Red Robin
Woodfield's newest eatery makes the grade
By Emma H.

Red Robin is one of the newest additions to Woodfield Mall's many eateries. It is known for its fantastic burgers, fries, onion rings and fun atmosphere.

I had the Banzai Burger, which is a burger marinated in teriyaki sauce and topped with grilled pineapple, cheddar cheese, lettuce, tomato and mayo. It was a new taste for me, but quite good and something I would order again.

There are also fifteen other types of burgers to choose from.

They also have fun drinks. I had the freckled lemonade, a lemonade mixed with strawberries.

Burgers aren't the only things Red Robin has to offer. They serve chicken sandwiches, salads, soups, rice bowls, ribs and eight entrees ranging from shrimp to pasta.

The appetizers are great, especially the Towering Onion Rings, 12 rings tall stacked on a skewer with two sauces. Delicious.

Desserts are astronomical. There are four to choose from: a snickers cheesecake, hot fudge sundae, apple crisp, and the mountain high mud pie.

Service was very good and friendly, and our glasses were never empty.

Prices are a little expensive for the type of food served, but still within a reasonable range for families.

The decor is fun, with bright prints on the seats, a red, yellow and blue color scheme and of course, a red robin perched on a number of lights and ceiling ornaments.

Even the coasters were fun, giving us "wisdom of the ages," such as, "never hold a dust buster and a cat at the same time!"

Food: 5

Atmosphere: 4

Service: 5

Cleanliness: 5

Value for money: 3

Kid Friendly: 5

Overall experience: 4

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Famous Daves
Atmosphere and good food in Addison
By Sammie D.

Famous Dave's is located in Addison at 1631 West Lake Street. It is decorated with a wilderness theme. When my family and I walked in, we felt as though we were entering a log cabin on a mountainside.

We were seated pretty quickly, with a five to ten minute wait, and were served in that same amount of time.

My mom had the buffalo chicken wings that came with a corn bread muffin, corn-on-the-cob and side orders of coleslaw and drunkin apples, a Famous Dave's hot apple side dish.

My dad had that same order, except with ribs instead of buffalo wings.

My brother and I both ordered from the kid's menu. I had a miniature rib dinner which came with French fries and some Oreo cookies and my brother had chicken strips.

My parents both liked their meal and so did my brother and I.

Addison's Famous Dave's is a good place to go if you're looking for great

food.

Food: 5

Atmosphere: 5

Service: 3

Cleanliness: 5

Value: 5

Kid Friendliness: 3

Overall Experience: 5

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Delightful Dappers offers great food and location
By Kaitlyn L.

Dappers West, located at 980 W. Lake Street, is a great family restaurant. Anyone and everyone can eat and have fun there at the same time.

Dappers West has delicious food for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. It's a casual and yet a really nice sit down restaurant. Not only is their food wonderful, but there are so many choices.

I have gone to Dappers West many times. I have mostly gone for breakfast. The last time I went was on Presidents Day with my two brothers, my mom, and my grandma.

After breakfast, we went to a movie. One of the really good things about Dappers West is that it's located right by the Marcus theatres.

I ordered a Julian Salad. It was so big that I couldn't finish it, but it was delicious. All of their salads can be shared by two people.

The other dishes that I have ordered on the Dapper's West menu include eggs, bacon, hash browns, club sandwiches, patty melts, and soup. Everything of course was excellent.

The service at Dappers West is exceptional. I have never seen anyone who works there not wearing a smile.

The food is not expensive either. Everything costs exactly what it should and no more. Everyone at Dappers west is also very kind to all the kids.

Overall, Dappers West is outstanding.

Food: 4

Atmosphere: 5

Service: 4

Cleanliness: 5

Value for Money: 4

Kid Friendliness: 5

Overall Experience: 5

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Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: It's a great movie!
By Bryan C.

"Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" is an extraordinary film filled with action. Crouching Tiger stars Chow Yung Fat and several other Chinese actors.

The movie has many characters with different problems. One of the stories involves a rebellious girl who wants to break free from her controlled life.

Another story shows the unspoken love between two close friends.

The movie has several twists and turns, which include many sword fights.

"Crouching Tiger" is an action packed film. It is rated PG-13 and is a great movie for adrenaline junkies. I give this movie a rating of 4/4 stars.

So get up and see "Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon!" Is there too much violence in our culture?

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A review of Hannibal
By Alyssa J.

Many people who have seen the recent movies "Hannibal" and "Valentine" were grossed out. There has been more and more violence in our media. It has always been a problem.

Me? I don't see that much wrong with violence in movies, to a point.

Violent movies such as "Hannibal" should not be marketed to small kids, but you can't hide the world from them forever. Somehow, someday, every kid will see some violence. No one can stop it and everyone knows it.

"Hannibal" was a great movie. It was a little gross, but it was still a very good movie. People have said that the rating on that movie should have been NC-17.

That's just stupid. I wasn't THAT bad. "Valentine" had a lot of blood, and wasn't that good, but it still was less gross than "Hannibal."

I recommend "Hannibal" and "Valentine," but they have R ratings, so you will need an adult escort.

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Down to Earth
It's definitely an out of body experience
By Lara P.

"Down To Earth" is a romantic comedy starring Chris Rock as Lance Barton, a stand up comedian who gets hit by a truck, and is sent to heaven too early.

The manager of heaven brings him up one tenth of a second before the truck hits him thinking he wouldn't live through the accident.

Lance comes back into life as the fifteenth richest man in the world, Charles Wellington.

Wellington is an older married man in his seventies, but that soon changes.

In Wellington's body, Lance gets many laughs. He also meets a young women named Sontee Jankins, and they immediately fall in love.

Weeks later, Charles Wellington is shot and Sontee is extremely depressed. Lance has to find another body return to earth in.

"Down To Earth" leaves you with a feeling that he will again find romance in his third body.

You'll definitely love this hilarious movie.

On a scale of one to five, I would rate the movie a four.

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Back Street Boys blow fans away
By Alyssa J.

*NSYNC. LFO. 98 Degrees. None of them compare to the Backstreet Boys concert. They went all out. The concert was to promote their latest album Black & Blue.

Me at a Backstreet Boys concert. It's a joke right? Wrong. I went, and I actually enjoyed it. It was a great show.

An artist named Krystal opened and sang upbeat songs, such as "Super Girl." She seemed like she was trying to be the next Pink.

The show really started with a large round screen in the middle of the stage showing earth and meteors hitting it. As they hit the earth on the screen, large fireballs lit up on stage and hit with a large crash.

The rest of the concert was great with awesome lights and great videos.

The audience even got to see the boys changing in their dressing room. There were a LOT of screams during that part.

After they changed, the boys came out and sang at the back of the arena.

To get to the stage, they had a large bridge lowered right over the heads of their screaming fans.

Surprisingly, there were more guys at this concert than at last year's.

By the time it was over, it was late and I was deaf. I had a lot of fun and I think that everyone should check out their new album, Black & Blue. You may be surprised how good they really are.

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Who was the mole?
By Sunny B.

Who really was the mole? The Mole is one of the top rated reality TV shows that filled the airways this season. It is about ten people who entered a game. The object was to find out who the Mole was.

From episode to episode, the Mole eliminates players out of the game.

The ten players are as follows: Afi (no occupation), Charlie (detective), Henry (bartender), Jennifer (manager), Jim (pilot), Kate (real estate investor) Kathryn (lawyer and the Mole!), Manuel (events coordinator), Wendi (display artist) and Steven (a cop), who won the game and $510,000. The final episode of The Mole aired February 28.

Many viewers felt that The Mole kept them interested throughout all of the episodes, and kept them wondering what would happen next. Of course, that's what previews are for.

Overall Rating (1-4): 4

Genre: Mystery

Television rating: TV-PG

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Stunt Racer 64 is an unexceptional racing game
By Michael K., Entertainment Editor

For this issue, I felt like reviewing a racing game. Therefore, I picked up Stunt Racer 64.

Stunt Racer 64 is based in the future and you race on tracks suspended in the air.

There are five basic tracks and four basic cars. You unlock other cars and tracks in Contest mode.

The cars are high-powered and can go very fast. They also have boosters, which enables the cars to do tricks.

Before you jump into the contest, you can practice the tracks in Practice mode.

When you enter the contest, you have to pass a qualifying race where you have to do certain things within the time limit. Once you pass that, you must race and beat certain characters and bosses.

On the track, make sure to pick up the gold coins that help you buy new tracks and cars.

As you move through the game, tracks and bosses become more challenging.

Overall, Stunt Racer 64 is a solid but not a great game. If you don't rent or buy it, you are not missing out on a lot because it is like many other racing games.

Overall Rating: 7

Graphics: 6

Sound: 7

Play Control: 6

Game Play: 6

Fun Factor: 7

Price: $40-50

Number of Players: 1-2

Difficulty: Easy, Normal, Hard

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Dear Lifesaver
Advice Column

Dear Lifesaver,
My parents are getting a divorce and I am having a hard time taking it all in. Is it all my because of me? Do you have any advice to help me get through?
Sincerely,
"Confused"
Lifesaver

Dear Lifesaver,
Ok, there is this new girl/boy in my grade and he/she seems really nice. I tried to go over and talk to him/her, and I think I made a horrible first impression! Now he/she probably thinks that I'm a dork! Obviously, that's really not who I am. What should I do?
From,

I really think that you should take another chance and re-introduce yourself. There is obviously more to you. Just give it another chance! Good luck!

Lifesaver

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