Part 2 Looked at…read moreher. Looked back at the lemon. Then continued walking. This was not the first citrus incident of the evening. A man near the entrance had begun telling strangers he used to know somebody who played for the Bears. The story changed every few minutes. First it was a linebacker. Then it was a cousin of a linebacker. Eventually, I believe the connection was that both men had once purchased tires at the same dealership in Elk Grove Village. No one challenged him. Why would they? There are social contracts in places like Chandler's. You let a man have his Bears story. He lets you have yours. At another table, two couples were splitting a bottle of wine and quietly conducting what appeared to be a competition over whose children had become more financially successful. One woman deployed "Northwestern." The other countered with "consulting." Then came "private equity." The air changed. Somewhere, an invisible referee rang a bell. Private equity won. The defeated couple immediately ordered another bottle. This is how dynasties end. Jenny returned with more iced tea. By this point I began to wonder whether she noticed the room was sliding toward madness. She moved among the tables like a Red Cross worker in a battlefield, Lulu Lemon pants in tow. Another cocktail for Gary, despite overwhelming evidence that Gary reached his natural limit forty minutes prior. Gary was now explaining putter technology to someone who worked there pantomiming a pendulum stroke using his butter knife. Nobody in the room needed dessert. Several people appeared already to be carrying enough saturated fat to survive the winter without shelter. And yet people ordered it. Because this is America. One table ordered a massive chocolate dessert and then immediately began complaining about how large it was, "Jesus, look at this thing." Then they ate every bite, of course. By now, something resembling a cocktail convention was forming near the bar. A man in loafers was telling a story about Lake Geneva, a pontoon boat, and slightly exaggerated marital infidelity while another man nodded far too enthusiastically. I returned to the chopped steak. I began to appreciate its honesty. Everything around it was pageantry: The clothes. The cars outside. The old, rich drunks. The endless talk of golf memberships, renovations, vacations, refinancing, college admissions, second mortgages, taxes, and people named Dave. But the chopped steak? The chopped steak had nothing to prove. It was beef. It had been chopped. It was steak. Case closed. Chandler's is a place where a person can still order a ten-dollar burger, drink iced tea, and overhear Gary reveal his entire net worth while explaining the difference between a Roth and a traditional IRA. By the time we left, the night had hardened into full suburban darkness, the parking lot ablaze under yellow lamps that make every SUV look vaguely criminal. People emerged from Chandler's in small groups, heavier than when they entered. Some walked steadily. Most did not. One man stood beside an Audi for a long time staring at his phone as if the vehicle had betrayed him personally. A woman nearby was saying: "I TOLD YOU I GAVE YOU THE KEYS." He had the keys. They were in his hand. This seemed like an appropriate conclusion. Inside, Jenny was probably still pouring iced tea. Gary was probably still alive. Dave remained unexplained. And the ten-dollar hamburger continued existing in defiance of economic reason. Five stars. Not because Chandler's is glamorous. Not because it is innovative. And certainly not because anyone needs another lecture about steak. Five stars because it feels like a surviving fragment of an older America where the beef was plentiful, the prices were tolerable, the tea came in large glasses, and drunk men could still publicly destroy their dignity one golf story at a time.

This was my first outing of the year and I was excited. Unfortunately it rained the night before so…read moreit was cart path only. The course overall was in decent condition. There were some soaked parts of the fairways but as expected. The greens were good and taken care of. The fairways are wide open in my opinion. There are a couple holes where you need to clear some water. The golf club folks that took our payments were nice and the starter was pretty cool. We played the front 9 twice and the 2nd one we arrived a little early but the 4 some was a dragging so they let us go ahead of them. We will be back as it is one of my favorites. But pretty pricey, $108 with cart - I hope it was just 4th of July pricing.

Nami is a great help for any one that has a diagnosis or is having a crisis. They have a raspy…read moreplace for the crisis so if someone is having a mental meltdown you can come here and you can stay here for few days until you get stable and medicated. They have tons of support Group family group or individual support groups. This place is a safe haven for anyone that needs support. Come here or spread the word that this is a good place for adults and young adults

NAMI dupage has a great program called the living room. The living room is a great program led by…read morepeers who are in recovery from mental illness. It is a great alternative to e.r. NAMI dupage also has access to social workers and doctors on site.

Drinks are reasonable even with the admittance fee…read more Will go back.. The experience was worth the dive.

Had a graduation party great place and staff thank you for allowing us to celebrate my niece and…read moredaughter graduation party

The Valley of Chicago has finally completed construction of the new cathedral and it is an…read moreexquisite example of modern architecture melded with the beautiful old woodwork and treasures saved from the old building in Chicago. It is a true testament to the strength of the organization in the Chicagoland region and will serve as a magnificent landmark and home for many, many years to come. Congratulations and thanks to all those involved with it's construction and opening!

Proud to be a life member of the Scottish Rite. The temple is spectacular and the members are a…read moredefinitive statement of the strength and vigor of modern day FreeMasonry. The lodge itself is magnificent and undoubtedly one of the finest working floors in the state. The auditorium is modern and well equipped like the rest of the facility. There is a small masonic museum when you enter that is frequently updated with new artifacts. The dining hall is large and usually filled with brethren. There are pool tables, game tables and chess sets to pass the time. The bar offers generous pours and there is an outdoor terrace surrounded by trees to smoke cigars on when the weather is nice.

What a lovely venue! Plenty of parking and tucked away in a quiet residential area. This compares…read morepretty nicely with all of the other country clubs I have attended. Be sure to check out the restaurant they have on-site, as it is open to the public. The food there is delicious!

We just had our daughter's 1st birthday party here and the whole experience was awesome. Gina was…read moreincredible from the moment we decided to book it..she helped us pick a winning menu that people called to rave about the next day! She accommodated without hesitation for those guests that had different dietary needs. Gina was always quick to respond to all my phone calls and emails..and she was there the day of the event making sure everything was ok! Highly recommend having a special event there and working with Gina! She made us feel very comfortable!

Always friendly and helpful to unload donations if needed…read more Reassuring that items are primarily for families in need and possibly better than Goodwill.

WINGS Resale is my favorite donation center in the area. They take all types of donations from…read moreclothes, shoes, handbags, accessories, home decor, furniture, and more. It's easy to drop off donations at their back door which is separate from the store entrance. All items are organized, priced, and resold in the store. Walking around, resale items are very fairly priced and in good condition. Their profits from the store go toward supporting families fleeing domestic violence. What a great way to give back and help those in need! Donation Hours Daily: 10am - 5pm* Tip: They have locations in Schaumburg, Arlington Heights, and Niles. Pro Tip: Check out their daily discount specials before heading over to browse their great selections.

I have contributed to and had some non-proift business contact with Bridge Communities since it was…read moreformed some twenty years ago. I have the highest opinion of Bridge and their staff. They are effective, business like with a heart and warmth and they have a top reputation for their field of activity. Bridge has helped many adults and children to a better life. I support them wholeheartedly.

http://www.bridgecommunities.org/ They provide transitional housing for people in the process of…read morebecoming self-sufficient. One of the goals is to keep the children in their same school, because bouncing from place to place is detrimental to kids' academic progress. They are taking part in the Sleep Out for the Homeless this November. Great great GREAT people. Give them your time and $$ - it's worth it.

I wanted to check out this place for a long time and I thought it was great. The bartender was…read moreawesome and able to give me information about the place since it was my first time. Prices were fair with what everyone was charging in the area. The dance floor is small but everyone in the place was still having a good time regardless and I was dancing as well. The DJ was great and paid great music. I was there on a Julian Jumping Perez day with DJ Q. I didn't order food, but the food is connected to the restaurant in the same area which based on reviews looked great even though I never tried the food. Also, just from the looks out the banquet hall seems large enough to which is also connected which is convenient if you wanted to host like a wedding.

Having never been bere, I planned my husband's birthday party at VLounge on a Saturday when Julian…read moreJumpin Perez was DJ'ing for "Old School Saturday". I called and spoke to with Frank and he was kind enough to reluctantly reserve a couple tables for us, only if I promised to have at least 20 people. He informed me he would charge me if I didn't show with 20 people, which I understood because after all, he could have reserved those tables for other parties and he already had a large party booked for the bar. I started to get nervous about a week before after reading many negative reviews about the place, including reviews stating people were discriminated against, forced to leave, had horrible service from their waitress, etc. I couldn't be happier with the way the night turned out and the way in which we were treated. When we arrived, there was a coat check available and the lobby was beautiful! I was very impressed with the ambience and decor. Our group included many people from diverse backgrounds including black, white, Asian, etc. I didn't feel discriminated against at all and our waitress, although extremely busy, was always checking on us and took care of our needs. She recommended some amazing drinks and despite what other reviews stated, was happy to keep separate tabs for people in our group. One of the men working that night bought my husband a drink for his birthday and at one point the DJ announced everyone's birthdays and the staff brought out a large piece of cake for each of the people there who were celebrating their birthday. I expected an older crowd since I read that VLounge attracted older people but that's what we were looking for since we are not as young as we used to be and would stick out like a sore thumb at any club, yet still wanted a sort of club experience. The crowd was a bit older than I even expected but everyone was nice and there to have a good time. We didn't experience anyone being rude and the dance floor was poppin'! I was pleasantly surprised! I have nothing but good things to say. The drinks were priced reasonably with a good amount of alcohol in them. The calamari was absolutely amazing! The ranch dressing, which one reviewer stated was disgusting, was one of the best I've had. I was happy they actually had ranch dressing because most Italian places do not have ranch. You can tell it's homemade, too and it was the perfect dipping sauce for their calamari. The calamari came out nice and hot and crispy and there were no ro rubbery pieces or weird looking pieces (like usual) that nobody wants to eat and are just left on the plate as waste. The place was PACKED, so of course our server was not able to keep up with the empty glasses and plates on our table but that did not impact our night in any way. I read one negative review stating that the empties were not removed from the table fast enough. I think sometimes people just look for something to complain about because it was completely understandable, considering the amount of people our waitress was serving and how hard it was to move around in the room. The bathrooms were clean but at one point in the night, there was a girl in the stall next to mine throwing up and it was all over the floor, including splashing all the way over into my stall and onto my shoes. It was pretty disgusting but when I exited the stall, I was happy to see staff in the restroom trying to take care of the situation. I believe many of the negative reviews I previously read were unfortunately from people who wanted to come for the free entertainment and were too cheap to spend any money on drinks or food or were not dressed appropriately. Furthermore, any reviewer claiming discrimination...it is my opinion that the reviewer must have been rude or had to have done something to warrant a negative response from the employee. I do not feel any if the employees were discrimanatory. Either that or it was an isolated situation and thankfully, we didn't have that experience! I do wish the staff had nametags so I could have known my server's name or I could have met Frank, considering I was speaking to him on and off the few weeks prior to our event. It also would've been nice to know the gentleman's name who was working the room when we were there and interacting with our group, since he was extremely cordial and professional. All of our guests told us what a fun time they had and what a nice place VLounge was. We don't get out much these days due to our children being young but I do hope we get a chance to go back! I urge you to give VLounge a chance and check it out for yourself! You won't be disappointed!

We adopted a dane/lab mix from Almost Home last year. I really appreciated the foster-to-adopt…read moresystem they have to give you a clearer idea of what the specific animal is all about. I've had dogs my whole life and when I filled out their paperwork I was of the opinion the only reason I might return a dog would be aggression or if my personal financial situation changed dramatically. The fostering system gave me a much better idea of what I was committing to in this case. My wife, kiddo, and I all came to meet the dog we thought we wanted and after that went well we took her home. It became immediately clear that this girl had not been indoors or socialized very much, if ever. I was very surprised to have essentially a 70lb puppy on my hands. This was more work than I expected, and it was more work than my family expected, but knowing we had time to work with her as a foster in our home environment provided a lot of confidence in seeing how it went. Almost Home was in regular contact to check in with us and provided us with enrichment toys, advice, and resources for taking her to training classes. There was never pressure to keep her, and it was always clear everybody was only interested in what was best for the animal. After a few weeks she was improving, but still more work than I expected, and Almost Home was happy to let us continue to foster until everybody was sure this would be a good fit. Our girl kept improving and we committed to the adoption. Eventually we were able to return our home to normal, and do so free of concerns things would be destroyed. The time and space that was provided to be sure this would all work out resulted in one of the best bonds I've ever had with a dog. We're inseparable these days, and we owe it to the support Almost Home and their volunteers offered throughout the process.

I have never had such a hard time trying to communicate with a shelter like I have with this one…read more They make it very difficult to adopt. I really don't get it.

I love this group so much. We had been looking for a pup and we were referred to ARF and I have had…read moreextraordinary service! Everyone has been so nice, kind, and their dedication to their mission is unwavering. I'm so grateful to them for our Louie !!! 100% gold star

I'm not sure that these folks actually want to adopt out their rescue pups. Was approved and got…read morean email stating I was approved. Second email said wait 5-7 days and respond with dogs you're interested in, which I did. Never heard back. Ended up going to a local rescue and adopted a senior companion with special needs to add to the family. Our last rescue we had for over 11 years and we kept in touch with not only his rescue (yearly with donations and events), but with the actual person who rescued him. We are sorry ARF turned out to be such a disappointment with no communication after application approval. But nonetheless, it worked out for us and the rescue we rescued from. I was warned in the therapy dog community not to attempt to adopt from them and they were correct. Hate to leave a bad review since it's all volunteers, but simple communication goes a long way when there are a lot of pups waiting for forever homes out there.