It’s big, it’s loud, it’s splashy, and it’s more than a little cheesy, but T-Rex can be a lot of fun, especially for kids old enough not to be frightened out of the bejeebers by life-sized animatronic prehistoric lizards. The food is basic, nothing fancy, nothing stellar. But all in all it does a better job than its sister restaurant Rainforest Cafe.

I sampled a soup and entree. The entrée had two items that are offered separately on the menu, barbecued ribs and rotisserie chicken. The soup was a tomato basil, listed on the menu as lava tomato basil. Turns out lava is fairly sweet; who knew?

The ribs, a generous half slab, were tender and the bones easily relinquished the meat, but there wasn’t a lot of distinctive flavoring. The same was true of the chicken, an even more generous half bird. It was nicely cooked and had juicy flesh. But there were no seasonings, no flavor. It’s a common problem with restaurants in tourist areas to dumb down the seasonings so as not to offend the common palate. Pity. The platter also included a healthy portion of waffle-cut fries. Maybe healthy isn’t the right word, but you know what I mean.

Former Portobello, which was the former Portobello Yacht Club, now with an Italian Lake District focus with a menu under the direction of Chicago’s Tony Mantuano and directed by Justin Plank. Just about anything you choose on the menu is going to be first rate.

Not your typical wine bar. It’s two stories, serves some serious food, and it’s all overseen by a certified master sommelier, George Miliotes, who loves to introduce his guests to new wines. If he makes a suggestion, take it.

The website admits that the dining experience is meant to be Spago-like, though they chose not to name it such, even though there are now five Spagos worldwide. But the food is classic Puck, with touches of his native Austria and of course the designer pizzas that made him famous.