs come with fries, literally. The dog is covered in fries and then wrapped up tightly in deli paper. This can be a tad messy so don't even think about trying to eat one of these in the car. The fries are fresh and you can watch them put the potatoes in the special do-hickey to cut them up.

They have other traditional dog-joint fare on the menu like pizza puffs, beefs and the like. They even have those yummy Mexican bottled sodas and GREEN RIVER soda at the fountain. And if you like their fun retro logo you can even buy a

t-shirt :-)

Check them out on facebook at: http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Original-Nanas-Hot-Dogs/151913324835793

Breaking the chains -- Anyway's, Bloomingdale

There's a stretch of Army Trail Road in Bloomingdale that has all of the big chain restaurants -- TGI Friday's, Chili's, Applebee's, Olive Garden, and multiple fast-food places. I'm not a fan of chains like these. They have their place, but I'd SO much rather eat at a locally owned or even regional establishment.

Tucked in between these mega-chains is a restaurant with a whopping two locations: Anyway's Restaurant (304 W. Army Trail Rd, Bloomingdale).

Just a note: the random apostrophe bothers me. But not enough to not go there.

The interior is very nice, with rich, warm wood, a couple of fireplaces and comfy seating. And lots of flat-panel TVs for whatever game is on.

The menu is pretty varied for this sort of place and it can be hard to decide, but so far I've had a turkey-havarti melt (a seasonal special) and their macaroni and cheese. We're also dedicated nacho lovers, so we had to order those as an appetizer.

The nachos were solid, good enough to get them again. Tons of cheese (some of it not-quite melted), a little skimpy on the refried beans, decent guacamole, good salsa, plenty of ground beef.

My sandwich was very good; the bread was quite good, the pesto mayo and havarti delicious. The fries were solid. The macaroni & cheese comes with bacon, tomato, onion and a garlic-crumb crust plus a rich cheesy sauce around cavatappi. Awesome. Better than mine, and I make pretty dang good mac & cheese.

Service was friendly and competent, no problems there. The husband has also enjoyed his food and I am sure we will continue coming back -- and avoiding the chains, chains, chains.

Old-school style -- Pizza Palace, Elmhurst

Two things we really enjoy: pizza and downtown Elmhurst. So when we had the chance to combine the two, we went for it!

We've passed Pizza Palace (117 N. Addison Ave., Elmhurst) plenty of time, and we knew it was sort of a hole in the wall, but the wild card was whether the food was any good. But it was a random weeknight, we were hungry, I was cranky... let's try it out!

This place is a trip -- and a trip back in time. Wood paneling, big gaudy chandeliers, arcade games, free jukeboxes at the booths and a tiny bar. Straight out of my childhood.

And everything is homemade. We got fried ravioli and a large pan pizza. The ravioli kinda cracked me up -- it was like they had taken giant squares of homemade ravioli and sliced them into random shapes. Triangles, big rectangles, small triangles. But man, it was GOOD. Wonderful ricotta, crispy outside, and the sauce that came with it was a delightful meaty marinara.

The pizza also cracked me up  -- again, there's no uniformity here! Tiny pieces, huge ones, all over the place. And here, also, it was quite tasty. Plenty of ooey-gooey cheese, a zesty sauce and a great bready chewy crust.

The waitress looked like she'd been there since the beginning of time. Or at least since the place opened. But very friendly, attentive without being annoying, no complaints here.

Old-school to the max, with very tasty food and dated decor. I like it. We'll be back.

Thai one on -- Thipi Thai, La Grange

I love Thai food, but I don't get it nearly often enough. So when a friend wanted to meet for lunch, I was happy to suggest somewhere roughly in the middle in charming downtown La Grange -- the newly moved Thipi Thai (25 W. Calendar Ct., La Grange). It's very pretty and chic inside, with lots of elephants and red and sleek wood.

The menu is nicely varied, with specialties and old favorites and little peppers to indicate spice-heat level. I started with jasmine tea and tom yum soup and then decided on lemongrass beef. I will say that I'm used to Thai food being a few dollars cheaper per entree than this is, but for the quality -- and the lovely decor -- it's not unreasonable.

The jasmine tea was just the right temperature for drinking and I was offered refills promptly. The tom yum soup, while not quite as spicy as I've had other places, had a great flavor and was packed with mushrooms. And three lovely plump perfectly cooked shrimp, which I must admit I ate with my fingers. Hey, they still had their tails...

The lemongrass beef had great flavor, plenty of veggies, and the meat was pretty tender and well-cooked. It was served with just the right portion of rice and I admit it, I polished off the whole plate.I don't get to La Grange as often as I'd like, but the next time I need a classy place to meet someone in that area, you'd better believe I'll suggest Thipi Thai.

That's amore -- Bella Luna Pizza, Glendale Heights

We regularly drive down Army Trail Road on our way to Super Target, Meijer, Stratford Square and a plethora of shopping opportunities. So when we noticed that this little strip mall had a new restaurant, we put it on our "hey, let's check that out" list.

One chilly weeknight not long ago we finally stopped in to try out Bella Luna Pizza & Bar, 136 E Army Trail Rd, Glendale Heights. The place sorta feels like a Francesca's, with wood, exposed ceilings, a warm yet modern feel. There's a big bar that takes up a lot of the space, and both high tops and tables/booths around the edges.

The menu is a little light on traditional deep-fried appetizers, but they do have garlic bread, bruchetta, and a few others. Plenty of pasta options and traditional Italian dishes, but we were interested in the pizza. So we got garlic bread and a 14" thin crust pepperoni, and were also given a basket of bread and olive oil.

The pizza is very-thin-crust, with a good crunch to it except for the middle pieces which were a bit floppy by the time we got to them. Not much yeastiness to it; more buttery and solid -- similar to Home Run Inn but thinner. Plenty of ooey, gooey cheese and pepperoni -- ok, a little greasy, but you expect that. Cheese had a bit of browning around the edges which I consider crucial, although for my taste I would've left it in the oven another minute :) We were provided with Parmesan, red pepper and oregano shakers for seasoning.

Service was very good, lots of refills on water, prompt clearing of plates, not too chatty but that's not a bad thing.

They do not appear to have a website yet for this location, but do have a location in the city with a website at www.bellalunadelivery.com  ... good to know!