Pegasus -- Greek food on the fly

Cathy and I had a very busy weekend in the Chicago area, but it was time to head back to Ann Arbor.  Only one problem: we hadn't eaten since 9:00am and it was after 1:30pm.  We were in the northern suburbs and flirted with the idea of stopping at one of a couple sushi restaurants we had patronized in the past.  Sushi Kushi is in Lake Forest, and Fujiyama is in Northbrook.  Both are on our way south, but neither one was open at that hour as it turned out.  With it getting later and later, and almost 5 hours of driving ahead of us, I started driving on I94 towards Chicago, while -- Cathy iPhone in hand -- started searching for restaurants along the way that were close to the highway.  She suggested somewhere in Greektown.  It sounded good to me, so when we got down to the Chicago Loop, I pulled off at Adams St., parked around Monroe and Green  ($3.50 for two hours on the street), and we walked down Halsted to find a place to eat.  We chose Pegasus.  By the time we got there, it was around 2:30pm so the place was pretty empty.

Spanakopita

Dan's View
After being seated, we were brought a loaf of wheat bread (olive oil was on the table), the slices way too thick; bread too dense.  I was feeling achy, and tired (mostly from not eating) and didn't take time to peruse the menu, so I missed reading about their meat and seafood dishes.  Instead, I got the Spanakopita -- classified under Greek Specialties on the menu.  It was good, with thin and crisp layers of filo dough, and fresh spinach and feta cheese interior.  There was also a visible presence of egg which I never noticed before when ordering 'spinach pie'.

Avgolemono

I also ordered the Avgolemono, a lemon chicken and rice soup with a rich and creamy broth that turned out to be a very good choice to ward away my achiness.  It came with a slice of lemon, which if used would have been overkill.  Had I known my entree came with rice, I probably would have ordered something else as a main dish.

Our server was friendly, interested in where we were headed on our trip.  No alcohol for me, as I was driving. I wouldn't mind returning again, if for no other reason than to take my time reading the menu offerings and trying something a little more 'exotic'.

Cathy's view
Starved and desperate, we went to the first near the highway and first near parking. It was FINE. We had minimal time and at least I had low expectations. I love the Athenian Room for lunch Greek Food, but it was out of the way. I had gyros for things expeditious and they were fine, but not good.

Wings, Beer and Conversation

I drove to Chicago last Thursday night for a day of meetings on Friday at my office and to go to a couple of parties on Saturday with Cathy (she took the train in Saturday morning -- not a pleasant experience for her that she may describe in a future post).  While in town, I contacted my friend Jeff, who I've known for over 20 years.  Jeff and I have worked at three different companies together and have shared some tough times with each other.  In the distant past, we use to meet for drinks and appetizers at a local microbrewery, but that ended up closing a few years back.  We found a new place for libations that seemed to be equidistant to his office and mine -- Hooters.  We have continued to meet there a couple times a year, despite a near-death experience I had there once.  While Jeff was 'freshening up', a ceiling fan above our table came crashing down, clipping our table, and missing my head by inches -- seriously.

Hooters.  What can I say? They are known for their wings, but they are also known for their breasts, legs, and thighs -- but those are not on the menu.  I don't know exactly how to classify this restaurant.  Not quite a bar and grill, not really a sports bar, and not very family-oriented.  And yet, Hooters is trying to be all three.  The demographics on this particular night were mostly male 30-somethings, some young couples, a few 40-something groups of women, and two or three families with young children (I found this a little bizarre).

In general I have not been impressed with the servers there -- it seems policy to grow your hair long, dye and straighten it, and wear a ton of unnecessary make-up.  That is in addition to wearing the required 'uniform'.  When being waited on, my experience has been that the women feign friendliness, but in actuality are standoffish and a bit resentful.  This time, however, our server was very pleasant and accommodating.

As for the food and drink, I've only had their beer and wings so I'll focus on those.  You can order the wings in 5, 10, 20, and 50 piece batches -- bone in or boneless.  And you can order the wings hot, 3-mile island, or 9-1-1 each in increasing hotness.  I've tried all three.  Hot is not hot at all, in my opinion; only slightly spicy.  There doesn't seem to be much difference between the hotter and hottest versions.  They are good, but not great, containing too much breading and not enough variation in flavor of the Tabasco-based hot sauce.  What really irks me is that sides of celery, ranch, and blue cheese dressing are happily served to you at an additional charge.  The draft beers appear to be restricted to boring choices such as Miller Lite.  I prefer full bodied beers with complex flavors, so I was sadly disappointed.

With such a mediocre review, why do I go there?  Well, let's just say I am more interested in catching up with a dear friend.