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Since the demise of Med Grill in Chesterfield Valley, we have not really been to any Mediterranean restaurants. That used to be out go to place for a gyro or other sandwiches. I spotted Shahrazad somehow and we went for dinner with our friends, the B's. We had some misgivings after reading the reviews, regarding service being slow. I went in expecting it to be leisurely and in that regard we were pleasantly surprised. It was not slow, but was pretty amateur.
First the food..... As an appetizer we had the vegetarian combo and some grape leaves. This was about perfect for four of us. The combo included samples of hummus, baba ganoush and labneh with bread as well as an order of six falafel. We all liked the baba ganoush very much. I guess when having middle eastern food, you just don't worry about garlic, but this baba ganoush did not seem to be overloaded. It was very nicely seasoned, slightly spicy. The hummus was not what you buy in the store. It has feta blended in. Neither Ms T not I are big feta eaters, but I liked this as did the B's. It went well with the baba ganoush. None of us cared for the labneh. I like tart notes in food, but essentially plain yogurt is not something I care for. The flat bread that comes with this assortment is fine, but I wished it was warmed. We all really liked the falafel, served with a mint yogurt sauce. They arrived fresh and piping hot. The grape leaves are vegetarian and the usual ground meat is not missed. This was an excellent way to sample appetizers. I would order any of it except labneh again. It's just a personal taste thing.
Around the table all servings were very large, providing plenty of food to enjoy and share. Ms T had the gyro platter with a big pile of moist and well-seasoned sliced meat served on a bed of yellow rice. I sampled the meat and would certainly order this. Mr B ordered the chicken shwarma and shared a taste with me. Again, it was an ample serving, on the same yellow rice. I really liked the spice on the shwarma and would probably go back for that. Ms B selected a Greek salad. It was huge. She ate and ate and hardly dented it. It was Greek in appearance, but she was not totally happy with it. It was more Levantine than Greek, with a lot of mint (too much) and a very tart dressing (too tart). I ordered the Lamb Mansaf, a braised lamb shank served on a bed of white rice with a lemony garlic sauce. I loved the lemony sauce on the rice and with the lamb. The meat was braised to tenderness and was moist. It is not highly seasoned though, probably just a little salt, so having the sauce and rice with it was a must. The lamb was very mild. There is also a chicken version of this dish, but I would want more herbs, za'atar perhaps would be appropriate.
The three of us with dinner platters chose a side salad. This is diced fresh cucumbers, tomatoes and onions all marinated together. It would be really good, except neither Ms T nor I eat raw onions. It is pre-mixed so you have to pick them out. I picked out the tomatoes and cukes and ate them on top of my rice with the lamb and liked it, but I had a half bowl of onions left. If you are a raw onion lover, this is for you.
I don't think we came away feeling as good about the meal as we should because the service was amateurish. But there is plenty of good food. It seemed home-style, and I thought was fresh and well prepared. Don't go in expecting Greek food, this is more from Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine; the eastern end of the Med. I would like to go back and have the chicken shwarma, the gyro platter or maybe the Mousakhan. Hopefully the server that we had will learn to manage her diners better. She had to be asked multiple times for several things. They were not busy, but she could not handle what they had. As we were finishing, we heard her tell a group of arriving diners that the chef had stepped out for a bit, so there would be a little delay. (we had seen the chef leave for a smoke break) If that had been me, I would have turned around and left. If you can look past that aspect, the food was good. For me, this was another near four star food experiences in a weak three star setting/experience. They have not been open long and hopefully will get better. Hopefully I can talk Ms T into returning. | 1neutral
| 814 |
I've dined in my share of upscale restaurants featuring fine dining throughout my years and as far as I am concerned, you can keep Lacroix, which is located in the affluent Rittenhouse Square area and inside the swanky Rittenhouse Hotel.
We were greeted by a very friendly hostess, Allyson, who was just as sweet and friendly as can be. Our wait staff of say five, were on top of our every wish and desire and management made it a point to stop by to welcome us and chat a bit. We had tried our best to get a reservation for their famous Sunday brunch, but to no avail, which is something I may still consider trying sometime.
We were there for lunch, a very few tables were seated during our visit, the dining room is classy, with a beautiful bar and windows with perfect views for people watching. The prices for the portions and quality is what left me baffled, how do they get away with it, I mean are they kept alive by unsuspecting hotel guests or folks that love to blow a huge wad of money and still walk away hungry? If it had not been for the bread, that is exactly what would have happened.
I asked to order a glass of wine and the waiter asked what I would like, instead of offering me a wine list. I said, well I'm not sure what all you have but a nice chardonney would be fine. He then said from California? Lol, I said yes that would be fine, I mean please, present some kind of a list or at least have knowledge of choices readily available. The sommelier presented an almost empty bottle and allowed me to sniff, swirl and taste before pouring my incredibly expensive half glass of wine. Hubs snickered, I was tempted to tip the last swallow that was left in the bottle into my glass, but restrained myself.
Michael had the grilled Caesar salad to start, which were three leaves from the heart of the romaine, whole and topped with grilled red onion and parmesan cheese. The portion was small, but the flavor was good.
Once you have ordered, you are presented with a really great basket of hot bread, the food took awhile to come out, so we pretty well filled up on bread, which was our own fault. Since I had ordered the cheese plate another basket came out, loaded with more bread and crackers and well before the cheese plate, so we dined on more bread.
The cheese plate, I indulged myself with the larger one which came with 6 cheeses and the waiter was kind enough to ask for my likes and dislikes in cheeses, telling him I loved them all but was partial to bleu's, brie, camembert, cheddars and so on.
Twenty-eight dollars gave me and I don't even know how to describe this, one wonderful bleu, and a nice variety of cows milk, sheep milk and goat milk cheeses. What was the problem then? I'm not sure why the huge basket of bread or the large crackers, all of the cheese would not have even covered one cracker! I'm serious! I'm trying to visually picture something to describe the size and thickness and a postage stamp with the thickness of a nickle comes to mind.
So, not too many choices for the main dish, we were both torn between the cheeseburger or the lobster roll and we each decided to splurge on the lobster roll. Now, mind you that I lived in New England for eight years and that I have often visited. I also make them at home when I get hungry for one.
Twenty five dollars each for the skimpiest, funniest, yes I'm laughing, "lobster roll" I have ever seen! First of all, they make their own rolls, dry, stale short rolls. Then they barely and I do mean barely make a notch out of the top of the roll, to then top it with lettuce and "lobster salad"?
This lobster salad was loaded with sliced grapes, I mean loaded and I would not be opposed to the slight addition of sliced grapes, as it was different, but where's the lobster? They could not have diced it any smaller, it was the size of chopped onions, the grapes were larger and so very, very little meat. I actually was so tired of bread at that point that I dumped the lobster salad onto my plate and if it would have filled a quarter of a cup, I would have been surprised.
The lobster roll comes with a side of homemade tarragon potato chips, which were okay, they need to lay them out a bit more before seasoning, as some were unseasoned and some were way over seasoned.
Hubs then ordered the large tier of six desserts from the pastry cart. This was a good deal at twelve dollars and a nice small sampling of desserts. He still walked out hungry and he ate that small lobster roll. We walked out, with a whole lot less in our pocket, shrugged our shoulders and said okay, we've been to Lacroix.
By the way, the valet has a field day readjusting the drivers seat. I can see moving it back or forth, but pumping it higher, reclining it? | 0negative
| 890 |
Ahead of Super Bowl Sunday I called The Jug Handle Inn to ask about their takeout ordering for wings for Super Bowl Day. I was told if I ordered later than the Friday before, they sometimes run out. So I ordered wings to go with 2 different sauces the Friday before yesterday's Super Bowl to be picked up around 1 p.m. on Super Bowl Day. I had had The Jug's wings before and they were always pretty good. I had a nice burger there several months ago at lunch.
Going to pick the wings up around 1 p.m., The Jug was crammed with people. They only have 1 handicapped parking spot. Some guy with a crutch and a cane had to walk from the other end of their parking lot. I felt sorry for him. The number had to be way over their fire code rules.
Inside the door, they had dozens of take out packages stacked on tables near the main hostess and register. No refrigeration. The place smelled as if they were using 3-month old frying oil.
The lady quickly found my orders and I paid for them. The first issue was evident when I got home. They sauce was in two small containers that restaurants usually put salad dressing or sour cream in and neither lid were on tight. More than half of each container of sauce had dumped its contents into the carry bag everything was in. The bag like most bags that convenience stores use had a couple of vent holes in the bottom. So guess where the liquid went.
I went out to check the car's floor and, sure enough, there was wing sauce on the carpet where the bag had been placed. At least it had not soaked in and we were able to clean the spot quickly.
One of the sauce containers did not have liquified sauce in it. It had some sort of orange paste since the liquid had leaked out.
We decided to reheat a few of the wings for lunch, As soon as we opened the wing packs, we were more than a bit concerned because the wings were way overdone and dried out. Plus, we found that the wing container's lid was impossible to reclose properly. The groove was bent in the metal bottom and we were not able to reshape it to the pint that the molded ridge in the top would engage the groove in the bottom so out came the rubber bands.
We did not find the promised reheat directions so we put a plateful in the microwave and gave them a minute and one half at 80% after spooning on a little of the remaining sauce over each wing. I had also put about several tablespoons of water on the plate to try to add some moisture to take some of the dryness out of the wings. I covered the plate with plastic wrap to retrain the moisture during heating.
The sauce that had any liquid in it ran off the wings and down onto the plate where it left an orange yellow streak. The pasty part of the sauce stayed as small lumps on the wings and had not spread out over the wings. What was left of the sauce tasted OK but the wings were definitely way overdone by like 25%. The small amount of water helped and we used a little more water later when we ate the rest of the wings at halftime. At halftime, little sauce was left. We tried some additional water to soften the wings up and that worked a little but wings with no sauce are not wings.
I will say the staff at The Jug was organized and were working as hard as they could to process all of the take out orders that they had stacked up.
So the judgement was that these wings didn't stand up but the worst was yet to come. Two of us, including me, just spent a sleepless night due to the number of trips to the bathroom. It is about 9 a.m. and the condition has yet to totally stop. I called 2 people I knew who had also been at The Jug picking up wings and they had found similar conditions including the runs.
The Jug needs to totally change how they cook, package and store their wings on big days like Super Bowl Sunday. If they need to rent refrigeration equipment for the day, so be it. And customers need reheat instructions included since most people are reheating orders anyway. They also need better containers for the wings and sauces since they practically insist on packing the sauces separate from the wings. The bags need to be leak proof. They also need to supply sufficient sauce. Their prices aren't bad so they can raise the prices $0.50 to provide better packaging.
I will not return to The Jug Handle until some of my friends report they have made changes. | 0negative
| 833 |
THIS REVIEW IS NOT FOR THE TEAM ITSELF, BUT THE EXPERIENCE RECEIVED DURING A TRAINING CAMP PRACTICE VISIT.
So this summer, I was finally able to travel to STL and see my beloved Rams during training camp. My work is busiest during the month of August, so time off is very difficult to come by. Luckily, I was able to get enough time off for a 4 day weekend. I chose the weekend of August 18-19, with me flying out Wednesday night after work and flying back Sunday some time. This was perfect for me because on Thursday, not only did the Rams have an open practice to the public, but Peter King from SI would also be in attendance. I got there about 1 1/2 hours early to make sure I would get parking, seating, et al. This was my chance and I would execute perfectly!
Now one thing you need to understand, it was very cloudy that day and the forecast called for rain. I knew ahead of time that the Rams practices were held outdoors, but with the beautiful Continuity X Training Center, they would surely have the space to move indoors if at all possible.
So practice starts at 3:30, I'm there at 2, waiting right outside the gate to go inside. About 30 feet away (but well within the gates that security is restricting access) was a trailer set up with a plethora of Rams gear. I asked the security guard if it were possible to go to that trailer and spend some of my hard earned money, to which I was denied. Somewhere in between 2:25 and 2:30 (again, I was allowed into the complex at 2:30) the rain started, and it started pouring. The lady running the merchandise station decided to close it up because of the rain. So once we got access to the complex, strike one for the visit was the fact that I could not gain access to the ultra secure parking lot encompassed by security five minutes early to throw away my hard earned money on apparel that the NFL and Nike will change each year. This was frustrating, but that was not why I went, so I was not discouraged.
As the rain continued, the Rams staff invited all the visitors into the main lobby of the headquarters to try and keep everyone dry. As we walked inside, there were two tables set up on the right hand side handing out passes to community partners who were also here to see practice. Prior to the trip, I stocked up on the new Nike gear, mainly because I like Nike soooo much more than Reebok. So I went to practice decked out in brand new Nike Sideline Gear. So much so, many Rams fans approached me asking questions about practice. While inside the lobby, many staff members came up to me asking if I was part of the community group. I said no, and began to explain that I just came out for the weekend, but no one cared beyond my "no." At around 3:15 PM, staff started coming around informing everyone that if they were not part of the community group, you had to leave. Outdoor practice was cancelled, so they were moving indoors, and those who had passes were the only ones granted access to the practice.
One last thing that really chapped my ass---If you are still reading, thanks! The Rams will not let adult get autographs from players after practice. In order to get an autograph, you have to be under the age of 14. Obviously, if I were there in person, I would let any children ahead of me to get an autograph. But my question for the entire Rams organization, including E. Stanley Kronos, is how many 14 year olds purchased season tickets last year? How much merchandise have they purchased? Single game tickets? I would guess not that many. I would be willing to bet their parents spend their hard earned money on tickets, etc. So why not allow your customer base to enjoy an autograph from their favorite players?
Sadly, because of how terrible this experience was, I must give the Rams 1 star. I am still a Rams fan, and always will be. I love the team very much. But as a fan, I am ultra disappointed that I fought, and risked my job, to attend a training camp practice, and the Rams kicked everyone out when it went inside. I can guarantee you I will never attempt to see training camp again. | 0negative
| 763 |
My wife and I chose this restaurant to celebrate our 5th wedding anniversary. We both wanted beef wellington and after a quick search on Google, found the previous review listed below. Unfortunately we were not impressed. After arriving to find the dining room completely empty at approx 5:55pm on Saturday, we were first seated on the northern side of the dining room where we immediately noticed the foul stench of raw sewage. The waiter, whom we presume is the owner (pictured in a previous review with two females), came over and when we questioned him about the smell he stated he didn't smell anything. We were then moved to the opposite side of the dining room which smelled much better.
We ordered the Chicken & Artichoke Flatbread for starters and two rare beef wellingtons both with mash. My wife had the salad and I chose the veggies.
After taking our order the waiter brought out a bread basket with three rolls and some prepackaged butter. Oddly enough, the basket was lined with a coffee filter... yes, a coffee filter. We thought this was a little weird but the rolls were fresh out of the oven and tasted great. I should mention that they were store bought frozen rolls, but still good.
While waiting for our food I started to notice the decor. The choice of decor style wasn't so bad as the quality of it. The prints (nailed to the wall) were stained and the cornered were damaged. The walls looked dirty with food spots on them. The furniture was some sort of hodgepodge picked from local yard sales. None of the tables and chairs matched each other, at least on our side of the dining room. One table even had a plastic green tablecloth.
The Flatbread came out shortly after and it was absolutely delicious. A thin crispy crust, topped with the perfect amount of cheese, sautéed chicken, artichoke, green peppers & onions. A short time later, my wife's salad came out and it was good, and served with homemade anchovy vinaigrette.
After a little wait (it's 6:35 by now) the entrees came out. The mashed potatoes were decent, but a little heavy on the garlic for me. I wish they had not been served like a scoop of ice-cream on the plate though. For garnish on the mash a sprig of fresh rosemary was stuck into the top resembling a lone tree growing at the top of a hill.
My veggies were very disappointing. I was served steamed broccoli and boiled cabbage. Maybe this was how Europeans take their veggies? The worst part of all, they had no seasoning. Not even salt.
Now the biggest disappointment of the evening, the beef wellington. We ordered them rare but they came med-rare/med. Even worse, the puff pastry was raw in part. The cook/chef had gathered the pastry at the top and bunched it together, virtually guaranteeing that we would be served raw dough. We called out waiter over who immediately blamed us for ordering both of them rare. A quick witty comeback from my wife stating we ordered the steak rare not the pastry, quick squashed his excuse and he took the plates stating he would put them back in the oven. As he reentered the kitchen I heard the distinct sound of the door being kicked open. Guess he was a little pissed...
A short time later the plates were back out and the waiter was gone again. He didn't seem to want to stick around to make sure they were correct this time. After a quick inspection we noticed nothing had changed. The pastry was still raw, but a little hotter. At this point, another waitress (who had started her shift while we waited for our entrees) came over. My wife explained the pastry was still raw and pulled a piece to show her, it stretched a few inches before snapping back like an old rubber band. She tried to take the plates saying she would put them in the oven again when my wife told her we would like to leave and to just bring a check for the food we had already eaten.
She went and told our waiter/owner and he came over. My wife explained again about the raw dough when the waiter again said it was because we ordered them rare and then... get this... said that even though he had put them in the oven again, once they are cut open "it doesn't always work". Did he expect us to believe that once it's cut in half; somehow the oven loses its effect on the pastry? Maybe we should have told him my wife is a pastry chef and knows a thing or two about baking puff pastry. He then went on to tell us that it was the most popular dish.
Only after signing the credit card receipt did we get a "I'm sorry you didn't like our food. Everybody loves it." from the owner sounding slightly sarcastic. We told him the Flatbread was great and we really enjoyed it.
We left and went somewhere else.
All in all I was disappointed. For $21.99 I expected much higher quality. This restaurant seems like a good candidate for Gordon Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares. | 0negative
| 879 |
Sid's Garage just recently opened up shop inside the village. They are in the spot that used to belong to what they claimed was an upscale Donut shop. I cant recall the name.
The Donut shop and Sids is owned by the same guy. Sid says the donuts are moving somewhere downtown. An upscale donut was a cool concept, but for me, it was a failure, so I am happy to see they have changed gears.
The only thing different I noticed in the way of change of decor from the donut shop was the new name on the wall. They are a counter culture hamburger place. The idea is interesting, and I applaud their creativity, but I think they missed the mark on a few things.
On the wall, is a picture of Homer Simpson. I could picture in my mind Homer taking a bite out of their burger and saying "Doh! For me, the Doh means the burger could be better.
The atmosphere
I can describe the atmosphere in one word, LOUD! The music is played loud and its hard rock. They cater here to a 20 and 30 something crowd. If you dont fall into this age range, or you have young kids, or a baby, you might not have good experience dining inside Sids.
For me, I like my music less loud and less gritty. If you dont like their dining concept, Id recommend getting your food to go.
The other thing I noticed was a young women server that had shirt on that was hiked up to her belly button showing her mid section. My daughter tries to get away with doing this as well, so I know the style, but for me, it does not belong in a place that has shakes that seem to be trying to entice kids to come into.
Kids dont need to be seeing this.
The Food
I had the JEKYLL & HYDE Burger. For me, it lacked flavor. After several bites, the bun disintegrated. The peaches did not taste very peachy probably from being grilled which tends to remove their juice and flavor. The beef blend for me failed and had very little flavor.
My wife had the Nashville Hot Chicken. This sandwich was very good. It is a crispy chicken battered with a corn meal batter. It has heat to it, so be careful with this one. I loved the spice, but for my wife, it was way too hot. For me, it was perfect!
Fries
A big miss here. They are frozen Shoestring fries and lacked flavor. The Truffle and Parmesan fries were especially disappointing. I could not taste any truffle oil at all. I am not sure what sort of parm they are using, but the only way I could get any parm flavor was to find a big handful of the it and eat that by itself.
Since there were 2 of us, we got 2 orders of fries. The portion size of an order of fries is huge. 1 order of fries will easily feed 3-4 people.
Shakes
We had the 420 which is an Oreo shake. Love love love! The ice cream is more like a soft serve, which for me was great. It was not overly sweet, which was also for me a huge plus. There was also a huge ice cream sandwich hanging off the side of the glass. Even the rim was covered in crushed Oreos.
Wagu Blend beef
Wagu is supposed to be a hot and trendy beef and is touted as the best. If you have not had Wagu, its hard to say if you will like it. Wagu has a weird taste and texture way different than regular beef.
For me, its waxy, and soft. The best description I can think of it this. Take some regular beef. Put it in the Food Processor and process it along with some oil. Then form it into a patty and cook it. For me, I did not like it at all. I much prefer regular beef.
Areas to consider for improvement
* Lower the volume on the music and consider less gritty music that has more mass appeal.
* Hamburger - Consider adding a regular beef hamburger to the menu to either replace the Wagu or in addition to it.
* Menus - Clean your menus.
* Barrell Tables - The barrels are too small to have enough room on them to make a table.
The metal chairs that are beside the barrel tables are small and very uncomfortable. Do away with these and put up regular tables or booths
* Shakes - These are what shakes should be. Expand this part of the menu with even more creative options and will you be a winner, especially for kids. BUT you will need to address the issues with not being family friendly.
* Fries - recommend hand cutting your fries, using a better quality parm with more flavor and draining the grease.
Since the ratings on this one is going to range a lot, I decided to break them down by category. The ratings are on my 1-10 scale with 1 meaning I hated it and 10 being the best
Ratings
Hamburger - 3
Fries - 2
Shakes - 9
Chicken - 9
Atmosphere - 2
Creativity - 9
Family Friendly - 1
I had to take away 2 stars in yelps rating system due to the issues with Sids that I found. | 1neutral
| 915 |
LISTEN PEOPLE: Between the four of us, We ate here THREE DAYS IN A ROW for FOUR MEALS while we were at Jazz Fest 2016. The first night, my girlfriend and I ate there, the second she ate there with her husband and my husband and I went later, and the third night, we all four went.
The food is straight up amazing. This is NOT that "Mexican Restaurant" in the old Hardees building in your hometown. I don't even know if this is "Authentic Mexican." What I do know is that it's delicious, and if I lived in NOLA, I'd eat here weekly.
Atmosphere: There are two tables on the sidewalk, about 18 inside, then another 3-4 in a little patio out back. The decorations are super cute, some typical Spanish style, lots of empty liquor bottles, and the women's bathroom is adorable (and clean!). In fact, the cleanest restaurant outside of Arnauds that we hit all week. That is so nice! The really nice thing is that it's kind of set back away from the real touristy areas, so we never had to wait for a table, even though it was always doing a brisk business. It's kind of like our own, secret restaurant that we only share with the coolest people. The inside tables are nice because they're close enough that you can strike up a comfortable conversation with those around you if you so desire. Of course, you can also hear some really dumb stuff even if you don't so desire, so keep that in mind. We had to endure ten minutes of the morons next to us comparing some dumb person to someone with Autism - well our son is Autistic so it was tough to listen to, but we were on vacation so I chose not to advocate that night. Some people are just awful, but fortunately the food is good enough here that it was easy to forget. Towards the end of our meal, the coolest people from Florida showed up, thought and we chatted with them until we left. Nice folks!
Service: Two of the nights we got really excellent service, but the night my husband and I ate there, our waiter was off. In his defense, it sounded like he had a nasty cold, though, and I think they were light on servers anyway. Kudos to him for showing up, but then again, our waiter had a nasty cold. Looking forward to mine in about a week and a half. Guess what? Still WORTH IT!
Food: Honestly, if you served me food like this, it could be on a milk crate, in a dirty alley, with a waiter who punched me in the face between courses. I'd be cool with it. We weren't drinking, so I got a cherry coke and a water (the cherry coke came with enough grenadine to drop a horse, god I love the South). The last night my husband got a sangria and my friend's husband had a beer, both were fine.
The first night, I got the ground beef tacos, a side of beans, and the table side guac. I don't know what they do to their meat, but it's pure magic. My tacos didn't even have cheese, and ya know what? I'm so cool with that. Because it would have masked that beautiful, tender, flavorful beef. My friend had the RIDONKULOUS (yes, I used that word) skirt steak quesadillas, which I got the next night. Again, the beef is the key. Something they do makes it melt-in-your-mouth tender and oh so flavoricious. And the cheese on the quesadillas? Never got gloopy or stringy like some cheese after it cooled off. It was just like a dairy pillow in your mouth. All the veg was sautéed in, I dunno, probably fairy glitter, but it was amazing, too. And the table side guacamole? Let's just say that I would do unspeakable things to it if it were a human. We got it with the jalapeño on the side, though, because it looked like a lot and my friend doesn't like it too spicy. It was fine just to mix a few pieces in here and there for you. It's WAY too much guac for two people, though, but for the four of us on the last night, it was perfect. The last night, I just had a salad, and it was, well, a salad. But my stomach was revolting from all the rich foods we'd gorged on for three days. So it worked.
All in all, I give this place a "HELL YES" and if you don't hit it up at least once while you're there, the jokes on you my friend. | 2positive
| 786 |
Mr. David Choi has done it again in St. Louis but this time it's a Korean barbecue restaurant that shares the same space as Seoul Taco and this is called Seoul Q!
There are two different types of seating here. I will tell everyone to be mindful and maybe review the menu before you come here because depending on what you want depends on how long you'll have to wait; and if you don't know what you want then they will automatically put you on the waitlist. The wait the evening I went was an hour and a half and I told the hostess what we wanted to order and she told me she could seat us right away. They probably should've been a little bit more forthcoming with that because I saw several groups of people waiting and they really didn't want to sit at the hotplate tables. Seoul Q does NOT take reservations (so that will certainly be irritating when you have a wait).
We started with two appetizers, the traditional potato pancake with vegetables and the Seoul Q wings. The potato pancake comes with a sauce that I found to be rather hot so they made a soy and ginger sauce for me that was very good. The wings had an amazing flavor and a nice afterburn. These are some of the best Korean barbecue wings I've ever had and they are even better than other wings I've had at other establishments. There are two tabletops settings here, one with a warming plate and the other tables have built in grillers. There are 8 to 10 griller tables and each accommodates 4 to 6 people. The warming plate stations are actually two long tables with several warming plates in them so you will be very intimately seated to other people/groups if you sit at the warming plate tables.
For drinks, we ordered two Seoul-jitos (pomegranate syrup, ginger juice, mint and lime juice). They were very light, refreshing and bright and almost served as an amuse bouche palate cleanser. You really have to be careful when ordering drinks with spicy food, even a soda can elevate the heat but this was very nice and seemed to tame everything. One issue is that it took 15 minutes to receive the drinks after we ordered them; and the couple that sat next to us ordered their drinks after we did yet received them before we did - our drinks only came because I asked a different server about them (he said they had been at the pass for awhile). I actually found myself raising my hand a few times as if I was a child in class trying to get my teachers attention. Unfortunately, the raising of my hand did not get the attention of my waitress often but when she finally did come over she was very helpful. This place is very new & very busy so I think they just have to work out the kinks and figure out how to time things.
We also ordered our entrée at the same time thinking that would be the best way to put our order in. It was odd that all of the side items that went with the entrée came out first. By the time the appetizers finally came out and we received our drinks there literally was no room to put anything. Forty-nine minutes after placing our primary order the entrée finally came out. By this time we were quite full from dining on some of the sides and both appetizers. Everything is very plentiful so I will definitely tell you that you can share an entrée with the person if you order at least one appetizer.
For our main entrée we went with one of the specials, Dak Bulgogi (marinated chicken). We received 7 sides plus two bowls of rice (your choice of white or brown - we went with brown). The idea is to mix the already cooked side items with the entrée that you have. All the sides were pretty good but some of the stands outs were the milder kimchi, pickled cucumber and sweet black beans. I will warn you that the sweet black beans have been candied, so while the flavor is really nice they are definitely harder (they are not under cooked - that stiffness is intentional).
I'll certainly try them again but I think it'll be a minute until they can work out some of the kinks. It would also behoove Seoul Q to place some non-meat items on the menu. Besides the veggie pancake, I didn't see where you could possibly just get all sides or extra vegetables so that was a little off-putting especially with this being a more health-conscious area.
I took off a star for the no reservations rules (kind of nonsensical) and another for the wait time and constantly having to check on my items. If you want to preserve the sexy and you are on a date or with a significant other, be sure to bring some floss and mouthwash, as there will be lots of hang-age from the cabbage and other things stuck in between your teeth. I was once told if you stay ready you don't have to get ready so I had some on deck just in case. The bill comes in a cool old school cassette cover. Also it is very hot on this side; I think it's because of all the additional heating elements and the actual cooking going on at some tables - so dress in layers and pray that the front door open for breeze. | 1neutral
| 937 |
I started out this review with 1 star I had such a bad experience. And then after having the other 3 at my table try a bite of my pizza without any warning, they made me say something to the server it was so horrible. It was quite posssibly the worst ever pizza I had ever tasted. I ordered the Joey, and then to see how they handled the whole Gluten-free fad (although I have no Gluten allergies...), ordered it "Gluten free". The crust crumbled and fell apart and tasted like sawdust. It had the consistency of bad Dominos Pizza when it's been reheated the next day after sitting out all night...only without any of the flavor of the grease of their nasty cheese. The Sausage was suprisingly bland and I couldn't really detect any distinct flavor or seasoning at all....but then again that thick hockey puck of sawdust and tap water probably was affecting my tastebuds. So why then 3 stars?
I rarely give a complaint about quality unless it's something simple like a steak not cooked to the right temp or a dish being cold. When food sucks, it just sucks. But in all of my eating reviews, I've had plenty I didn't "like", but could still appreciate that others would like it. This however just plain sucked! Sucked so bad I had to ask the waitress about it. So, the story is, everything there is made in house...except for the gluten free crust. Due to recent demands, they have had to bring in outside made gluten free for those who have an allergy. It's pre-packaged and sitting in a walk-in waiting to be thawed out and reheated in their nice wood burning ovens sucking out any flavor from whatever comes in contact with it. She did tell us they've experimented with several suppliers, and have yet to find something suitable and tasty, but they still have to offer this as a dietary option for those with allergies (why I don't know, as 5 years ago pizza shops flourished without offering GF options!). She also told us she usually warns people that it's not the most appetizing option and that they don't make it in house. We somehow missed this warning as I would have never ordered it if it came with that kind of review.
Fortunately, we like to taste food so there was plenty more on the table to eat.
We started off with the house cured olives. Excellent. Great flavor, texture and a distinctly different flavor/spice profile between the different olives. Order this when you sit down and before you even look at the menu.
The veal meatballs are probably the best thing on the menu. Although on the smaller side, the overall dish is a really nice size appetizer and could actually be a meal if paired with a salad or another side. The sauce is bright and fresh with a great summer tomato flavor with almost no seasoning. Tastes like a great italian restaurants sauce in the summer. Meatballs are light and cooked perfectly enough to still be moist on the inside.
The rock shrimp pizza (on the traditional crust!) is spicy as promised with a nice portion of shrimp and arugula on top. The cheese I wasn't crazy about, but there was so much heat from the shrimp, it didn't need to shine.
The Bronzino special was cooked well with the skin on, but the brussel sprouts had no distinct flavor despite the nice carmelization on them.
The hostesses were very nice and friendly when we walked in and the waitress was great as well (despite her forgetting to warn us about the GF!). Her 5 minute frank discussion with us on the disappointing crust, concerns of the chef and management, and her friendly attitude saved the meal and took this 1 star review I drafted while sitting through the meal to a 3 star post meal.
Don't get me wrong, there's still no excuse for the kitchen putting out that GF crust. If you have a GF allergy, you should just order sauce and cheese melted on the plate, or order the fish. No one is so desperate for a pizza experience that they'll accept this. I was torn between a 3 Star and 2-star rating due to this, but based on the fact that not many will even consider ordering GF (especially after reading this review), I went with the review as if I hadn't tried it; 3 stars.
For me, the other dishes were solid enough to come back and try more on the menu, and the staff and ambiance was nice enough to recommend the place for friends to try it. Look for at least 1 follow-up review on their other dishes in the coming weeks... | 1neutral
| 798 |
A terrible, horrible, no good, very bad night.
Visiting from New York City, came here on the night of Christmas Day, and had the single worst dining experience of my life. Picture the "Chinese Restaurant" episode of Seinfeld, but over two hours long, and with no laugh track.
Several waiters and cooks called in sick or didn't show up, so the remaining staff had to scramble to keep things running. But that was no excuse for some of the rudeness and incompetence we experienced. I don't even know where to begin.
So let's begin at the beginning.
We arrived at 7:15 for our 7:15 reservation, and two parties were waiting ahead of us. Tried to let the host know that we were on time, just so that our reservation wouldn't be dropped while he dealt with the other parties. This turned out to be impossible, when he repeatedly came over to check things on the computer, and wouldn't even acknowledge the crowd of people trying to speak to him. In the meantime, we struck up a conversation with a family sitting at a table near the entrance. They had arrived at their 6:00 reservation, and had so far only received one of their appetizers.
Eventually 7:30 came--we were still waiting to be noticed by the host, and a waiter came over to the family's table and gave the children two bowls of rice for them to eat while the main dishes were still being prepared (the parents mentioned that their other appetizers still hadn't arrived, and the waiter just said that they're trying as fast as they can). By 7:40, the waiter finally came back... Carrying the check. He handed it to them and said that sorry, they weren't going to be able to finish making the rest of the food. At least he offered them 20% off the one appetizer they DID receive. They paid, wished us luck, and left. We should have just left with them, but few other restaurants were open on Christmas, and we decided that we might as well stick it out.
The host finally noticed us. No tables were free (though many clearly were, they just hadn't been cleared) so he asked us to go wait by the bar. We walked over, but no chairs were available, so we came back to the entrance, where another couple was now waiting. They told the host they had 7:30 reservations, and he ASKED THEM TO FOLLOW HIM TO A TABLE. When my girlfriend spoke up and told him that we were here earlier with earlier reservations, he told her to "chill out."
This was not chill. Not chill at all.
At 7:50, they seated us at a table. After 15 minutes of asking, a waiter finally brought us glasses of water. He asked if anybody was helping us yet, and we said no. He ran off, came back, and said that our waitress was crying in the back room, so he would be our waiter now. At 8:15, we finally ordered our food--edamame, and two pretty basic chicken dishes. But the night had only just begun.
Over the course of the next hour, we watched tables get delivered one item a time every 10 minutes, so each person had to eat their own meal alone before it got cold. Waiters would also walk in with plates of food, look extremely confused, and then go from table to table asking people if anyone had ordered this dish. At 8:45, we asked our waiter if there was any sort of quick appetizer we could order, because we were an hour and a half past our reservation and starving. He said he would grab us some nachos from the kitchen, free of charge. The nachos never came. I guess you get what you paid for.
At 9:00, we came the closest to not chilling out. We watched two other tables, which had been seated after us, receive edamame, while we never did. We were so hungry. So hungry.
At 9:15, our two main courses finally arrived. We devoured them in a hurry, thrilled to finally see any food on our table. We asked the waiter to bring us a check, so we could finally escape. He did. It still included the edemame.
We told him that we never got edamame, and asked to speak to the manager as well, so we could tell him about our night. We weren't looking for a free meal (though obviously that would have been nice). We were just hoping for an apology, or an acknowledgement that the host was rude and that it was unacceptable for certain dishes to just never arrive. We got none of the above. Just a plea to come back again the next time we're in Nashville. Hours after our reservation, we emerged, still hungry. Leftover snacks in the hotel room would tide us over for the night.
I like awake in the hotel, imagining. Maybe one day, many years from now, I'll be sitting on a bench somewhere, minding my own business. A confused-looking waiter will wander over, carrying a tray of edamame. He'll ask if it belongs to me. The two of us will share a knowing smile, and I'll quietly wonder... Perhaps?
But then he'll hand it to another couple that just sat on the bench a minute earlier. I hope they enjoy it. | 0negative
| 898 |
I was really excited to try Mockingbird! I came with a large group for a friend's birthday on Friday night, and we were all very much looking forward to the experience. Unfortunately, the entire experience was sub par, and I don't plan on returning any time soon.
(I have to start by saying that our server was phenomenal and patient. And while it did take 15-20 minutes to get each round of drinks, and 30-40 minutes before our order was taken, I don't believe it was her fault. Having worked in the restaurant industry for many years, I could very clearly see that it was a result of the restaurant being understaffed.)
Right off the bat, the hostesses and bartender were quite rude. I told her that I was with a party of ten and that we had a reservation. She said, "ok," and then proceeded with whatever she had been doing. She talked to the next group of diners who came in, as I sat there awkwardly wondering if I would be seated. When I approached again, i was told I couldn't be seated until more of my party had arrived (which would have been nice to have been told initially.)
My biggest complaint, however, is that the food just really wasn't good... very underwhelming, bland, overly salty, unfocused and cliché (And let me preface all of this by saying that I understand we came in with a large group on a Friday night.) But for the quality of food to be so low and the speed of service to be so slow, was very disappointing. A good, popular restaurant should expect to get busy on a Friday night, and prepare for that. The quality of the food shouldn't suffer so dramatically.
I'm a food critic and have a popular food blog. I hate leaving bad reviews, but I feel that all of this needs to be vocalized so that improvements can be made.
My husband and I started with the Brussel sprouts and ceviché. The Brussels were advertised as an appetizer and were $9. The size turned out to be a side portion, in a very small bowl. They were mushy, over cooked, and really, there just wasn't anything special about them. The white balsamic gastrique and blueberry jam were either absent or undetectable. They were just ok.
The ceviche was completely flavorless, and was also not ceviche. It was more of a poke plate, which I would have been fine with had there been any flavor or complexity. I couldn't taste any lime juice, acid or salt. Every bite was boring and disappointing. Also, the flavor combination of tuna, avocado and pineapple is a bit expected. I wasn't wowed.
I thought, well maybe the entrees will be better. Our entrees came as we were still eating our appetizers. No one at the table was blown away by their entree. I ordered the Korean inspired bulgogi hanger steak, medium rare. It came out well done. I would have sent it back or said something, had it not taken so long for everything to arrive. It was served with a potato latke waffle that was dry and flavorless. It reminded me of a frozen eggo waffle, and didn't feel cohesive with the Korean flavors of the steak. I was interested in the fusion concept. It just wasn't executed well. I will say, that the bulgogi marinade and sauce on the steak were delicious! It was served with some large, sautéed leaves of kale that were way too salty. I couldn't help but think, "i wish I was at Korea House eating Bibimbap instead."
I asked everyone else at the table how they were enjoying their meal. The collective answer around the table was, "it's ok."
We opted out of ordering dessert based on the rest of the experience.
Management was definitely aware of how slow our service was, and our overall apathy about the food, because they brought us a round of champagne at the end of our meal to apologize. It was a nice and much appreciated gesture. But, I would have rather had a stellar experience with memorable food, than a free glass of champagne. It helped subdue the bad taste in our mouths. But, I only wish that as much attention was paid to the food and flow of service as is paid to the interior design of the restaurant, which is stunning.
There are just too many phenomenal restaurants to try in Nashville, rather than drop over $100 on a meal for two that's nothing to write home about. | 1neutral
| 764 |
I have increased my review by 1star. We did go back after I received a very thorough apology from the owner. They also sent me a gift card. We decided to go with the basics. Burgers and pasta. It was good but nothing special. But I have to be honest, this is just not a place for us. It was obvious the young crowd likes it. I wish them luck, but we won't be going back.
Previous review =Not really sure why this place has an overall 4 star rating. I've passed by this place since it opened and always thought it looked like an interesting place. I am glad I went because now I know. Maybe it's getting high ratings because it's a younger crowd rating it. I can see that. I'm 52 and it was not a place I would go to regularly or return. There was a mix of ages in the place It's loud with very loud with music. We were not there on a live music night, but the piped music was still loud. It is a sports bar but not advertised as such. Lots of TVs, but that wasn't an issue because they were nice enough to turn on the NBA game for us. We were sitting right next to each other and could barely hear what the other was saying and we are not hard of hearing.
I will tell you my bf is a chef, so we know food, pricing and service. When we get good food we don't mind paying for it. And when we get good service we leave excellent tips.
The prices on the online menu I looked at were not the prices on the menu we were given at the restaurant. I understand pricing changes, but that significantly? Anyway, we decided to stay because I did like the menu and if it was good, it would well be worth the cost.
We had started with the crab, spinach, artichoke & cheese dip for an appetizer. Nothing special. It was a little runny and the artichoke flavor over shadowed everything. So it was artichoke dip with other stuff thrown in. If there was more cheese, less artichoke and less salt, it would have been much better. If you don't like artichoke DO NOT get this appetizer. Not worth $14.00. Uno's crab dip is better and less expensive.
I had the seafood macaroni and cheese. There was only about 4oz of shrimp & tiny scallops in the entrée. I did not see or taste any crab at all. The rest was pasta. Cheese with Old bay seasoning. Too much Old Bay and very salty. It was not worth the $24.00, maybe $15.00, especially with only about 4oz of seafood.
My bf had the Black & Blue Ribeye ordered medium. Now if we're gonna pay $28.00 for a steak we want it the way we asked. It showed up rare, very rare and bloody. Because he is a chef, we do not send food back to be re-cooked. It's just not something we don't do because we know what happens in kitchens sometimes. I like rare, so I tried it. It was a very good cut of meat but there was so much blue cheese and salt that I couldn't taste much else. I had maybe too bites and that was all I wanted. He ate the outsides edges that were closer to medium. We took home the rare parts to recook.
Desert was the Jewish Apple cake, which was DELICIOUS :-) But the vanilla ice cream I ordered with it was horrible. I never had vanilla ice cream that didn't taste like vanilla. That was weird.
As for the Service, he was a good waiter, but at the end it tapered off. He checked on us constantly, timed the meal to our slow eating pace and filled drinks as needed without asking. We did tell the waiter about the steak and showed it to him. He said "I can't see it" and took out his phone to shine a light on it to see. I couldn't believe it. And then he continued to say that he couldn't tell how it was prepared. It was obviously bloody because there was blood on the plate. Either the waiter doesn't know how steak temperatures should look or he was just playing dumb. From the look on his face, he just was playing dumb and didn't want to hear any complaints. My bf asked him to let the chef/cook know. We don't think he even bothered because when we asked about it he said he told him, but nothing else. Then after that, we waited a long time for desert and a long time for the check. No discount for the incorrect steak temperature either.
Overall, after reading the great reviews and anticipating something delicious and special, I was very disappointed. Maybe if we stuck with the Tuesday Special Wass Burger for $6.00 we would have been happier. Who knows? (wow, this was a long review) | 1neutral
| 842 |
***Niche is an excellent upscale restaurant with dishes that would be comparable to top fine dining spots in Chicago or the Bay Area***
Niche sits in a residential area just outside of St. Louis. The restaurant has the size and friendly service of a neighborhood restaurant, but the restaurant is actually quite upscale. The room has a nice contemporary and clean decor with elegant touches from white tablecloth to nicely done lighting. The restaurant also features a nice looking bar and an open kitchen.
With the menu, you have the option of a reasonably priced 6-course tasting menu or an a la carte approach with a good variety of starters and entrees (and a few desserts).
I went a la carte and the meal started with a very good amuse bouche. It was maple and lemon custard with shiitake mushrooms and bonito caviar in a soft boiled egg presentation. The amuse really reminded me of the custard / soft boiled egg presentations at Manresa and Melisse. Like those amuses, the one here was decadent and a great combination of vibrant flavors.
There was a lemony but still noticeable egg custard that was smooth and creamy. The shiitake mushrooms were earthy and provided a different texture and I really liked the bonito caviar, which had the flavor of Japanese dried bonito but as a moist and cool experience.
I started with the escolar crudo, which was topped with horseradish, green apple, Thai chili, and molasses crumble. Like a lot of the food at Niche, there was a great combination if flavors and textures. The molasses crumble was sweet and crunchy while the Thai chili was hot and the green apple was tart. The fish was good too--moist and fresh.
Next came a soup of salsify, Meyer lemon and wheatberries. The soup was a hot soup and it was quite good because it was somehow comforting and hearty as well as vibrant and light at the same time. I liked the sharp tart flavor of the Meyer lemon as well as the pronounced crunch of the wheatberries; I also enjoyed the silky salsify soup, which had a really good flavor.
Next came a beets dish and the beets were done two ways. Some of the beets were roasted and they were tender and very juicy. There was also pickled beets, which were quite briny. The beets were finished with light and crispy meringue as well as a cool, fragrant and refreshing herb buttermilk (the kind of final touch where you immediately think farm-to-table).
Before my entree, there was a palate cleanser of rosemary citrus sorbet, which had a smooth and even consistency for a sorbet. The citrus flavor was very good and provided the great strong yet refreshing punch of a good sorbet. The rosemary flavor wasn't really there though.
For my entree, I had the braised pork belly, which came with a seared scallop, radishes, daikon and cucumber purée, and a tiny bit if some really good maple gastrique. Of all the savory courses, this was the only one that had as many average elements on the plate as great ones. And the flavors here seemed to work against each other instead of with each other like the great small plates.
The maple gastrique was very good, but there was too little of it. The scallop was moist and soft, but it just did not have the great softness of an excellent scallop. The daikon cucumber purée was cool and refreshing, but I think it just did not work with the rest of the plate. It did have a prominent daikon flavor, but I've never been a huge fan of daikon. It was mildly bitter (and it did not have that appetizing of a flavor or texture).
The radishes were good, but they were nothing special. The pork belly was exceptional though. Lightly crispy on the outside and a great mix of meat and rendered fat--meaty, tender, juicy, and flavorful.
For dessert, I had the plum upside down cake, which was very much pineapple upside down cake with plums. It was the right style of cake and it had that soaked pineapple upside down cake texture. The plums were good, but they sat on top of the cake as opposed to being baked in like a pineapple upside down cake.
Overall, I thought it was a decent cake, but it paled in comparison to the garnishes--toasted meringue and toasted marshmallow ice cream. They provided a more s'mores like experience and I think a contemporary take on s'mores would have been better (even if it would have been the obvious choice).
Service was great--very professional but also very personable and warm. The food came out at a good pace.
Prices were comparable to a similar quality restaurant in LA (maybe a tad cheaper).
Niche is a very good restaurant and the plates showcase strong technique in the kitchen coupled with fresh and high quality produce to deliver excellent texture and flavor combinations. I'm not that familiar with the St. Louis dining scene, but I would think Niche is a must visit if you are seeking an upscale dining experience in this area.
Free parking is available on the street. | 2positive
| 867 |
so, obviously i'm an out of towner to Nasvegas as my cousin calls it. I traveled there for his wedding and was a bit... concerned about how my NOLA soul was going to do in this here northern territory. i quickly learned, though, that i needn't have worried. much of the sensibilities that i love in nola are present in this city. and this restaurant experience was one of the things that solidified this for me.
i'm more of a down home relaxed girl than a trendy one so i was nervous about how the rehearsal dinner he and his fiance were having here from the reviews that i read, but after eating dinner here i can wholeheartedly say that nothing about this place felt like a trend.
dev and kate had reserved the upstairs private room for the dinner, that was set up in long tables with thoroughly modern lounge area and floor to ceiling windows that allowed us to see all of the city we were near. it was incredibly comfortable.
the service here was incredible. my grandmother has a hard time with stairs and normally we all rush to help her up stairs and do what we can, however, before we were even fully at the door one of our servers had rushed over and offered her his arm. he charmed her the entire way up the tall flight to the second floor room. she was giggling adorably by the time we entered the room. i remember even catching him say "ma'am, i would carry you up these stairs if i thought it wouldn't mess up your dress and possibly have your husband running up to give a talking to the fresh youngster touching his wife". That instantly put a smile on my face. That they so quickly were able to put her and all of us at ease with that simple gesture was fantastic. after we had gotten settled in the room we were immediately asked for our drink order and upon my timid query about what i could drink i received a quick.. anything. so i asked for my customary old fashioned and got a big grin from our lady server and an "atta girl". as we mingled around and talked while waiting on the lovely couple i suddenly noticed that one of my earrings had gone missing.... proceed to all hell breaking loose! i didn't so much mind, i mean, what is one $10 pair of earrings i can pick up at world market compared to the experience of having a nice evening out with family and new friends? NOTHING. But my aunt was having none of it, apparently she took a liking to those feathers. She and my grandfather promptly proceeded to searching the entire room, and upon seeing this frantic pushing aside of tables the waiter who walked my grandmother up the stairs went over to ask if their was a problem and when the missing earring was explained off he went! He searched the entire trail we had traveled, even sending another server into the women's bathroom, and going out into the streets and came back to report that alas no earring. All of this went on unbeknownst to me as i was talking to family. That is service. He didn't need to search for that earring, but he did. When they took our order they were incredibly precise and everything came out prepared pretty damn near perfectly.
my aunt and i split the steak and the salmon entrees as we wanted a little surf and turf. The steak came out perfectly rare, still bleeding just a little. and the squash... oh my god the squash... i'm a carnivore. i love meat. salmon and steak are two of my favorite things on the planet... but i kept pushing them aside to get at the squash. i don't have any idea what they did to it, but it was freaking delicious. i would totally just have eaten an entire bowl of that if given the chance. even now i want some.... the bride's father ordered the veggie lasagna and it looked and smelled incredible. loaded with veggies and not just a paltry amount either. i remember the salad being fantastic (spinach, walnuts, and other yummy stuff) and at the end we had tiny little desserts. the toffee pudding just... ok... so just give me a bowl of the squash and another of the toffee pudding please.
and the old fashioned rocked. none of this crap marachino cherry, just the right amount of bitters. i have to say, i have old fashioned envy from tennessee. Seriously.
I would love to go here again and just eat dinner sometime whenever i go back to nashville, to have that experience. But it really was a great night and if you are looking for a rehearsal dinner venue that was fun and friendly and had really great food and staff i really do suggest you go here.
i am nola spoiled, but this place definately is a winner in my book and i would take them building one down here with a huge smile on my face and the rubbing of my hands together like mr burns.
go. ENJOY! | 2positive
| 873 |
It took me a long time to figure out what to rate this place, but I settled on 2 stars because of certain things that stuck out. I came here with a friend of mine from out of town. I've stayed at this hotel before, but it was just to sleep, and leave the next morning (in an extremely ghetto room)-- but that has nothing to do with my recent trip.
We booked it online and was already paid for when we walked in. The front desk lady, Fran, was super friendly and made sure we knew which elevators to take to get to our room. We went up to the room which was decent, nothing too fancy, but they were accommodating of our request for a non-smoking room. They really need to upgrade their rooms to ones with flat screens (like the ones downtown)... not complaining too much of that, but would've been nice to watch the movie we rented on a nicer TV.
We then went to eat some food. My friend had heard all about the food at Orozko, and wanted to try it so bad... However, it was closed. It's only opened Wednesdays-Saturdays. How disappointing because we were there on Sunday night. We settled for Rosie's cafe. They were busy since it was lunch time and we thought wouldn't get that great of service. We ended up with 3 different waitresses (all asking if our food was OK or if we needed anything else-- pretty much every 3 minutes lol) Our food was SOOO good. I got the club sandwich with avocado and my friend got steak and eggs. My friend thought it was the best steak and eggs they have eaten in a long time. So kudos to that!
Afterwards, we went to the pool. What a pretty pool! it's so nice and pretty well maintained. I loved the indoor seating with the opened skylights to let the sun in. We got in, and were admiring the waterfalls and little individual jet pools, when the pool nazi worker there came strolling over in a hurry, telling us that we couldn't touch it. for any reason. Ok.... so we stayed away. We still enjoyed our relaxing time in the pool, even though there were a ton of kids there (which were either not accompanied by a parent or not staying at the hotel, I couldn't put my finger on it).
We went back upstairs to our room and showered and watched a movie. Like I said before, it would've been nice to see on a bigger screen, but I guess most places aren't up to date yet. It's just a suggestion.
This is where our trip went wrong... we decided we would go back down to Rosie's Cafe so that we could have some more amazing food. They weren't as busy as before, but when we walked up, one of the bussers who don't speak much English to seat us. She was covered in some sort of food and I just didn't think it was appropriate since they clearly have hostesses that are dressed properly to do that job. She found a table that was not cleaned yet! There were still glasses, and dirty napkins on the table! She put the menus down and said she would have it cleaned (when there were clearly enough tables around, we could've sat somewhere else). Finally someone wiped down that table and we sat down. A bus boy came to take our drink order and was super polite. He left and about 10 min later, we got our drinks and a waitress who looked super stressed out, walked by and said she would take our order in a minute. I talked my friend into getting an Awful-Awful burger since they had never had one before. Our waitress finally came over, out of breath. We both ordered an Awful-Awful medium rare and a cup of clam chowder. My friend ordered mashed potatoes instead of french fries.
We didn't wait long for our cup of chowder, which was good... it was just sorta tasted like it was out of a can. But still delicious. So then as we started with our soups, my friend realized that he forgot to order cheddar cheese on his burger... and I told him we weren't even asked. So I got up, and found our waitress, and told her about our requests. She said it would be no problem to change the cheese preferences. A few minutes passed and she came by and said "well, they have already been made"... uh. OK? that's not my problem. I ordered a different cheese. So she went back, I saw her stop at her supervisor and chat about it, and then went back to the kitchen. Our burgers came out in about 10 minutes and they looked so good... melted JACK cheese on mine, and Cheddar on my friend's. Well, I took a bite and instantly realized that it was not medium rare. They scraped off the American cheese and put on a slab of jack and a slab of cheddar and cooked it a bit longer. How rude... I was really too hungry to care at the point, but I still was offended by that. So then the mashed potatoes on his plate were so gross and dry he couldn't finish them, and then my french fries were sitting in grease since lunch and were hard and stale. Our waitress was quite rude as well, so we left a tip of what she deserved, paid and left. Don't think i'll be going back there until they have a decent wait staff. | 0negative
| 943 |
I was holding off on writing my 400th review until I could find something worthy of the privilege. And yes, I probably didn't have to find it 2900 miles away from home, but c'est la vie. We came here on a recommendation from a friend of mine, a Clearwater native, and she was right on the money. While it may not have been the absolute best food I've ever had, it has been a while since I enjoyed a dining experience this much.
My dad and I made reservations for 7 pm on a Sunday night and showed up a few minutes early. Ybor City was kind of deserted, but this place was quite full. That's always a good sign.
The restaurant itself makes you feel like you are about to dine in a fairy tale, or at the very least, on a Hollywood set where they are about to shoot a fairy tale movie. The building itself takes up the whole block, and, per my understanding, there are over a dozen dining rooms. That makes Columbia the largest Spanish restaurant in the world (and by a wide margin, one would assume). The restaurant has been at this location since 1905, which gave them over a century to accumulate all that treasure and use it to decorate the buildings. Throne-like chairs, vintage pottery and tile mosaic portraying scenes from Don Quixote -- these alone are worth the price of admission. I don't even drink, but I wanted to order Sangria just so that I could admire the clay pitcher it came in. I kept looking around and expecting to wake up, but it was all oh, so true.
At one point during the evening, a couple of photographers entered the room, taking pictures of a beautiful young girl in full makeup, wearing an exquisite peach dress. Clearly, they were taking pictures for her quinceañera, and why not? If I were a 15-year-old girl of Hispanic origin, that's where I would want to have my pictures taken.
Our waitress Nicole was absolutely phenomenal. She made sure that my dad and I had a wonderful experience, and she provided some excellent recommendations (including one to order LESS food). She was right every time. She was beyond professional and courteous; she was actually nice and friendly, too. I'd say that's pretty rare these days.
Now, the food. I started with Caldo Gallego, a bean soup with ham and chorizo. It was rich and filling, as it's supposed to be. I am glad I only ordered a cup, because I could definitely see it being a whole meal for someone (not me, of course). Then I had the 1905 salad, which was prepared for us tableside. Don't let the word "salad" fool you: it still had plenty of ham and cheese in it. Did I mention their bread? It was freshly baked, hot and delicious.
After the first two courses full of ham, sausage, cheese with bread on the side, it was time for the entree. I had the Paella Campesina with beef, pork, chicken, chorizo and beans. The meat was cooked Spanish style, i.e., cooked really well done. It's expected in a traditional paella, and I knew that going in, but it's still a little weird to me. Still, the paella was outstanding. It wasn't just some meat over rice; it had a distinct flavor and a good mix of spices.
As you might imagine, we were really full by the end of the meal. Unfortunately, someone ordered something flambe for dessert, and I was immediately drawn to it like moth to a flame. We had to order something. The flambeed delicacy was the Brazo Gitano (spongecake with cream and strawberries), and I would have ordered it, had it not been for the four magic words on the menu: white chocolate bread pudding. We wanted to order both, but Nicole wisely talked us out of it. The white chocolate bread pudding was incredible. Sadly, we were so stuffed that we left 1/3 of it on the plate. I almost felt bad for not finishing it, but I literally could not eat another bite.
As I struggled to walk 80 feet to my rental car, I kept thinking how much a four course meal for two with a glass of wine, a bottle of water, an iced tea and a cup of coffee would cost at a similar restaurant in San Francisco or New York.
Here in Tampa it was about $100 + tip, and it was an amazing value. I honestly cannot wait to go back. | 2positive
| 763 |
Note: average to 3.5 ish stars now
I have been here several times now and I believe this will be my 5th time. Not sure where my reviews go or my check-ins go, but oh well.
Came on a cloudy and rainy day, but there was still a short wait. Each time I've come, I seem to always order their steamed clams (served in a white wine garlic broth). Aside from that, I've had their cioppino and crab cakes as well. This time, I've also had a bowl of their England style clam chowder and Shrimp and Scallops Pasta (sautéed in butter, garlic, shallots, white wine, and sun-dried tomatoes over linguini.
The first to come was the bowl of chowder. A sizeable amount and looks 'right'. It was nice to have something warm and thick due to the weather, but taste-wise, the chowder falls short. The chowder, in my opinion, has the right consistency, but lacks in flavor of clam, cream, and salt. The menu says the chowder has bacon in it, but I didn't identify any pieces of bacon. Perhaps it's just the fat from the bacon? There are chunks of clam (not many) and some pieces of vegetables such as potatoes and carrots. What erred me a bit was the two large pieces of bay leaves in the chowder. Bay leaves are debatably edible or not - up to one's perspective. However, I would have preferred to not have the two bay leaves in the chowder and would have thrown them out instead of serving them in the soup. One can argue they didn't see them, but the bay leaf was the first thing I saw sticking out of the soup when it was served. Next, the pasta and clams came. In the past, the steamed clam came with an additional bowl for shells. I'm not positive if there is a change, but they didn't provide one this time. Luckily, we just used the chowder's bowl instead of putting them on the table. For the 5th time I've had the clams, I'm starting to think the item is worth it only for the amount of clams now. The taste profile has gone downhill that I can't appreciate it as much anymore. The white wine can be a little strong, but that is meant to be balanced by cooking the alcohol and adding tarragon into it. However, I personally think the tarragon is too much and the white wine broth could have been cooked a bit longer to evaporate the dryness out a bit more. As a whole, it has a very strong flavor, which can be very appealing, but the flavor itself wasn't too balanced. In addition, I believe they used to serve two pieces of bread with the clams, but they provide only one now. Lastly, the pasta dish. I knew the sauce is a buttery-garlic sauce, but we both felt the dish was on the dry side as well as lacking sufficient butter and garlic. The garlic and shallots used were whole pieces so the garlic taste does not permeate the entire pasta dish. If the garlic was diced, it might help it some more. Aside from that, I don't think enough white wine and butter were used as the linguini wasn't coated evenly. The biggest flavor came from the sun-dried tomatoes and the shredded cheese. The shrimp and scallops were "fresh" and didn't taste bad, but they were completely bland. To me, I didn't think the seafood were great, because they were devoid of the taste of seafood - the scallops were bland and lacking a sweet taste to it, but at least not rubbery like overcooked scallops. The shrimp were mostly bland, but again, not overcooked luckily.
Service-wise: hit and miss. Sometimes the server is happy and sometimes they are very gruff. This time, the service was very gruff and everyone that worked that day appeared to not want to be there. I understand and don't mind it too much. This review is still purely based on the food.
Overall, I am starting to reconsider whether the place is worth coming back repeatedly. I am willing to try a sandwich/roll item from here. Everyone seems to get that instead of what I get or a Dungeness crab. I wouldn't get a crab, but a lobster or crab roll maybe. Up to each their own and I believe they are worth a try if you haven't been and it's on Stearn's wharf, which isn't a bad stop and visit tourist location. | 1neutral
| 756 |
Circles Jerks... hands-down Worst dining experience in years... Godzilla hostess arrogance, amazing stupid policies and moronic truly dangerous server. Beware, beware...
7pm res, and table was ready ... however, Got major Hassled about the table... we'd asked for an outside table on lower deck when my wife had called for the res the week before... well of course they tried to give us a crappy table right by the high-traffic in/out, up against all the server folding tables and station, which we declined... despite there being other tables open, we got a whole raft of crap and told to sit at one ok but not great table by one person, and then told to move... when I said then we'd go to another restaurant Godzilla the bitch hostess tells me that "... well we can't guarantee the table ...we told you we'd try ..." I asked her to stop repeating herself... her response:..." l'll say whatever I want as many times as I want... "...
Right there is where we should have left, as it was down hill from there...
And our obvious penance for not wanting the table by the high-traffic door and server area, was to get assigned probably the stupidest, worst server in any Tampa Bay Area restaurant. Other tables around us had an attentive server, we had a server who never gave us menus, finally remembered bread, and was not to be found for refills or issues. Clearly we were being taught a lesson by Godzilla hostess...
My wife is lactose intolerant (and before you think -lactose pills, they don't work for her). So we tell idiot server that my wife cannot eat milk, butter, diary... and ask if the rice with the tuna is cooked in butter... she checks and comes back awhile later saying yes, is is cooked in butter... my wife asks if she can get something else not cooked in butter... sure, for an up charge... my wife declines... btw, NO ACCOMMODATIONS is the norm..
Apparently, No substitutes, no changes... All my wife wanted was what the dish included, just not cooked in butter, as it gets her ill... restaurants all over the world happy accommodate dietary restrictions, even in Paris where they are picky chefs... but not our local Circle Jerks...
Moron server girl however doesn't bother to tell my wife it's also served over veggies cooked in butter. We get the food, much delayed, and the rice my wife declined is in a side dish, and we get the explanation from idiot girl that she HAD to bring it out as iT WAS PART IF THE MEAL, and had to be delivered to the table, even though my wife could not eat it cooked in butter. Idiot girl still doesn't mention the veggies under the tuna are cooked in butter. My wife begins to eat a couple of pieces of tuna (I have the same dish) when I stop her, realizing there is butter on the food ... she is now really upset as she gets very ill from dairy products. Godzilla hostess #2 now comes over when we tell a passing server (not our own idiot server, as she has disappeared again), we get attitude "I understand there is a problem here" , not concern that my wife was almost poisoned by idiot server... my wife was now too upset to eat... they did take her dinner off the bill, but no apology, no good will for a horrible dietary fuck-up.
On top of that the Food was AVERAGE at best... lobster bisque a touch above Campbell's tomato soup with rubbery lobster bits. Peel and eat shrimp were decent sized but that was overshadowed as they were so soggy/and a couple were mushy and poorly cooked and with small portion of what tasted like jar bought cocktail sauce. My sashimi-grade tuna was fair... over-cooked to the point where it wasn't just seared, but more like cooked tuna...
I travel all week and eat out 3-5 times a week,all over the country ... so I have reasonable sense of service and food and This place truly sucked in every dimension of the dining experience.
I'm sure some people love Circles Jerks (as I will now forever think of the place) but given the way we were treated I'll do my best to respond in kind by telling any/all how bad my 65th birthday dinner was thanks to Godzilla hostesses and moron server. The place is busy, and they made is quite clear they didn't need our business, and I'm quite happy to accommodate them by never going back... | 0negative
| 768 |
The first time I went in to Lampert's was on a lunch break & I really liked the food. So much so that I took home a pick 3 plate for my husband. Last Monday my husband surprised me at work to take me out to lunch so I suggested Lampert's because he loves BBQ. (I have a late lunch so we arrived here close to 1:45pm). When we walked in, the entire restaurant was hot & so smoky that you could barely see across the restaurant. It burned your eyes immediately. Same as during my first visit here, the owners (father & daughter) were sitting at a table in the seating area, I honestly do not know how they did not notice the smoke in the air. The woman behind the counter took our order, my husband ordered a 4 way plate. She did not seem to know what we were ordering, so the owner stood up to help her, she said 'we can make a 4 way plate now if you would like'. I told her we got it off the menu on their website. What she meant by 'now' I didn't understand, she said it as if they have a 'lunch' menu & a 'dinner' menu. Nope, you just have one. I truly did not get why the whole 4 way plate seemed like a foreign language to them. It was after all on THEIR menu. Once we placed the order and paid we went to get our drinks. No ice. I told the owner they were out of ice & it was a good 15 minutes before they filled the ice machine. Being that I was on lunch break, that did not sit well with me. We were the only customers in there, other than a couple that had already eaten and a group of 5 or 6 ladies that had already eaten. All of the tables were dirty so we sat at the cleanest one, and the one closest to the door so that we might get a breath of un-smoky air on the chance that someone would come in or out. At one point while we were waiting for our food I even got up & held the door open for a minute because the smoke was really getting to us. The first time I ate here there was not any hint of smoke like we experienced on the second visit, or I would not have gone back. The woman of the couple that were sitting in the dining area got up & asked for a restroom. They led her back thru the area where they prepare your food & cook. I felt that was very odd & unsanitary.
My plate was $16 and my husband's was $19.99. I did not feel that we got the amount of food to equal a $16 and a $20 plate. My sides were seriously lacking. I had a small scoop of macaroni and cheese and a tiny scoop of the worst potato salad I have ever eaten. My husband seemed to get a little more in the sides department because his were filled into individual cups, baked beans and potato salad (which he doused with bbq sauce to give it some resemblance of flavor). His rib tips were nothing but fat, next to no meat on them. Both visits here I was never offered or given a receipt. I had to take the time to look up the totals of our visit by logging into my bank account so I could deduct them from our check book.
As if all of this was not enough to seal our fate of not coming back, the father approached our table to ask if everything tasted good. We both just shook our head and said yes. He proceeded to ask my husband "Can I ask you a question?". I was expecting a 'how about them Cards' but nothing like what came out of his mouth. He said "did your mother let you wear your hat at the table when you were eating?". My jaw hit the table, I looked over at the door where the daughter was holding the door open waiting for her father to walk out and she was laughing like her father was the funniest person ever. No sweetheart, THAT WAS RUDE! NOT FUNNY! VERY RUDE!!! I would have lost my job if I said something like that to a customer. I guess when you are the owners you can be a rude and judgmental as you want to be. Much to my telling him not to, my husband took his hat off immediately. At that point I was so mad that we packed our food up and left.
I went back to work and told several people what he said to my husband, and all of them had the same jaw dropping reaction that I did. I immediately told them the whole experience, the smoky hot eating area, no ice, not enough food for the money, etc. I do not think any of them are going to be trying Lampert's anytime soon. One of my co-workers even came up to my desk to tell me that I really smelled badly like smoke. I told her I knew that and I had sprayed a perfume on to cover it up. How embarrassing!!! To eat at a restaurant and the smell is making those around me sick. The food did not sit well with me, I was in the restroom the rest of the afternoon and evening sick. We think it was a mixture of the food and smoke. I mean, seriously the smoke was flat out awful! I have never seen anything like it. How the owners did not see it I do not understand. It was a beautiful day outside, they should have opened the door.
I am only giving this restaurant one star because the first time I tried them I really enjoyed it. After this miserable experience I will never be back and will never recommend anyone eating here. | 0negative
| 1,015 |
My husband and I decided to go to Vedge to celebrate our 3rd wedding anniversary.
Backstory: Me: vegetarian, husband: omnivore. We moved to the Philadelphia area from SoCal in February, 2013. Our old veterinarian, actually, who attended Penn, really loved Richard Landau's old restaurant, so when we found out he had a new one, we were intrigued. Seeing his appearance on Chopped made us more eager to try it!
The decor and atmosphere is beautiful. It's pretty large, with several dining rooms, a front bar room, several fireplaces, beautiful leaded glass, marble counters and wood floors.
We each had a cocktail to start the night before our table was ready. I went with the Elder Sage and my husband went with the Barrel-Aged Creole Gent, both very good and well-balanced. With dinner, we each had a glass of wine, which was tasty, but their wines-by-the-glass are pricey. They had a small but quality beer list, as well.
The concept here is small plates. We went with 4 from the Vedge Bar, which is the cold kitchen, and more appetizer-like, 2 from the hot kitchen, and 2 from the dirt list (sides). The only complaint is that about FIVE of our dishes (all of the cold dishes) came out at once, and on a small table, it was crowded. Also, we ate those in about 20 minutes, so I was afraid we'd be rushed out of the restaurant. Never fear, we spent over and hour there, but service was very good - friendly and efficient.
Our absolute favorite dish was the portobella carpaccio. I seriously considered ordering another one. It was thinly sliced portobello, heavily peppered, and served with this wonderful mustard sauce. It tasted.... like carpaccio, I guess! Now, I haven't eaten beef in about a decade, but my husband, who eats red meat probably about once every week or two, also really, really loved it.
Our second favorite dish was the fancy radishes. This was served shashimi-style with chop sticks and a smokey soy sauce. The presentation was BEAUTIFUL. The different components were all really tasty as well.
Our other appetizers were the heirloom tomatoes - beautiful and delicious, but not super memorable - and the sweet potato pate - very interesting and tasty.
Fro the dirt list, we got the fingerling fries in creamy worcestershire. They came tossed in the really tasty sauce! Nice and hearty dish. Secondly, we got the sunchoke hummus, which tasted like... hummus with sunchokes. The sunchoke chips on top were really good, but otherwise it was pretty standard.
Our mains were the eggplant braciole and the roasted maitake mushroom. I loved the mushroom - the remoulade was really tasty, if a little salty, like fancy tartar sauce (which is kind of what remoulade is!). The braciole was hearty, but a little one-note for me. However, I'm not the biggest eggplant fan.
For desert we went with the apple cider donuts and sticky toffee pudding. The donuts came with a sweet horseradish cream. I like horseradish, but I'm still not sure how I feel about it in a dessert. Even in the sweet cream, it seemed... savory. It's like, "what is going on? Is this real life? Is this a DONUT?" The pastry itself was really good, though. The sticky toffee pudding was excellent, especially the crunchy nut toffee on top. The ice cream wasn't super rich - I really love coconut-based vegan ice cream, which I find to be really creamy and smooth, but hey, I appreciate the effort. Also, that's the only thing of the night that I tasted and knew instantly was a vegan imitation of an animal-product dish. Not a poor imitation, mind you, and if you ARE a vegan, you'll very much enjoy it. If you've had real ice cream recently, well, it tastes not quite there.
Despite my little criticisms, this is by far the fanciest and most interesting/innovative vegan restaurant I've ever been to. Remember: I used to live in Los Angeles and got tons of vegan food from vegan restaurants all the time (thought mostly asian-inspired, fast-casual, or "comfort" style food). This food was beautifully plated and really creative. It's definitely achieved the goal of being vegan haute-cuisine. If you're wondering if it's worth $150 for plant-based food... it totally is. Now, I wouldn't bring my traditional, meat-and-potatoes parents here. (Actually, we spent the better part of last week catering to their tastes, which involves things like roasted chicken, mac and cheese, green beans, tuna melts... you get the idea... so this dinner was a VERY nice change of pace.) But if you are up for interesting food, this is a really excellent choice. I'd certainly go back, especially with their ever-changing menu.
Sidenote: I ended up wearing a leather jacket and leather shoes to the restaurant and I was a little ashamed of my obvious non-veganess, but the other patrons seemed to be similarly dressed. I.e. tons of "normal" looking middle class business-type people out to enjoy a really nice meal. Aside from the plant-based menu, this does NOT come off as a preachy/hippie vegan restaurant. | 2positive
| 851 |
I made a yelp account just to write this!
Let me start by saying the remodel is coming along nicely, the common areas of the hotel were nice and clean and we had a blast on the midway. My rating is based solely on our room and experience.
IT IS A GREAT PLACE TO VISIT WITH THE FAMILY, just not really a great place to stay.
This is part of the email I sent to the Circus Circus staff two days ago, cropped to fit in this review. I still have not heard back from them.
We decided to take a trip for our son's 10th birthday and thought your hotel would be the perfect little getaway to spoil the crap out of him. There were so many things wrong with this stay. To start, I am sure you receive plenty of complaints but the lines for the elevators were insane! It took us 25 min to catch a ride to the 24th floor and it would have taken longer had security not been there taking people up in the service elevator as well.
We had a great city view and our son was so excited. After inspecting the room, we went straight to the window to check out the view and the first thing i noticed was how dirty the windows were, on the inside. They were full of face and fingerprints, you could clearly see plenty of oil stains from people touching the glass. I am sure every child entering the room presses their face against the window, but I was disappointed that I could see the DNA of the 10 families in that room before me on the glass. The beds were neatly made for about 5 minutes, we were quickly remaking the bed so we weren't in contact with the mattress directly but of course, he woke up on a bare mattress with a ball of blankets covering him, as did we. it is absolutely DISGUSTING to think about the things that could be on that bed. The pillows were too large for their cases, the extra pillow in the closet had no case and you could easily see how dirty the pillows were when they slipped out of the cases. When we went to load up the fridge, we noticed a puddle of something on the wood where it sits. It was deep red and looked like wine or jelly. You could also see on the carpet below where someone had tried and failed to clean up whatever it was that dripped. Upon closing the door that hid the fridge, we also noticed dribbled of the red substance down the front of the entire dresser. Moving to the bathroom, we didn't notice anything wrong until we went to shower. As soon as we opened the shower curtain we had to fix it! It appeared as if someone was too lazy to hang the shower curtain properly. Oh, and lets not forget the DIRTY TOWEL that was wadded up and closed into the shower curtain.
Now we get to the experience. Our son had an AMAZING time playing all the games the first night. After a couple hours we decided to head back to the room and turn on a movie. About halfway through the movie, my boyfriend went to use the restroom. All of a sudden I jump out of my skin because I thought I heard him fall. I go check on him and he is fine, not 5 seconds later, the yelling next door began.
Our room is one that can be a part of adjoining rooms,so there was the door with just a deadbolt that had another door of the same kind that could be unlocked from the other side. Due to this setup, we could hear EVERYTHING going on in the room next to us. The room next door was clearly occupied by a couple. After the sound of a shower curtain being ripped of the rings and a loud thud, the couple started yelling at each other with the noises echoing through the door separating our rooms. This continued about 20 minutes before I decided to call security. The front desk said they would send someone up. it was probably 15 minutes before we heard the security guard. While waiting for security we heard the woman yell "I swear you're the only one I want" followed by a loud SMACK.
***I SPENT THE NIGHT IN A "FAMILY FRIENDLY" HOTEL WHERE MY SON GOT TO BE INCHES AWAY FROM DOMESTIC VIOLENCE.***
The security guards arrived and they were there for about 30 seconds before heading back down the hall. My boyfriend grabbed his phone and headed down the hall to talk to them. He explained what we had heard and their response was "Yeah we saw the girl, we know, but there is nothing we can do about it YET"
YET?!?!?!?!? YET! ARE YOU KIDDING ME???? My child had to hear this going on in the room next to us and there is nothing they can do about it yet???? The arguing next door continued for another 5 minutes before it quieted down, we had also turned up the TV volume to try and drown out the noise. About an hour later, they started yelling. AGAIN. so we just slept with the TV blaring all night because clearly nothing was going to be done about them.
I barely slept through the night because I was so worried I wake up to the sound of more fighting next door. Knowing the only thing separating my family and I from this terrible ordeal is a piece of wood with a deadbolt. We spent the night whispering and on high alert because nothing was done about our neighbors. | 0negative
| 964 |
Never in my life have I been treated so rudely at a restaurant. Our most recent visit may have been our last. Every New Year's Eve my wife and I go to BJs for dinner and drinks. This past New Year's Eve we continued the tradition. Once seated, our server Samantha informed us that the kitchen was running 45 minutes behind, to which was fine because we were in no particular rush. We ordered drinks and an appetizer to hold us over while we waited for our entrees. Two minutes later we decided that we should probably order our entrees due to the kitchen being behind. A minute later our server came back by and we said we would like to order since the wait was so long. She took our order and returned a couple minutes later with our appetizer. While in the middle of enjoying our pot stickers (of which we had two-and-a-half left to eat) a our entrees cam out. This was 8 to 10 minutes after getting our appetizer. While this wasn't necessarily a big problem, it was a little frustrating considering we were told the kitchen was running 45 minutes behind which prompted our decision to order our entrees. Samantha came out shortly after and said that she was so sorry and that our table was the first to receive entrees in under 30 minutes. I informed her that it was frustrating because we are now having to switch back and forth between our appetizer and entrees. She offered to put the food under the warmer in the kitchen and bring it out once we were done with the pot stickers. I told her I didn't want that because we had ordered steak and that would likely cook the steak beyond the temperature we wanted. She said that she would send the manager over to address our concerns. The assistant manager Nicholas came over and I explained the situation, to which he said "I'm sorry. The problem is that we have a lot of take out orders which put the kitchen behind." To which I responded, I understand how that could happen, but I also understand that management's job, is to manage the expectations of guest and ensure the restaurant is ran efficiently and that perhaps if he, or another manager communicated with servers that the kitchen was no longer behind, guests would not make a decision to order their food early based on the misinformation that their meals would take about 45 minutes to be prepared. Nicholas proceeded to escalate the situation by raising his voice at me and saying "DONT TELL ME HOW TO DO MY JOB! I took care of your pot stickers, what more do you want?" I said to him that I am not looking for anything else and I just wanted to bring to your attention the situation and communicate our expectations as a guest. He then went on to say "We have 60+ take out orders to prepare and that's our moneymaker, so that's where I need to direct my attention." I then replied "so what you are implying in that statement is that your dine-in guest are not as important as your take-out patrons". He then again raised his voice and said that he didn't say that...to which I replied "I didn't say you said that, I said you implied it." I further said that I would be taking this up with the general manager and corporate because "...your treatment of us is highly unprofessional and I don't think you should be in management conducting yourself this way." He then said "I'm over here trying to make it better and you are attacking me. I am about to get married, and have a baby on the way, and you are attacking me and threatening me in this global pandemic we have going on." I am not entirely sure what his personal situation has to do with us and why he informed us that he is about to get married and have a child. I said to Nicholas "I am not sure what that has to do with this situation and asked who the general manager was." He informed me it was a gentlemen named Yoo, and I said I would contact Yoo tomorrow. He then raised his voice at me a final time and said "YOU KNOW WHAT? DONT EVER COME BACK TO THIS RESTURANT. YOU ARE NO LONGER WELCOME HERE!" and he walked away. With my wife's and my jaw basically on the floor because of that treatment, I saw Yoo walk across the front of the restaurant. I asked Samantha to send him over. I explained the whole situation to him, to which he apologized and said that Nicholas should not have acted like that. I said to Yoo that "we frequently visit this restaurant, and that I am not sure that we will come back based on Nicholas' behavior. Yoo took care of our meal that evening, which was nice. Our plans that night included having some friends to join us at BJs for drinks, but we were no longer enjoying ourselves in the restaurant. We ended up leaving with our meals unfinished as a result of losing our appetite and went to the restaurant next door to meet our friends for drinks and appetizers. The service and treatment at that restaurant, from the GM down, far exceeds the treatment we received at BJs.
I hope that Nicholas' behavior gets addressed and this doesn't happen to another guest. | 0negative
| 924 |
So....disclaimer... this is only the second yelp review I have ever written, but I feel so strongly about this one star that I have to write a review, and sorry for then length of this. Usually if dinner is bad I just say "oh well" but this stuff was egregious. Over a month ago we booked a reservation for 4 people for dinner at Verbena. My husband did this online and when he needed to chose either a la carte or chef's tasting menu he chose a la carte for all 4 of us. We didn't even think that there would be something happening here for Valentine's Day since it was the day after Valentine's Day. My husband received numerous email confirmations about the reservation and in none of them did it mention something about a Valentine's Day chefs tasting pre fix menu. When we got to the restaurant we were sitting there enjoying our byo wine and menus never came. The waitress asked if we had any dietary restrictions and then left, which we thought was bizarre, and we still sat there waiting for menus. We finally got her attention again and asked where our menus were, and this is when we were informed that it was a chefs tasting menu and that was the ONLY option available for dinner. We told her that was interesting since we specifically did not chose this when we made the reservation, but as we were already sitting there, for a dinner reservation that was made a month in advance, when both of us couples had made arrangements for babysitters and had been excited to enjoy a night out ( which we don't get to do often,) we just went with it, thinking it should be ok. Well,,,, how wrong we were. The food was a disaster. By the last course my friend and I were hoping there wasn't any more food because none of it was good, Nessie's the soup. For example....Hummus, chickpeas, terrible feta cheese, seasoned with cilantro? A piece of seared tuna and tomato sauce? Moving on. We got through to dessert (which was good) and then got our bill. I swear my husband almost fell off his chair. We had gotten a very generous $150 gift card from my in-laws for this restaurant and when we had looked at the menu and saw the prices and knowing it was a BYO, we thought there would be no way the two of us could spend $150 in one sitting so we thought we should invite our friends and put the gift card towards dinner for four. We figured it would be another $50 per couple. So...apparently the Valentine's Day chefs tasting menu was $125 each. So then bill was $540!!!!! I took the bill and my husbands phone (with our email a la carte confirmation) and asked to speak to the owner/chef. He came out of the kitchen and I discussed my issues with him. He said all patrons should have been called to confirm the price of the event, and I informed him we had no idea until we were already sitting at the table. He then said he would decrease the bill to $95 a person as that is the normal pre fix price. I specially asked if I was ordering a la carte, as I had wanted, if that is how much I would have spent per person, and he without any hesitation said yes. So, I said if that's all you are going to do for us then I guess I will take it. So the bill came down to $400!!!! Again people this is a BYO restaurant in Kennet Square! After we paid the bill and we're sitting there finishing up our convo and were the only patrons left in the restaurant the owner came to the table to "introduce himself and see how everything was ". Or, actually he came over to be awkward and get us out of his restaurant . It was pretty clear to all of us that it was his way of getting us to leave. It was awkward and rude and made an aggravating situation even more infuriating. When my husband and I got home we went on the website and confirmed there was NO mention of any Valentine's Day event, and not one of the emails mentioned this either. Apparently 2 days before the reservation, my husband had received a call from an unlisted number and there was a voicemail, but he never listened to it because there was never a missed call from the restaurant and he had already received numerous email confirmations. So an evening that we were looking forward to so much turned into a disaster and we spent soooooo much more then we ever even dreamed we would. I feel like we were completely taken advantage of and the owner could have apologized and done the right thing but instead he lied and was just awkward. So, other people say the food is good. I can absolutely not confirm this. We obviously will never go back. | 0negative
| 852 |
My Boyfriends mother gave everyone in the family gift certificates to Blackbird for Christmas, I believe there was a grand plan that we would all go together for a family dinner, but that didn't work out so well, so last Saturday night the BF and I decided to just go on our own. We're pretty broke and I had gotten a really nice bottle of wine for my birthday, and since I'm going to be working nights soon we figured, the family will just have to deal.
Now because we are incapable of getting out the door on time, we only brought the one bottle of red (Clos du Val..YUM!), which I mention only because it hindered my ordering , I usually try to bring a red and white, but this time not so much.
Anyway, i'd looked through the website and the menu and was not sure what to expect. The 'Dining Establishment' put me off I found it kind of twee for lack of a better word, but the menu looked fine and hey it was free right?
Ok we pull up in our 1988 Dodge pick-up and park right in front in between a Mercedes and a BMW, and everyone at the front tables stared at us, maybe this was the most exciting thing to happen to them, maybe they were worried we would muss their car, who knows, maybe because we are just so damn attractive!
Its cute in there, small warm, the hostess was sweet (we'd called to say we would be late) and we sat down right away. The decor was sweet and simple, with a few interesting touches, the tables had a textured copper vinyl overlay.
Everything looked great, but keeping my wine in mind I had decided to go for the Ribeye, even though Chicken Confit would have stood up to it. The BF wanted the same, usually I agonize over ordering the same thing, but the other steak was a NY Strip and it wasn't as intertesting.
Ok so we shared the app special, panko crusted buffalo mozzerella and split the fricasee of mussels. The Ribeye, came with Macaroni & Cheese, the guy next to us ordered it, it was HUGE and had fresh broccoli & fired onion rings on the top. I will say I was not excited about the steamed broccoli, very TGI Fridays, esp when asparagus is in season but thats me being a food snob.
OK so the bread service: The bread was wonderful, forgot to ask if it was made in house, our server Lauren was extremely competent and sweet, but it was difficult to get chatty because of the way I was sitting. I thought pouring the olive oil table side was kind of precious and would have preferred to have a separate plate so the oil didn't get all over the bread.
Much to my joy and rapture our first app came out split (two plates) and can I tell you how much I LOVE that. It's so considerate of the dining experience, especially since our apps didn't really go together.
It was a fine little plate of what was essentially fancy mozzarella sticks, (I let the BF make the final choices, sometimes I do that), It was crispy and yummy, could have done with a bit more tomato and perhaps a tangle of arugula for contrast.
The Mussels were lovely and simple, very impressive given that nowadays chefs tend to throw anything and everything (including bleu cheese, the thought of which makes me thirsty- in a bad way) into a plate of mussels..this was pure and clean without being simple and just delicious, the bread boy brought us more of bread ( the bread had a crisp crackly crust and warm soft insides it really was perfect, I want some now with fresh butter!)
Our entrees came fast, too fast actually, the mussel plates were cleared for about a minute. I like a few minutes, actually I like about 20 minutes between courses but I know that's asking too much. 10 minutes though I think is reasonable.
The Steaks: I guess the kitchen ran out of broccoli & the crispy onions, I was not upset about the broccoli, the sauteed spinach was actually an better option, but I did long for the onions.
They were perfectly cooked, maybe a tad bit greasy (perhaps there is last minute butter flourish) but I expect Ribeye to have some fat.
The Mac & Cheese was tasty, I don't love that the chef chose orechiette, but it was good. If I was going to nitpick I would say that the pepper looked pre-ground and made it look kind of dirty, I prefer look of coarse ground pepper. If I could make a suggestion for presentation, it would be even lovelier if the Mac and Cheese came in a separate little crock on the side, that way it could have a bit of crunchy crust which always elevates it to sublime. The plate needed a bit of a crunch somewhere. But it was still very very good, and huge, I couldn't finish it, well I could but I wanted dessert.
Dessert:
BF: Milk Chocolate Caramel Creme Brulee
Me: Cold Lemon Souffle w/ Lemon Sorbet, Shortbread and Vanilla Sauce.
Lovely desserts, I liked mine better.
total bill $107, would like to apologize to Lauren for our poor math skills we meant to tip 25%, but I think it was closer to 18%..worth a drive over the bridge! | 2positive
| 918 |
Greeted almost immediately upon seating by my friendly server - a young man who managed what appeared to be the entire front room without difficulty and maintained the demeanor of someone trained under the Thomas Keller Empire - the service would be perfect throughout. Bread was timely, coffee and water refills spot on, plate descriptions accurate thorough, and all done with a friendly down-to-earth demeanor and a smile. Going over the daily special with me I was left to decide while he went to get my coffee.
Listening to the room - lively but not loud despite the parade going by in the street - I labored over the menu for some time because everything sounded quite good - essentially bistro fare with a southern twist. Returning with the coffee - a great thick blend with a bit of chicory but more prominently cocoa notes (I'm rather certain the same as that at August) I decided to go with the "express lunch" special - a $15 soup and main combo plus an added appetizer. Smiling my server told me I'd made a great choice and slipped away to serve his other tables.
Arriving shortly after my order was placed - yet another crispy and golden French loaf, this time served with a delightful and grassy salted butter. While the bread was not quite as delicious as that at Clancy's it was my second favorite of the trip and the butter put it over the top - thankfully I limited myself to just the one loaf because it turns out Luke's "deal" lunch is not for the faint of heart (or stomach.)
Arriving first, my soup - the daily special of crawfish bisque. Clearly tomato and cream based with heavy spicing and ample crawfish the dish was unlike any bisque I've ever tasted, but certainly not a gumbo either. Loaded with chunks of fresh crawfish and spicy without being "hot" I liked the bisque and as it would turn out (oddly) to be my only experience with crawfish on the trip I was glad I'd chosen it even though I likely would have preferred the daily gumbo.
My second dish, an addition to the prix fixe, was the Foie Gras - quite frankly, if a place is offering a terrine of Foie I'm probably going to order it. Presented elegantly this terrine proved not only good, but exemplary. Featuring a thick cut of slow cooked terrine painted on all sides with a Gewürztraminer reduction, topped with micro greens and a coarse sea salt, and drizzled with thick and sweet balsamic I can favorably compare this $16 preparation to the $30 supplemented version served at The French Laundry - though it wasn't quite as airy or delicate. Served with toasted brioche (I was brought more on request) and beautifully textured I would strongly recommend any fan of cold foie to visit Luke for the experience.
Arriving next was the daily special - having looked at the menu I was surprised when it arrived because I expected a sandwich...but the surprise was the good kind...the really good kind. In describing their cochon du lait prep my server told me how the slow roast pork is reduced down similar to pulled pork and then "rehydrated" with a dairy, onion, and garlic reduction (plus the chef's special spices) and then pan fried crispy on top. If that description doesn't do it for you - try it...almost a sweet yet creamy pork meatloaf with a crispy and salty skin akin to pork belly. Accompanying the pork on the plate were not only the advertised stewed greens and vinegar laden cherry mustard, but also a hefty helping of cornbread dressing. Call it bistro food, call it soul food, call it comfort food - I call it one of the most unexpectedly delicious dishes I've had in some time.
Asking me if I was interested in dessert I told him I didn't even need the menu - just bring the bread pudding.
Arriving about 15 minutes later as I read a complimentary copy of the New York Times the bread pudding was an absolute masterpiece - the best traditional bread pudding I've ever tasted. Described simply as cinnamon raisin bread pudding with vanilla bean ice cream and hot buttered pecan sauce the complexities of the dish were astounding for a bread pudding - piping hot with the smooth and creamy ice cream slowly melting the bread pudding itself was marvelous in custard/bread ratio and the sauce had minimal alcoholic kick while instead focusing on notes of caramel, pecan, cinnamon, and what may have even been honey. Having had a whole lot of bread pudding in my time this was undoubtedly my favorite non-chocolate version to date. | 2positive
| 788 |
Firstly we have been staying here for the last few yrs for the gem and mineral show. However, we will never stay here again.
Upon entering the room it smelled like vomit. So we put our stuff down and tried to find what was causing such a smell. The bathroom......! There was vomit on the floor on the toilet, walls, door, wood shelf under sink for towels....YES THERE WAS VOMIT ON THE TOWELS LEFT FOR US TO USE! So it had been a long trip we were hungry went downstairs gave our information to the gal that checked us in, she was shocked and stated it will be rechecked immediately. We(myself husband father) stayed we would be picking up family at airport and then going to dinner that should be more than enough time to have the restroom cleaned so we can use it.
Upon our return........NOTHING WAS CLEANED. They only sprayed a bunch of febreeze to mask the smell. nothing was wiped down nothing was clean. I went down the front desk, thinking I'd be able to get someone in there to clean. I was told manager was busy and I'd have to wait. The young girl I think her name was Alyssa was so rude stating they sent someone up to the room I must be wrong! Wth really? FYI finish college honey and maybe hit the books a little harder or take a business course and learn some customer service and manners too! I THE CUSTOMER have a problem I come to YOU for help, I GIVE YOUR ESTABLISHMENT $$$ in exchange for services rendered. My $$ pays for your payroll or do you think payroll is just something freely given?? I digress, While I waited 10 mins for him(I think his name was Marshall) to come out of his office(seriously at like 10pm what else needed his attention? It felt like he was he doing it on purpose to run out the clock. No customer service) while I was waiting I watched the cleaning lady look at me and smile and giggle and leave for the night. The manager came out shortly after. He was rude from the start stating he had no idea what I was talking about and the cleaning lady had just left for the night and that they both went into my room and saw nothing.....so I took pictures of everything prior to walking down to speak to him. Smh I showed him the photos and he stated again that house keeping is gone for the night and he would have maintenance come up to the room. They did not come up so I went and bought disinfectant wipes from the cvs around the corner and cleaned the bathroom myself. While I WAS CLEANING UP maintenance came up with disinfectant wipes, the same Lysol shit I bought. I asked him if he smelt anything in here still and he said yeah who puked...I asked him to clean the bathroom again and bring some bleach or something strong and fresh towels....never happened.... while I went to get a drink at the bar to relax since I couldn't do it in my room. And no not the bar inside the hotel the one around the corner.
I wanted to change rooms but was told nothing else was available, by the same night manager as before.
The room was never cleaned by staff and I did it myself. Not only did we pay $2000.00 plus to stay at the motel opps I meant hotel or maybe not, I had to clean it myself. Because it doesn't matter how much febreeze you spray if you don't clean up vomit the smell stays.....why because it's human bile, stomach acids and digested food and it's gross beyond words.
We were comped a breakfast for myself and each guest with but honestly if you cant clean a bathroom right I'm not about to eat anything cooked there either. And instead of doing it to my face the note was slipped under my door. No acknowledgment of how disgusting it is to find someone else puke in your room.
We will not be returning next yr and have already made other arrangements. I understand it's a college area and that kids can be stupid and grosss but I am however a tax paying adult on vaca/ business for the gem and mineral show, which my family has been a part of since the 1970's. We like to try different places in Tucson when we go especially since everything is changing but we won't be going to this Marriott again. I'm adding all the photos I took of the bathroom too bad I couldn't provide the smell that I had to endure. FYI there wasn't anything available anywhere at the time we went Tucson books up quickly when the gem and mineral show is going on, it's an international show.......smh Marriott. I wanted to scream I've been treated better at a motel 6 than this. It wasn't like this the yr prior, it was clean the staff were great I don't know what happened. I'm trying to find the letter if I do a photo will be posted also. There were many opportunities for management and staff to make things better but instead you made me feel like I was a bother a problem. By the way a problem you created by your lack of empathy and lack of standards. | 0negative
| 909 |
If you stop here during the afternoon- you will be fine. You'll get what you order, you'll pay the right amount. However....
This shop is open 24/7. The man who works at night (and has for years) is rude, unkempt and doesn't speak English. My parents stopped at 4am last week on thier way home, and brought me what was supposed to be a medium iced coffee, extra cream, extra sugar, with mocha in it. What they brought home was disgusting and inedible.
That night, I had a chance to go get my coffee replaced, so I pulled up to the speaker. Since I wanted to explain the mistake and have my coffee replaced, I politely explained I had a problem with my order and asked if I could pull around to the window. He said "No!" Baffled, I said "No, I can't pull around to speak to you?"- in very broken English, he demanded I talk to him through the speaker.
So I tried my best to SLOWLY and clearly explain the issue to a speaker box. Plus, I wanted a sandwich and donuts... Very frustrating to try to do without looking at the person.... Anyway, it was clear he didn't understand anything I was saying as he was just repeating random words back to me...
So finally I said "I'm pulling around." I drove to the window. He was fiddeling around behind the counter doing god knows what... With his back to me. There were no other customers, no one in line... It took him SEVEN minutes to finally come to the window, and when he does, he presents me with a hot beverage (which I hadn't ordered) and a bag with something in it... But since he'd spoken over my sandwich order, I knew he couldn't possibly have gotten my food order right.
I tried, in vain, patiently, to explain the issue with the bad coffee. I showed him my cup- still full, and made a face, displaying that what was in my cup, was gross, and I couldn't drink it. I told him- I want a medium iced coffee, extra cream, extra sugar, with chocolate in it.
He stood there are stared at me. Then tried to hand me the hot beverage again. I waved him off, and VERY patiently (having long since given up on my food and donuts, at this point, I just wanted my coffee fixed).
So I tell him the order, he repeats it, and goes to make it, abandoning the bag of food and hot drink.... It takes him FOREVER.... LITERALLY, almost five minutes... He finally returns and opens the window... And says $6.75.
No, sir. One last time, I explain. I bought THIS coffee here earlier today, and it was TERRIBLE. You can see that I didn't drink any of it. I'm here to get this bad coffee replaced. I point to my cup... Then to the cup he has. I can't comprehend why anyone would employ someone that literally speaks NO ENGLISH and can't take a very simple order.
And this is where it gets good. He yells at me "No! You pay!" -and bangs his hands on the counter. He's almost leaning out the window at me now, and he reaches for my (refillable souvenir) cup, which I pull back. I have no idea what he's doing. He points to the $6.75 on the display and sticks his hand out, demanding payment.
"No. I need this BAD coffee, replaced. I'm not paying for another coffee," I try to patiently explain. Then he SCREAMS at me. "YOU COME BACK IN MORNING!!!"- he throws ALL the food and both the hot drink AND my iced coffee that he'd finally made, into the trash, slams the window closed, stomps away screaming, and slams things around on the counter.
If only I was kidding.
I went to the Dunkin on White Horse Road, where I coincidentally worked for five years, back in the day. Even though it was around midnight, I was greeted by a person who spoke English and got my order right.
The hostile, angry slob who speaks NO ENGLISH should NOT be employed in a CUSTOMER SERVICE job. Seriously.
It's absurd that I'm being SCREAMED at & grabbed at through the window all because this moron cant take a simple order. That IS his job, yes? How does one get hired to work somewhere when they don't speak the language people order in? Does that make sense to anyone?
I went back a third time during the busy morning rush that next day, complained to anyone who would listen and at least finally got my coffee made right- but I will NEVER spend another dime at this location. It's absolutely crap to have to deal with that kind of "service." | 0negative
| 801 |
What a shame, this used to be my go-to pizza spot in town but no more. On Sunday I ordered a pizza and a small salad as I was dealing with a power outage and couldn't cook - they told me it would be $19 and change and ready in half an hour for pickup; I politely reminded them it was for delivery and gave them my address and they said it would be here in about an hour. It took nearly 3 hours for the food to be delivered (2:41 to be exact) and I swear the salad was warmer than the pizza.
At about 2 hours, I called to find out what was going on with my food but nobody answered the store phone number. A few minutes later I got a call from some unknown number and it was an employee trying to confirm my address. After restating my address before I could ask for an update on when I should expect my food, now an hour later than expected, they hung up. I then get a call back a few minutes later asking for instructions as to where my house is in the neighborhood; I clearly tell him and also ask what the holdup is as it's been more than 2 hours. Instead of a "hey so sorry for the delay, we've been really busy but your food will be there soon" or any sort of sincerity for the delay I get a "yeah we've been busy." Shortly thereafter I got ANOTHER call from the same number again asking for instructions as to where my house was, with the delivery driver apparently waiting outside for 10 minutes unable to find my house (to be fair it was dark out and no street lights since the power was out). I politely called BS on this as I had patiently been staring out the window for a good 30 minutes and had not seen a single car drive by so I knew they were not in my neighborhood. I gave specific instructions AGAIN for where my house is on the street. Guy hung up presumably to relay the info to the delivery driver. A few minutes later I get another call - turns out they had. The. Wrong. Address. WTF. at that point I had had it - the address they told me I had given them when I placed the order and again apparently confirmed when they called back doesn't even exist. In fact, when you type in that address, every GPS app I've used shows it's not a valid address and instead directs you to my address. I respectfully but sternly tell the employee this and ask for a partial refund - to this point I had STILL not gotten an apology or any sort of recognition of my frustration at a nearly 3 hour pizza delivery and being lied to. Don't tell me "you're busy" when in reality the delay is you have the wrong address that does not exist and are just sitting at some random neighborhood with my food. The employee tells me he will talk to his manager about a partial refund and let me know. It's been 3 days and I have yet to hear anything, even after I've reached out to that employee twice. I'm no "Karen" asking for free food, just the principle of the thing expecting to not be lied to and my (correct) food arriving within a reasonable time I want the situation to be righted and throwing a few bucks back my way would go a long way
The cherry on top was that after the food was delivered I looked at the receipt. Expecting it to be $19 and change, I found they charged me an extra $3 for a delivery fee. Look I'm not complaining about paying extra for delivery as I realize there's added expense to deliver; I'm upset over the lack of communication, that after the employee quoted me $19 for pickup and I reiterated this was for delivery they didn't tell me that would cost more which I would've been totally fine with. A simple "hey that'll be $3 more" would've been acceptable. I looked on my takeout menu and did not see any mention of a delivery fee as usually seems to be the case on menus.
$22 (plus tip) for a tepid pizza and warm salad (with the wrong dressing, no less) and being lied to as to why it took nearly 3 hours to deliver is unacceptable. | 0negative
| 759 |
On a Friday morning, I pulled off from Café Ventana blasting Drake and drive- dancing because my almond milk mocha was good and the weather was great - I was like this:
https://vine.co/v/eIaaThmbwnp
Upon entering there is a heavy-duty sewer smell. I never for a second thought it had anything to do with the café as construction is going on two doors down. The menu is written in white on an opaque glass type hanging so I had questions about the menu. The young lady at the counter was irritated as if I was bothering her; like she was not at work and I walked up to her and just started asking her if the burritos had real eggs or egg whites. On my first visit, I ordered an almond milk mocha, a chocolate beignet, 3 regular beignets and a black bean breakfast burrito + guacamole "spread". I felt that $1.00 extra for guacamole "spread" was high but on I went. Everything tasted great and the gentleman that was preparing the food was so pleasant he made up for the awkwardness with order taker.
Second visit, new register lady same unhelpful vibe and I placed two separate orders. I had a sandwich and a small soup that came up to $13 then I had to pay an extra $0.50 for spinach and $0.50 extra for tomato. The guacamole "spread" that was included in the original price seemed to be missing because I didn't see anything bright or lime green. Yet after further inspection and opening up the sandwich the guacamole "spread" clearly had aged because it was brown.
Admittedly, I'm one of those people who just hands over my card and doesn't really comb through the receipts for individual pricing; I just get what I like and keep it moving. I was totally dismayed when I looked at the receipt and saw there was a dollar up charge for almond milk and another dollar up charge for syrup. I asked if this was a mistake and they said no, a basic latte with no flavoring not even caramel is $4.20 and everything else is extra. Wait, wait - I just saw that my $4 beignet was frozen now I'm being violated - $6.20 for a small almond milk mocha?
What???? Uh thank you and goodnight! Now I'm looking like this:
https://vine.co/v/eUJuYqQ6i2Y
$1.00 for syrup additions / upgrades (the national rate is $0.50)
$1.00 for milk upgrade (the national rate is $0.60)
I am a gainfully employed adult and thought that these prices were high so I don't know how these college kids can afford to eat here on a regular basis even if they are using Billiken Bucks. Why violate a few when you could align your prices properly and increase your margins overall?
Sales 201: No one should be denied the ability to make a healthy living but businesses should price according to perceived customer value not their desired markup. On well-known items like coffee you can go at/below market price and make that loss up with higher margin items that are exclusive to you or things people don't mind paying more for because of their innate value (organic etc.).
Café Ventana and Felecia (*) can hold hands and run down a hill together with these blanket high as heck markups. Café Ventana has not positioned itself in concert with the prices they're charging. In the land of the Kardashians (Calabasas, CA - a very affluent area of L.A/USA) I have had hemp and almond milk mocha's that didn't cost as much as they do here. Not to be severe on my own city but how are STL prices higher than L.A? How are the prices here higher than what large national chains charge? Look, I get it - pricing is complicated yet it is far from rocket science. The Owners need to research the competition; the milk upgrade(s) and syrup are 50%-70% higher than large national chains & shops in L.A./Chicago that at least sale organic and fair trade. For these prices we shouldn't be getting premade "spreads" and frozen items (we can do that at home Bro).
This was on my to try list and as with most places I try to give two tries. I doubt I'll be trying again as there are too many other options that are not only more reasonably priced but have better customer service and better food quality. Not to mention Tim Hortons, Park Avenue Coffee and all the other coffee businesses coming to that area. The meeting and quite spaces in the annex are nice (hot as sin but nice).
* See my review on Tree House Vegetarian Restaurant to get details on who and what Felicia means. | 0negative
| 788 |
For my 700th review, I wanted to write about something absolutely spectacular. Sunday evening. First of all, I would like to point out that I have driven through Nashville over 50 times in my life, and I only stopped once- I ended up being encountered by 3 meth heads and got food poisoning. That left a reallll sour taste in my mouth.
I was driving back home to MEM from SDF (sorry I use airport code, SDF=Louisville). My car KEPT telling me to get rest. But I had no idea about any hotels in Nashville. I kept looking up stuff, and I saw this place. So I looked at rooms, and saw the place had promise- so I booked a grand deluxe, on a whim, with a AAA rate. Mind you, I did this about an hour from Nashville.
I got to the city, and I was able to find the hotel fairly easily. I packed light, with my backpack. I pulled up to the valet (which should be valet only here), and told them I was checking in. Very nice. I walked into the hotel, and was amazed at the old world elegance this place had. And the fact it was about 10PM on a Sunday night, it wasn't hectic at all.
I gave the gentleman at the front desk my AAA card, my license, and my AMEX. He asked me if there was anything special going on, and I just told him I needed to relax before my upcoming week of hell. He told me he had good news for me, that I just got upgraded to the Presidential Suite! I thought I had gotten punked, but it was for real! I just wanted some extra space (as the grand deluxe is 590 sq ft). He gave me the keys to room 812, and the adventure began...
I took the elevator to the 8th floor (out of 9), and my room was right there. I couldn't find the door, (as it was labeled 812)- then I was realized, I had 3 to choose from. I entered, and there was some graceful music playing from a Bose sound system. The pics I took should be self explanatory, but let me tell you what- staying in one of the nicest rooms in the state, was truly a once in a lifetime opp- considering the price I paid. The view of the Capitol was phenomenal- at night and at day.
The actual suite is about 2000 square feet- with the bedroom on the right (marble bathroom tucked away), a huge ass tv area and living area with dining room table for 6, and 1/2 bath there. On that end is also the mini kitchen with tons of bar stuff and snacks. I still couldn't believe it. I could walk from one end of the suite to the other, and honestly get winded- it was that big!
The bathrooms were equipped with Molton Brown amenities, the stuff I currently use to keep my skin clean- I was surely impressed! I was also surprised to see they had a choice of buckwheat, latex, and memory foam pillows in the closet for your liking- but I just stuck to the 5 on the bed that were already there :).
After playing around in the room, I decided to walk around downstairs and soak in the rest of the place. I started on the Mezzanine level, where the spa, fitness center, and Governor's Salon was. There were also 3 ornate tables that could be used for chess, overlooking the lobby.
I had heard about the famous bathroom here, so I looked. And when I went into the bathroom, I realized this is really nice- but not the one I had seen in the news (next review on that one). So I went downstairs to the bar, got some food n drinks, and headed back up to paradise.
I had to take a shower, and that thing was awesome. There were 2 handles, one for a handheld water stream, the other for a nice surprise- a freaking 4 head ceiling shower that felt like a rainstorm. I fell asleep in the robe that night...
Waking up was hard, as the bed was so comfortable and I realized I had to get back to Memphis soon. So I took another shower, and I was on my way. Valet got my car in a matter of minutes, and they were as friendly as can be.
This place is on the high end, but I tell you what, there was absolutely no complaints here. If I could give this place 6 stars, I would. And it gave me an entirely new perspective of Nashville. So for that, I thank you dearly.
Cheers! | 2positive
| 793 |
For this month's #FridayNightFoodie outing we decided to go big with a trip across Tampa Bay into Tampa to check out The Capital Grille in the International Plaza.
It was the first visit for both of us and thanks to a gift card from a friend we were able to enjoy the extravagance.
Just a few quick notes before we get to the fun part. We went on a Friday night, which while it wasn't too crazy inside the restaurant, outside parking and pedestrian traffic was nuts. It is in the mall, after all, so if you go on a weekend night, plan accordingly in terms of the time of day you wish to dine.
I definitely recommend making a reservation online, as well. We ended up getting there early for ours, but the staff had no trouble moving us up and getting us seated right away.
Speaking of staff, usually, when I post reviews here I talk about our server towards the end of the post. No can do this time, because our server at Capital Grille, Angelica, was simply outstanding. Attentive, unfailingly cheerful and friendly, she's as much a reason for why our first time was memorable as the food and drink was. If you go, ask for her to serve you - you won't be disappointed.
Now, Capital Grille's interior décor and atmosphere aims for timeless elegance. The dining room at the Tampa location is large, but not so much as to ruin the intimate feel of the place. Soft lighting, immaculate white table cloths,and large wine goblets adorn every table when you walk in. Bottom line: it's a classy joint!
Normally when we go to high-end steakhouses Mel and I get a bottle of wine. This time, however, we were distracted from that course by Angelica, who presented to us an iPad with an interactive menu showing their cocktail menu - swanky! We each decided to try their "In Fashion", a delicious offshoot of an Old Fashioned. Russell's Reserve 10 Year small batch Bourbon, Grand Marnier, Black Walnut Bitters, orange ice sphere, Amarena cherry - if you love bourbon cocktails, you have to give this one a try.
About halfway through our night there we were ready for another round and we both wanted to try other things on the menu. Mel went with the Blackberry Bourbon Sidecar - Woodford Reserve, Cointreau, blackberries, fresh lemon juice,and thyme - while I tried their signature cocktail, the Stoli Doli - Stolichnaya Vodka infused with fresh pineapple, chilled and served straight up. Both were delicious - if you're choosing between these two and you like your drinks sweeter, go with the Sidecar. Otherwise, try the Doli - it's what their bar prides itself on, after all.
Moving on to appetizers, every offering sounded delicious, but thanks to prior experience there was one that jumped up off the page to me at once - Nueske's Cherrywood Double Cut Smoked Bacon with Tomato Jam! If you've never had it, Nueske's bacon will redefine bacon for you, especially thick-cut as it comes in this offering. It's like a hybrid of bacon and sweet ham that, when paired with the tomato jam, just explodes with flavor with each bite. It goes wonderfully with the In Fashion, too, but of course it does - bourbon and bacon. Duh.
For entrees, we both went with steak, but very different steaks. Mel went with an item in the "Chef's Suggestions" section of the menu: Sliced Filet Mignon with Cipollini Onions and Wild Mushrooms, cooked medium-rare. I went with the Dry-Aged NY Strip au Poivre with Courvoisier Cream.
OK, full disclosure: I've never had steak served au poivre before. If you don't know (and as I learned), it's a French style that involves coating the steak with cracked peppercorns and then cooking the steak. The Peppercorns become almost a crust around the steak that adds a wonderful texture to complement the tenderness of the steak. The sauce it was served with, the Courvoisier Cream, added just an extra layer of decadence to this dish - there's really nothing like it!
Both dishes were beautifully presented and perfectly prepared. The tempera was just right and their meats had exquisite flavor. Nothing about either dish disappointed. Which was better? I have to say mine, but that may be due to it being a completely different way of enjoying a steak from anything I'd tried previously.
To wrap things up, Angelica saved us from trying to select a dessert from their short but still impressive dessert menu. We'd told her earlier in the evening that we'd just closed on our house last month, so she brought a "Congratulations" dessert plate over that had a sample size portion of both their Flourless Chocolate Espresso Cake and their Cheesecake, which they serve "brûlée style" with a layer of caramelized sugar on top of the cheesecake and served with mixed berries.
This is probably the longest and most elaborate review I've posted here, but it needed to be because this was an extraordinary dining experience. They know what they're doing here, they do it exceptionally well, and I certainly hope we can go back and enjoy it again. | 2positive
| 865 |
As a New Yorker, Philly is often our "long weekend" destination. The Continental is typically our "first meal in town" spot. The food is outstanding--great variety, well made, fresh. The atmosphere in the evening is lively--like you stepped into a great party. At night the place is always packed and loud.
We're a mixed couple: SK is a carnivore, I'm a vegetarian. Continental satisfies my desire to find more than a garden salad on the menu...and her desire to eat meat. Even with her meaty tendencies, SK loves sharing my vegetarian dishes. Most of the time we have a great experience (which is why this place is on our must hit list) but our last visit exposed some chinks in the armor.
The Continental has an upscale mid-century vibe--but very casual. Booths on the first floor look like bench seats in a 50's era Lincoln Continental. Upstairs the booths are more traditional and swanky. And then there are the swinging cage-like basket chairs... Sexy lighting at night and pumping music rounds out the space. They only take reservations for large groups. Probably the one down side are the hostesses, who are a bevy of usually cute, barely legal girls huddled at the host station. They always seem disinterested in the arriving guests, and almost annoyed that you are interrupting their snickerfest as they whisper and comment on everyone at each table.
The restaurant offers sidewalk seating during warm weather--just a few tables. We sat outside to enjoy the evening air, hear each other talk, and people watch. It seems they are not quite equipped to handle the three or four tables on the street. Our waitress was friendly and attentive at first--drinks arrived fast. We placed our food order and then...the sound of crickets. While two other outside tables were tended to by another waiter, we sat. And sat. And sat. Our food finally came out. The mushroom flatbread--hot, savory and awesome--but noticeably smaller than when we were in town a couple of months earlier. And the Black Quinoa Tabbouleh Salad. Crazy good! Black quinoa, chopped spinach, feta, tomato & olives tossed in lemon vinaigrette, We asked the runner for a couple of small plates because we were sharing. "Sure!" He was gone...
Crickets.
Finally flagging down someone else we again asked for plates--"Oh, and can I have another glass of wine please?" SK asked. Guy #4 (I'm losing count), who we later found out was the manager, brought out the plates. While finishing our appetizers and waiting for the wine, I bit down on something hard in the Quinoa Tabbouleh salad. There are no hard ingredients in this salad. It was a chipped piece of a plate. None of our plates were chipped so it came from the kitchen.
Our waitress finally reappeared and we asked if we could speak to a manager. Guy #4 (the manager) shows up. He appeared sort of stunned and a bit overwhelmed. He awkwardly and honestly apologizes, which we accepted. Then he looks at me and says, "You still seem upset?"
Dude--I just crunched down on a sharp piece of porcelain the size of a dime. I'm a little...um...unhappy.
Now, I will say this: he and our waitress did the right thing. Yes, he was awkward and could use some training on how to better deal with this kind of situation; and our waitress apologized profusely for the not-great-service--and the chunk of plate. The manager comped our entire meal--which we didn't ask for or expect.
About the rest of the meal: it was delicious--and ceramic-free. SK ordered a special involving fish (sorry, I normally pay attention but this time I was distracted) and she said it was great. There were many, "Mmmmm" sounds and "perfect!" coming from her side of the table. I had the spinach ravioli which features a handmade transparent pasta and a savory, light spinach filling with an aromatic basil tomato sauce. And because it was so good we ordered another mushroom flatbread which seems to have truffle oil on it, but it's portabella, shiitake & caramelized shallots. Yum-STERS.
We ordered a few more drinks and insisted they charge us for them and tipped our waitress on what we would have been charged for the whole meal. Because we didn't trip-out, everyone left feeling pretty ok and that's good. We'll be back. The food is good, a potentially bad situation was handled well and we had a story to remember. Next time we order the Black Quinoa, I may just think about sifting it before we eat it. | 2positive
| 758 |
The decor at Saint Anjeo is clean cantina style, with incredibly high ceilings and windows that fully open to let in the summer night air. I'm personally a fan of the small string lights that crisscross the dining room; the lights and the high ceilings make you feel that you're outside in the open air, instead of in a building in one of the busiest parts of the city.
Lofted above the restaurant is the tequila library, a fancy and plush bar that specializes in tequila. In the corner of the room is a skull-laden couch area for you to kick back and enjoy your drinks. We were brought up here first to do a tequila tasting. The two that we sampled were the Herradura silver and the El Mayor extra anjeo. The Herradura silver looked like clear grain alcohol and tasted to me exactly like what I remembered about straight tequila: a burning kick. While I wasn't a fan of this on it's own, paring it with a cinnamon dusted orange made it palatable, but still not something I would seek out. On the other hand, I learned that there are some types of tequila out there that I do enjoy! The El Mayor extra anejo was brown like a whiskey, smooth, and had notes of caramel and vanilla. I could some of these older tequilas in the future of this scotch-drinking girl.
Our dinner started off with classic guacamole and a mango-papaya guacamole. The classic was kind of boring and was lacking something. Because it didn't have chunks of tomatoes or onions, and the avocado was really smooth, it reminded me of a paste. I prefer chunky guacamole which is why I really enjoyed the mango-papaya options. The chunks of fresh fruit added needed sweetness and a variety in the texture.
Accompanying the guacamole were two queso options, chorizo and chile. The chorizo queso was solid, although I wished that the meat had a bit more spice and kick to it. I guess because I was craving something spicy I really liked the chile queso. The roasted peppers added a really interesting heat to the cheese, but after eating a bunch my mouth got too hot and I had to stop. Call me a glutton for punishment, but I like hot things.
Speaking of hot things, next up was their version of jalapeno poppers. But this isn't the stuff that you get frozen/deep-fried at a bar. These were handmade applewood-smoked bacon wrapped jalapeños stuffed with jack cheese and served with a cilantro ranch. The batter was crisp and not too greasy, but this dish was so hot that no amount of ranch dressing could cool my mouth down. The bacon added a nice roundness to the heat, but all I could think about while eating this was Hot Chicken. I couldn't even finish one pepper. One whole glass of water and an avocado later, I was ready to move on with the meal.
Quesadillas came next and I opted to try the shrimp and mango version with banana, chile, and cilantro crema. This might be my favorite dish of the evening. The shrimp was nicely cooked and still very soft. The mango (which I love) and banana (with which I have a complicated relationship) really worked well to add some tropical sweetness to this dish. What I would recommend is not using the sauce provided, or just using it sparingly. It really overpowered the delicate nature of the shrimp.
Next I tried a bunch of tacos (short rib, grilled shrimp, cilantro lime steak, and tequila lime chicken). I enjoyed the short rib tacos the most. The meat was cooked till fork-tender and seasoned in a way that really stood out. The pickled peppers that are served with it added that vinegar kick that just makes me fall more in love with Mexican food each time. The shrimp tacos were very simple; solid but not remarkable. I think this is a dish they can get more creative with. The steak was very flavorful, spicy and left a really nice taste on the palate. The meat was good quality; tender and not chewy, because no one likes a chewy taco. The chicken was just "meh." I personally don't enjoy chicken as much as other meats and I found this chicken to be kind of dry.
For dessert we tried the tres leches and the flan. Tres leches is one of my favorite desserts and Saint Anejo did this justice. The cake was creamy, smooth, and soft without being plagued by the usual tres leches problem: So moist it's soggy to the point of imploding on itself. I love flan but I wasn't a fan of this version. It was really stiff and didn't jiggle or wiggle like flan is supposed to. It was really dense and the flavor wasn't anything special. I'd skip the flan and save the calories.
Before coming to Saint Anejo, I had previously written off up-scale Mexican places. I had been to a few in Nashville, New York and elsewhere and I was never THAT impressed. I always came back to the small taco truck or the Mom and Pop place. Saint Anejo gives the diner something different, a fabulous tequila list, a fully stocked bar, a trendy atmosphere and good food. | 2positive
| 886 |
Wow. What a big disappointment!
I'm always excited to try newly found places and give them a go. Groupon offered an opportunity to visit so we took the offer and headed out.
I was really surprised as we pulled up. Visually, it made me wonder if we were at the right place. Eclectic comes to mind, but I can't even say it really encompassed that in a good way. It had the impression of a flea market upon first glimpse from the outside. When you approach the front door, the first thing you see is a hand written sign about GROUPONS! And it made me feel like that must be the main focus of their endeavors, folks with Groupons.
We were there on a Sunday afternoon around 5. We were seated shortly after arriving. The waitress was friendly and accommodating, brought water and took drink orders and returned with them quickly. I had a glass of the Ruffino Chianti, $7. Moderately priced, and fair for what a glass of wine costs most places.
The bread they bring to the table - AMAZING. It really is great bread. Perfectly golden, and a crunchy outside, with a great soft textured bread inside. Very warm, borderline hot! Awesome. Surprised there was no olive oil for dipping, and instead--foil wrapped pats of butter.
I ordered the FETTUCCINE GORGONZOLA. It comes with a salad too. My salad was drowning in the Balsamic Vinegar dressing. Seriously, there was a pool of it on my plate that I also, dipped my bread in after I stopped eating the drenched iceberg lettuce. One small grape tomato on the whole salad. After a few bites I stopped eating this very forgettable salad.
The main dish ($16):
A perfect portion of al denta fettuccine pasta, in a very creamy gorgonzola sauce. Piping hot! The disappointment was that was all there was in it. I tasted no garlic whatsoever, there was no cracked black pepper in it either. It became really, a glorified plate of mac and cheese in a way. I realize some recipe's simply call for a basic cream sauce, sans the pepper, garlic and other possible tasteful additions, but this one was very bland regardless.
My friend ordered the Seafood Penne ($18). It was also a good portion size, not too much, not too little. The penne was cooked al dente as you would expect. The flavor of the dish was actually pretty good. It had four or five salad shrimp tossed in, as well as what I thought were half dozen bay scallops--however, they were actually bits of white fish, not bay scallops. The downside ... was that the sauce was a soup consistency! It was SO runny! My friend literally used a pasta spoon for some of the meal to get the sauce with the penne into his mouth. (I know, right?) It was the only way to do it. He also used the bread to sop up the flavorful, yet very runny "caper sauce".
The women's restroom, was creepy. It felt dirty, though the floor was seemingly clean and there was nothing really to indicate it was dirty, the bathroom "felt" dirty.
The rest of the staff (kitchen staff and possibly a dish person) roamed and out of the kitchen area - looking as if they hated life. No smiles, no friendly hello's as you pass them. The only friendly one in the place was our server, the only server on duty.
There were other patrons there. I counted 4 other tables seated indoors while we were there. One table seated outside. I noted pizza's leaving the kitchen more than plated dishes. (we were seated right next to the kitchen against the middle wall separating the staircase and the kitchen access. Not a complaint at all, just simply where our table was.
Our groupon was for $30 and our bill came to $45 + gratuity. So, walking out we spent roughly $25 in addition to our groupon. Was it worth it in our opinion? Absolutely not for the money - groupon or not.
For the quality of the food served, the ambiance and service ... it should have been a $20+ gratuity experience (including the wine). We would have left feeling we got what we paid for and chalked it up to an average and non-memorable experience.
Amici's is located in the Lockerbie area. That's about all it has to tout. It is a historic building that originally was a residence back in the 1860's and then became a deli and grocer.
When you pull up the menu for Amici's it immediately states "5 Star Italian Restaurant". I gravely disagree. Though the price points represent a 4 Star .... the food barely meets a 2 Star.
If you are going to Amici's hoping for a positively memorable food experience, you will be very disappointed. Mama Carollas http://www.mamacarollas.com/ or the Milano Inn http://www.milanoinn.com/ will leave you feeling MUCH more like you've experienced authentic Italian or sicilian cuisine for the price ($55 dinner for two). | 0negative
| 838 |
So . . . we have a FAVORITE Mexican restaurant in Pottstown that we totally adore - Los Aztecas. We saw that Juan Carlos had opened and it said "Fine Mexican Cuisine". Ok - we decided to see what they offered.
Called today around 3:30 to see if they were open for dinner. I was told that YES they are open. We hopped in the car with a bottle of wine and were there by 4:00 pm. They were closed - door was locked. The sign on the door said lunch until 2pm and dinner starting at 5pm. Hmmm, that is why I called to check . . . ok, miscommunication.
We went back at 4:45 and the door was open. The outside is still a bit under construction - however once you get inside it is lovely. We were impressed with the ambiance - the light fixtures were great, the colors were understated, the background music was appropriate.
Not quite impressed that the disposable paper napkins were placed under the knife and spoon on the right. Should be on the left but perhaps in Mexico that is how it is done - not sure.
Our server was very friendly and we liked her.
Time to order -
Ordered the suggested appetizer Beef Empanadas $12.
First of all if you have a NUT allergy forget it. They don't tell you on the menu they have nuts in them so be careful. Frankly we liked the empanadas. They were really good with a bit of garlic, onion and cinnamon flavor - they were suppose to be served with Avocado Cream - instead we received mayonnaise with about an 8th of a teaspoon of avocado mixed in - I'm being kind.
The tortillas they bring to the table are store bought purple and red chips with mediocre salsa - for some reason they added a ton of black pepper to the salsa today - not sure if that is standard but it was noticeable.
Choice of soup or salad. Hubby had the salad - they had NO house dressing today - nothing like avocado vinaigrette or anything remotely Mexican - they had instead French, Ranch, Creamy Italian or Russian. Hmmm . . . odd for a fine Mexican restaurant but ok. Hubs had the Russian - salad was about a 2.5 out of 5 - the croutons were extremely stale.
I had the Chicken and Rice soup - I had to add salt but it was good once I did.
Entrees - Hubby had the Tacquito Puerco with a Tequila Cream Sauce. I ordered the Cuban Chicken - which I was told they did not have tonight so. . . . I ordered the Tilapia.
On the menu it says the tilapia is lightly fried to a golden brown. Our server told us they were doing it a different way with poblano peppers. I thought I'd try it.
Each entree was served with rice and black beans - also the choice of soup or salad.
My tilapia was $18. It came out on a hot plate a tiny piece of tilapia apparently steamed - still in tinfoil wrapping with maybe 6 tiny julienne strips of peppers and a slice of tomato. It looked pretty bad.
First bite it was bland. Extremely bland.
Hubby's food was a bit better but the tortilla shells were not crispy and there was barely any cilantro. The tequila cream sauce was very spicy and somehow missing the cream.
I will say they server asked how things were. Because she asked I told her the truth. The fish was bland. Someone who appeared to be an owner or a manager came by and asked how things were. I told her the truth also. The fish just did not look appetizing - it was a tiny little limp piece of fish with grey streaks throughout it in a tinfoil wrap -took bites but it had no flavor at all.
In their defense they did ask what they could do to help - I suggested we add some fresh lime to the fish which they brought us. They also offered to comp us one dessert but neither of us wanted dessert.
So . . . $54 later we left.
I hope they get their act together and live up to their name of Fine Mexican Cuisine soon. Otherwise they will have a very lovely restaurant with not so good food and people will not go back.
Has to be hard to get it together I'm sure and I hope they do.
As for us, we will continue to support Los Aztecas which has NEVER let us down. Their drunken tilapia fish is the best I have ever had. And they make their own salsa and fresh chips, not to mention an avocado dressing for salads - included with the entrees - all of this for much less than half the price of "fine" dining.
Good luck Juan Carlos. I do wish you well. | 0negative
| 833 |
Soda Jerks is known as a place for truly wild and wacky burgers. If you're looking for something ultra classic... I mean, I guess they could make that for you. But you'd kinda be missing the point. With over 50 toppings to choose from, over 40 bottled sodas, and over 100 milkshake combinations, this is a place to experiment, get a little crazy, and have some fun. Featured on the third season of You Gotta Eat Here!, you'll find them off in Granville (which might be a bit of a hike for most).
I rolled in on a Saturday evening and the place was decently busy. The first thing that caught my eye was the floor-to-ceiling wall of bottles in the front entrance. From there you'll find yourself within their red, black and white colour scheme, complete with red vinyl-wrapped booths. The decor seems a bit like a half-hearted attempt at creating a 1950s diner except that the vibe falls a bit short. Our server was friendly enough but also appeared to be juggling a bit too much given the chaotic nature of the restaurant.
A "soda jerk" is a person who operates the soda fountain in a drugstore, preparing and serving flavoured soda water or an ice cream soda. At this restaurant, they've taken this concept and have attempted to run with it. The beverage menu is massive. An entire side of the menu is devoted to their seemingly endless drink options, which range from premium glass bottled sodas, milkshakes, and floats. (All of these things can be made with alcohol as well.) Some of the bottled sodas include; bacon soda, Mexican Coca-Cola (yes!), butterscotch beer, pickle juice soda, birch beer, and "swamp juice." The hot names in glass bottles like Dad's, Fentiman's, Jone's Soda, and The Pop Shoppe are all here. I opted for the milkshake route, of which there are 15 different flavours to choose from and you can mix as many flavours together as you like. You can also upgrade your shake with six different mix-ins. I went with a Peanut Butter Strawberry Milkshake ($7.00) in hopes of creating a PB&J in a cup. (Looking back, I should've added bacon!) The milkshake was great! I loved that it was served in the metal cup that it gets made in and the shake was nice and thick. Both of the flavours of peanut butter and strawberry were there, going strong. It was a PB&J total success! The shake was awesome and maybe even my favourite thing that I had overall.
The main event at Soda Jerks are the burgers. Their menu has tons of burgers to choose from but why order one of those when you can make your own? Or "name your craving," as they say. Each customer is provided with a Uniquely Creative Burger Worksheet and a pencil. Your job is to dream up something insane. It's more fun if you let things go off the rails a little bit. Let's break down what I did here:
1. Choose a base: Signature Hand Pressed Fresh Ground Chuck, Single ($14.75)
2. Select a bun: Brioche Bun (other bun options included Eggo waffles or a glazed donut. Believe me, I was tempted.)
3. Sauce it up: Mayo, Root Beer BBQ, Soda Jerks Signature Burger Sauce (ketchup, relish, mustard, with a kick), guacamole, peanut butter.
4. Eat your veggies: Iceberg lettuce, tomato, pickles.
5. Make it cheesy: Cheddar.
6. Make it fun: Potato chips. (Other choices in this section include; Kraft Dinner, Captain Crunch, Froot Loops, gummy worms, Doritos, and mini donuts.)
7. Make it unique: Chocolate Dipped Bacon ($3.00) I had to!!! (In this section you can also add mac n' cheese bites or ice cream. Just straight up ice cream.)
8. Choose your side: Kraft Dinner ($3.50). (My favourite side option, however, is that you can just get a bowl of cereal (with milk) on the side. What a boss move.)
You're supposed to name your burger and I called mine the "Erika Eats Everything!," of course. The food didn't take too long to arrive and I was pleasantly surprised that my burger somehow managed not to appear too large or insane. And actually, everything tasted pretty good together! You'd think that all of those crazy ingredients might be super weird but honestly it kinda worked. My criticisms lie more in the quality of the ingredients, not the overall genius (ha!) behind the burger itself.
Soda Jerks boasts that they use 100% pure ground chuck. No fillers. Hand pressed daily. Cooked to a proper 160° F. (Disclaimer: Meat may show some signs of pink.) This was exciting to me because a high-quality burger should be prepared this way! The meat should be pink (or medium-rare) on the inside if they are using a good product. This was GREAT news! However, this is not what I got. My beef patty was completely over-cooked and dry. Needless to say, there was certainly no pink to be seen, only dark brown. This was disappointing. The brioche bun wasn't all that great either. Normally brioche is ultra buttery and soft. This bun was the most manufactured, sad excuse for brioche that I've ever seen. I really liked the root beer BBQ sauce and I could really taste the root beer, which was fun. They forgot to include my guaca | 1neutral
| 889 |
Let me first say that I have never written a bad restaurant review - but after my experience just a little while ago, I needed to. Also, I have managed restaurants for years, so 99.9% of the time I take the side of the waitstaff in these circumstanced because I know what its like to be on that side of the situation.
First off, same complaints about Happy Hour etc as everyone else, but I can understand that. The food and the service were ok to sub-par. But I already knew that when I went there (I've been there plenty of times), so I can't complain about that.
However, I witnessed the most pitiful management that I have ever seen in any New Orleans restaurant - Not at my own table, but at a table nearby mine (couldn't help but be nosy). A man at a neighboring table ordered a bucket of Budweiser beer. When he went to go open one, he said aloud that it was rusty looking - when he checked the date on the beer, the born on date was August 2013. After checking the other beers, they were all from August and October of 2013. Anyone who has ever worked in a bar and dealt with the distributors, knows that Budweiser has a 110 day shelf life, and that they will come in and replace any of your expired beer with new beer at no charge if it takes that long to sell it.
Instead of being a jerk like many customers, the man simply called over the manager and said "Can I get a new bucket of beers, these beers are expired." The gentleman who he spoke with was presumably the manager, as he was the oldest of the staff there and was wearing a nice button up shirt. Instead of apologizing he grabbed the bucket, questioned the customer, then stormed off.
Moments later, a server or bartender came over to their table with the same bucket and said "so you don't want to pay for these?"... Someone else at the table explained to him that no one wanted anything for free, they simply wanted their expired beers to be replaced with non-expired beers. Then the server says in a condescending rude tone, "um the date on these is the born on date, not expiration date"... For which the man at the table says, "yes - it is the born on date. I work for Budweiser. Those beers were bottled in August of last year, and the shelf life for a Budwesier is 110 days. I'm not being an ass hole, I don't want anything for free, I just want some replacement beers."
A few minutes later, ANOTHER server/bartender came back over with the same bucket, instead of a new bucket, and again questioned the customer and condescendingly told him it was the born on date on the bottle. He explained the same thing, so she herself went through each bottle, and of course did not announce out loud the embarrassing born on dates of the old beer.
In the meantime and for the next 10-15 minutes, the waitstaff crowded at the bar to talk about what was going on, and then proceeded to tell their customers at the bar. Then they started to open the expired beers to have the bar customers taste the beers. It was like a pathetic scene of high school kids trying to pick on another group of high school kids. "Yes! Lets try and convince all of our customers over here that the customers over there are assholes!".....
All the while, the customer still had NO beer, no one had apologized, nothing had been handled. Fortunately, their server finally came back to the table to see what was going on and eventually came back with a bucket of Bud Lights.
As a third-party witnessing this, I was appalled. By the time I left, the ridiculous gossiping at the bar was still going on and no one had apologized. The customer merely asked that his expired beers, in which he had not even opened a single one, be replaced with non-expired beers. He did not ask for anything to be taken off his bill, he didn't ask for anything free. If management were ok with selling expired beer, they still had the same unopened 6 expired beers that they could sell to someone else.
Instead of management getting on the bartenders for obviously failing to rotate their beer - something that is a pain to do but that every bartender ever has had to do as part of their job - the management at the Blind Pelican allowed a group of petty employees to try and embarrass a group of customers who were not trying to be difficult at all. HORRIBLE. | 0negative
| 801 |
It seems like it was only yesterday that Joe and I were roaming around the small streets of Seoul, eyeing up street vendors and drooling over Korean food. Ever since last year's trip, Korean food for us hasn't been quite the same, but I'm happy to say that Edmonton's newest restaurant, Nongbu Korean Eatery hit the spot.
Bringing Korean food and culture to the Old Strathcona neighborhood, the eatery is right on 104 St (Calgary Trail) and 81st Ave and a prime location for some quick bites (with a beer or soju, of course!) or plates to share amongst a group of friends. Last week a group of us went out to try the new eats. Two floors provide ample seating and features a projection of old-school Korean movies -- there's no K-pop here! A roasted corn tea is served upon seating, something I've never tasted before and absolutely delicious.
The menu is on the smaller side and plates are ideal for sharing. Snacks and street eats are definitely a highlight and the ssam (lettuce wraps) offers a more filling meal. The BinDaeDduk was crisp, a mungbean pancake with vegetables and kimchi. I grew up with mungbeans, so the texture wasn't an issue for me. I remember eating one twice the size of my face in one of Seoul's biggest food markets, Gwangjang and the dish is on par, albeit less greasy (not a bad thing). The kimchi in the pancake was quite mild, perfect for those who can only take small hits of fermentation at a time.
The gemma rolls were unique, something I've never had before! A handmade eggroll filled with ground beef and vegetables and deep fried, a sweet glaze to balance flavours.
Kimbap was one of my all time favourite street eats in Korea! You could grab this almost everywhere you went for a quick, yet filling bite. Absolutely perfect, the Korean "sushi" is light on the palate and crisp pickled vegetables give it the perfect crunch. Unlike Japanese sushi rice, the Korean variety usually uses sesame oil instead of vinegar. Instead of ordering the plate (5/$7.50), you can also add one roll to any snack for $1.25. They don't nickname it "drug kimbap" for nothing!
The table's favourite for the night? The ddukbbokki, chewy rice cakes made fresh and delivered daily, and made in a variety of ways - spicy, "royal", and fried. The spicy ddukbbokki had a nice hit of gochujang (enough for most diners I think!), although nowhere near what's traditional in Korea (sooooo spicy I cried!).
The "Royal" had beef and vegetables in a sweet and savory sauce, perfect for those who can't take any heat. My personal favourite: fried ddukbbokki. The chewy ricecake texture plus a crispy exterior for the perfect bite. Pair that with a sweet and spicy sauce and you have a winning dish. Beware though, once Nongbu runs out of fresh rice cakes, that's it!
Another menu item that I've only seen in Korea: kalguksu, fresh hand-cut noodles. In fact, there's a whole alley full of shops that offer kalguksu in Namdaemun Market (appropriately named Kalguksu Alley). These were legit! The noodles had a great bite to them, and cut thickly enough to withstand a flavourful broth. We ordered both the Mussel (seafood soup with mussels and vegetables) and DwenJang variety (Korean bean paste and pork soup topped with ground pork and zucchini). I preferred the heartier DwenJang, richer in flavour from the Korean bean paste. Enoki mushrooms swapped out zucchini for that night.
All ssam dishes come with rice, soup (same broth as the DwenJang Kalguksu), and banchan (small side dishes, including kimchi, pickled radishes and vegetables). Nongbu was sold out of Bo Ssam, the traditional slow braised pork shoulder lettuce wraps and so we ended up ordering the DdukGalBi Ssam, a dish that owner John claimed as one of Korea's newest food trend. When the ribeye was served, I was a little confused as the description said there was dduk patties alongside. Nobody else seemed to be concerned, but I'm all about the fresh rice cakes. Where are they?! Making a bite to eat with the accompanying lettuce (romaine and butter lettuce), rice, spicy savory sauce, and tender well-marinated meat, I noticed something chewy in texture. The rice cake is actually inside the ribeye! That's crazy talk. So yummy!
Ice cream bars make up the dessert menu: the Melona bar or the Pig Bar. I've seen the popular Melona bars in Asian grocery stores as well as Superstore, so I opted to try the Pig Bar instead. Describing it as the Korean "Neapolitan" popsicle is dead on - a strawberry centre with a vanilla ice cream layer and covered in chocolate with chocolate cookie nibs. Not overly sweet and a perfect ending to the night!
Service was excellent despite it being their first Saturday night and the busiest they've had to boot, a true test of their kitchen. The restaurant was packed throughout the night. Prices were fair, running ~$20 per person for a full meal. | 2positive
| 840 |
Before God destroyed Sodom with a rain of hot fiery liquid death from the skies, He didn't even make an opportunity to warn the heathens. The same can not be said for wonderful staff of Hattie B's Hot Chicken. You are strongly advised NOT to get their hottest hot chicken a.k.a. Shut The Cluck Up. The fact that no one that worked there has even tried it should serve as a warning to others. What makes Shut the Cluck up so dangerous is that it is made with a Bhut Jolokia a.k.a. Ghost Chili extract in the sauce. This my hot head friends, is the second hottest pepper in the world, just trailing behind the Trinidad Scorpion. I think they are legally required to warn you 3 times not to get it, after that, it's your own damn fault. Wearing my balls outside my britches, I get a quarter chicken, White Meat and Shut the Cluck Up. What is served to me is Hemoglobin Red colored fried chicken. Its coloring is like a poison dart frog, it smells like hot shaved metal shavings, and all of this combined sending one strong uniform message. "
Please Don't Eat Me."
Attached to the quarter chicken with a red plastic sword are two pickle chips stacked on each other. I ate the pickle chip that wasn't even in contact with the chicken and choke from the heat. Just being near chicken made it spicy. Before I lose my composure I take a huge bite into a wing. Within seconds, I am laughing hysterically. Sweat pours out of weird places that I didn't think had sweat glands, such as the inside of my ears. The pain is so intense all I can do is laugh to try to keep the laryngeal edema from closing off my airway for good, ending my life on the patio of Hattie B's. My sinuses immediately drain all over the plate like I attached a Netti Pot to a pressure washer, my skin takes on the color of a tomato bisque.
Next to me is a nice woman that requests the tiniest of bites of my shut the cluck up chicken. I give her 1 micron of the red chicken skin which she consumes, coughs, sweats, and proclaims that she is now having a bad day. I shake off the hallucinations of the ghost of all the chickens I have consumed in the form of an amputee Foghorn Leghorn and voraciously dive into the enormous task of the massive chicken breast, soaked through the with satanic ghost chili sauce.
Meanwhile, the initial bites of Shut the Cluck up had finished searing my esophagus and was getting to work mixing with my stomach acid to form a new type of chemical weapon. It was not unlike when Sylvester the cat ate the bottle of Nitroglycerin tablets and would explode with every hiccup. My spittle now like the acid produced by the Alien in that famous horror movie which I can't not remember the name of. As the hot chicken moves through you, it is unlike anything I have ever experienced. I could actually map every single inch of my GI tract with the gut wrenching pain. I could imagine the conversations happening in my bowels.
"Hi! I'm a Sphincter of Oddi! What's your name?"
"Hattie B's Hot Chicken, now give me your wallet! I've got a knife!"
After all the taste buds on my tongue had been burned off, I was able to progress through the rest of the chicken with relative ease.
Afterwards, I attended the Radiolab Live show: Apocalyptical at the Tennessee Performing Arts Center. Halfway through the show, I was on the edge of my chair as my jejunum was being gang-raped by the ghost chili. This is what Houdini felt like when his appendix exploded from being punched, the ultimate peritonitis simulator. Ironically, I was going through the most pain during a segment of the show about Pepto-Bismol, and at the end of which the hosts unnecessarily swig down a big glass of the pink stuff. I thought about leaping from my seat, running on top of the hipster's heavily gelled hair in the rows ahead of me to get to the stage and down that Pepto-Bismol. A few hours later, I would drink one and a half bottles of Pepto-Bismol to no avail. My body rejected it as if the hot chicken was saying "Bite the pillow, I'm going in dry". When your time comes (usually 6-24 hours later), you will wish for death on that toilet. I came up with a plan to Macguyver a milk enema gun but was in too much pain to execute it. Your rectum has so many more nerve endings than your mouth and all of them very much exacting their revenge. Even my urine burned after Hattie B's. Nothing helps to relieve this, no amount of spicy tears will make it stop.
4/5 Stars. | 2positive
| 826 |
2 stars cause we have been here twice. Both times the order was messed up. The older cashier lady is just everywhere but focused on what I am saying. Both times I ordered to make it as simple as possible. Gave her a heads up that I wanted two seperate orders, all will be on maiz tortillas and she still asked me after every single taco style what tortillas I wanted. Had to repeat my order like 3 times cause she was putting the wrong tacos on the wrong order. I wanted 2 tripa and a carne asada for one order and 2 Al pastor and 1 cabeza on the other. It was a back and forth for like 10 min trying to get her to pair up the right 3 taco orders with eachother and when I thought it was done and settled sure enough our order came out and it was just messed up all over and I even received some taco meat type I never even mentioned...this happened the second time also this time one order received 2 correct tacos and the third was a meat I mever mentioned and the 2nd order was 3 tacos when i ordered 4 so 1 taco short and of those 3 tacos they were all the same when I ordered a pair of different tacos when I was speaking to this same older cashier. Before the food even arrived at the table I warned my wife to expect the order to be royally messed up so when we received them I looked at the disaster of a mistake they gave us and just went with it. Made sure to look at my receipt to make sure that 4th taco on my order wasnt charged and just 3 were cause these tacos aint cheap either....the total for my second trip here for 2 orders of 3 tacos and 2 horchatas came out to like $42. I tipped 15% so in total it was around $48 for a meal for two people....this long in and I havent even mentioned the food yet. My wife got alpastor which for sure isnt your typical one youd expect...it was brown like carne asada and looked machine cut like rhombus shaped cuts which is typically only seen in poor quality mexican restaurants. Taste was pretty bland. Al pastor is usually known for the red colored meat and its the kind thats on a giant rotating skewer thing, this is definetly not that kind. Carne asada was bland and thank jesus they had the salsa bar with many options because those tacos needed as much help with the flavor as possible. We also tried the fish taco....dude...it was laughable....they definetly use like damn great value fish sticks for their fish tacos, i kid you not. Finally i got tripas both trips. They were decent but the maiz tortillas(on all of these tacos) and the tripa itself must be eaten immediatley especially if you sit outside or else it gets cold and the tortillas gets hard and it feels like you are eating manila paper and the tripas turn hard too and the texture almost tastes stale like its been sitting out for a long time even though its been seconds....like you have to start eating it as the waiter is in the process of laying the food on the table. Once it touches the table its too late, too cold. Especially the maiz tortilla man its pretty bad. It doesnt look or taste like one of those mass produced ones but they just dont hold up well, like they used some cheap bulk masa or something. The horchata is decent, doesnt taste homemade but at the same time its not that godawful cloudy syrup water sorry of an excuse for horchata you get at places like filibertos. I can only speak for their tacos since i have had nothing else on their menu and honestly this second trip will be my last trip here. I have high expectations for tacos and I lowered them for my second trip and id say these, even with my lowered expectations, are below average. Their salsa bar is about the best thing from here really. Their spiciest option and the almost highlighter green avocado option are probably the best even though the latter has not even a slight bit of spicyness in it. I may come in early one day and try their breakfast stuff but as far as a trip to get tacos, this place will no longer be an option for that. | 0negative
| 763 |
I have been watching this location for years. They were Elmer's some time back. Then they became Jerry's. I came here once when it was Elmer's.
Owning a restaurant is a harsh business. There is a ton of competition out there, so the food, and service had better be good. if it is not, the restaurant is not going to make it.
This is my primary motivation for writing reviews. Its not because I want to be critical.
I hate giving bad news. I would much rather tell you that a restaurant is stellar. i hope that I am able to say this of a place here in Boise one day. So far, I have not found one. At least not in the affordable price range of most working class people.
I write reviews because I hope that the owners or managers of restaurants will read it, take it as constructive criticism and fix the things that are broken. This will help them to compete and be successful.
My wife and I woke up this morning and decided that we wanted to go to breakfast. Its something that we enjoy doing on a Sunday morning.
This morning my wife said; "How about moon". Now, I thought she wanted to take a ride on the space shuttle.
But then I realized that a trip to the actual moon was probably not what she had in mind.
She told me that this place called Moons had just opened up on Fairview.
We arrived at Moons on this nice crisp Sunday morning to have ourselves a good breakfast.
The first thing that caught my eye was a drawing on the back of the menu. I assume it was one of the owners kids. Not sure what it was, or what they were going for, but I would either lose this, or tell the story behind it.
When I looked at the inside of the menu, the 1st thing that got my attention was the Chicken Fried Steak (CFS)
Anytime I see a CFS on a menu, I have to order it. Hey, Im from Texas, give me a break!
The steak was breaded and covered with a thick country gravy. The steak was fork tender, the way it should be. The gravy was just a bit too think for my liking, but had a good flavor.
On my 1 to 10 scale, I always give CFS's 2 ratings. One based on what a CFS in Texas should be and 1 based on what a good CFS up here the north would be.
For the Texas rating, I give it a 3. It is not crispy and its just breading. A Texas CFS is made from a good crispy batter that is able to stand up to gravy without going soggy.
On my Idaho/Northern scale, I give it a 5. It had good flavor, a good country flour gravy and it was breaded. Under the weight of the gravy, that is too think to fall of the steak, the breading becomes mush.
I did like my CFS, but I would not have it again. The gravy was too thick and just like that judge on Cutthroat Kitchen, it did not remind me of a good Texas CFS.
The highlight by a landslide was the homemade jam. Every breakfast place I have been too uses pre-packaged jam which is tasteless.
The jam here is stellar. I tried the blackberry and the raspberry. I love being able to actually taste the berry that its made from. Something that I cant do with any of those packaged jams. My favorite of these 2 was the raspberry. My waitress said that the strawberry is very good as well.
She said that when they are making the jams, the place fills with a wonderful berry smell. I cant wait to come back and try the strawberry.
I would come back here just for their jams.
I had scrambled eggs, which were disappointing. No real flavor and again, not fluffy and light like they should be.
I also had the red country diced potatoes. They were nice and tender. Not a lot of flavor without ketchup, but then again. most people drowned their potatoes in this anyway.
My wife had hash browns. They were overcooked and burned in some places, so Its not possible to judge.
My wife also had a pancake. It was over cooked and not light and fluffy like it should be. But it did have a decent flavor to it.
Since Moons just took over from the previous owners, I wont spend much time commenting on either the inside, or the outside.
The one main comment I will make here is that the sign outside says remodeled. I could not see anything on the inside, other than the bar and the chalkboard that has flavors or floats and shakes on it, that would give me any indication that anything inside has been improved.
My hope is that they will do something to liven up both the inside and the outside. As it is, it is boring. It needs something to make it stand out, draw in the crowds, and keep them coming back.
I look forward to trying this place again for breakfast and will come back for lunch sometime as well. | 2positive
| 886 |
They hit my car and drove off.
I spoke with Amanda at the moving company to schedule a move on 10/8/2016 for a few items that I needed help. The drivers showed up to my surprise with a Uhaul truck, I was under the impression they had their own supplies based on the website images and video where they say "with our trucks all over Tampa Bay". The Florida Manager, Frank, arrived with them and introduced himself and provided a card in case I needed anything. After being quoted $337 to move I was expecting better.
The movers had everything done within the two hours. When I was paying I was asked for a cash tip and to give a positive review on Google. I thought it was rude to ask for a cash tip but I wasn't able to accommodate and put it on my card. They thanked me, gave me the receipt and I went inside. When I went back out to get items from my car I noticed a dent in the driver door. The movers had hit it while leaving and didn't say anything. I am unable to open the door, it is completely pushed in. I attempted to call Frank at 757-513-7739 but it went straight to voicemail. I called the office and spoke with Brian who informed me he couldn't do anything and was the only one in the office. He explained that he would attempt to get ahold of Frank and to email him the pictures of the car to [email protected] (which I did at 12:35pm). I finally spoke with Frank who instructed me to take the car to a shop, let me know what the price is going to be so he could put it on his credit card and take it out of the boys check. I told him I did not feel comfortable with that and was already on the phone with our insurance and the police. We spoke with the Uhauls claims department at 800-528-7134. I spoke with Frank again to let him know what we were doing and requested a refund of at least my tip which was $50.00. We were not able to complete anything until Monday. On Tuesday we finally connected with the Uhaul claims department who explained the procedure.
I expected a call from Big Boys Moving Company but they did not call. I called on Tuesday to find out the status of the issue and what the company was going to do. I spoke Amanda who stated I would need to speak with Susan Anderson. I requested to have her call me but I didn't hear anything, so I called back. I spoke with Susan who was under the impression that everything was cleared up Saturday. I stated that it was not and I was not happy that I would be out of a car for an extended period of time due to the insurance policy procedure and requested a full refund of $337 for the inconvenience and lack of customer service. I also found out that I would have to pay out of pocket for the repairs until the insurance sent a check back. Susan was more concerned with the car being out of commission for an extended period of time than the fact their movers hit my car. She spoke in circles. We ended our conversation and I received an email stating that they would have more information for me the next day.
I ended up calling back on Wednesday 10/12/2016 because I had not heard for them and the Uhaul claims department called and informed us that Frank was denying any involvement. After speaking with Susan and Frank I found out that because my partner and I do not share the same last name there was some confusion. I requested for Frank to call the Uhaul claims department to clear up the matter. I requested a full refund again and she said that she was not able to approve it, and I requested to speak with someone who could. Susan explained that the owners of the company pay her to talk to people so they do not have to. I informed her that I was doing research on the company and found many complaints and that I would really like to speak with someone about my experience. She stated that anyone can go online and write a report and that she was having a bad time on the phone with me she should go online and write bad comments about me. I decided that was the last straw and said I would be contacting someone else to help me through the process.
I still do not know the status of the insurance on the car, and who is paying for it. | 0negative
| 800 |
There are a lot of good Lebanese/Middle Eastern restaurants north side, which is conveniently located near (close enough) to my work. There's Pitabake and one of my all time favourites, Sunbake Pita, which we frequent often (helloooo corn nuts). Well, I've heard about Castle Bake for some time now but always thought it was a bit too far to go for lunch. Turns out it's only a 10-12 minute drive so I decided to check it out with a good buddy of mine.
We headed over on a Friday afternoon for lunch and wow, this place is in the most random spot. Smack dab in the middle of a Castledowns neighbourhood. But trust me, it's worth the drive out to the middle of nowhere. The inside is quite spacious with a couple TV's (showing everyone's favourite past time, darts), a cooler filled with some interesting drinks (mango nectar, Barbicon non-alcoholic beer and ayran (salted yogurt)) and shisha if you're into smoking hookah.
The only menu is a little take out sheet which consists of baked pita pies, breakfast & lunch platter, sandwiches and salads. Simple but lots of options under each category.
Trip #1
- Zatar & cheese pita pie ($3.50) and chicken & cheese pita pie ($5.50) - the pies are tasty and pretty generous in portion although much more on the greasy side compared to Sunbake Pita. The zatar and cheese was my favourite of the two that we ordered. The chicken and cheese was a bit on the dry side. Definitely order at least one or two if you go.
- Chicken tawook ($8.95) - marinated chicken breast. This sandwich was boooooomb and the chicken was oh so sweet and tender. I believe they lightly crisp the sandwich on a press at the end - pure genius. Reminds me a bit of how High Voltage does the same thing to their gyros and donairs. All I know is it moves their pitas to the next level. They slather a bit of zatar spice on the top which adds even more flavour.
Trip #2
- Zatar pita pie ($1.95) - you can't really go wrong for $2.00! Soooooo cheap. I don't know how they bake their pitas so perfectly. This is simplicity at it's best.
- Baba ghanouji and humos ($7.95 each) - I wanted to get half portions of the baba ghanouji and humos but I believe they charged us for each one separately. Bah. Oh well, at least we can say we tried both. The baba ghanouji was interesting - definitely nothing like you normally expect this eggplant spread to taste like. This one had a slightly burnt, with hints of bitterness to it. Dbone wasn't a fan. The humos counteracted the ghanouji although this one was pretty mild in flavour. Don't expect any lemon or garlicky taste to this humos! For the price, I would go with the platter instead (see below).
- Labneh platter ($7.95) - if you order any of the platters, they throw in a fresh batch of soft, airy, pillowy, get in my belly pita bites. It's not on the menu per say but the guy working the front said he would throw them in. Show them this picture to ensure you get them. I saw some families getting these last time and I was like I neeeeeed to eat these next time no matter what.
If you've never had labneh, it's essentially strained yogurt. You get a bit of sourness, even some sweetness, it's creamy, light and refreshing. Really interesting. They make their labneh fresh in-house. They also add a couple slices of tomato, cucumber and olives to round things out. The olives were sadly not fresh and the taste suffered accordingly.
- Fatti ($6.95) - pita chips, chick peas, garlic yogurt and roasted nuts. Never had this dish or seen it before but it's absolutely delicious! I'm not a huge chick pea fan but this dish would convert me to eat these everyday. The mixture of chickpeas, cashews, crunchy pita chips and a sprinkle of herbs was a wonderful balance of flavours and textures. The fact that there's roasted cashews in here should already have you sold. GET IT. It's almost like a salad, which we were in desperate need of based on our carb heavy ordering (oops, my bad).
- Abu antar deluxe ($4.95) - zatar pita with labneh and veggies. I could only manage a bite but this pita had tomatoes, olives, mint, labneh and a nice zatar spread. Again, a great combination of balanced, warm, comforting flavours.
If Castle Bake doesn't fall under hidden gem, then I don't know what does. Worth the drive - hey, apparently the north side doesn't suck (much)! Friendly staff, great food and great prices. Bonus, they have a couple chairs to sit outside if you want to steer into the desolate parking lot. | 2positive
| 813 |
To start with, this is just a review of their brunch.
I went into Roux knowing two things: right off the bat I'm battling a bias against a dislike of Cajun seasoning, and an even stronger dislike of the Datz restaurants. I know this opinion makes me somewhat of an outcast in Tampa, but I've grown up in the food industry and I've been to many a foodie paradise- not one of them was Datz.
But, onto Roux.
For the aforementioned reasons, I might never have tried to dine with Roux, but for a few months now I've been on the hunt for a good eggs Benedict in Tampa. A yelp search revealed that Roux had a brunch, the menu looked pretty damn good, and my bf is a lover of Cajun cuisine- so it looked like this might finally be the brunch place for us.
So we walk in, and right off the bat service is great. The hostesses were amazing (it might seem like a small thing, but I love a good hostess). The waitress was nice, but a bit cold at the beginning. She warmed up some as time went on- but again, very nice and professional all around.
Unfortunately, it was one of those "it went downhill from here" times.
We ordered:(to share) the cajun poutine fries, (for me) crab stuffed heirloom tomato, and eggs laffite, (and for him) the peacemaker.
At $10, the poutine was the best deal. It was pretty giant, and relatively good. Although we both had a very negative reaction to the braised beef (it was heavy on something along the lines of sage or rosemary- as in it tasted like meat textured seasoning, no beef flavor remained). But the fries themselves were good, and I'm a sucker for a fried egg atop... Most anything.
This point is where it gets a bit hairy.
We didn't really know what to expect by "crab stuffed heirloom tomato". I guess when I think about it, they've hollowed out a good portion of the tomato, used that to create a salad, and then put the crab in the hollowed out tomato. Makes sense right?
Instead, this was more like a crab topped whole tomato, served with a pool of dressing and two pieces of (again whole) lettuce. Awesome presentation. But has anyone in your kitchen or management actually eaten this dish?
I grew up eating tomatoes like apples. So it's not like that in itself is a problem, but the beauty of an heirloom tomato salad is (usually) that the tomatoes are marinated in the vinaigrette, at the same time the vinaigrette gets a boost of flavor from the tomato. It's a beautiful marriage. But with this arrangement, you have a very sharp contrast between the crab, tomato, and vinaigrette. Really, all you could taste was the vinaigrette after it was mixed, but before it was mixed the flavors didn't mesh well together.
So for $14 I got to essentially assemble my own salad... With a very dull knife.
The Benedict (another $14 dish) was... Small. It came with no sort of side potato or fruit or anything really to justify the price. The bread was actually delicious, but treated very poorly for a base of a Benedict. It's a chewy bread, which means it really needed to be toasted thoroughly or (what would be the best), browned in butter. The chewiness of the bread paired with the chewiness of the alligator made this a very unfortunately textured dish. On top of that, there wasn't a great flavor to the hollandaise or really to the dish as a whole. Towards the end I separated the alligator bites- they were best eaten by themselves. Although on the salty side, they were the best part of the Benedict (sadly, the search continues).
After a few bites of the Peacemaker the boy sighed and sadly remarked "I don't understand why it's so hard to find a good po boy. It shouldn't be that hard." He had the same issue with the bread (chewy, not treated appropriately for it's application), and the saltiness of the seafood. The coleslaw was also lacking flavor. Overall I think his reaction was a firm "eh".
To sum up the experience:
Overpriced for what you get/the skill level behind the food preparation. It looks like the menu was put together by someone with a clear intention, but then prepared by someone who is struggling to keep up.
It could be really great. Right now, it's just not.
BUT we will try again at some point. There are still a few things on the menu calling out to us, hopefully they'll be less sub-par than what we had our first go-around. I would love to be able to change my mind about this place. | 1neutral
| 799 |
I have to preface this review by admitting that I'm biased: I want Cafe Estelle to get as much traffic as possible. I'll be showing my photography here in December, so the more people that see my work, the better. Fortunately, I don't have to exaggerate or beef up my review with false praises, because every aspect of Cafe Estelle lived up to my (extremely high) expectations. Even though the cafe is a bit oddly located (beneath a tower of lofts), it boasts a convenient, large parking lot. I know I'll be thankful for this lot come December, when I'm inviting people from out of town to come see my gallery opening. (Can you tell I'm excited?)
With post--drunken-Saturday-night appetites building, my boyfriend, friend, and I walked there around 1 p.m. When we arrived, there was not an empty table to be found, but we were greeted with a smile and told that the next table that opened up was ours. We were provided with huge coffee mugs and headed over to the coffee bar, which was loaded with organic, Fair Trade coffees to choose from. I chose the Sumatra to start off and topped it off with some skim milk. Be careful to mind the signs on the two spoon containers: one is clean and one is dirty (marked for "dirty--and naughty--spoons"!).
I chatted with Bob, the manager, for a little bit while my boyfriend and friend waited on the comfy couch to be placed at a table. Bob is a great guy, very friendly, and obviously cares a lot about the proper way to run a restaurant. Even before we sat down, I was very impressed with the amiability and attentiveness of the staff. They really seem to enjoy working here, which says a lot about a place.
We were seated after about fifteen minutes at a spacious table. It was quaintly decorated, with different recipes and food pictures underneath the glass. I felt right at home. It took us a while to choose what we wanted from the extensive and delicious-looking menu options. I finally decided on the Spring Omelet, which contains asparagus, fiddlehead ferns, spring onions, and St. Andre cheese and is served with homefries and toast. I'm always kind of a pain in the ass at restaurants, because there's rarely a time when I don't want to make some sort of substitution or addition to a menu item. At Cafe Estelle, the waitress welcomed my alterations with a "No problem!" and a friendly smile. I was happy to discover that you could substitute egg whites for only $1 extra, and since I didn't really want a creamy cheese at that time, I substituted gruyere for the St. Andre. I love gruyere and rarely see it on menus, so I was pleasantly surprised when they had it.
My boyfriend ordered their Split Pea and Ham soup to start off with, and it was delivered in less than five minutes, complete with three slices of fresh baguette and a pat of butter. He loved the soup, and I was very taken with its presentation and the size of the cup (I'd say it was more like a bowl) for $3.50. Our food was delivered only about ten minutes later, piping hot and smelling delicious. My omelet was great, and was served with three slices of baguette, home fries, and a side of pineapple and canteloupe. I have never had fiddlehead ferns, and was quite surprised when I found that I enjoyed them. My only complaint is that the home fries were a bit on the greasy side, but they were still tasty. My friend's Croque Madame looked amazing, and I have to say that I was a little jealous, even though I don't eat ham. She absolutely loved every bite, and it was served with a heaping portion of fresh greens with a (what she described to be) delicious house dressing. My boyfriend ordered the egg and bacon sandwich on a homemade bun and loved it. For the price (from what I remember, only $3.50 or $4), the size was immense, and also included some pineapple and canteloupe. The prices here are VERY reasonable. Everything on the menu, except for the steak and eggs, which was $10.50, was under $10. My kind of prices.
When we got up to pay (the bill was only $35 for the three of us!), we were given take-out coffee cups. I must reiterate: This really is my kind of place. I'm so glad that I finally made it out here. I was impressed by every aspect of this place, and will surely be back soon. Next time I'll buckle down and give their stuffed French toast a try. Thank you, Cafe Estelle, for an entirely enjoyable experience! | 2positive
| 796 |
I've been here a few times, and a couple of times to the location up on King's Row next to where the Loose Moose used to be. They were both pretty consistent as far as the quality of the pizza. Oh yeah, and twice to the one in the Mizpah Hotel Building THAT SOME CRACKHEAD BITCH BURNED DOWN. sorry ahem
Last week I took a date, who said just order whatever, but already knowing certain food likes/dislikes I took 'em into account. I knew she wasn't a big red meat eater, and that she recently had some bad cheap greasy pizza experience. Having been before, I knew there were a lot of options as far as toppings, not just your standard sausage/pepperoni/etc. Plus the cheese is high quality, not too heavy and pretty grease-free in my experience. She used to manage a restaurant which shall remain nameless, so I enjoyed this opportunity to show my good taste (and modesty). Great Basin food has been disappointing me lately, and she doesn't drink, so Blind Onion it was.
The only potential drawback is that the place was pretty small--just a few tables and a bar. However, it looked like they knocked out one wall recently and put more tables in the space next door, so I think it's expanded. They show sports on the flat screens, and are nice about letting you choose what to watch if there's a game you want to see. I've also noticed skate videos on occasionally, which (sorry L.A.!) can often be a nice alternative to the barrage of team sports. Plus that reminds me of SF's Golden Boy Pizza, a cool place run by a staff of skaters.
Since I like a lot of the Blind Onion's veggie and combo options, I suggested a Greek pizza (artichoke hearts, feta, green olives, red onion). She said it sounded good but not to go veggie on her account. I've had it before and liked it, but then I spotted the Popeye, which has chicken, spinach, fresh tomatoes, and a garlic-pesto sauce. Thumbs up all around. I've had their chicken parmigiana pizza before which was OK, but I'm not the biggest fan of breaded meats, especially on a crust base, so the Popeye seemed like a better choice.
We weren't hungry for more than a slice or two, so I ordered the "personal" pizza. The guy showed me the size--I think it's an eight inch pizza so it was big enough for six slices. At 10 bucks or so, it was a pretty good deal for a specialty pizza. Water/soda are served from the machine, I wanted a beer so I opted for an IPA pint on tap whose name escapes me. The cashier/server said he would bring it to me, so I brought my date her water glass and sat down.
Conversation was nice, however I was getting a little antsy after about 10 minutes of waiting for my beer. when the guy walked by me carrying a couple pitchers, I raised an eyebrow which was enough to get the point across. "Oh man! I'm sorry! I totally forgot your beer! Sorry sir, I'll bring that right away!!" He upgraded me to the big beer instead to make up for it, which was about 20-24 oz. That's the cool thing about the staff here, any mistake and they go out of their way to make up for it bigtime. When this branch first opened, a buddy and I went--after a long wait we were told that they accidentally overcooked our pizza and they had to re-do it--we were rewarded by an additional free medium pizza while we waited, at least two free rounds of beer apiece, and a free order of chicken wings to take home. They clearly go out of their way to make customers happy here, which I appreciate.
The Popeye was delicious. Everything was juicy, not overdone, and the tomatoes were the freshest I'd had on pizza in awhile. I wondered if they had bought them at the Farmers' Market the day before, they were so good. I don't think they have ranch here to dip the crusts in, instead they have a bottle of honey at each table. I've tried the crusts dipped in honey and they were pretty good, it always seems weird to me, like a premature dessert. Everybody I've gone with seems to like it though. I've ordered a side of marinara before, but the crusts are soft and doughy enough that you can easily eat them without any sauce at all. They're almost like eating a soft twisty baguette of sorts.
Fortunately we were both happy with my choice, in fact, she originally only wanted one slice and had a second since it was so good. I think the fresh tomatoes sealed the deal. I'm a big pizza eater, but I was stuffed after two slices, so we wrapped up the extra two to take home. Six slices? I like pizza, but damn even for me that's stretching the definition of "personal pizza," so good deal.
There's another good deal from 4-6 p.m. when a one-topping large pizza (huge!) is only $9.99. And as Steve T. noticed, a slice and a pint will only set you back $5. The pizza quality and a conscientious staff who focuses on pleasing the customer make the Blind Onion a strong option in an area with fairly limited food selection. Now can it tide me over until Rib Cookoff?!? | 2positive
| 915 |
Size does matter. Bigger is not necessarily better. It is easier to scale down a successful big model than size up a small one to work. These 'truisms' came to mind as we soldiered through our first - and likely last - meal at Joe Momma's new location in the old Famous Dave's BBQ building which Joe Momma's owners purchased, revamped slightly and opened for business last week.
They have painted inside accents of the eggs and chickens motif of their old location (it in leased space in aging strip mall in Eagle). But given they upsized seating by 300% (from just under 90 to almost 290) in this yuuuge building, it seemed as if the mascot-motif should be a cow for the "moovvvvee 'em in to the feed lot" feel of the place. Nothing worked for us.
I like eateries to evolve so I'm not 'boo-hooing' about change of address. I seldom went to JM's old location because the waits for a table could be long and other eatery options are plentiful. I imagine waits will be less long to sit down here, given the tripled number of seats, but everything about this huge space is awkward. And whether you wait 15 minutes now for a table vs 45 in the old space and then wait 45 minutes now for not-as-ordered food to reach the table since with cattle-call seating of 290-ish capacity neither servers nor kitchen can keep up,it is equally 'tilt' for us.
TIP: May be wisest not to plan for quick work day lunch hour here.
VIBE: Similar to the Three Blind Men and The Elephant parable, you may have a different view of this space depending on where you sit. The seating being used for dining in the dark bar is all high top tables too close together and step up booths at walls. In spite of ADA going on 29 years old, if you have a disabled person in your party, you will not be welcome there. If you sit in the cavernous main dining room with high timber ceilings and too-bright lighting and manage a table near the fireplace, you may be happier. Or if you sit in a booth along the walls. But tables down the center of that room are too tightly spaced for anyone's comfort. And if your party includes a wheelchair user, passages are too tight for that person with only a table or two in the worst location coming into the space being available. (There's a "thanks for your service - NOT" to a vet in a wheelchair.)
Also 'thumbs down' to the cheap 'mess hall quality' awkward flatware. And for the distant 'mono quality' sound system playing pop music mix. And for the table clearing process involving a person carrying big plastic tub around to dump dishes into it...crash, clang...
SERVICE: Very friendly folks trying hard to cover the too many tables in the too big space. A long pause between seating and greeting and disconnected food service throughout. See rest of review for details.
MENU: On oversized, double sided laminated page and a tad confusing looking but actually not difficult to wade through. New items have been added and old favorites remain.
EATS: Lackluster experience of not as ordered food and lukewarm dish for one of us.
Something we appreciate about JM's is Benedicts are offered in half portions. For which we always order the eggs "poached hard as golf balls". I the old location the kitchen always got this right. So we each ordered half-Bennies here. Alas, not so good for eggs outcome. With no way to fix it.
Because after a long-ish wait a runner arrived at our booth to 'auction off' our dishes. "Who gets Carnitas Bennie?" Answer "He does". With "OK" as response the plates - his warm, mine not - were plopped on the table. Our very nice server was busy somewhere in the huge space but nowhere in sight so we went ahead to eat around the eggs.
In a medium-ish while she arrived to check on us but we were half-ish finished with the food. The revelation the eggs were wrong was met with sincere "Oh sorry...". A phrase we also heard the hostess say to folks walking out as well when she asked "How was everything..." with negative feedback offered by some.
This was in essence 'soft opening' week. So hiccups are expected. But my instinct is this place is just too big for them to get it right.
BOOZE IS A PLUS?: Although JM remains a breakfast into lunch hour eatery with "Breakfast" embedded in name and hours no later than 2:30, JM's owners acquired a full liquor license when they bought the Dave's building. (Given how difficult it is to sell behemouth sized old chain restaurant spaces, Dave's building owners may have been eager to offer the license to sweeten a sale). So for those who really must have alcohol with breakfast or lunch, you can get a bloody Mary or mimosa or beer or shot of Makers or anything else. (They don't start pouring hard stuff until 10:00 per state liquor control rules.) Given we'd heard "multiple flavors" of mimosas touted, we each ordered one - cranberry for him, raspberry for me - with lunch. Marginal even at $4 price.
VALUE: Two Half Bennies + 2 Mimosas = @$25. Good value. | 0negative
| 896 |
The Gonzmart family has done it again. They have created a phenomenal dining experience that is sure to become another Tampa icon, just as their Columbia Restaurants.
I was so excited to be invited by my friend and fellow Yelper, Dorene, a couple of weeks ago to accompany her to dine at Ulele during opening week! I am a huge fan of the Columbia Restaurant Group and was counting down the days until this past Wednesday.
Unfortunately, my iPhone's GPS was telling me that Ulele was located in a residential area! After almost losing it, I pulled up Ulele's website and used Google Maps. I, unfortunately arrived 20 mins late and very frazzled. My anxiety left me after dealing with the friendly valets and staff who welcomed me with open arms into the restaurant.
Ulele is located off of the Hillsborough River, in Tampa Waterworks Park. From the moment I walked onto the property, I was amazed. Everything about this area was simply breathtaking from the scenery to the building itself!
Our server Allison was such a joy to deal with, very friendly and always smiling. I started with the Fresh From Florida Mojito. It was very refreshing and not too bitter because they have substituted the limes with oranges!
We decided to do several small appetizers and sides instead of an entree so that we could have a sampling of several of the dishes. The food took a little bit longer than expected and Christina, the manager on duty, came to our table to apologize. The truth be told, we didn't even notice or mind at all because we were just chatting away since Dorene and I hadn't seen each other in a couple of months.
Dorene is not a seafood eater and I am an atypical Asian who is not a huge fan of spicy food. On this night, however; I decided to think out of the box and let Dorene do the ordering.
We started with the Blistered Peppers, which are Shishito Peppers blistered and tossed in sea salt, garlic, and Olive oil. I was a little apprehensive, but these were not too spicy at all! Also, I am a salt-aholic so I quite thoroughly enjoyed them.
We then had the Alligator Hush Puppies which were made of alligator, country ham, duck bacon, corn, jalapeño on a honey datil pepper sauce and served with a horseradish aioli. I had not eaten alligator in a few years, so I was excited to try these. The hush puppies tasted very good, but because there are so many ingredients and prominent flavors in them, I did not seem to taste too much of the alligator.
Next, we had the Jalapeño Cheddar Grit Cake which was made of cast-iron seared yellow cheddar grits with jalapeño and cheese. This cake was delicious but definitely had a kick to it.
Ahh...but our favorite was the Mac n Cheese made of four cheese Ulele light beer sauce, blended with seashell pasta topped by a Parmesan Romana crust. There was an option to add crab, but even without the crab, it was simple pure goodness. I cannot wait to come back and try it with the crab!
For my second drink at dinner, I ordered the Waterworks Sunset made with Fontana Pisco, John DeKuyper Elderflower Liquer, Florida Ruby Red Grapefruit Juice, fresh lime juice, and house-made grenadine. I should have known it would be too bitter for me because of the grapefruit and lime, but I love Elderflower! Allison was so kind to bring out another shot of grenadine for me and it was so delicious that I drank it quickly and forgot to take picture!
We then finished up with the Candied Bacon Maple Fried Ice Cream served with a cinnamon corn flake candied duck bacon crust, made with a Knob Creek creme anglaise and caramel. I am not normally a dessert person. I am also a person who doesn't like to combine sweet and salty flavors. Surprisingly, the ice cream tasted all sweet and I think it was due to the crust. I probably wouldn't order this again, but I would highly recommend it to you dessert fiends!
We were then given these beautiful commemorative coasters for the guests who dined during opening week! It is so beautiful that I cannot bear to place anything on it.
After dinner, we explored the gorgeous building and were stopped by a group of people in the beer garden. Ironically, they were the engineers from the company next door who help design the Ulele Building! They were even so kind to buy us a beer and show us some salsa moves!
Dorene and I both had the Ulele Light Beer. I wasn't a huge fan and had planned to order the Wedding Beer. Tim, the brewmaster, explained to us, that he felt it wasn't ready. I am hoping it will be ready soon because it sounds very tasty!
After exploring the rooftop bar, the brewery, and the beer garden we walked around the Riverwalk. Everything was just gorgeous!
I highly recommend Ulele. I have become so much of a huge fan that I have reservations for this weekend and also plan to hold an unofficial Yelp event here. I cannot wait to return again and again. Thank you to the Gonzmart family for creating another phenomenal restaurant. | 2positive
| 891 |
I was super Excited to visit the famous Emeril Lagasse restaurant! I grew up watching him, so it was a desire to try his famous "AND BAM" dishes. But to my surprise I got a BAM BAM alright.
I had a waitress by the name Alexis, she was unfriendly, and rushing since it was after 2. Alexis She was going on&on a lot sword fish. I politely denied and was requesting the salmon. (I knew EXACTLY what I wanted. I see Salmon, and i'm sold)Being that the kitchen is closing). Alexis then, had a tasteless attitude, stating that she lost her train of thoughts, next questioned if she could tell me what they didn't have, then proceed giving us the list.
I explained it was our first time visiting the city of New Orleans, as well as Emeril's. (Birthday gift trip) Thinking she'll be more welcoming and pleasant. Cause first impressions are everything. I order the salmon as planned.
Their were times, where I tried to get her attention, and she'll walk to a table, (appears to be a regular customer. Two elderly white ladies, who didn't need anything. Alexis says while approaching them, out loud "You know I can't keep you waiting"), just to hold conversation and fill their glasses when needed as they sipped.
Fast Forward to
Box my son's pasta up, the kitchen box my meal up, Alexis ran by the table drop something in my bag and took off quickly. I thought it was the birthday ice cream she drop in the bag, I had to look for myself. Discovering it was the pasta. Last, she presented me with the driest, most dull "happy birthday" you've could imagine and sat it on the table and took off. I thought that was the oddest thing, but I didn't speak on it.
Next I Paid the check with my bank card, and left no tip, due to bad service. Laura walked over to Alexis showed her the bill. (Right next to my table) That's where the drama begun.
Two ladies approach me aggressively & verbally attacking me; while sitting at my table, with my 7 y/o child. Alexis and Laura. Yelling questions, in a very LOUD voice, (Alexis) "Did you not like the service? " "why you left no tip?" "I've been working in this industry for 20 years, I'm a professional, we're professionals, everything we do is professional!
((This what you're doing at this moment, approaching me in front of my son. This entire experience you're giving me. Is NOT professional))
(LAURA) "IS THIS WHAT YOUR PEOPLE DO?" "Do you usually not leave a tip? " That was so Racist!!!
LAURA WAS NOT, even my waitress. The only encounter we had with her, is her walk by filing up a glass.
((From my understanding, I only tip my waitress, and that was Alexis, NOT you))
((Is this what you usually do when people do not leave you a tip? ))
Laura, says that, "we receive a tip collectively as a whole staff or team."
Alexis then leans all the way over a chair, 9that's between my son and I, on the side of our table), Laughs EXTREMELY LOUD & EXAGGERATED manner. ((Oh My Lord. You can go get your manager))
The manager didn't even have a solution, other than a direct conversation with the two racist females. I even ask at one point, if i should have made a report due to harassment. Honestly, (and sad to say) I believe we both, knew that, in doing so, that probably wouldn't have went no where either.
I asked for a card, for the corporate office, which he did delivered his OWN business card, and informed me that, their company is NOT franchise corporation, and that it's private; so in other words they wouldn't even address this situation.I soon discovered that he was NOT lying. The male whom I spoken with, did NOT give a flip, about Nothing that transpired in their place of business. This male spoke as if, I was disturbing his day.
He did explain, that I was at the original location, which I was excited to discover that I was at Emeril's very first establishment! Yet I was very hurt that, this was how I was treated in front of my child, from a brand/company of a man, who I have admired for such a long time.
I would never step foot in this place ever again, i wouldn't even purchase his products from the grocery store.
I hope No one else receive this kind of treatment anywhere, especially with their child being an eyewitness, that's extremely sad, and unacceptable. | 0negative
| 775 |
My friends and I wanted to check out Hawkers and had a late dinner. When we arrived, the restaurant was packed with restaurant guests as well as many to go orders. They have indoor and outdoor seating and were socially distancing. All of the staff were wearing masks and were friendly. When you first walk up the ramp, you check-in with the hostess and they grab your information and will text you when your table is ready. We were able to snag a spot at the bar and get drinks while we waited. We ordered the following:
Tropic Like It's Hot (Fresh and fruity, RumHave, RE'AL coconut, pineapple juice, house sake, and bubbles) *****
O.G. Pain Killer (Tiki- Fruity and sweet, rum, pineapple, and OJ with cream of coconut) *****
Lucky Buddha Beer ****
Tiger Beer ****
Mango Margari-Thai (Fiery and flavorful, Corazon tequila, Patron Citronage, mango nectar, bird's eye chili simple, lime juice) *****
Bull in a China Shop (Mellow and citrusy, Tito's vodka, chamomile tea, agave, honey-lemon ginger simple, mint)****
I LOVED my Tropic Like It's Hot. I could drink a few no problem. They also have a cocktail in a bag (That's My Bag, Baby) that my friend said tasted like a mojito. All of the drinks were delicious and our bartender was David. He was friendly and working so hard slinging all the drink orders coming at him.
We were seated on the patio and they had a QR code for us to get the menu on our phones. They gave us a rundown of the menu. We all planned to share everything which was perfect.
We ordered the following:
Roti Canai- It comes with two Malaysian flatbreads served with a side of the curry sauce. Since there were four of us, we ordered two extra flatbreads which was perfect. This was one of the standouts for me. It took me back to Malaysia and everyone else at my table enjoyed tasting it for the first time. *****
Yi Yi's Chicken Dumplings- Classic recipe hand-rolled daily, wok-seared or steamed, served with a sweet soy dipping sauce. We chose to get our steamed. Not my favorite dumpling I have had and will want to try it wok-seared next time. The flavor was a miss for me.***
Sichuan Wontons- Chicken, shrimp, peanut chili sauce. I didn't find this spicy at all. The peanut flavor comes out and they also put bean spouts in there for added texture. This was a table favorite among my friends. I liked it but didn't love it as I have been making homemade dumplings and they taste way better.****
Golden Wontons- Hand-made daily filled with chicken, shrimp, and mushrooms, fried to a crisp and served with a sweet chili dipping sauce. This one was delicious. The crisp was perfection and another table favorite.*****
Korean Twice Fried Wings- Sauced in garlic gochujang and topped with peanuts, sesame, and cilantro. YES! This was one of the stand outs and I highly recommend ordering these wings. They were to tasty and the crunch was where it was at. Another table favorite and one of my favorites on the menu. *****
Coconut Shrimp- As described with curry dipping sauce. The balance of coconut and shrimp flavor was perfection. The shrimp was medium size. I wished they were a little bigger. Another table favorite. *****
Five-Spice Green Beans- Lightly battered, fried to a crisp, tossed in their signature five-spice seasoning. This one was one of the least favorites. We didn't like how they were battered. I had higher hopes so I won't order this one again. ***
Singapore Mei Fun- Thin rice noodles dusted with yellow curry and wok-fired with chicken breast, shrimp, eggs, bell peppers, onions, and green onions. This dish was pretty bland. I was hoping for more flavor and the chicken was underwhelming. I don't think that I would order this again either.***
Pad Thai- This is listed as one of their staples. Rice noodles with shrimp and sliced chicken, wok-fired in a tangy, red chili pepper sauce and eggs and veggies. Topped with roasted peanuts and a squeeze of fresh lime. This is not a traditional pad thai so do not go in thinking that. I think this had a better flavor profile than the Singapore dish but if I was comparing it to a traditional pad thai dish, I would give it two stars. If this is their Hawker version, I would add one more giving it a three. ***
The noodle dishes disappointed me. I wanted to try a noodle soup and will do that next time when we aren't sharing all the dishes.
Atmosphere was definitely five stars. I loved the decoration and vibe. Our waiter was great. The only mishap was that he only brought one water for the table. They just opened so I am cutting them some slack. My friends and I had a great time and left feeling very satisfied. We plan to come back and continue trying more dishes on the menu. | 2positive
| 836 |
I'm usually not one to write negative reviews, but in this case I feel it is necessary. I understand this manager was following procedure, and I'm not upset that she couldn't provide me with a refund because I couldn't find my receipt, procedure is procedure, rules are rules, and I get that. What mortified me is the experience leading up to being advised what procedure is. This "customer care" associate didn't care. I don't shop at Fry's often if at all and after this experience, I will not be going to this location again. Reality is, the same products can be purchased else where. Living in the Vail area limits options but I will be more than happy to take my business to Safeway. I will also be sure to pass my experience along to others so that they can make informed decisions about the type of customer service they wish to receive. When I came in tonight, I stood at the customer care desk for maybe 5 minutes with out the customer care representative, who was the manager for the night, acknowledging that I was there. I was basically ignored that entire time. There was not "just a moment I'll be right with you" or anything along those lines. At this point I walked up to the cashier who was working the self checkout and asked her if they happen to do returns at this time of night since it was quite late and the store was near closing. She advised me that they do and to go to the line I was just standing at and that the manager/associate would be able to assist me there. I then proceeded to go back to where I was standing with no acknowledgement from the representative Francine. It took the cashier from the self checkout, and quite possibly another associate, to walk up and tell her I was standing there, for my presence to be acknowledged. I was then greeted with a "we are closed up here, what do you need" in a tone that made it clear I was inconvining her. As someone who has worked in customer service for the past 9 years, I was appalled by the lack of common courtesy. No friendly hi, or sorry for your wait, not even a oh I didn't see you there. She was in no way interested in assisting and at that point I should have just walked out. She proceeded to treat me like I was stupid when I told her that I did not have a Fry's card, because as I stated I don't shop there very often(will not be shopping there EVER again), asking me how I bought it if I didn't have one, rather than just telling me without a receipt she could not do the refund and because because I didn't have a Fry's card she would be unable to look up the purchase. I had to explain that people buy things with cash, and do pay full price. Shortly after I called to get the name of the associate who assisted me, only to be waiting on the line for 10 minutes. literally 1 minute before close they answered. I don't know if that's typical for stores when it's close to midnight, but I would assume, with minimal customers, someone would be able to answer a phone. Because she assumed when answering that I was "the girl who just came in for a refund" I can only assume the call wasn't answered promptly in the hopes I would just hang up (my number was provided to them, in an attempt, which I knew was futile, to locate my purchase). I was then promptly informed, after asking for the name of the manager for the night, that she has already emailed her supervisor about the situation and she was following procedure. No emapthy or anything else. I did inform her that it wasn't the procedure that I was upset about, it was the experience, the phone call only increased my level of irritation. I was informed to call in the morning and talk to a supervisor, which I will definitely be doing. If you don't care about customers and you don't care about providing a positive experience then you should not be working in a customer service industry. The lack of customer care and just basic courtesy was astounding. Within their corporate values and mission statement is:
"Integrity : Living our values in all we do, unified approach to how we do business and treat each other."
If this is at all a demonstration of that, then I will be more than happy to take my business elsewhere. | 0negative
| 782 |
I came in with a group of 5 and it as jam packed. But fortunately we were first in line and it only took 10mins to seat us. And so, my buddy runs to his car and brings in our case of beer as they are still pending liquor license.
2 more of our friends show up and luck would have it with us, the table to the right finishes up and we politely ask the waiter if we can combine that table with us. She agreed and all 7 of us sat comfortably.
I'm a Ramen snob and from what I read here, people always brings up Ippudo ( - 5/5 for them) as if that's the benchmark? What a bunch of newbs, but let me move on. I've lived in Japan, tried ramen in thailand, germany and all across of the US. I'll break down the food for you first.
I ordered two bowls of Ramen. The Tonkotsu Ramen, and the Kara Kara Ramen. By the time I finished my first beer, our food came. Can't say how long that was as I was with good company and not thinking about time.
Tonkotsu Ramen:
Broth - My first impression was wow, it's quite flavorful with good texture. A few more sips, I concluded that it had a little too much salt for favoring. I think if they reduce the salt, the broth is splendid.
Noodle - They used a thin style noodle which to me is unorthodox Ramen style noodle. It was cooked for a little too long and came out too soft, tasted a little buttery? Like I had powder left over in my mouth. The noodles was the weakest point, but then I found out that you can get the thicker more traditional noodles, of which I will do next time.
Chashu - I bite into it and it was good. I liked it. No complaints really. Only suggestion is cook it just like longer to make it more tender. I just felt a little more resistance than I wanted, but not enough to make me think twice.
Overall - 4/5 (my rating is as follows: Broth hold the most weight, then noodle, then toppings)
KaraKaraRamen:
Broth - My feelings are conflicted here. I want to like it, but something is nagging me. After going through the bowl, I realize what it is. CONFLICT. It's trying to be Tonkotsu flavored and Spicy flavored at the same time, but the flavors do not compliment each other, rather it is like a tug of war. It wasn't bad, it just wasn't good.
Noodle - same noodle, see my comments above.
Chashu - see my comments above.
Overall - 3/5 - Personally from my experience, I think in order to make a spicy style ramen work, you must start with a softer texture base and the tonkotsu base here was a little too heavy, which resulted in the conflict.
My sister ordered the Takoyaki, of which I really liked a lot! Yummy! =)
Decor (5/5): If you know Ramen, you know ramen is a poor man's food. In the old days, you hand wooden stands and stools and a wooden counter you ate at with complete view of the chef making your ramen. I thought Ramen Bar did really well in this area.
- Open kitchen. We can see exactly how our food is being prepared and who's doing what. This gives me a comfort of mind to know that my food is not being...messed with! Plus, it follows tradition.
- All wood. This was a BIG PLUS for me. All wood is huge, and it's a light tone, with good lighting. It follows that nature scheme without being pretentiousness.
- Bar and stool front facing seating. This is a must have for me at any ramen bar. This caters to the traveler eaters that eats alone. And I travel for a living, so when I see seating like this, I love it. I don't feel so...lonely when I'm trying out Ramen.
Overall - Ramen Bar comes off as a modern take with simplistic design principles that really brings out the Japanese culture. I like it a lot.
Service (4/5) - To put it simply, the service is Reactive, rather than Proactive. Whenever we needed something, a waiter was within reach. But they are not proactive in the sense that they will keep checking up on you to see if everything is okay. This is fine with me as I'm used to asian restaurants. Take a look at the restaurants in chinatown, service is freaking horrible, but do you hear people complaining? They don't because they have grown used to it. I have no qualms with calling a waiter over when I need something. But yes, I think service can improve, but I know they are just student waiters so I'm giving them some slack.
Overall - I see potential in Ramen Bar. I believe it can be something great as long as it continues to ask for feedback and improve on it. It may be a 3/5 overall, but I'm going to give it a 4/5 for the fact that I have tried Ramen Boy, Yakitori and Nom Nom and from an overall delivery, from design, cleanliness, service and food, they are the best in Philly and offers the most room for improvements. Oh, and a great location to boot with easy parking for me. I hate finding parking in chinatown or rittenhouse square. I have yet to try Terakawa. Doing that tomorrow. | 2positive
| 925 |
WOWWWWWWWWWWWW. That was an experience. Restaurant week, thank you for making Alma de Cuba only way outside my price range, instead of absurdly out of my price range. (This place has got to be one of the best deals for Restaurant Week. 3-course meal for $35, and my appetizer was regularly listed as ~$19, and my entree was $28...not to mention dessert.)
FOOD:
--the infamous pre-appetizer cheesy "bread" balls: It's a Columbian bread called pandebono. I've had better, but it is indeed delicious. And I had read (thank you fellow Yelper!) that you could ask for seconds, so I did :) Also, the sauce it comes with is so delicious! I tasted some cilantro in there I think, maybe a bit of jalapeno. Just awesome. WARNING: They do have cheese in them, and they don't tell you. My
--Fluke ceviche: Wow. Literally exquisite. I'm not usually a huge fan of raw fish, but I knew ceviche is this place's specialty, so I went for it. It was absolutely delicious. The fish was so tender and wasn't particularly fishy-tasting, got the wonderful citrus, mixed with the soy sauce, it was just probably the most amazing culinary experience I've had in years. And that's saying something.
--My friends liked their split pea soup and the ensalada de tierra verde, but weren't raving.
--Vaca frita: Another wow! So delicious and so flavorful. The steak is so tasty, and nice and crispy on the outside (it's twice cooked...I'm assuming once like a normal steak, and then its fried, so the outside is crispy), soooo juicy, and so tender I didn't even need my knife to shred it. Just so many flavors. The beans were delicious, the tomato escabeche was delicious like a sweet salsa, it was just all sooooo good together. I want it again now. I would definitely get this plate again in a heartbeat. Also, note, it doesn't look like it will be super filling, but it is! And I'm a good eater.
--Porkchop (not on the regular menu): "Garlic Brined & Smoked Pork Chop with
congri rice, pickled onions, sour orange mojo" My friend liked it, but I tried it and I was underwhelmed.
--Brazilian Shrimp Stew: "Brazilian Shrimp Stew with collard greens, coconut, cashews." Everyone thought it was interesting. My friend liked it, but I'm glad I didn't order it. It was a little spicy, and just weird, like we couldn't place any of the flavors. Also, it's not really a stew, or at least not what I think of when I think of stew. It has rice in a creamy kind of sauce, and it's definitely not soupy at all. The sauce was more creamy than stewy, and there wasn't like extra of it beyond what was coating the shrimp and the rice, etc.
--Carrot cake: "with vanilla mousse, candied currants, walnut dulce ice cream" We all had this for dessert over the other choice ("Vanilla Rice Pudding with passionfruit sauce, white chocolate tuile"). It was really good. Not your traditional carrot cake. It was kind of decomposed, it was really interesting. Three individual squares of carrot cake separated by a less sweet version of your traditional cream cheese frosting (or maybe that was the vanilla mousse...I tried it by itself though, and I thought it was more of a toned-down cream cheese frosting than a vanilla mousse...although in that case we were missing vanilla mousse. So it was probably vanilla mousse.). And then the candied currants were reminiscent of raisins in a carrot cake. The little tiny scoop of dulce ice cream was tasty, but annoyed me. I hate it when restaurants give you a tiny little scoop of ice cream. Like it doesn't have to be a normal sized scoop, but at least medium-sized so I can taste it?! Also had a little thin caramel sugar tuile with little pieces of chocolate in it which was a nice touch.
DRINKS:
Friends liked their mojitos alright (stick of sugar cane, nice touch). I meant to order the black cherry caipirinha, but got the lime one. Oh well. It was fine. Mine was stronger than everyone else's, but was also $2 more so that's good.
SERVICE:
Here is where I would take off half a star if I could. The ladies at the front were super sweet, and they have a coat check service if you'd like. Our waiter, however, was not the friendliest. He was around and filled our water glasses plenty, but just not friendly at all. But my main beef with their service was that they mixed up my friend's entree, so 3/4 of us had our correct dishes, but they were insisting that she ordered something that she didn't, and finally figured out they must have messed it up, and just took the plate away without even an "I'm sorry for the confusion" or a "We'll be right out with your dish!" And then when they brought the dish (about 4 minutes later! That's way too long at a place of this quality, in my opinion...The three other dishes got room temp while we were waiting!), they mumbled a half-hearted "Sorry about that." Boo!
ATMOSPHERE:
Cute and very trendy! Awkwardly low seats though.
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Overall, I hope I will be back (with my parents so I don't have to pay again!) | 2positive
| 886 |
It is with great disappointment that I write this review, as prior to yesterday, Somo was my favorite MYK brunch spot & the spot to which I would take all my loved ones. However yesterday my mom and I showed up for a 12:30 res for Mother's Day brunch, my mom's first outdoor dining experience since COVID. Unfortunately we were met with an atrocious experience that has left us so insulted that we will never again be retuning to Somo. I called a day in advance to request a pod for outdoor seating because I knew my mom would be most comfortable from a COVID standpoint with this seating. The hostess said she would indicate this on my reservation and that it shouldn't be a problem. Upon arrival, despite making the request in advance, all of the pods were taken, & I was told by the host after 15 minutes of waiting that it would be a little while longer because none of the other parties had yet exceeded their 90-min alloted time slots. Because it was raining at this point & we were standing in the middle of major foot traffic, I asked the host if we could be contacted once a pod came available so that we could take shelter from the rain inside of a store while waiting. The host agreed to text me once the table became available but said it wouldn't be much longer because the table closest to completing its 90-minute slot was ordering dessert. We then walked away to a nearby store as I checked my phone regularly. After no calls or texts for over a half hour, we finally headed back to the restaurant, convinced they had forgotten about us. Sure enough there was another party that had arrived after us in the booth that the host told us was intended for us. I went inside, at which point the host insisted that he had texted me. I held up my phone, showed him that he very clearly had not texted me, as he went back thru his text history, finding no evidence of having texted me. He apologized and said it would be only 5-10 minutes longer. My mom and I then proceeded to stand in the rain for another 20 minutes with no movement whatsoever. No staff member bothered to come over to us to apologize, assure us things were being worked on, nothing. At this point an hour and a half had passed from the reservation time- a reservation that I had booked a month ago. I finally asked a waitress to speak to the manager, who came out and could not have been more rude. I reiterated to the manager everything that had happened, and instead of apologizing and taking ownership for the mess-ups, she insisted that the host HAD texted me and attempted to blame their disorganization on me, the customer. I again was put in a position where I had to hold up my phone to show her that there had been zero text or phone call from the restaurant- which she barely looked at. All she said was that they would get us a table as soon as possible. She offered indoor seating, which I explained was not doable because of needing to be extra careful due to having an immunocompromised family member in the household. The manager offered nothing else after that point and was evidently in a rush to get away. I asked if there would be some sort of compensation for the major inconvenience, which she ignored. I then repeated my question, stating that if there would be no compensation, at this point we didn't want to eat there anymore. She mumbled quickly, "I'll take care of it," and immediately walked away, leaving us standing in the rain. We then stood there for 10 more minutes being ignored, until we finally decided to leave and get takeout from Diner instead. We never received a follow-up phone call to apologize for the horrible experience. Instead we received an email from OT that the reservation had been canceled. That was the nail in the coffin. I am appalled by this experience and will never be retuning to Somo again. I will be circulating this story around my friend and coworker group in Philly, as a result of which I'm sure there will be far less business coming Somo's way. Not only was my mom's holiday clouded by this extremely disappointing experience, but on top of it, because of COVID, she had been looking forward to this outdoor dining experience more than ever before. To be treated with such disrespect and to have been blamed twice for something that was so apparently the restaurant's fault...is just despicable customer service and an unacceptable way to conduct business. Somo ought to be ashamed of itself. No matter how busy you may be on any given day or holiday, there is no excuse for treating a customer- no less a mother and her daughter on Mother's Day- the way that we were treated and dismissed. I will miss their amazing food and drinks, but as a social worker for the Dept. of Veterans Affairs' Philadelphia VA Medical Center, I very strongly value a respectful customer service experience above all else- and no delicious brunch or cocktail menu is more important than that. How dare you, Somo. | 0negative
| 898 |
VIP is unfortunately a victim of their own success, and Ricky T's dumpster. The place is deservedly VERY popular, and small, so there is nearly always a wait, and the wait can be an hour or more. Since the inside area is small, if you do choose to wait, you're doing it out back. This has two downsides; if it's a summer month, it can be very hot, and, if the wind blows the wrong direction, the smell that comes off the dumpster from Ricky T's bar next door is enough to make you gag. So, if you're not a local and are just looking for something to try, I recommend calling, finding out how long the wait is for your size party, and if it's going to be a long one that you don't want to endure, you may want to check out some other options because they're normally fairly accurate on wait time estimates. I wish they'd rent out one of the vacant units in the building they're in just to have a bar and waiting area; that would be the perfect solution if they don't want to actually expand the restaurant size.
If you do choose to wait, you're in for a treat. The staff are incredibly hard working and super friendly. You may have a primary server for your table, but they will all stop by to see if you need anything. They have great $5 ($3 on Thursdays until 7pm) house margaritas that are plenty strong, so walking here is not a bad idea if you plan to have a few. The food is mostly Americanized Mexican; I don't want to call it Tex-Mex because that makes it sound like you're just going to a Rio Bravo or Chevy's to get the same ol' enchiladas you'd get anywhere else, and it's much much better than that. I also wouldn't exactly call it Mexican because it's mostly not authentic Mexican fare. It's a mixture of both influences and it comes out great.
First, appetizers. You have to order Chips con Salsa. They have one of the best salsas anywhere; not sure what they put in it, but it's simply great. You can even buy it in half and full gallons if you're having a party at home and want it; I've done that a few times. They also have a tomatillo-style green sauce that is very very good, but it's kept refrigerated so they may not bring it automatically if you don't know to ask for it, so ask for it and give it a try.
For food, my go-to selections are either the Chicago Style Burrito, or the combination #8 which is two enchiladas and a taco. You can choose the meat on any of the previously mentioned items, including chicken, steak, ground beef, shredded beef, shrimp, shredded pork, etc. On the burrito, it normally includes refried beans but I've found I like it better with black beans, and they're happy to substitute. Got some kiddies in tow? Soft taco with chicken and cheese is a dollar fifty, so load them up! They also have fresh ahi tuna that they use for tacos; I posted a picture, it's great, tasty, large chunks of fresh tuna.
Finally, seating. Inside there's a bar that seats about 20 I'd guess. It is not first come first serve; the wait list includes the bar seats. Some people have whined about that in their reviews, but is it better to let a party of two sit around waiting for hours while singles come and go from the bar, or save them the first two seats that open? There are only four tables inside that can accommodate more than two, and the largest table I believe seats seven, so if you're a large party, you may have a very long wait. Typically when I take the family, so a party of six, we tend to wait about an hour. I don't necessarily mind since I can put back a few margaritas out back while we wait, assuming I don't barf from the Ricky T's dumpster smell, but some days we just don't have the luxury of devoting that much time to it.
Outside there are three large tables that seat at least eight. They have umbrellas, so the sun isn't an issue, just that ol' dumpster smell if the wind is going the wrong way.
They have TouchTunes inside so you can choose the music if you would like to play something specific.
Last, but certainly not least, VIP has an app for iphone and android, it's called "The VIP App". It has a virtual loyalty card, and every 10th margarita is free. No one ever mentions it, but make sure you use it. We'd been visiting almost weekly for a year before a friend we know told us about it. | 2positive
| 810 |
Whole Foods in Santa Barbara has an attitude problem -- and that's a direct indicator of bad management. Virtually all of the cashiers seem to hate their jobs and they have no interest in "friendly service with a smile". With only rare exceptions, they seem angry, hostile, bored and disinterested. They are content to do the bare minimum to process a customer's order with as few words as possible. Who hires these people and how do they keep their jobs?
I'm writing this review after approximately 100 visits to this store. I shop at the Santa Barbara Whole Foods about three times a week mostly out of convenience because it's a couple minutes from my studio/office. Plus, I'm vegan and they carry certain items I like. Unfortunately, I usually leave the store feeling that my patronage was completely unappreciated and that makes me resentful that I spent my money there. Not a good business model!
Cashiers reflect the personality of any grocery store. A cashier is often the only employee a customer interacts with on a visit to the store. Their appearance, attitude and personality directly reflect upon the entire business and the customers' shopping experience. A good cashier treats every customer like a VIP and makes them feel good about shopping there. That concept is completely absent from the shopping experience at Whole Foods in Santa Barbara.
My very first visit still haunts me. It was a quiet day with about five cashiers on duty and no customers checking out when I was ready to do so. I innocently stepped up to the closest cashier, not realizing it was the "Express" lane. The cashier literally put her hands behind her back and stared at my grocery basket asking, "Do you have 10 items or less?" I said, "I didn't count them, but if you're too busy to help, I'll go to another register." She reluctantly began processing my order, but severely chastised me the entire time for picking the wrong register. It turns out I had 13 items instead of 10, but the cashier treated me like I just tried to rob the store at gunpoint.
Since then, I've had very negative experiences with a handful of the cashiers there and I now know to AVOID those cashiers: One cashier yelled at me when I moved my shopping basket a little too close to his register while trying to make room for the customer behind me (the grocery conveyor belts are very short at this store and I was trying to be considerate of the next customer). Another cashier intentionally shoved her entire finger deep into one of my ripe tomatoes because I made a polite suggestion regarding how to properly bag groceries. (She was randomly dumping everything into my bag with no care or organization at all. I suspect they receive no training on proper grocery bag packing.) Yet another cashier demanded that I remove my groceries from the hand basket because (she said) that was my job and not hers. (The unusually short conveyor belt makes it more polite to the next customer to keep groceries confined to a smaller footprint by leaving them in the basket.) I could go on, but I have limited space here to tell all my negative experiences at that store.
I know what I'm talking about because I was a cashier at Ralph's many years ago. I've done that job and I'm proud that I did it well. We received thorough training before being allowed to serve actual customers. Our guiding principle was "The customer is king" and we were constantly reminded of that by our managers. If we ever treated any customer with the level of disrespect that is common practice at the Whole Foods in Santa Barbara, we would have been looking for a new job the very next day.
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UPDATE June 1, 2018: A couple weeks after posting my negative review of the Whole Foods Market in Santa Barbara, someone named Yvonne M. from WF Business Customer Services tagged my review with a condescending invitation to contact her regarding my complaint. This appears to be their routine to make it appear they actually care. She minimizes my detailed and careful review after 100 visits to the store, summarizing it inaccurately as a minor complaint about ONE employee. Did she even READ what I wrote? I'm not the superficial kind of person who would bother to write a detailed six paragraph review because one employee forgot to say "thank you". Yvonne M.'s disingenuous reply actually fortifies my complaint. She proves my point -- Whole Foods employees don't actually care about real customer service, they're simply doing the bare minimum to collect a paycheck. | 0negative
| 785 |
Oh those ceilings. Wow, so this restaurant has a striking and gorgeous great room with 65ft ceilings that make you feel as though you're in an old art gallery totally setting a very nice ambiance. On the second level there was one TV to which multiple people were scattered around watching a playoff game which I can't decide was a good thing or bad. I'm a sport fanatic and have my TV on all the time while at dinner at home but when I'm out to dinner I feel like if you're going to have 1 TV in your restaurant then you likely need 20 of them and therefor guest are prepared. This just felt out of place and could have been placed in one of their private rooms or something because naturally I wanted to watch but it was too far away and my guest didn't appreciate me looking. Nevertheless the ambiance was amazing and totally one of the most memorable from any steakhouse I've been to.
The service was good and all the bases were covered with regards to an explanation of the menu, proper suggestions and answering any questions we had. The food was delivered promptly and glasses were always kept filled. We had an issue with our bill which the manager was more than happy to handle and take care of which was greatly appreciated. The server also gave us a great recommendation for a sports bar (with 20 TV's ;)) to catch the second playoff game that evening.
The food was very good and I was very happy. I'm a Barclay Prime fanatic (yes, people will say there are better steakhouses in Philly, this just happens to be mine for the time being) so I compare everything to it. We started out with the calamari and kobe beef short ribs. Unfortunately, I do not eat much seafood at all, its a shame considering how much I enjoy food and dining out, trust me I know. My attention therefore was to the kobe beef short ribs, which actually should be listed on the menu as short rib (no s) because you get just one. I understand its kobe and it was absolutely fabulous with a delicious sauce on top of a polenta cake however I just felt a little jipped when I saw my friends devouring this mound of calamari and I got three little bites. I did sop up the dipping sauce for the calamari with some of the left over bread, delicious.
So like I said, I don't eat seafood so I push everyone passed the seafood towers and on to the back for the meat, after all it is a steakhouse. Its a shame, I know....to my credit I have tried every preparation possible for every seafood item out there and just have yet to acquire the test. I blame my father, we never ate it growing up.
For four of us, we ordered a 22oz porter house (dry-aged 28 days) and 22oz cowboy rib-eye (wet-aged). Both were very good, but when I compare them to Barclay's here's how the battle goes down. BP - ribeye vs UT ribeye, barclay wins hands down. The marbelization on BP's meat is better and the crust which all steaks should have is much better on BP's. It was still a delicious cut of meat and better than UT's porterhouse. In the battle of BP's portherhouse and UT's portherhouse, UT's failed to impress and was not nearly as tasty as BP's. I typically always go for the ribeye at any steakhouse however occasionally at BP I'm surprised out the robust beef flavor that they're able to get our of their porterhouse cuts while maintaining the moisture and juiciness I love from the ribeye. Perhaps its in their aging process who knows. Nevertheless, UT failed to deliver on any of those levels for me and simply left more to be desired from this type of steak. Overall the ribeye was very good, just not as good as BP's and far better than their own porterhouse. We didn't do any of the toppings, a steak should taste like steak. Anyhow, I am being overly critical here because I really did enjoy the steaks, devoured them, just giving you a perspective. They really are well prepared.
For the sides we got Mac and Cheese and sauteed spinach. Now these were both delicious and I really have no complaints. The mac was perfect. If you'll read my reviews you'll notice that if a restaurants sells mac and cheese, there's a pretty good chance I'm going to get it. Call me unsophisticated or lacking in variety in my selections, whatever, I'll never stop enjoying a good mac and cheese dish. Maybe its my quest to find the perfect combination of ingredients, nevertheless, few dish are quite as satisfying. (Here's where I'll insert a plug for probably the current front runners: Blue Smoke in NYC has great Mac & Cheese and Agave also in NYC has this ridiculous dish they call sante fe shepherds pie that has a mac and cheese base and other amazingess). The spinach was perfectly cooked and buttery and was a perfect compliment to the meats and starch.
As you'll note, I rarely do dessert unless my wife insist, but we were tapped out after that food and called it day. Overall, very please with my experience. | 2positive
| 898 |
So, it's been more than a week since we visited Patxi's and I waited this long to give them the benefit of the doubt, but I have still not heard from anyone so I am going to let you know about our experience.
I am familiar with Patxi's as they have several locations in the Bay Area and I've been there a few times so I was excited when I saw the location in Santa Barbara.
My sister is getting married at the SB courthouse on a Sunday and we were looking for a place to have dinner after so we felt that Patxi's would be a great option. I emailed the general manager to ask about hosting about 75 people as the website says they do not take reservations but will work with us on events. Anyway, it took about a week for him to email me back and this was after two emails and two calls (this should have been my first clue.) I finally connected with him and he let me know that they had not done a party that big but would work with us. He also invited me to go to the location and look at the space. I let him know what day I was available and he said he would not be there, but he would bring his manager up to speed and I should talk to him when I arrive. He also suggested I try to be there before 2:00 PM as that is their busy time of day.
We arrived for lunch at about 12:15 PM, were seated right away and given kids menus and crayons for our kids. Our server took our order quickly and brought our drinks out in a timely manner. While we waited to order, I asked for the manager and he came out to see us. I let him know who I was and why I was there and he did not have a clue as to what I was talking about. He did apologize that he had no information for me and let me know the general manager was out sick the previous day. It was really disappointing that we drove out for an hour to get information for our event and got nothing from the manager.
We didn't want to ruin our day so we ordered lunch: the meatballs and the deep dish BBQ chicken (no jalapeños, add pineapple). We got out meatballs quickly and they were really good. The pizza came out a bit after and as we served the slices we noticed it was not our pizza. The manager came out and let us know that there was a mix up and that our pizza would be out in a minute. He took the wrong pizza back.
We waited, and waited and waited for our pizza and no one would come by our table. Our server was long gone and the runner asked if we wanted bread while we waited, we declined as the pizza is deep dish and we didn't want to get too full. After about 10 minutes the runner finally comes to our table to let us know that she gave our pizza to a different table and they had already started eating it.
Now, it takes about 30-45 minutes for a deep dish to bake. That's 30-45 additional minutes of sitting there, with hungry kids. She let us know that our new pizza was in the oven and it would be "20-10 minutes." We let her know that at this point we couldn't wait for the pizza but if we could get another order of meatballs, that would be fine. She said she would bring them out right away. So we waited and waited...by this time the kids were melting down and again, no one came to our table so we put the kids in the stroller and got ready to leave. The runner came back and said she understood we couldn't wait. We asked what our bill was for the meatballs and beer my husband had and she said "I don't think you have to pay" so we left.
Shortly after we left, I got an email (they had my contact information from my inquiry about the event). It was from the manager. He said he was sorry about the service and would like to send me a gift card so we could come back and see what they were really about. He also said he would like to work with us on the event if we were still interested. I responded and let him know I was disappointed about the lack of communication, but I knew that Patxi's was a great place and would love to come back and that I was still interested in talking about an event. It's been more than a week. No response on email, no gift card in the mail.
To say that it was a terrible experience would be an understatement. We are pretty reasonable and understand things happen, but I was so annoyed that the manager did not come back to our table at all. He would walk by and not make eye contact with us. I feel like he should have come to us after the second pizza mix-up and try to make it right. He instead let the poor runner come talk to us and she even said "it was my mistake, please don't blame the manager."
Also, if they really are not set up for a large party, I understand that...I really do, but why not just tell me they can't do it? Why tell me they can work with me and have me come in and see the space? It all just really disappointed me as I had high hopes for this place.
Bottom line: food is good, service is OK, management is terrible. | 0negative
| 979 |
TL;DR: The owner Jules horribly mismanages reservations, blamed me for being unhappy with that, tried to make her hostess bear the brunt of it, and threw a tantrum like I've never seen before.
We attempted to dine here Friday night. When they take reservations on OpenTable, they offer indoor or outdoor reservations. We opted for the first available indoor reservation, which was 8pm. If we wanted to eat outdoors, there were many available earlier, but this was a chilly, windy night. Also, one of the features of the restaurant that they advertise is their open kitchen design, so you only get the added experience of that if you eat inside.
We arrived at 7:55 and checked in. The hostess began looking at outdoor tables, and I politely reaffirmed that our reservation was supposed to be indoors. She said there was no such thing as indoor or outdoor reservations and that neither was guaranteed, but we could wait for something to open up if we wanted. We then noticed that another couple was waiting in front of us who were dealing with the exact same problem.
I asked the hostess to check how long we would have to wait. She went inside and came out 5 minutes later and told us, as well as the other couple, that there were two 2-tops getting dessert. It was now 10-15 minutes passed our reservation time, so I called the hostess' attention to the fact that their terms on OpenTable stipulate that reservations entitle you to 90 minutes of dining time (a very common rule in these pandemic times), and asked that someone hurry these tables along so that they can meet their obligations to us. The hostess went inside and I assume attempted to do that.
Another 10 minutes went by while we waited - I won't say patiently at this point, but courteously and unobtrusively - and someone walked out carrying food, who I assumed was a waitress. She walked by us and asked if we'd like to sit at an outside table, and I explained the situation. Her face visibly didn't want to hear my recounting of events thus far and she cut me off and said they were very busy. I responded that that may be the case, but we were now pushing 25 minutes late on a guaranteed indoor reservation and that this was being mismanaged.
She walked inside speechless as if I had just kicked her puppy, and the next thing I know, the hostess walks back out and says to us "Jules doesn't think this is the restaurant for you." Yes, the woman had in fact been the owner of the restaurant, and on top of her inability and unwillingness to sympathize with our poor experience thus far, she spinelessly sent someone else out to tell us to leave!
After a minute or so of the hostess, now somewhat (understandably) embarrassed, trying to diffuse things, Jules walked back out. She immediately started scolding me as if I was somehow in the wrong. She asked to step to the side, which I did, because I assumed there was some type of misunderstanding that we inevitably would work through, and I didn't want to make it a public spectacle for her sake. She continues almost yelling about how busy they are and how she's trying her hardest, which, okay cool, but you're a professional restaurant owner and never in my life have I had anyone in a professional service management role yell at me about how hard they're trying - especially after I had spent 30 minutes trying to give them the benefit of the doubt to make things right. I tried multiple times to calmly ask her to let me get a word in to explain how things looked from my perspective - that they have a reservation book with guaranteed indoor and outdoor reservations and an industry-standard 90 minute max rule - all things that they actively setup in their reservation system, which if enforced would avoid situations like this - but she cut me off in the middle of every sentence. At one point she actually yelled "we don't have any rules!" and said I was attacking her, and again said she didn't think this was the restaurant for me. I responded that if calm and collected feedback about a horribly mismanaged experience after every attempt to let them work out the kinks feels like an attack, then I don't think this is the business for her.
She then released her pièce de resistance, yelling "I've been in business for THREE AND A HALF YEARS!" as if that's some eternity that ranks her among the elders of the restaurant business and somehow indemnifies her from doing any wrong.
At that point I picked my jaw up off the floor and we left. I seriously can't believe how that all unfolded. I am quite seasoned when it comes to high-end dining, the experience and management expectations that come with it, and customer etiquette, and never in my life have been so surprised by such an end-to-end failure. Really quite remarkable. | 0negative
| 853 |
Edmonton boasts a beautifully robust Latin community and one of the best places in the city to experience a full celebration of these cultures is Paraiso Tropical. This Latin grocery store and kitchen has been around since 1991, is family owned, and entirely operated by staff members with origins in various South American countries. If you want to feel as if you've wandered into a market in El Salvador, Brazil or Colombia - this is absolutely the right place. With two locations in the city, one in the north end and one on the south side, you are never too far away from empanada goodness. CBC Edmonton called Paraiso Tropical the Best Wild Card in their Best Restaurants 2019 article and I was eager to find out what this place is all about.
I personally chose to hit up Paraiso Tropical's south location because it is literally blocks away from my house in Allendale. This one is the newer of the two locations and you'll find them in a small strip mall area right on Calgary Trail (which means that you've driven by this place a million times). You simply cannot miss the vibrant and festive awning on the outside of the building - it's green with stylized tropical fruit all over it - and it's urging you to come inside. Their branding is actually very nice and consistent throughout.
Entering the store, it looks very much like a typical grocery market situation. But when you look a bit closer you realize that you are no longer in the same country and that you may have stepped into a shop while on vacation to someplace much warmer. The aisles are filled with exotic goods and I was especially impressed by the large selection of dried chilis. You could spend a lot of time going up and down the rows discovering all sort of new ingredients and finding endless inspiration. To the right side of the store you will locate the "Kitchen" area, where hot foods are being sold. There is no seating (a couple of tables could be so nice!) and the food is being prepared strictly for takeout. But let me tell you: some of my favourite cultural food experiences have taken place in very similar grocery store situations. I was feelin' this whole thing! Approaching the hot foods counter, I feasted my eyes upon an array of South American delicacies and couldn't help but get a very "street food" type of vibe from it all. I really love that the dishes featured originate from various Latin countries and not just one - it's like you're taking a tour of the continent with your stomach! The woman working behind the counter and dishing up the goods was incredibly friendly and helpful in answering my questions. While they offer quite an extensive menu, they don't necessarily make every item every single day. Because of this, I was very pleased to see that all of the items that I was hoping to try were available! But first. DRINKS. There is an entire shelf dedicated to rows upon rows of imported Latin beverages and I grabbed two. First, a Mxcn Cola Jarritos, and secondly, a Purple Corn Drink that caught my eye. At this point most people have likely seen and tried Jarritos because they are fairly available even in regular grocery stores. They are certainly recognizable by their rainbow of at least eight different flavours. I have been in love with their Mexican cola for several years now. It's my favourite cola beverage on the market and I like it better than Coke, Pepsi, or any of those. This one is the best because of the real cane sugar used to make it. It's quite amazing that the flavour can be made so much better simply by using better sugar, but it really, really makes a difference. Try it for yourself and see.
The second drink was surprisingly wonderful! Imported from Peru, this beverage is made with purple corn, pineapple, quince, cinnamon and clove. I loved it! Each of the flavours were totally there and it tasted like taking a tropical vacation at Christmastime.
Next it was time for food! Paraiso Tropical makes a bunch of different items including three types of tamales and three types of empanadas. Plus soups, tacos, arepas, and a bunch of other things. It's all pretty snacky and I can imagine myself running into this store to grab a hand-held treat in the future. And again, I love that so many different countries are represented in their offerings. First, I leaned in hard on the empanadas and got all three: Brazilian Cheese Empanada ($3.50), Colombian Empanada ($2.60), and Pastel Brasileiro Carne ($3.75). The Brazilian Cheese Empanada involves queso! Cheese and more cheese stuffed in a soft wheat flour shell. Light and flaky with a bubbly crisp outside, salty gooey cheese on the inside. It kind of reminded me of a bigger, more involved version of a pao de queijo, a Brazilian cheesebread (which they also sell). I loved this one. It was my favourite. I will be rolling up and grabbing some of these on the regular.
Next was the Colombian Empanada, smaller in size and yellow in colour. A crispy corn shell exterior stuffed with a savoury stewed | 2positive
| 883 |
Super snackalicious. Went to Devon a few weeks ago with my mom for dinner (we do dinner and drinks every week). We were in the mood for something a little more upscale than our usual joints and made the wise choice to dine at Devon.
Ambience: Very nice without being stuffy. Walking in, my first thought was "this reminds me of New York". In a good way. I've really enjoyed my snacks here in Philly (for the most part) but this reminded me of home, which was nice.
Service: The service was quite good. There were a few minor missteps that I probably wouldn't have noticed if I didn't spend so much time working in fine dining, but that irked me nonetheless. Like, not bringing out a separate plate for the mussels appetizer. I shouldn't have to use my bread plate for that. It also struck me as strange that they didn't have any tiny spoons. That would have been nice for my mini creme brulees. Yeah, totally minor and not even worth mentioning, so I probably shouldn't have since it just makes me seem like a jerk.
Our waitress was very nice, perfectly attentive, just awesome really. She did a pretty wonderful job. We really wanted for nothing for 95% of our visit.
Drinks: We each had a cocktail while we waited/during the appetizer. I had a Jack & Ginger and mom had a Jameson & Ginger. They were perfectly made. Well, perfectly made for me, but I like a strong-ish drink where you can actually taste the alcohol.
Wine: We ordered a bottle of Malbec. It was reasonably priced at around 37 dollars. It was tasty. Granted, I could have picked up the same bottle for around 20 (and have in the past), but it still wasn't completely out of line.
Food:
So it starts with these biscuit things and butter. The biscuits look like they should be cheddar biscuits, but sadly, they weren't. I really like cheddar biscuits. These were okay, kind of corn biscuit-y but the butter was crazy sweet, like it had honey or something and I wasn't really a fan. There wasn't anything wrong with it, but I didn't really care for it. It could have been because I really wanted the biscuits to magically turn into cheddar ones.
We had the Blue Hill Bay mussels for an appetizer. There wasn't anything outstanding about the dish, but that's part of what made it so delicious. It was just fresh ingredients, prepared simply and well. It was really well balanced and tasty.
For our entrees: My mom had the seared scallops with lemon-asparagus risotto. She said it was wonderful. I had a tiny bite and can say that the risotto was perfectly cooked, deliciously creamy and that the scallops were delicate and wonderful.
I got the filet and crab cake and chose the asparagus and lobster mac & cheese for my sides. I wasn't expecting the filet to have as much pepper on it as it did, but it was really good once I got used to it. The steak was perfectly cooked, like picture perfect. It pleased me greatly. The crab cake was easily one of the best I've ever had. It was just big fat hunks of crab, held together by crab and then cooked. Crabtacular!
The asparagus was quite good, but it was asparagus, so what can you really say? I like asparagus a lot, but it's rare to have life-changing asparagus. Unless it's wrapped in prosciutto with parmesan cheese and balsamic. But that's a different story.
The lobster mac & cheese was really hot when it came out. I know that makes total sense, but the mac & cheese wasn't awesome until it was just lukewarm. As it cooled down it went from "meh" to "oh" to "yum" to "omnomnomnom". Yeah. Serious.
I don't normally order dessert, but sometimes it's appropriate. Especially when there's mini creme brulee on the menu. It's a trio: vanilla, chocolate, orange. I don't like orange very much in desserts so I asked that they just give me two vanilla or two chocolate. They gave me two vanilla. I kind of wish they gave me two (or three) chocolate. The vanilla was a very nice, standard creme brulee with a nice crackly top and good consistency.
The chocolate had a less ideal consistency...it was more pudding-y than brulee-y. But it tasted phenomenal.It was like Mexican hot chocolate but cold. It was ridiculous. I could have eaten a giant bowl of it and not been ashamed. (well, maybe a little)
So, yeah. Totally dug the place. Can't afford to eat there all the time (or often at all) but it was definitely worth it. We had a great night, were well fed and drank our fill and the bill (including a ~28% tip) hovered right around $200. Definitely not cheap, but not unreasonable for the quantity and quality of food and bev we enjoyed that evening. | 2positive
| 828 |
While a 4-star review is far from a "hater" review, I'll admit that I find myself hating the idea of breaking Metro Diner's early streak of six straight 5-star reviews to kick off its presence in the Indianapolis market.
Unfortunately, I just can't quite convince myself to fork over that 5th star. Not yet, anyway.
A growing Florida-based chain that got its claim to fame as an alumni of the show "Diners, Drive-Ins, & Dives," Metro Diner is just breaking into the Hoosier market with this location at Clearwater Crossing on Indy's Northeastside and a Greenwood location soon to be open. The chain started in San Marco, Florida about 25 years ago and has done a slow build with multiple locations in that state along with Indianapolis and, in the near future, North Carolina and Pennsylvania.
With a tag line of "where the locals meet," Metro Diner emphasizes a friendly, local feeling along with contemporary culinary techniques and food made from scratch. They serve up all three meals with a diverse menu that couldn't possibly be described in the course of a single review.
Despite having been only about a week, if that, Metro Diner had a healthy crowd this Friday night. It's located in the same strip center with Puccini's and Tilly's Pub and has both accessible parking and appropriate curb cuts. My sense was that corporate staff was plentiful for this first location outside Florida. The double glass doors were fairly workable, though both going in and out there were ample staff available and practically insisting to help. The dining area is fairly tight with mostly tables, a few booths and a lunch counter that really stresses that "diner" concept. It's definitely more diner than dive.
I was escorted to a 4-top, in fact the first official table in the restaurant and adjacent to the lunch counter and where orders are picked up by servers. They seem to operate with a focus on fast yet friendly customer service. You have a server, but "runners" seemed to do a lot of delivering. I saw one such "runner" get admonished for responding to a call too slowly (which, for the record, I found a bit tacky).
My server, Jodie, was friendly and helpful. They have a large chalkboard that lists the day's specials. However, the servers are also perfectly willing to explain anything. As several people have already stressed, the service is super attentive and super friendly.
I completely missed the tenderloin on their menu. I surprised myself by going with a meatloaf plate that included mashed red-skinned potatoes with brown gravy, veggies and an advertised fresh baguette (that was more like bread on this visit). The price was $9.99 plus drink with the entire meal just over $13.
They also offer a variety of other meals, sandwiches, salads, and options in multiple areas including meat, fish, poultry, chicken, etc.
I wasn't completely sure I'd resonate with the gravy - I can be very hit and miss with it, but this was very good. It didn't overwhelm the meat or potatoes, but it complemented it well. The potatoes were an absolute delight. Again, I wasn't sure. I'd almost gone for my usual burger, but really wanted to branch out and this sounded good. It was a terrific choice. The bread/baguette was unimpressive (and served, perhaps intentionally, without any type of spread). The meal was nicely sized, though probably not as abundant as some of their others - the fried chicken plate looked amazing as I eyed it with a nearby diner.
So, why the loss of a star? Three things all added up to minor issues overall.
First, I was really in the mood to relax and this atmosphere is quite busy. I think I'd have been happier at another table as the constant busyness of people walking by the table or standing by the table was distracting. I also found the grill area to be excessively noisy - sure, it's like a "diner" but in a future visit I'd likely try to sit elsewhere.
Secondly, there are minor accessibility issues.I was bumped more than once. That always interrupts a meal. Was it horrible? No, but it was a minor issue. As they got busier, I could tell that options for a wheelchair are somewhat limited. However, it should be noted I'm sure the customer service would kick in and make it happen.
Finally, the admonishment. It actually really bothered me. I get that they're in training, but calling someone out, even in a minor way, within earshot of a customer is unacceptable. Period. Fortunately, it was quick and it certainly wasn't rude. For me, it just kind of conflicted with the whole "family" vibe and made me wonder if it was fake.
So, I drop one star while acknowledging that once things calm down and training is done they may very well snag that 5th star as the food is delicious, the service is warm and friendly, and the prices are reasonable for the neighborhood. I'll be back. | 2positive
| 839 |
Second update:
This message is to: Mr. Marc (Owner of Central City BBQ),
Why do you keep editing your own comments? Good thing that now days there's a way to do a screen shot on your phone.
Like I said before: a simple apology would have done it, and kindly I would have updated this review to a more positive status with better star ratings.
I didn't go as low as you by insulting you or anyone; you in the other hand, keep writing and shouting how unprofessional you are by even now suggesting that other Yelp reviewers are fake accounts, suggesting I'm the one behind those "fake profiles"...shame on you!!!! I have no time for this foolishness and I do hope hundreds, if not thousands more, find this review and take the time to read what kind of owner this place has. Like I said in my review: "your food is good", but you have no place in the restaurant industry if you can not take criticism from a paying customer. That's why Yelp allow users such as myself for us to tell our stories, whether is a good one, or a not so good one.
Updating my review as part of owners comments below.
Oh wow! Not I'm sorry but you're not going to make me or my family look bad here or anywhere. Instead of you apologizing you go and write these ugly comments and lies? You are saying half trues but mixed with lies.
Let me clarify here: WE NEVER ASKED TO TASTE OR EVEN ASKED TO GET FREE BRISKET. We only asked about if we were there too late and if food was good at near closing time. Your staff was the one that offered the samples. We NEVER asked for that, and never asked for anything free. Get your facts correct. My review is from a dissatisfied customer and its very obvious here that you will go whatever lengths to make yourself look good, even when you're wrong. No where in my review says that we left at 9pm. I said we were done by 9pm. And after being there for a few more minutes is when your manager came rudely to basically tell us to leave. As for Yelp taking this review down, I would never trust this site as it is bias. A short apology would have done it, instead you went on to attack me and called me a liar. What a shame.
Good luck with your star manager.
VERY RUDE MANAGER. We have been coming to this place for a while and never had a problem, until last Saturday. We were a party of seven people with some of my family visiting from Florida; We arrived at 8:30 pm, without realizing the restaurant closes at 9pm. Before ordering, we decided to ask if it wasn't too late for us to order, and also asked if food was still available and hot since we saw the kitchen staff putting things away in front of us. To our surprise, I assume, the manager on duty, rudely said: "So you don't trust we know what we're doing?", I was stunned by his question that not only was uninvited but also in a very rude attitude. Since I had my family visiting from out of town, I didn't want to say anything and I just played it off without making it a big deal. Then what really bothered me and my entire family was what followed after us finishing up our meal. We were done around 9:00 pm. The same manager came from behind me and gane me a pat on my back and told me: "Hey buddy it's time to wrap it up" and walked off as the rest of the staff kept starring at us. I understand you're trying to shut down your restaurant and need to clean up the floors, etc. It was not like we were going to stay there for too long or even the last customers there. It's the very unprofessional and rudely way this individual was treating paying customers. There are ways to send a message across without insulting your customers. I once raved and talked how good this place was, but now they just lost me as customers, and I will never speak good about it. Your food is good, there's no question about that, but your management is terrible. Not good at all. If you want to continue being a good place, then have great food and great service. They both go along hand to hand. My family and I are locals and we frequent restaurants at least three times a week and I have never seen such of rude attitude towards a paying customer. What a shame and unpleasant experience here.
Jose G. | 0negative
| 799 |
Lola's has been a favorite spot for my husband and I for about 6 years. We loved it for a relaxed date night, but we go every year for his birthday now since he insists on having paella for his birthday. Last night was his 50th birthday so of course we went to Lola's. We arrived on time for our 7:15 reservation but weren't acknowledged by our waiter until we were about 15 minutes in, which is not the norm at Lola's where I've never had a bad experience until this evening.
Our waiter seemed foggy/distant when we were acknowledged and asked for drink order. He seemed to write it down on a post it note but looked confused as we ordered, so we just hoped for the best. I used the restroom when I first arrived and found empty toilet paper rolls and no hand soap except for the refill meant for the dispenser which you couldn't get any soap out of. Not a huge deal but pretty gross, fortunately I had hand sanitizer in my bag. We ordered a bottle of red sangria, a glass of chardonnay for my mother in law, and a mocktail for me as I'm pregnant. Took another 15 minutes for drinks to arrive and it was two glasses of white sangria with fruit in it. Server apologized for mess up, came back with bottle of red, two champagne flutes instead of wine glasses, and said there was no more clean wine glasses and no fruit left for sangria for the evening. Disappointing since sangria without fruit doesn't seem like sangria, but ok... My mother in laws wine did not arrive for probably another full 8 min after that and I was told no one could make me a mocktail. Something about bartenders being backed up, or something - the reason was very unclear why I couldn't get a non-alcoholic drink. Meanwhile, almost every server I saw went to the bar area to look at their cell phones, or were looking at their cellphones by the refrigerator near the bathroom. I said I'd stick with water, only to see post it notes get put up that the bathroom was out of order. I panicked knowing my pregnant self couldn't hold it for a whole dinner drinking water (or anything for that matter).
When our server came with my mother in laws glass of white wine we put appetizers in - crabmeat tropical and antipasto. They arrived promptly, but we noticed the crabmeat was not in the normal avocado. My mother in law hates tomato - would've been nice to have that information ahead of time but ok. We brushed it off figured maybe things had changed with that dish on the menu and we hadn't noticed (not the case). We asked for more pistolettes in addition to the one served with the antipasto, only to be told they were out for evening and needed to be ordered early. I've never been to Lola's before to be told there were no pistolettes. Another disappointment, but ok it happens...
At this point I've given up on mocktail. All the while, the wait staff checks their phones. We put in for a house salad with avocado added and a large combo paella. We noticed the couple next to us hadn't been acknowledged by any wait staff this entire time. I asked them and they said no one has come to see us yet, it's our first date but no one has even asked for drink order. At this time they've been there at least a half hour, but probably longer.
Realizing I will probably have to use a restroom soon, I started to make a plan to go across the street to Santa Fe or elsewhere. Waiter comes with house salad and there's no avocado on it, so I ask well we would really like some if it could be added, only to be told right then as it was put in front of us, they've also been out of avocado the whole evening. Would've been some good information to have.
At this point, we were so disappointed with the service, bathroom situation, and lack of information being given to us about was or wasn't available, so we asked to cancel our paella, which we already assumed hadn't gotten put in yet (we were right). He apologized and said things were new there, staff is new, etc. which I understand. But it was just so sad to see one of our absolute favorite places fall into disarray over the course of the hour we were there. What sealed our fate that evening was watching one of the cooks dip their spoon into something to taste it, only to dip their spoon back in the same pot. My husband and I both watched it happen. Unacceptable pre-pandemic and certainly unacceptable now.
We closed and finished our evening across the street at Santa Fe which was lovely. I'm sorry to say we won't be back to Lola's anytime soon. It's devastating to see one of our favorite neighborhood restaurants go this way. I understand there are some new owners, so hopefully things just need to get figured out. | 0negative
| 869 |
I'd give Luke a 3.5 stars overall, so opted to bump it up to 4. Food was great, but I wasn't too crazy about the space and they were way understaffed when we went.
Went here my 2nd night in New Orleans when in town for business. Our party of two was seated right at our reservation time, but then we had to wait quite a while for our waiter. She finally came, and was super nice and sweet (and new we found out). She took our drink order, and then left us to look over the menu. We had plenty of time to decide, because the drinks took like what felt like forever. I think it was at least 10-15 minutes. That's much too long in my opinion. She came over a few times to say they were coming, but I guess the bartenders were so backed up they weren't making the waiters drinks. The place was rather busy, but didn't seem so full that they shouldn't be able to pour a few glasses of wine quicker than they did. Even though she was new, she was very knowledge about the menu and was able to answer all our questions and give some pointers.
We started out with a half dozen Jumbo Shrimp ($11). They were served on an ice platter with cocktail sauce and lemons, and were very jumbo and sweet and good! You do have to peel them, which is totally fine by me, but I know some people hate having to touch or do anything with their food. I got the crabmeat maison salad with
fresh herbs, local greens and country bread croutons. This was delicious! The country bread croutons were thinly sliced crostini pieces that came in a cute little container along side the salad plate. The crabmeat was sweet and there was just the right amount of mayonnaise (not too much) for my liking. My friend got the roasted beets salad with Bayou blue cheese and spiced pistachios. She wasn't too impressed. It was 95% lettuce, and a very few thinly sliced beets on the bottom. It didn't have anything to make it interesting.
We ordered a second drink, and it too took forever to come. We also felt like we waited forever in between courses. The bottom line was the kitchen and staff were just too busy to get things moving. The manager was well aware, because she was circling the dining room trying to check in on everyone and make nice since quite a few people were looking around for their food and drinks. I will say the waitress was super apologetic about it and at least acknowledged that the wait times were rather longer than they should be.
We finally got our main courses, and they were delicious! On main courses, I'd give this place a 4 out of 5. I got the shrimp and grits ($22) with delicious little bits of andouille thrown in for good measure. It was served in a small cast-iron skillet and was piping hot and buttery and good!!!! I could've eaten a whole giant cast-iron skillet of it! The andouille was the perfect thing to contrast the buttery shrimp and grits. My friend got the smoked pork shank, Mangalitsa belly & bratwurst, with house-made sauerkraut ($23). Both of our mouths dropped when this got delivered. If you've ever been to Germany, this plate was exactly what you get in every bar. A GIANT pork shank, with tons of other pork products. It was so big she didn't even know how to start tackling eating it. The sauerkraut was very interesting. it was really quite sweet, but both of us liked it. It was just different than normal sauerkraut. The pork shank was perfectly smoked and had great flavor and tenderness. The sausage was also delicious, and of course pork belly is always good. Talk about a rich dish though. My goodness! And talk about seriously large portions...she didnt' even come close to finishing the meal. I think a table of 3 could've shared this as one entree and been fine. For reals. it was big.
We were so full we couldn't even look at the dessert menu. We had also been there for so long we were tired and wanted to go home. I think it was over 2 hours for dinner, which is totally fine when you're in that mood, but neither of us really were. The timing was very off, but if you're there on a not busy night, I bet you'd love it!
I also thought the pricing was very good for what you get. The wines by the glass options were extensive too, and they do them all by the glass or 1/4 or 1/2 carafe. That was a nice touch. | 2positive
| 800 |
Located in a former shipping container in the heart of the Gulch, the 404 Kitchen is exactly what you would expect from a James Beard Award semi-finalist (best new restaurant category). This incredibly-small-but-incredibly-neat restaurant is nestled away, almost unassumingly, next to the Station Inn and is dwarfed by the ever-sprouting high-rise condos. And if the uniqueness of the restaurant wasn't enough, it is attached to a small 5 room boutique hotel. The 404 Kitchen is one of the best places in Nashville, and it's hiding in plain sight.
The 404 Kitchen has been on my list for quite some time. When my dear friend Kate and I wanted to go out for a girls night, we were surprised when we were able to grab a last minute table for dinner. The dining room is very tiny, with only a handful of tables squished very close together, a patio, and a small bar. The largest party I would recommend here is 4 people, because beyond that you might take up half the restaurant. The decor is simple, woodsy, and is unassuming. The standout is the large window that lets in the most beautiful light. Thank goodness for spring days.
We started off with a cocktail from their lovely leather-bound book of offerings. I chose the Flight 404 which our waitress informed me was one of the sweeter drinks. It had gin and creme de violet and what I got was the most visually appealing cocktail: A light purple drink with a dark lovely luxardo cherry at the bottom. The flavor was sweet, but it had a strong earthy gin flavor that I loved. I guess gin is quickly becoming my go-to alcohol of choice. WHO AM I? Kate ordered the Nearest Green which had bourbon, apple brandy, honey, and Benton's bacon. There were little shards of crisp bacon taking a bath in the bourbon. This drink tasted like breakfast; an amalgam of syrup and bacon. It was really strong, traditionally manly, and highly enjoyable.
For an appetizer we went with the house made burrata. We had a whole ball of the softest mixture of mozzarella and cream tossed with a dressing made of pine nuts, leeks, grapefruit, celeriac and truffles. Everything about this dish was smooth, except for the occasional crunch the pine nut. Surprisingly, despite all the dairy, the dish was amazingly light. The sauce was so wonderful that I almost jumped for joy when our server brought us fresh bread to sop up the leftovers.
For my entree I had the truffled egg study. THIS! JUST THIS- might be the most amazing dish I have ever had that makes the lowly egg rise to the top the culinary pedestal, as it so richly deserves. The egg, perched upon a bed of fresh pasta, was slow cooked for a long time, making it the most delicious poached egg you can imagine. Once tapped, the yolk oozed all over the plate and when mixed together with the caviar and truffles created the richest, creamiest sauce for the pasta. The truffles themselves where thinly shaved and blended in well with the sauce. While $28 might be really pricey for one egg and some pasta, I pretty much guarantee that you have never had egg prepared this way, and with all the fancy accouterments, you will become a believer.
Kate ordered the Dry Aged Tri Tip with farro and root vegetables. The meat came out cooked to the exact specifications asked for and the seasoning used really added a nice bit of flavor to the meat. The grilled onion added a nice touch of sweet and the farro underneath created a bed to soak up all the flavors. Every time I try farro I'm reminded that I really quite enjoy it and should consider making it at home sometimes.
For our side dish we choose the risotto with mascarpone and ramps. I'm always hesitant to order a risotto because if you have ever watched Top Chef, you know that if you make one, you are going home. (Yet year after year someone dares to tempt fate and make one- only to be sent packing). I can assure that if this dish was served on Top Chef the judges would cheer and the risotto curse would be broken. Ramps made the risotto taste fresh, like spring. With that light garlic and onion taste that reminds you of lying in fresh grass. If only ramps were in season the whole year round *sigh*
The 404 Kitchen is top notch. Everything about it is pretty damn near perfect. Our waitress was polite, but very informative, almost as if she cooked everything herself. The presentations were gorgeous, creating a feast for the eyes as well as the mouth. Make a reservation, bring a friend, and prepare to be impressed. | 2positive
| 802 |
We arrived at 5:18pm for our 5:30pm reservations. There was a big crowd of 10 or so ladies at the door extending a few feet past the front door ajar. I walked up to the hostess stand and gently asked the gentleman in a soft voice, "We have a reservation. Should we wait at the back of the line?" He BARKED back at me, "I have to check everyone in!"
So eyes wide, I backed away, thinking this guy either had a really bad day or he's just drowning in a job he's not cut out for. We waited, checked in, sat in the waiting area, and at 5:31pm he came to our area and escorted another two ladies who were after us in line to a booth by the front. Husband and I exchanged glances at each other and at our watches. So at around 5:32pm, I walked to the hostess stand and told the lady our name under the reservation and she asked us if our entire party was here. I said yes, we've been waiting for fifteen minutes and we arrived together. Then she asked me again if our entire party had arrived, so a little dumbfounded I just answered yes. This time we hovered around the stand instead of sitting down and about a minute later, the gentleman from earlier (Len Boris) led us to a table. I saw an empty small booth with a place setting for two and asked if we could sit there. He responded in a irritated voice that it was reserved for a table for three. Obviously, this was not off to a great start mostly for his terrible attitude and off putting demeanor. I mean, if you hate people that much, why be a host?
There was a sticky substance on my chair and the chair sunk back in the back and had a hard front rim. If you're a shorter female who likes to have their feet touch the floor and thus sit forward, this chair might leave you with a bruise or at least a length indentation. So I asked the waitress if there was any way to seat us at a booth and she said it was up to the host stand. I told her how they seated us 15 minutes late and I already asked and she was a broken record saying the same thing. So around 5:38pm, we quickly ordered 10 or so items off the Happy Hour food menu.
Soon after, I saw Len Boris walk by and seat two people who clearly were on a serious date to the booth that had place settings for two people, and I felt a rush of anger. I asked the waitress if I could speak to the manager and she went to Boris who came to us and introduced himself as the General Manager. I looked him up and he's the "Beverage Director." I let him know that it took 15 minutes after arriving and checking in and waiting to get seated. And that we watched him seat someone behind us in line before us. And that the booth we asked for that he said was reserved for three people clearly had two. He maintained his consistent energy of anger (mind you while I kept my voice as soft and gentle as possible which makes this more bizarre). And he said he doesn't lie and that they had three in their party and it changed to two. That doesn't make sense because the place settings were for two. Maybe we can give him the benefit of the double but he did bold face lie about his title. He offered us free drinks but we cannot be bought off. He was so rude to us in so many interactions. But we continued to smile and interact with him as pleasantly as possible despite his anger management issues.
He said there was a booth available in the "Rose Room" and looked towards the pink painted room on the other side of the restaurant. So we said sure. He left, came back, and then escorted us to a nearby booth that I'm sure had been left empty for Covid. So he basically broke Covid protocol and sat several tables back-to-back. This also wasn't the Rose Room.
At this point, we just wanted our food to come out and see this angry guy as little as possible. Our food came out at 6:10pm, a full thirty minutes. We were a little disappointed because when we asked the waitress, Jessica, "is the ravioli was good," she said, "Oh it's just really filling. There are 5 huge ones that come out." That was her only descriptor. And when it came out there were 4 small ones. We would have ordered more had we had the chance.
Lastly, the Boris sent someone to drop off a new dessert for us, and said "sorry you didn't get the seat you wanted." WTF?
This guy sounds like a serial
liar, twisting the truth however he can to make himself look better. I just can't stop thinking about how terrible it would be to work for someone like that. And I hope he did lie about being GM. Because if he is, that sucks for all of them. | 1neutral
| 882 |
Hidden treasure of Reno! A local small business with great food, service, location and prices!
I had lunch here today with my best friend. While she's had their food several times in the past, including having it at her place of employment as well as the catered food at a couple of small events she attended, it was both our first time actually sitting inside to order and eat.
It's located on the corner of 1st and Lake, downtown - across the River from the Sienna hotel. Their outside back patio seating faces the river and Sienna. From the main dining area windows, you can see the Ace's Baseball Stadium catercorner, and the original "Biggest Little City" Reno Arch sign is also located just outside. We found a no-charge parking spot right in front of the place. I think we just got very fortunate on that parking spot, however. I'm not sure how convenient the parking is.
Bonus on location would be how its next to the Ball Park and River Walk. After dinner... you can stroll the river a little if you want. Ah... a little late night rib-mance.
The interior is fairly plain, with a kinda-sorta sports motif. There is an attached bar, a neon light here and there, and a couple of flat screens for ESPN fans. About 10 tables in the main dining area each sit 4 to 6 people.
So, Men Wielding Fire is a casual BBQ joint, and while they are known to serve up killer wonderful ribs and those types of foods, my friend and I didn't go that road. (Note: They do have a wide variety of choices for meals, appetizers and so forth... so if you're not exactly in the mood for BBQ or rib-foods, you can still visit here and leave happy.)
The specials for the day were Brisket and a corn soup. My friend had the soup. Unfortunately, I can't remember exactly what the soup was called... but, anyway... it came piping hot and served in a very large bowl (it was a meal, to be certain.) I didn't try any, but my friend said it was deliciously smilearific. Her soup special was $9.00 and apparently very much worth it. How did I miss knowing what she ordered and ate? Hey! I was busy digging into the academy award winning Mr. Burger Goes to Tummyland.
I had the 'standard' burger, which was maybe one of the best burgers I've ever had... honest! This tasty, perfectly cooked-to-order burger was plenty large with all the trimmings, and the big bun (you have a variety to choose from) I had was perfecto. I can't eat a burger any way other than well done. Usually, this means its dry and the taste is mostly gone. NOT TODAY! It was cooked well done, just like I likey, but was juicy, full of burger-taste (almost like back yard bbq burger) and it had a slightly crispyness to the outside. For me? Perfect!
As for sauce, they don't put any on the burger, which I appreciated. I like to put on my own combo of mustard, katsup, and mayo. The burger was $8.00 and totally worth it.
Oh, and while I have never liked seasoned-fries, I was shocked that I actually loved the basket they served me. The fries were almost-steak-cut, very fresh, and they weren't overly seasoned. The hint of seasonings was just right, and didn't discourage me from eating them all. Too much of that season salt, and I can't eat em. So, that was a first for me.
A little bonus I loved was when the waiter asked, "Would you like Mayo or Ranch to go with those fries?" I've never been offered that before, and... I just happen to love either of those instead of katsup.
Speaking of the service, our waiter (Joshua) was friendly, prompt, attentive, and seemed to know his stuff. He was awesome! I left him over 20% on tip, but wanted to leave him even more than that. Yeah, for real! I think the big deal here was the waiter seemed GENUINELY friendly and upbeat. Know what I mean? And, thanks to the fella who 'bussed' our table, too... as he really was awesome as well. Good or great service is pretty rare these days, so we really noticed and appreciated that. Both jobs are pretty challanging.
Considering the super tasty food, portion size, the cost of our two meals combined ($17) being reasonable, and A+ service... Men Wielding Fire is highly recommended! I already know my friend thought the place was great before we even went inside, but I admit that I can be particularly critical of eating out... and I have a feeling I will be visiting this place often!
FOOD: A+
SERVICE: A+
COST: A+
ATMOSPHERE: B
LOCATION: A+ | 2positive
| 804 |
I hate to be writing this because I know
how tough it is for small businesses right now, but I have to share my bad experience (let's hope it was all an unfortunate accident). My main issue is w the wait staff and management.
*tldr; really crowded, expect long wait times even w reservation. Waitstaff needs better training - they dropped glass that shattered at my foot and water spilled on my back, jacket, bag without an apology from the waitstaff.
1) We had a reservation at 7:30PM, got there right on time, and told that they were waiting for a table to leave, about 10-15min. There were two other tables available but they said they were saving it for a larger group so we would have to wait. Fine, that's reasonable, we understand, ok. Well, at 8pm, we were still not seated. I wanted to order before we were seated to shorten the wait time because my parents are older and have diabetes and can't wait that long before eating. They took my order, but told me the wait would probably be the same as if I ordered once we got seated because the kitchen is backed up.
2) We were seated a bit past 8pm. We asked the waiter if there's anything he can do for us since we waited so long (or if he could comp us a boba). It was weird bc even if it's no, he should have just straight up and said that, instead he kept on coming up with excuses and said that he would ask his manager (but his manager was in the kitchen cooking). I think he was scared to ask his manager. Finally, he says he thinks his manager will say no, but he will comp us out of his own pocket anyways. Well, we felt bad for that, and told him we didn't want that. (We ended up still ordering a drink - mango boba, really gross drink, don't get it. Just don't. It's powdery and boba tastes really soft / mushy in a bad way).
3) I really care about covid precautions, and the restaurant was reallly crowded. Since both my parents are vaccinated, I willingly took the risk to indoor dine. They sat us at the table near the kitchen, and I could see the kitchen staff with their masks off while cooking (see photo). If you care about covid (which I know not everyone does), this is something to consider.
4) Our food came relatively quickly given all the other fiasco, so I give them that. We got the braised pork belly, hot sour soup, rice ($2 per cup), seafood hotpot (claypot) and eggplant (we actually originally ordered a pea sprout, but they were out of all the veggies except Chinese broccoli, which they didn't tell us about until after we ordered, so we had to switch it out). I recommend the eggplant and hot and sour soup. Those were tasty. The braised belly is also ok. Skip the seafood claypot (the portion was really small).
5) We were almost done eating until the grand finale of the night. A waitstaff dropped glasses full of water behind me, soaking the entire bottom half of my back (and my jacket and bag). The glasses landed by my foot and shattered (see pic). The waitstaff DID NOT APOLOGIZE to me and they looked really frazzled and was cleaning up the walk way, while I was dripping w water. They might have even apologized to the table next to us. It was so weird. I had to ask for napkins (they didn't automatically think to bring some napkins to a customer they just spilled it water on). I really really hope it's clean water they were bringing out and not old water ppl drank they were cleaning (bc potentially covid infested water on me would be so much worse). I'm now sitting in the car w some paper towels stuffed under my shirt bc it's really cold to be out in a wet shirt when it's like 40-50degrees outside on my drive back to Tahoe.
6) Finally, I asked for the manager, and he apologized. He said he would take 50% off the bill. I feel like most places would do more than that, but given covid situation, fine. We just wanted to get out of there by that point.
*side note, another customer at a table next to us was all like 'it's an accident, why are you so worked up?'. Well, because I just had water spilled all over me and broken glass shattered at my foot without an apology. My husband asked him if water spilled all over the lady he was eating with if he would get upset. He said 'that would be fine'. I feel really bad for his friend / family / date / gf / wife. She didn't say anything. | 0negative
| 818 |
I want to give The Lucky Well time. We have so few decent restaurant choices in these parts that I hope LW finds its voice. It just need to iron out some kinks and not try so hard and I think it will end up being a great neighborhood restaurant.
Service: Hostesses, plural, greeted us warmly but then asked us to check back with them. Is this the Cheesecake Factory? If you are going to charge those prices and there are more than 1 of you - come find us, it is not like the bar is in another room! Waitress was informative and attentive at first and then disappeared and we had such a lag waiting to order dessert that we had to flag down a busboy find her. Her excuse was that she was busy in the front room. Don't care. But bussing staff amazing and friendly and quick!
Bar: I like that they kept the bar area in same place. Bartenders were professional adults!! Nice change from the usual 20 something. I thought the drink prices were no more than Bridget's right down the street and I had the most amazing Whisky Sour! Whisky menu was amazing and liked the diff .oz options.
Ambience: Cute but dark. I like what they did but the noise level. OMG! They better hope LaBan doesn't come to review because he will give them a "deafening" score in the decibel rating. They need to learn from The Broad Ax that quickly after opening installed noise buffering panels and machines.
Food: Now here is where it gets tricky. A BBQ joint this is not. I have had way better BBQ served to me on paper plates in roadside joints and in my own backyard! I think they need to figure out what they are. If you want to do a gourmet spin on a BBQ joint then you need to do it really well. Menu seemed schizophrenic. Trying too hard.
APPS: We started off with the Poutine - a traditional Quebec dish I survived on in college - basically gravy fries topped w/cheese curds. LW version was tasty with many toppings including cubed brisket tho I didn't see any gravy. I would've have called them "Trash Can Fries" and I mean that lovingly! Very tasty! But... we also got the Spinach and Cheese fondue which besides looking incredibly unappetizing was plated terribly and was just o.k. Very odd assortment of things to dip - toasted bread I get, but floppy grilled zucchini and pepper pieces I don't. The parsnips were good but odd and the sausage was amazing but also strange. Looked like they took whatever was left over and slopped it around a butane can. I would drop that dish ASAP or refine it and add WAY more spinach adn make it more cohesive. Instead of toasted bread how about hush puppies?
MAIN: I was the only one at the table who didn't get a sandwich. My table mates got burger, brisket and pork. All said were good tho I tried the pork and it was tasty but ICE COLD! Seems to be a running theme in the complaints. We split the Mac-n-cheese sidew was just o.k. Could use some oomph - mustard powder and way more cheese. I know - use the cheese form the fondue. I had the SBG which was basically Shrimp & Grits with pork belly and collards. VERY GOOD! The cheese grits were excellent. The collards out of sight! The pork belly, once I removed the skin which was not crispy but pork leather, melted in my mouth. The shrimp were just o.k. and a side note really. They needed to be grilled which they were supposed to be but looks like the skewer they were on was thrown under the broiler for a few secs. Bigger spiced shrimp, even if it means fewer and off that weird kebab would be way better.
SWEETS: Well, we finally go to order them after our waitress was unearthed by a nearby busboy at our request. Then when my husband ordered the apple cobbler she said it would be an extra 12 mins - on top of the 15 at least we waited to order it! Worth the wait. Very yummy, apples seem to have been slightly dried first which gave them great texture and flavor. Melting cinnamon ice cream on top. Yum! Just needs to be in bigger serving dish. Slopped everywhere. Our tablemates got the butter cake which was served in a traditional "fancy" dessert kind of way but was NOT butter cake. So dry which is the opposite of ooey gooey butter cake. They should just go buy it at the Dublin Bakery.
So would I go back? Probably. Will my husband. No. I really, really want them to succeed. Chad Rosenthal and, I am guessing, the other owner wandered the floor and seemed very personable. They just need to tighten up the service, get clearer vision on the food and for god's sake do something about the NOISE LEVEL! | 1neutral
| 844 |
Nearly two hours here and I didn't even get to eat a dinner! That's right. We got here maybe 2 hours before closing and nearly shut the place down... not because it was awesome, but because that's how long it took the one cook manning the one-four burner stove to cook food.
I had really been looking forward to some good Ramen, so I was salivating over the thought of slurping these brothy noodles into my mouth. However, at about the 1 hour 30 minute mark, my mouth ran dry; you can only make so much saliva after all.
So, here's what happened. We show up, and while the tables are full, the counter is completely wide open. So, we're expecting to be seated there promptly. Instead, we wait awkwardly in front of the door for three or four minutes until the hostess (and apparently the sole English speaker) comes to explain that they are full. "So, we can't eat here? Are you telling us to go?" "No," she says, "you can eat at the counter"... where there are no chairs. She approaches two tables where people are eating, borrows chairs, and hastily assembles an eating spot for us.
I was surprised that despite having this obvious "lunch counter", no plans had been made to use it for eating. It's a great vantage point to watch the action in the kitchen... or, in this case, the lack of action... or maybe it was super-slow-mo action... or ineptitude.
Ramen is supposed to be fast, right? I mean, I made Ramen in college and I was eating in 10 minutes. I've been to real-deal Ramen shops where they're making the authentic stuff - not the block of noodles - and they dish it out just as fast. While, I'm not a Ramen chef, I have to imagine that the general concept is: 1) have broth ready, 2) have add-ins semi ready (chicken, egg, etc.), 3) add noodles, 4) add everything else, 5) feed customer. This secret algorithm could churn out Ramen in 5-8 minutes. With a team of 3-4 cooks, you could feed a restaurant.
Unfortunately, none of those thing are happening at Japanese Kitchen Dosunco. They have a single 'chef' working a single stove, who is working his way through tickets dish by dish, one at a time. No thought is being given to getting food out to tables together - everything comes out as it's ready. I sat in the front row and watched the cook prepare broth for each entree one at a time, and then finish the dish before starting on the next. The average cycle time on a dish was about 10-15 minutes. This means that it took him 40-60 minutes to cook food for a table of 4... and then he moved on to the next table.
Luckily, we managed to squeeze in some appetizers in between tables and got some nourishment to sustain us through our long wait (at least my phone had good reception here). The apps were all pan-fried or dropped in grease and were decent. Little did I know that they would be the highlight of my meal... mainly because they would actually end up being the only morsel of food I would receive here.
A full hour after we killed off the four miscellaneous fried appetizer nuggets we received, the woman's Ramen arrives. It smells good, but the pork appears to have been boiled to death, then left to sit in the sun for a day before being set atop a pile of noodles. I stare longingly into the kitchen knowing that since this dish has just been finished, he will now be starting on my entree and I will have 15 minutes to wait.
The fifteen minutes pass, and I see him finishing up a bowl of Ramen. I muster up a tiny bit of salivation again, only to feel it evaporate in seething rage as I see the bowl delivered to another table. Uggh. Surely my soup will be next... just need to last another 15 minutes. The next bowl is prepared... the hostess grabs it, turns, smiles, and takes it to the table behind me.
At this point, the woman is starting to slurp her broth and asks, "Should we tell her that they forgot your dinner?"
"No", I say, "At this point, I give up. I'll go find something somewhere else. I can't wait here anymore."
We're finally able to flag down the hostess who has since forgotten that we are there. We ask for the check, and wonder, "Maybe she only heard us order one bowl of Ramen..." Nope, we've definitely been charged for two. We stop her and explain that despite our lengthy wait, only one bowl of Ramen made it out of that kitchen... which explains why we only have one bowl and why my place setting has not been speckled with fatty specks of broth.
She says, "You didn't get? Oh my, you want me to get?".
"No," I say, "Just take off the charge, I just want to go, we've been here too long already."
I think we were offered dessert, but we kindly refused as we had no idea what the preparation of a dessert in this establishment entailed or where it was in the queue.
Upon our escape, we spotted a couple walking in about 30 minutes before close. It appeared the restaurant was going to seat them, but I can't imagine they got anything to eat. I hope they didn't have plans...
Dosunco? NoThankYou. | 0negative
| 925 |
The only reason this place is getting two stars is because it's on the water, albeit intracoastal, has an outdoor bar and has live music at times. Only thing that got us in the door to begin with was a $20 for $13 groupon, but in hindsight, I'd prefer to have spent the extra $7 elsewhere.
My wife, toddler and I visited on a Saturday evening about 8:30p, in August. It's been very rainy lately, so typically you're used to walking out of Florida's humidity into a wall of cool air when entering a dining establishment. For whatever reason, it was actually warmer inside Salty Rim, and had a slightly foul odor that smelled like a cross between cleaning products and fish. We would have sat outside, but it had been raining on and off and they only had four total tables that were completely under cover; two were filled, the other two were empty but right next to the speakers from the one-man band.
Someone who I later determined was a bar back or bus boy, greeted us and asked how many were in our party. He turned and walked away, leading me to believe we were supposed to follow him and he just had no communication skills. Turns out he was just asking us that for no particular reason because the actual host came up as we were starting to walk. He seated us and a server arrived shortly thereafter.
Salty Rim is about two miles south of VIP Mexican Restaurant which is well known for having great strong $5 margaritas. The server advised us of a two for one margarita deal, I inquired if they were strong since I like that, she said she could make them strong so we ordered those and the "Seafood Margarita" app, which is $11 and described as crab, shrimp, fish and fresh salsa.
Our drinks arrive, they are definitely not anywhere near what I'd describe as strong. The app arrives next. "Salsa" is mostly huge chunks of tomatoes with some onions mixed in. Then what would probably be a small ice cream scoop dollop of crab meat is on top with perhaps three small shrimps and a few pieces of generic white fish. The chips are those three color type, were not warm and were not entirely crunchy, leading me to believe they were most likely not "home made" as the menu describes. The crab tasted fine, but all but the massive pile of tomatoes was gone in about four bites, so you're not getting a lot for $11 unless you enjoy eating a pile of tomato.
For entrees, we ordered shrimp & grits and ropa vieja. I realize we're not in Charleston, SC, or the formal "South" for that matter, but these were the worst shrimp & grits ever prepared. The grits were clumps of tasteless mush with a horrible consistency. Not sure how they got it to melt, I'd like to believe not a microwave, but there was cheese of varying thickness somewhat melted over them; it tasted like Velveeta slices. There was some shrimp scattered about and then bacon that was too thick for the way it was (under) cooked, so it was mostly just leathery and required a lot of chewing to make it through. About half of this meal was left on the table rather than put in a to go box; it was simply horrible. The fact that it was $17 is just ridiculous.
The ropa vieja was not as bad, but not something I'd ever order again. Being in Tampa Bay, there are a lot of great Cuban restaurants around, where you can get GOOD ropa vieja, and this is not in that category. The cut of meat was not the problem, it was simply not very seasoned at all, so there was not much taste. It came with a side of beans, which I had high hopes for as I could see pieces of sausage and onions mixed in, so I was expecting a lot of great flavor; nope, dead and lifeless.
With the 'strong' margaritas tasting mostly like mix, I switched to my go to drink, Bacardi and Diet Coke. Not sure what they served me, but it wasn't that, and it was weak. I had had about enough at this point, having suffered through the meal, in the heat, and had a mosquito bite (we saw several over the course of the dinner) as a bonus, so I didn't complain, we just paid and left. I'd like to say I'll try some of their other items next time, but not sure if there will be a next time given the far better options in the surrounding area. | 0negative
| 786 |
This review will be based on our most recent experience at 55 South. Brunch today. We had our first experience at 55 South on the Sunday after Pumpkinfest for brunch after a glowing recommendation from someone we met at the Festival. That experience was very good. My wife especially enjoyed the bottom-less Mimosas and I really liked the "make your own" bloody mary bar.
After a great first experience we decided to give it another try with some out of town friends who wanted to experience some local cuisine and the Franklin atmosphere. After church we called 55 South to say we were on our way and ask if we could be put on the list for a table for four, which they happily obliged. Upon arriving, we had a very short wait before being escorted to our table. That's where the positive experience ended.
We were put into a section and served by a young man named Wyatt. He was very friendly and asked for our drink order. My wife ordered the bottomless mimosa, I had a blood mary and our friends had a coke and a single mimosa. It took about 20 minutes to get our first drink at which point the drinks were delivered and our server disappeared. After I made my blood mary and the bar and returned we were talking and our friend asked if we'd put our food order in. I said, we've been here so long I almost forgot. It was at least 20 minutes after getting our drinks before our server returned to take our meal order. During this time we noticed other servers being very attentive to their tables and the even noted that the table next to us had been seated, ordered and received their food before we even placed our meal order.
The second issue was the bottomless mimosa. My wife's second mimosa was finally delivered and it was almost entirely orange juice. We held it next to our friend's single serve mimosa and you could clearly tell it was much darker, as their was little or no champagne in it. Once our server finally returned (he seemed to disappear quite a bit for extended periods) we brought it to his attention. Instead of simply saying he would bring another, he made some excuse about them being pre-made in pitchers and sometimes they just come out that way (what???? no quality control, no personal accountability). He seemed more concerned with us knowing it wasn't his fault rather than simply taking care of a customer. When he returned with a replacement, it was much better. That was until my wife ordered her third a few minutes later. It was no better than the second. Live and learn I guess.
When the food arrived all three of us who had ordered cheese grits in place of potatoes with or quiche had indeed received cheese grits, however we also received the potatoes instead of the side of fruit. When we finally were able to flag down our server he did bring us our fruit cups.
Upon nearly completing our meal I enquired about beers on tap. The server pointed to the menu and said that they were on the back and that he would come right back to take my drink order. 10 minutes later he finally returned and I ordered a bottled beer.
My wife ended up having 3 mimosas and on the bottomless mimosa special, which is barely covering the price versus ordering individually. She would have had a total of 5, however two of them were simply orange juice.
Overall we were very disappointed and it was reflected in the tip. The biggest disappointment was that we were so excited to share this special Franklin jewel with friends and the experience was simply not what we had enjoyed previously.
I'm usually a very good tipper for good service but this was not good service that we experienced. We witnessed good service all around us so I am hesitant to blame the restaurant, however we didn't notice any management checking on the staff or asking the guests how their meal was.
Hopefully this was an isolated incident and if we were to return it would be closer to our first time than this most recent. To provide acceptable or stellar service would not have been too difficult and I don't believe we were being too demanding.
Take our order in a timely fashion, check on us more than every 20 minutes, take care of problems without trying to assign blame and don't repeat the same mistake more than once.
As is stands, I would be hesitant to recommend 55 South based on this visit, at least without letting people know about what our experience was like. | 0negative
| 796 |
I wish there was a zero star review for this. This shop is beyond bad. To repeat what has already been said: the shop is not clean, it is uncomfortably hot inside, the employees are very rude, and they have poor hygiene. When she was making the sandwich in front of me, the employee sneezed and continued making the sandwich; she did not change her gloves or wash her hands.
The last time I went into this shop, my car registered an outside temp of 95 degrees and when I walked into the store, it was actually HOTTER inside than it was outside.
I went in on a Monday and got my standard sandwich. Turkey on wheat flatbread; toasted; various veggies; salt, pepper, oregano; a tiny little squeeze of honey mustard. Every single time I've gone to this shop I've had to ask for more veggies. This trip was no different. I asked the person making my sandwich for some more bell peppers. I believe she was the manager (or, god forbid, the owner) and she gave me one -ONE- strip of bell pepper. I asked for more. She gave me a single additional strip of bell pepper. Again, I asked for more bell pepper. And once again, she gave me a single strip of bell pepper. I asked for additional bell peppers four times and got a single additional strip of peppers each time before I finally gave up and accepted eating a sandwich with only five tiny strips of bell peppers.
I asked for a "tiny little bit of honey mustard" and she squirted probably two tablespoons on the sandwich. I sighed to myself, knowing that I would be scraping most of that off when I got back to my office. The manager/owner who had made my sandwich slid it down to the register and another employee began ringing me up. I ordered a chocolate chip cookie and she basically had to scrape the melted mess of a cookie out of the display case with a spatula (I had to eat it with a spoon when I got back to the office). As the employee was ringing me up, the manager/owner grabbed the sandwich that was next to the register and switched it with the sandwich that had been behind it to ring up next. I used to go to Subway two to four times a week for years. I've seen that happen before and never once before has it been a problem so I thought nothing of it.
I got back to my office and opened my sandwich. It was the wrong sandwich. She switched my sandwich with the one of the gentleman behind me. The gentleman behind me ordered a chicken teriyaki sandwich and I'm allergic to teriyaki so it wasn't even something I could eat. I called the shop and the manager/owner answered and before I could finish my sentence she laughed and said "Oh yes, you got the wrong sandwich." Well yes, I did. How are you going to fix it? She told me to come back to the store right away and she would give me a free sandwich. Well, you see, I work and I already took my lunch break to go get my lunch, so I can't simply "run right back" to the shop to get another sandwich. When I told her that that was not an option, she said "Hm uhoh." Yeah, uhoh. I asked her what she was going to do to make it right and she told me to come back tomorrow for a free sub. I was going to be working at an off-site meeting the following three days so I wouldn't be able to go back to her store. She said to come back Friday and she would give me a free sub. She said it would be free because her employee had screwed up. I didn't get into the fact that it wouldn't be free since it would be the sandwich I had already paid for and never received. Or that she was the one who had switched the sandwiches, so it was not, in fact, her employee who screwed up.
I decided not to go back to get my "free" sub on Friday because I didn't want to deal with the rude employees or her coughing and sneezing all over my food. I'm just cutting my losses on the few bucks for the sandwich and never taking my business there again. I recommend you doing the same if you would like to eat the sandwich you paid for and not eat it with some stranger's germs coughed all over it. | 0negative
| 776 |
I was very disappointed with this steak house. Since I've gotten here, I've heard so many rave reviews about this place, but the only thing that stuck out to me course after course was, "What a let down..."
We started off the evening with their seafood appetizer platter, tuna tower, and oysters rockefeller:
Seafood Platter - One lobster tail, 4 shrimp, 4 king crab legs, 4 oysters on ice with an assortment of sauces - cocktail, horseradish, and something else. This was okay, but nothing I haven't eaten before.
Tuna tower - A tuna tartar with a crispy sesame crisp. I thought the tuna was alright, but the crisps that came along with it were very sweet and I didn't think it went with the overall dish...
Oysters Rockefeller - Again, so-so at best... oysters with a bit of spinach underneath and baked with what looked like and tasted like mayonnaise on top =/
By the time we were midway through our appetizers, the live music started. I LOVE live music and think it's a great way to perk up the atmosphere of any restaurant. The piano player wasn't bad, but he had his speakers turned up WAY too loud. It was very difficult to hear the conversation even from a couple feet away across the table. After the first act, the second act with a sax and piano was better - the guy definitely turned down the piano so we could talk without shouting.
I ordered a limousine salad after seeing that they had Roquefort Bleu Cheese. The description looked awesome - the bleu cheese, spicy cashews, crispy shallots, garlic croutons and a Roquefort Vinaigrette. What I got was a whole head of lettuce with maybe five cashews, a small smattering of fried shallots, and extra crunch (read over-toasted) croutons. =/ hmm... definitely not what I was expecting. Taste-wise it was okay when I got a bite together with the shallots, cashews, and cheese... but the lack of the other ingredients made it just feel like eating a head of lettuce. Take a look at the picture I posted - seriously, you can only count three cashews on that whole head of lettuce - trust me, there weren't that many more hidden elsewhere =/
As for the main entree, I was trying to decide between the scallops and the cowboy steak - I decided to go for the latter since I was feeling especially hungry that night. I ordered it medium-rare and was pleased by how it looked when they first brought it out - however, after slicing into it a bit, I realized that it was way under cooked. I added a picture of it and if that's medium rare, every other restaurant I've been to up til now has served medium rare much more cooked (see the picture). =/ It took me about fifteen minutes to get the attention of the waiter even though he dropped by our table two or three times during that wait - he would never come to my side of the table and when I finally got his attention, he agreed it was rare before sending it back. I asked for another beer while I waited and it took another ten minutes for my beer and another fifteen on top of that for my steak. By that time the rest of my table had finished and after a couple bites, I just decided to call it quits... I would have to make due with the potatoes au gratin I ordered as a side - good thing I did. The au gratin was decent... again, nothing spectacular...
The Chocolate soufflé was ordered for dessert... was it good? I guess it was okay... they collapsed the souffle and filled it with some cream and drizzled it with chocolate... unfortunately, that made everything a soggy mess and it tasted like a wet cake =/ I dunno man... really?
Finally, the after dinner drink... I ended up getting a McClellan 18 neat which came in a decent sized glass. I asked the waiter if they had Oban 14 and if they did, what the price was. He said he would return shortly with the answer - he didn't. In fact, when I asked a second time after he left and revisited the table twice to drop off and pick up the check, he said he hadn't been able to ask yet... he didn't return after grabbing the check. =/
Overall, I really expected a lot more from this place. Maybe their cooks and wait staff were having a bad night, I'm not sure... but I wasn't impressed.
I've come here for drinks before and I'll say they make a decent Gin and Tonic - ask the bartender and he'll give you a history of Gin and Tonics and recommend a good one to you based on what you like.
As for dinner, I probably wouldn't pay the prices they ask for the mediocre food and less than stellar service... good thing this was a business meal. | 0negative
| 840 |
Came in around 4:30 on a Friday, wasn't busy at all, plenty of open tables inside. Wasn't warm enough to sit outside, but they do have very nice seating outdoors, which we'll make sure to eat at next time. This was my second time eating at this location. Last time I missed out on Happy Hour (4PM-6PM), so I wanted to come here during HH, just to see how the specials are and if they're worth the money. I've included pictures of all food we ordered, just so you guys can see a picture of what some of the food & drink options look like. Just some quick pros right off the bat: great atmosphere & decorations, great lighting (if you get a window seat), small candle at tables (nice lil touch), CLEAN BATHROOMS ;)
During Happy Hour, the Frozen Lime Margarita is $5, and the Frozen Mango Margarita is $6.Honestly, the drinks were tasty, but for a Happy Hour, I think they drinks should cost $4. If I had to choose between the two, I'd recommend the Mango one, for $1 it's worth it over the Lime one (better taste). We also ordered a glass of Ruta 22 Malbec wine, which was $7.50 a glass. PRICEY (I can get a Ste. Chappelle big boy bottle at Winco for $11 and have a GREAT NIGHT ;)), but this is what I'd recommend over the margaritas if you're planning on having a serious entree here, especially if you're ordering something spicy, just because the wine is dry and matches up perfectly with a spicy dish.
Now, on to the food. We ordered the Happy Hour Steak Tacos, Happy Hour Mushroom Quesadilla, and Happy Hour Tortilla Chicken Soup. I really enjoyed the Steak Tacos, the burnt flavor on the outside of the steak pieces was very tasty, but for $6, it felt pricey (again, this will be the main theme here). The Mushroom Quesadilla comes in at $5, and was really good as well, I'd say it's a fair price, if anything, maybe should be a dollar less, but not a big deal. The Tortilla Chicken Soup was just alright, I'd say skip that, unless you're craving a bowl of soup. I believe the soup had avocado in it, which actually was a good surprise. Out of the 3 Happy Hour options we got, I'd recommend the Steak Tacos, just because of how tasty the steak was.
For entrees, we ordered Verde Chicken Burrito, Carne Asada, and Carnitas. All 3 tasted GREAT. I'm not sure if it's because we were all hungry, or if the alcohol was kicking in, but I literally can't think of any complaints in regards to how the food tasted and was presented. Even though our entrees took a while to get (same goes for the appetizers in the beginning AND the drinks), the food was HOT and tasted great. I saw others complained about getting cold food, that wasn't the case with us, I was really satisfied.
The Carne Asada had that same burnt steak taste as those steak tacos earlier, which ya'll already know how much I liked that flavor. You get Garlic Mashed Potatos with the Carne Adada, but I really didn't taste much garlic in there. But still, the whole package of meat, potato, and corn was G.A.F. The amount of meat you get with the Carnitas is really a good value, and if I remember correctly, it had a little sweet taste to it. The Verde Chicken Burrito was VERY good as well. I'm just looking at the pictures I took and it's making me hungry again. If you had to make me choose 1 entree out of the 3, I'd say go for Carne Asada.
There are 2 reasons why I'm NOT giving this 5 stars, and that's because of the slow service & the overall pricing. Our waitress was very nice to us, the issue I had was just waiting around for our drinks, appetizers, and food. They weren't even that busy, so I'm not sure why it took so long. And the pricing, well I just feel like the prices are higher than they should be. The food was GREAT, but if the price was perhaps ~20% cheaper (ex Carne Asada for $17-$18, Carnitas around $15), I'd be all over this place.
Overall, I'd say this is a SOLID 4, will be back. If prices were a tad lower, I honestly would say I'd go out of my way to come here at least once a week. I really had a good time here. | 2positive
| 764 |
Since I've been a vegetarian practically my whole life (thanks to my animal noise making older sis), I get pretty excited when I hear of vegetarian restaurants opening in the Lou. I've been following Small Batch's progress ever since Dave Bailey's new venture was announced, and last weekend and this weekend, the restaurant was open for its soft opening. My husband and I went tonight (Saturday), and considering it isn't even officially open yet, we were impressed.
First of all, I emailed Dave Bailey himself (his address is listed as a contact on the website) to ask about reservations, etc. He emailed me back very quickly that the restaurant does not take reservations, but as it turns out, while there was a steady stream of business, things were pretty quiet. I appreciated that level of customer service before we were even at the restaurant, and I have to say that it was the theme of the night.
Whenever we go to a vegetarian restaurant, I have the bad (or good) habit of ordering waaay too many things to try, and this experience was no different. Off the small plates menu, we ordered the stoplight eggs, the gratin, the pomme frites, the egg rolls, and the ferments and pickles. We also shared the romaine salad. The salads are huge, and I do not recommend ordering one alone unless it is your entree (and who just wants to order a salad?) It was good though, with chopped romaine, hard boiled egg, red onion, and a small amount of tomato. The dressing was called green goddess, but was less creamy than a green goddess traditionally is. It was really good though, and I ate more of it than I was planning to considering how many other things we had coming. The stoplight eggs were also good, with pickled eggs and a deviled egg filling. I liked the pickle plate more (the pickled green beans and pickled peppers were awesome!), but my husband liked the deviled egg filling a lot. The fries were classic sweet potato fries...nothing to write home about. These were unnecessary, and I wouldn't order them again. The egg rolls were more like mushroom fritters, with a fig dipping sauce. They were the best small plate dish of the night, both fried and moist with a blend of mushrooms and blue cheese oozing out (though I wasn't a huge fan of the fig dipping sauce...it was more like a paste and would've been better as an aioli). And finally, the gratin was a mix of caramelized grapes and shallots, with a bit of rosemary and goat cheese on top, and was another dish that I would order again. I wish that it had more goat cheese and shallots, and less grapes, but I still liked it a lot. The grapes were an interesting twist!
Off the entree menu, we ordered the mushroom pappardelle (all of the pasta is made in house), the pho with mushroom wontons and a ginger and lemongrass broth, the burger with corn, black beans, avocado, and rooster sauce, and the pizza with goat cheese, tomatoes, and spinach pesto. The mushroom pappardelle was one of my favorite dishes of the night, and makes me want to go back for more pasta dishes. The noodles were huge and the mix of wild mushrooms was delish. The pho was also very good, with giant strips of carrots and red peppers, along with chopped green onions and snap peas. However, the wontons weren't very flavorful and didn't add anything to the dish. They needed some herbs or garlic, or something besides mushrooms to elevate things a bit. The burger was ok for me, though my husband loved it. He took off some of his bun though because our burger was missing the rooster sauce and the bread to burger ratio was very high. I would like to say that I liked it a lot more than the veggie burger at Bailey's Range though. The worst of the 4 dishes was the pizza, which didn't have a lot of flavor. I only tasted arugula, but could tell that the crust had potential.
The service was flawless. Dave Bailey was walking around the whole time, talking to customers and making sure that everything was going smoothly. Our waitress also did not skip a beat, and she was very personable as well. The service added a lot to the already warm atmosphere, with dim lighting, modern decor, and pictures from the Henry Ford era (as the space was an old Model T showroom).
Also take note that this is also a whiskey bar. I'm not a drinker, but my husband had two of the whiskey cocktails (the Smokey Sweet and the Manhattan) and said they both deserved 5 stars.
Overall, taking into account the cool atmosphere, the spot on service, the highly rated cocktails, and some of the star dishes of the night, Small Batch is worth a second trip! Dave Bailey stuck his head out as we were leaving to thank us for coming in, and I think that we will see him again soon! | 2positive
| 852 |
Don't bring your own wine...the corking fee is an unacceptable $25!
For appetizers, I've had the ménage a foie, crispy pig ear and charred Brussels sprout salad, and a couple of the grand charcuterie boards. The ménage was a bit disappointing, as the three preparations overshadowed the delicate, yet rich, flavor of foie gras. They were creative, yes, but at the expense of the star ingredient.
Prior to dining at Root, I had not tasted pig ear...My childhood pets would be jealous. Salad is boring, but Root brought it to new heights, with ingredients forming a gestalt on the fork.
The charcuterie platter is a cook's dream, but so I don't forget...the house-made pickles on the board are the best I have ever had, the flavors going way beyond salty and vinegar-y. Three cheers for organs! Beginning with the chicken liver parfait, I was greatly satisfied by the fact that the "truffle-scented" description was not a lie. The undeniable and unsubstitutable aroma-more-than-flavor hovered like fog on a mountain road over each bit of smooth and unctuous parfait. It paired perfectly with the accompanying rolls, which were firm but low-gluten, so they disintegrated in your mouth, just like the parfait!
The CBD: combining multiple meats, and their fats, grinding some to fill the other, and poaching to preserve every molecule of flavor and moisture is culinary engineering at its finest. I cannot hold out on talking about the lamb pancetta anymore. Let's face it...Lamb' prestige is largely due to its fat. Sliced thinly, a salty cross-section of lamb belly melts on the tongue instantly, spilling over and tantalizing every taste bud.
Headcheese is genius, both in name and preparation. Harvesting a hog's head of its goodies would otherwise be tedious beyond comprehension. Instead, every morsel releases from its carrier, and after the cooking liquid is chilled, it sets solid, the matrix now suspending all forms of pork face meat. Root's version was authentic, to be sure. The meat was copious, the gelatin mouth-watering, and I found a small tusk in one bite. My dining partner was understandably disgusted at the tiny, plaque-covered tusk. I chalked it up to a job well-done!
For entrees, the lamb loin was not overwhelming, considering the bar Root set for itself in prior courses. It was chewy, and chewy lamb is not appetizing. The duck, however, was superb. In fact, I was reminded of it when I later had the duck wings, similarly prepared at Emeril's. The skin at Root was not quite as crisp, but the flavor in the glaze was more complex. Atop moist, salty, medium-cooked meat, it is memorable among every duck dish I have ordered. Pappardelle is my favorite pasta. Root cooked it perfectly. Bolognese might be the richest, heaviest, and most concentrated style of tomato sauce. Wait! I take that back. Ragout has it beat, but only slightly. Root's was a vegetarian version. Unless it's a classic dish, defined to be vegetarian, I hold a presumption against enjoying any dish being enhanced by making it vegetarian. That said, Root overcame its burden of persuasion, and I would gladly order it again...with a side of black-lacquered duck. The smoked scallops, presented in a cigar box, was pretty cool. However, scallops, like other bivalves, rely on their essential juices to provide flavor. Overcook them, and you are left with rubber stoppers, ready to plug rum bottles. Root did not overcook the scallops, but smoking naturally desiccates foods, hence it is one of the oldest food preservation methods on earth. The flavor was still there, but I was unwilling to free it by steeping each bite in my mouth to reconstitute it.
The "endings" at Root were disappointing. We had the olive oil cake, which came with buttermilk ice cream, and some flavorings, like green olive. The cake was dry, which is actually difficult to do when oil is the chosen fat. Kudos to Root! Buttermilk ice cream sounds like a good idea, but it's not! Buttermilk is nearly fat free, so when it freezes, not only are the ice crystals bigger (leading to a grittier texture), the finished product melts at an alarming rate, leaving no finish.
We also ordered chocolate chunk ice cream and Halloween candy ice cream. In its desserts, Root relied on distracting creativity to compensate for lacking quality in the fundamentals. The chocolate ice cream was not chocolate-y. Ignoring my bizarre affliction, which causes me to sneeze whenever I eat really rich chocolate, this had the richness of chocolate soft-serve. Likewise, the little bits of broken up candy bars rode on vanilla ice cream that was not vanilla-y. Shoot for perfect execution of the basics before you start dusting your desserts with olives.
Root is a wonderful place. I have returned, and I will return. It is possible to have a 5-star meal there, but only after wading through the aspects that do not deserve five stars. In my continuing altruism, I provide this map to help you navigate your way to and through a perfect dinner. | 2positive
| 838 |
Bristol is essentially Red Lobster for West County-ites who imagine themselves as being hoity-toity. But not necessarily in a bad way. I actually like Red Lobster, mind you. I went to a Red Lobster the day I graduated from college, and I found it to be a profound emotional experience. I had the lobster nachos, which may or may not contain "langostino," i.e. hermit crab.
I grew up not too far from this location, and I've been there literally a million times, on people's birthdays, on Easter and what have you. I've been keeping a running tally. This visit was for my mom's birthday. My old man was paying. No, I haven't somehow managed to turn my life around, for those of you who've been following my reviews.
So we get there, and the hostess, who's kinda cute in a high school gifted class sort of way, shows us to a table dead center, facing the kitchen. She says a girl named Shayla(sp?) will be helping us. She walks off, and a kid who's very adamant about giving us bread gives us some bread. He only gives you one piece at a time, but he's Johnny-on-the-spot as soon as you're finished with it, like he's been standing somewhere just beyond eyeshot watching you chew.
About that bread: It's definitely no Cheddar Bay biscuit. To paraphrase Lloyd Bentsen... and I hope I'm not dating myself here, a Cheddar Bay biscuit is a friend of mine, and you, sir, are no Cheddar Bay biscuit. You're surprisingly pretzel-like, for a biscuit, and yet somehow sweet, and you'd probably be difficult to swallow if you weren't soaked in the butter they give you. I suspect that your true purpose is to drive drink sales. You made me thirsty.
I'm kinda curious to see what Shayla is like, because with certain names you always kinda wonder, right, but instead out pops Mitchell, a black guy. Clearly an old pro, both literally and figuratively, he gives off a bit of a Lurch from Addams Family vibe, like maybe they keep him in the coat room, where he lives, in case a group "Canadians" shows up. Yep, they pulled the ol' switcheroo on us.
Mitchell was an excellent waiter, which is probably one of the reasons he was assigned to us, in case we were especially "demanding," and truth be told, I'm not even sure if I have a problem with this policy. Better to have someone who's gonna put a modicum of effort into serving you rather than someone who just assumes from the rip that they won't be receiving a tip. It was just sloppy the way it was executed. And I bring this up in part because restaurant people, even more so than brain surgeons, are so apt to pride themselves on the painstaking nature of the work they do.
If it were true, you wouldn't have to say it so often...
If you're only sorta kinda into seafood, choosing from the menu can be a daunting task, even though it's not particularly long. There's always the thought that you're gonna end up with something that's just plain awful... for like $30, no less. I just went with the fish and chips, like an eight-year-old. I figured they'd be a safe choice, on a Monday. I've read Kitchen Confidential: I'm a true foodie, despite the garbage I eat day in and day out. Also, fish and chips might be the best meal you can eat anyway. It's deep fried, so it's gotta be on the list.
The pieces of fish bore no resemblance to actual fish. There were three of them, and each one was roughly the size of a softball, like whoever made them just reached down into a vat and pulled out big handfuls of whatever kind of fish they were using. Maybe they were throwing it out at the end of the night. It tasted fresh enough to me, and like I said, it was deep fried: beer batter and malt vinegar were the dominant flavors. And they didn't skimp on that damn beer batter. You could have coated a decent-sized chicken in the amount they used. The fries they serve with it might honestly be the exact same fries they sell at Steak 'n Shake. That was kinda odd, but certainly I wasn't upset.
Oh, and I forgot, and I'm not about to try to edit it in elsewhere in this review, I ordered Stella Artois, because I'm classy like that, and they ran out. Mitchell actually brought as much as they could pump from the draft and gave it to me for free. I was glad they didn't just toss that shit out, Because Free Beer, but I was also disappointed that they ran out. Morally, you shouldn't be allowed to charge $23 for a plate of fish and chips and not have enough Stella Artois. They could have had Shayla drive up the street and cop a case. It's not like she had shit else to do. | 1neutral
| 839 |
It pains me to give such an average rating to this near perfectly rated restaurant, but alas, my experience here was just average.
I had a reservation here for 9:30, and we were seated promptly by an extremely warm hostess. So far so good. On the way to our table (the middle row closest to the kitchen) we accidentally bumped and bustled a few of the other patrons (sorry) - it's so tiny in there! The small size kind of lends itself to its charm, a small, cozy, homey place, complete with drawings done by children framed on the wall.
They use napkin rings (super classy), but I noticed the wine glasses aren't actual glass - so I do agree with the other Yelper that described this place as schizophrenic - fancy and homey, French but not, quaint but dare I say - pretentious? It also seems like a place for older or more mature patrons. I think my boyfriend and I were clearly the youngest customers they had at that time (perhaps all day).
We brought a fairly affordable bottle of sparkling rose wine - which doesn't seem to be what their normal type of clientele brings. The server kind of made it clear that we were not their normal clientele by asking us whose birthday it was, insinuating that it was a special occasion or something that we should dine there (it was neither - we just wanted a nice dinner for our date).
The bread and butter was great and probably (unfortunately) one of the better parts of the meal. We had the escargot, moules, pied de porc, and then the frozen soufflé:
Escargot - a little under seasoned. I really wanted to ask for some salt.. Also my last piece had some sharp shell attached to it. Otherwise, pretty tasty and flavorful.
Moules - the mussels themselves were giant, well cooked, juicy, and delicious. But the jus they were in was overwhelmed by the lardons - just every bite was like essence of bacon (and I'm not a huge fan of bacon..).
Pied de porc - I don't know how I feel about this dish. On one hand it's like an elevated pork and beans slash pig's trotter stuffed with foie gras. On the other hand, it is rich rich rich rich heavy and one dimensional. It overwhelmed my palate and I wish the dish had a little acidity or greens or crunch (other than the pork skin) to it. Delicious yes, but way too much.
Frozen soufflé - not a soufflé. Yummy, but the name is a little misleading. I was disappointed because my boyfriend and I just had soufflés together at our last big date, and had I known this was not an actual soufflé or pastry/cake, I would not have ordered it. In reality, it seemed like a puck of ice cream frozen a little too long, mixed with hazelnuts, covered in cocoa powder, and atop a strange minty berry sauce. It really is a disappointment especially from a "French" restaurant - are the French not known for their pastries? The end of the meal also came with some petite fours - some type of merengue puff and macaroon - both just ok.
In terms of service, I felt a bit offended by the birthday question (he said happy birthday as we left too, lol). He was also a little slow with refilling our wine. Other than that, our server was pleasant and even offered us a really nice wine bag to take our left over wine home in. Unfortunately, he did not close the bottle properly, so our wine spilled out a bit on our way home. The chef also came out to greet us at the end of our meal, which was a nice personal touch.
Between courses, we had to wait quite a bit - maybe a half hour between appetizer and entree. I think a mark of a good kitchen is great timing, and this place lacked that. Very slow paced kitchen.
Overall, this place is a cute BYOB with great French-ish food. Would I recommend this to fellow friends? Yes, but with dire instructions:
- bring a nice bottle of wine (our server seemed to judge us based on the type of wine we brought)
- ask to have the wine kept and chilled at your table so you can pour it yourself
- be prepared for a 3 hour 3 course meal and long waits without food.
- order an appetizer! Seems like the more stand out dishes on the menu
- bring cash! No ATM in store or nearby for blocks
- eat the bread and butter! It really is good.
- order a light, refreshing dish. You will want and need it.
Perhaps I'll return in the future, now that I know what to expect and what I should avoid. For now, this place was just ok. | 1neutral
| 822 |
My previous review of Lyra was written in 2018! The restaurant was new-ish, and I based my review on my first experience at the restaurant. Since then, I have been back many times (at least four) for dinner and lunch. I've eaten on their patio (during COVID times) twice. And I've never once been disappointed by the food, the service, or the experience. It has become one of my very favorite restaurants in Nashville.
The food is exceptional. I'd describe it as a shared small plates Middle Eastern restaurant with a definite emphasis on Lebanese dishes.
They always have a selection of dips (always hummus with various toppings and then other options like muhammara, whipped feta, baba ganoush) with fresh pita or house-made crackers. Their muhammara is one of my favorites; I also love their hummus (the option with the lamb merguez especially). Their pita is to die for (soft, fluffy, with that air pocket inside, hot, fresh, and just a little char from the grill - sooooo good). Even their crackers are great! They also always have a selection of breads/pies like manoushe and fatayer.
Then there are veggie dishes. They always have salads - I've had everything from a radish-y take on a fattoush to a light beet salad to a tomato salad with Turkish cheese. Then there are vegetable/vegetarian small plates; I've had charred broccolini, halloumi, roasted beets, and roasted cauliflower. These veggie plates are always good and quite small and meant to be shared and eaten with other dishes. I love a good veggie dish, and I've had several at Lyra that knocked my socks off.
Then the meat. I've also had a range of these dishes: harissa braised lamb shank, Lamb Awarma, beef kibbeh stuffed with lamb Awarma, lamb kefta kabob, manti (Armenian beef dumplings in a yogurt sauce), lamb chops,... They're usually amazing, like look around before you draw your finger across the plate to get the last drop of sauce so no one sees you amazing. You'll notice here that they offer a lot of lamb dishes. It's a Middle Eastern restaurant, and lamb is eaten A LOT in the Middle East. I happen to love lamb and think that Lyra is cooking up some of the best lamb dishes in the city (is anyone doing it better?). But if you're not a lamb person, they have other meat dishes as well. There are usually chicken, beef, and seafood (last night they had octopus and prawns) dishes on the menu; I just happen to find it VERY hard to not order their lamb because it's so good.
Then there's dessert. When a restaurant is this good, I almost always order it. So I've had a few desserts, too: chocolate honey cake, semolina cake, rice pudding... They usually have three or more desserts to choose from, and they're not huge, which I really appreciate, because I always leave Lyra having eaten WAY too much (because it's so good)!
The lunch menu is a little bit different than dinner. They still have the dips and starters. Then they offer salads and sandwiches with sides. Let me just say that if you are there for lunch and the lamb sandwich is on the menu? ORDER IT. OMG ORDER IT. It's a great lunch spot too - don't overlook its lunch and think it's only for dinner.
Then the beverages. Their drink options are great. Do you like a cocktail with dinner? They've got great ones. Do you prefer wines with dinner? They've got a lot of options both by the bottle and the glass (including lots of options from the Middle East, which I love). They offer a few beers (including some local/TN options). They also have some great teas, house made sodas and lemonades, Turkish coffee, and bottled Sprecher sodas if you want a non-alcoholic option. Then they ALSO have amaros & digestifs and a small selection of arak. (If you haven't had arak before, definitely try it out at Lyra. It's a Middle Eastern spirit made from grapes and aniseed. It's clear but when mixed with water and ice turns milky white. It has a very heavy licorice flavor and is quite strong - hence the watering down. It's very common across the Middle East, but harder to find in the States.) So they have a little bit of everything, something for everyone.
The service is also GREAT. Seriously, every time I've ever eaten here I've been impressed by the staff. They seem to really love and be passionate about the food, and they make a great food experience a great restaurant experience. The restaurant is small-ish but very modern and attractive. And the patio is excellent - one of my favorite patios in Nashville during COVID. (Another COVID note, they ask that you always put your mask on when staff come to your table which I really appreciate.) I recommend having a reservation.
I'm running out of space, but I have a lot to say about Lyra, because it's so great on so many levels. If you haven't been before, CHECK IT OUT. Lyra is just great. | 2positive
| 854 |
Family owned Indian food restaurant is an option for good eats in the vast wasteland of marginal chain restaurants in this part of Meridian. Welcoming space, friendly service, full menu of Indian food options and a lunch time buffet that is bargain priced at $9.99. There was enough to like here that we'll be happy to come back for dinner sometime to order off the menu and recommend it to others for lunch - noting for this meal it seems buffet is the thing and buffet eating is not our thing.
LOCATION & VIBE: In the awkward strip mall that also has chain Buffalo Wild Wings and family-owned (and very good) Mi Casa Mexican eatery. Modest sized space with booths lining the walls and a few tables and chairs down the center of the room. Light and clean. A round of applause for them leaving ample space in the aisles for wait staff and customers to travel to and fro. The high ceilinged, quasi-industrial room has been warmed up with Indian art and artifacts on the walls. Be sure to look up to see the beautiful, bright colored umbrellas. I loved the traditional music on the sound system.
LUNCH BUFFET: I am not a fan of buffets. In particular at Indian food restaurants where offerings are often "dumbed down" to appeal to the largest number of people who want to eat a lot and spend little. Walking into Spice, my husband's and my intention was to order off the menu for lamb biryani, vegetable korma and garlic naan, our 'go to' options when trying any Indian restaurant for the first time. But the nice young woman who met us at the door encouraged us to try the buffet by saying it contained many of her favorite things. Since it seemed she was reluctant to have us order off the dinner menu at lunch, I imagine the kitchen is overwhelmed trying to keep the buffet containers filled, we did try the buffet and were pleasantly surprised.
There were at least two dozen options (more if you count the chutneys, fresh fruit and green salad), ranging from goat curry to at least half a dozen chicken dishes to that many or more vegetarian dishes and a couple of kinds of rice, pappadam and naan. Also two desserts; a traditional rice pudding and mint-chip ice cream served semi-melted.
For $9.99 it is difficult to fathom how Spice owners make a profit to keep their quality up as they do. I'd surmise there weren't more than 10 other diners in the place for lunch, all of them eating buffet, mostly men and the four surrounding us made four trips each to the buffet table to return with plates heaping. That gluttonous behavior seems typical in use Indian food buffets and it has to cost the restaurant a lot. It makes me wonder if containing cost might mean buying lower price / quality ingredients.
FOOD: Leaning to vegetarian eating most of the time, an Indian restaurant is often a good choice for us. We enjoyed all six of the vegetarian options and also trying the goat curry and a couple of the chicken dishes. Both the plain and garlic naan were good with just enough toasty char on the bottom and side. We like the mint chutney, which had more cilantro flavor to our palate and spicy-hot, and the tamarind sauce, labeled chutney but really sauce like consistency, but the house onion chutney fell short for us. We've been known to make meals of chutneys and naan at other places, but we wouldn't find ourselves doing that here.
FULL MENU & PRICES: Spice offers a menu for lunch and dinner including appetizers (@ $3-7), rice specialties (@$7-16 ), vegetarian, lamb and chicken entrees (@$11-15), seafood entrees (@$16), tandoori & kebab dishes (@$13-16), Mughlai (in the style of North India and Kurachi) specialties (@$16) and a variety of naan (@$2-$4). As is so in traditional Indian restaurants you will not find beef or pork on menu here. Limited beer and wine options. Soft beverages include Lassi.
THIS N THAT:
1) PARKING: The mall lot is a mess of layout and always seems jammed even when the businesses in the mall are not.
2) ACCESSIBILITY: Spice is level in the door from the sidewalk, all on one floor and all seating is standard height. Aisles seem to be ample width for users of wheelchairs. Loos are accessible too. Problem is accessible parking. Given the number of parking spaces in the total lot, this mall should have at least 6 ADA spots and distributed near entries. They have only 2 and at the far end of the strip. This is the strip mall owners' failure to comply with Federal law and Idaho code in effect since 1990 and not the Spice restaurant's. | 1neutral
| 804 |
NOLA's best ice cream parlor period! They have two other locations in Metairie and Lakeview, but this one in Uptown is closest to all of the tourist attractions. If you are itching to not walk too far in the blistering heat, hop on the streetcar to alight anywhere on St. Charles Avenue. In the middle of the night, whenever you want to take a break from the nightclubs or go somewhere else where there are fewer people, grab your knapsack and come down here. This is a quieter place than what the heart of the city will have if you feel the thrill is too much for you to sit still. If you have ever been to a lot of ice cream places in like France or Russia, you know what I am talking about this moment. They have a wide selection of ice cream like no other due to the heritage of our beloved Louisiana. Not even the local creameries in other major cities have as many options as this place does. One one end you have your traditional American flavored ice creams like rocky road, mint chocolate chip, roasted pistachio, and blackberry to European flavors Creole cream cheese, Champaign, Blueberry Mojito, La Vie En Rose. They even serve Affogatos which have the best touch of Italian Gelato in the richest espresso that you have ever tasted. Above that, the owners have taken care to preserve their traditional ice cream flavors as they invent new ones. What's nice is that everything is made right in the store. That is why the ice cream tastes super fresh and clean. Everything has a soft, smooth surface like fine chunks from the moon's surface. It brings the storybook to the episodes of the good old days when they used slow machines to churn the ice cream. Allow me to pick the scenes that belong to my favorite flavors, the ones I always like to try here each time.
Drip Coffee: Slightly bitter but really thirst quenching. It is full of rich spices mixed together with cocoa beans from Central America and East Africa. If you have ever been to like an Ethiopian restaurant where they had like a coffee ceremony, you know what this would taste like. It is sort of flowery and fruity too depending on what they put inside, nothing too concentrated like regular black coffee. It is like the difference between sweetened ice tea and unsweetened ice tea. I made the mistake of letting one of my little ones take one sip extra, killing an hour of sleep on a homework filled night. At least it was right for him to indulge himself in a treat!
King Cake: The emblem of Mardis Gras now with its personalized frozen version has light, slightly sweet form. Each bite was very rich and was packed with lots of sweetness as if you were eating the actual cake. Not too many artificial flavors inside, very minimal on the flour, would be a nice birthday surprise gift.
Adzuki Bean: The spin off from the Japanese dish makes it similar to the red bean desserts that they serve in Tokyo. The ice cream on top of the cone made this the best combination ever. I felt as if I could have wrapped like a lettuce or a tomato around it and it would have still tasted fine. The salad will be the next stop for this.,
Prickly Pear: I am deeply blessed to love the taste of this delicious fruit without having to go to the store and worry about removing the wicked little spines from my skin or clothing. It will save me big deal of trouble with trying to find out what to do if I accidentally ingested them. This was super sweet naturally all by itself. Adding anything else would ruin the quality for sure like mustard on tiramisu.
Tchoupitoulas Challenge was even a good deal big guys like myself who like to have the extra sweet tooth to add in some extra calories. But do not take in more than you could take for if you get a stomachache, you could cry your ice cream taste buds goodbye for the next month. I nearly finished all of the ice cream in the time limit, but at the last minute, my body started to freeze up entirely. It was a major brainfreeze that spread throughout the rest of me. No matter how delicious and creamy the ice cream is, never ever take on something without recognizing your limits. I was fine after I took some warm beverages, but I would hate to see what would happen to anyone who lacks the firsthand experience.
Prices are well low for what you get. You will not have to save up your monthly allowance or bank statement to just eat your desserts should it be too hot to have dinner in the summer. Not that I am saying that this is recommended because it really is not healthy at all to skip any meals in general. I do not want to sound like anyone's parent right now even though I am one, but if you want to do it correctly, you gotta listen to yourself.
EDIT: The front servers need to wear gloves more to avoid cross-contamination since nowadays with the pandemic it is hard to fend off the virus from frozen treats. Please be a bit more considerate when practicing social distancing and healthy practices. Not sharing anything is caring! | 2positive
| 916 |
On 12/11/2021, I walked into Gerstle's at 6p. There were about 30 people in the place. I sat at a table for 30 mins & not one person from the staff approached me. As I sat there, a waitress immediately seated a party of 5 on the porch area, and took their order. I went up to the bar to ask for a menu, as it was very apparent that, since I was not in a "large" party, I was not a priority. As I was standing at the bar, waiting for a menu, I witnessed the bartender (Noelle) arguing with the bar back. The waitress that had ignored me for the last 30+ minutes, went behind the bar, and Noelle started going off on her. I finally got the menu and went back to my table. I sat there for another 20 minutes without ANYONE acknowledging that I was even there. I went back to the bar and asked if I could place my order. Noelle took my order, but acted like I was noting but a nuisance with the fact that she had to stop and actually take a paying customer's order. While standing there, I noticed a sign that threatened customers that if they walk out on their tab, a 25% gratuity would be added to their final bill. If people are walking out on their tabs, maybe it's not the customer, BUT THE STAFF that is the problem! Once my order was taken, I went back to the table. It was now 6:45p. At 7:00p, a man came up to me, put his hand on my shoulder, and stated, "I need you to move. This table is reserved." I asked if he was the manager, and he stated that he was. His name is Michael, and he is (apparently) the GM. I stated that the table was in no way marked as "reserved", I would move, but I wanted to discuss the poor service that I had already received. All he could do was state "the POS system has been down for an hour." Okay...not really MY problem. What is shocking is that if the POS system goes down, there is no "Plan B". There are no duplicate order tickets. They write down the orders on register tape. The time was now 7:15p. I moved to another table and sat there for another hour. Michael walked by, noticed that I was in the middle of writing a review, and asked me to be "nice". Now, the time is 7:45p. I had already been in the restaurant an hour and 45 minutes...and I still did not have my food order. Meanwhile, the table of 5 on the porch, had already eaten and left. Michael walked by again, and I asked where my order was. He stated, "The POS went down for an hour, and we have 40 handwritten tickets in the kitchen." 8pm, the large group showed up at the "reserved" table. Immediately, they were met with 2 waitresses that took their orders. One by one, I see their food being brought to them. I was still waiting. 8:30p, my food was finally brought to the table. I had ordered the BBQ Pork bowl & a cheeseburger w/onion rings. When the waitress brought the food to the table, there were no utensils. I asked for utensils, and she ran to the kitchen and comes out with about 20 forks in her hand. She then proceeded to grab each for by the prongs & distribute them. She did NOT sanitize her hands prior to touching the utensils. When looking at the food, the pulled pork was extremely dry and overcooked, and upon tasting was extremely salty. The temperature of the food was luke warm. The cheeseburger came with no cheese, was burnt & very cold, the lettuce & tomato were wilted & warm. The onion rings were also overcooked in dirty oil. I honestly thought I would be able to salvage the onion rings, and asked for a "to go" box with Noelle. It was 8:30p. At 9:30p, I decided to ask Noelle for the box again. Her reply, "Well, we're busy!" and walked away. I watched 2 waitresses running around appeasing the large group & ignoring everyone else in the area. Around 9:30p, I finally got the attention of Michael and said, "I asked for a box over an hour ago. All I want is a damn box, pay my damn bill and leave this place!" Michael (literally) gasped, and stated "Ma'am you don't need to cuss. It's very unprofessional." I'm a paying customer. If anyone was unprofessional, it is the staff at Gerstle's. I also spoke to the Owner, Erik White. He is the worse business owner I have ever had the misfortunate to speak too. He lied and stated he was at the venue that night. If he was, you would think he would have jumped in to help out his staff. But he didn't. Truth is, he located in Louisville, KY and could care less about his restaurants. He was pissed off that I called him on a Sunday to let him know about his restaurant. A REAL owner would work on fixing the issues, not laughing at the complaints the way Mr. White did. He honestly didn't care. All I got was excuses from being understaffed and how lazy his previous workers are, by not coming back and "collecting unemployment." Maybe, they didn't come back because the owner & management are ignorant, selfish, and inept in how to run a business? Don't waste your hard earned money at a business where the owner doesn't care about the customers! | 0negative
| 945 |
Visiting friends who live in Reno, we decided on this Japanese Steakhouse for the one dine out dinner while I was in town.
We were seated within 10 minutes of arriving on Sunday late afternoon. Our server took our drink order (2 Mai Tia's $9.50 each ) and dinner orders... I decided on ALL YOU CAN EAT Sushi 28.95. ) I ordered Miso Soup $2.50, Vegetable Tempura $6.25, Hamachi $3.75, Cooked Scallops $4.25 and
2 orders Seared Albacore $3.95ea). My friends ordered Hibachi Steak $29.95 and the other ordered 1 Snow roll $9.95, Albacore $3.75 & Edamame $7.95.
Th Hibachi Steak and 2 dinner rolls along with my Miso Soup, a roll with something crunchy in it and 2 orders Albacore were literally dropped off at the table as the server ran off. I didn't eat the Albacore because it was supposed to be seared. I couldn't figure out what the roll was with something crunchy in it but I started eating it because my friends were already starting to eat. We all kept looking for the server because my order was already incorrect but he just kept whizzing by and off to another area of the restaurant. I finally waived down another person I thought was a server and explained the Albacore was supposed to be seared and he said he would take care of it. The rest of my order, Hamachi, Cooked Scallops and Tempura vegetables still had not been delivered to me as my friends continued to eat their meals. Finally the server who said he would get my Seared Albacore order brought back another order of raw Albacore only this time it had minced scallions and a red dot of something on it but it still wasn't seared (it would have been sorta white on top but it was simply raw and pink) and I quickly asked what the roll I had eaten with something crunchy in it was and he said it was the Vegetable Tempura I ordered. Before I could say anything once again that server ran off before I could tell him the Albacore still wasn't seared and the order was wrong AGAIN. I was hungry so I started eating it and the red dot of stuff was so hot I had to scrape it off to eat it. My friends by now had finished their meals and I still had not received the Hamachi or Cooked Scallops. I finally got up to go get the original waiter who took our order to tell him I was still waiting for the rest of my meal and the Albacore I ordered was never delivered. (The menu had two different Albacore options 1 was Seared and 1 was raw). I went back to the table and waited again (my friends are completely finished with their dinners) and the waiter finally came back with two orders of something that were not what I ordererd. He said 1 was the scallop (Scallops are round) and what he delivered looked like raw Mackerel and the other was deep red like salmon (clearly not Hamachi). So much for the all you can eat sushi with a $28.95 price.
After looking over our shoulders for what seemed like forever and complete exhaustion from trying to get the right items delivered we asked for our check. When he delivered the check I let him know I expected a discount on my order since the only thing I ordered that actually came correctly or at all was the Miso Soup and Vegetable Tempura. He said he couldn't do that so I asked for the Manager. The server went off to get the manager and the person who returned that was the General Manager Benny and he was the person who delivered what should have been Seared Albacore to me Raw 2 times in a row! Benny claimed they sear all their Tuna and Albacore (if that were true why do they give the option of Albacore or Seared Albacore on the menu?) so I asked him to follow me back to the table so he could see the Albacore was raw and not seared but instead he became very indignant and told me I could go somewhere else if I didn't like what they do there and then he ran off with my check. I went back to the table shocked by his response to go somewhere else next time. The General Manager Benny came back with the check and before I could look it over to see what adjustment he had made he said again to my entire table..."This is what we do here if you don't like it go somewhere else" while he was waiving his hands around and then he ran off. I looked at the check and the only adjustment he made to it was $8 for the Scallops and Hamachi I never received, even though I did not eat the 2 orders of raw Albacore.
Terrible service and management and evidently the kitchen needs some training as well since they couldn't get the Seared Albacore right twice! Would not recommend and my Reno friends will never return there for dinner. | 0negative
| 863 |
On a a cold winter evening with reservations in place and a bottle of red in our hand we made our way to Northern Liberties to dine at Peter McAndrew's Modo Mio. Three hours later we left in a state of ecstasy. It is hard finding the words to explain our dining experience at Modo Mio. All I can say is that it was one of the best. Having recently experienced L'Artusi in New York City I can confidently say that the meal at Modo Mio far exceeded L'Artusi (it also cost a quarter of the price...although in their defense I am sure they pay much more for rent). I can say one thing: I have been dreaming of my meal ever since our visit and although my rule for our year in Philadelphia is to try each restaurant once I am confident this restaurant deserves that rule to be broken. We walked into a small dim lit dining room and were seated at one of the dozen or so tables lining the wall. The decor: homegrown, classic, no frills Italian. Ambiance: loud. Very loud.
The Food: The menu consisted of antipasti, pastas and meats. We were lured in to the 'Turista Menu'- a $35 prixe fix for a four course meal. You just can't resist (and shouldn't).
First off, house made whole grain bread was served with a creamy fresh ricotta drowned in olive oil. I could have kept eating it all night as I'm particularly weak around bread, butter and cheese.
Next came the antipasti. Everything on the menu had a creative flare to it. Our antipasti included a octopus salad tossed with arugula, capers chickpeas and white beans.
And a dish made of sliced potatoes covered with grilled cheese and apricots. I would describe this as a twist on the french Raclette (baked potatoes eaten with hot melting swiss cheese). The combination of potatos and cheese is always a killer but when served with a sweet surprise such as apricots and mulberries- You just can't get a better mix of flavors or originality. Next, the bucatini and veal and rabbit agnolotti were brought out.
The Bucatini- hollow long strands of spaghetti mixed with pancetta and spicy plum tomatoes, herbs and spices cooked to perfection served with generous amounts of pecorino. I still remember each bite and often dream to go back just for this dish alone.
As for the veal and rabbit ravioli, it was my first time tasting rabbit and first time ordering veal. There are several things I don't like to eat for ethical reasons (such as foie gras, veal and rabbit) but I am willing to try everything once. I have to say this was one of the most beautiful raviolis I have ever tasted. The veal and rabbit mix was wrapped in light, airy and fresh pasta dough. The sauce was a sweet sage butter. The sage butter was the key ingredient in this dish. Each mouthful burst with a strong sage flavor that my tastebuds welcomed eagerly. It was probably the most amazing ravioli I have tasted to date.
We were both ready to call it a night after the pasta, leave on a bright note and have the flavors remain in our memories and minds for as long as possible. But having ordered the four course meal, we had two more courses to go through. I had ordered the fish of the day which was served over squid ink grains in a sauce that was out of this world. It was sweet, tangy creamy and completely unique. It gave the overall dish a sweet yet citrusy flavor. The fish tasted fresh and was cooked to perfection.
The next entree was the filet of beef tenderloin served over a grit cake and crepe topped with sundried tomatoes, salty sardines and a creamy sauce. The beef was well marinated and each bite melted in my mouth. What's best- it was laid on top of a perfectly crafted crepe. Each bit was therefore a combination of beef tenderloin and crepe and grits. It was a beautifully executed dish with just the right amount of imagination.
Dessert came next. We always leave room for dessert which consisted of a flourless chocolate cake and tiramisu. The chocolate cake was served with whipping cream and shaved chocolate. It was the perfect texture and flavor.
The tiramisu was also served with shaved chocolate. It tasted light, fluffy and the right amount of sweet.
Service: our server was amazing and walked us through the menu making suggestions, explaining dishes and going out of his way to make our evening memorable. Within minutes of sitting, our wine was opened, poured and the bread brought out. | 2positive
| 785 |
I usually enjoy coming to the rec room and this location. However, my visit yesterday was far from enjoyable. It was my cousins 18th birthday so we decided to come here just for some drinks and games which turned out to be highly disappointing and it was even worse because it was his bday. We sat at the bar and decided to get the nachos to snack on while we drink. When the nachos arrived, mind you almost 20 minutes later, it was a mess. I wish I had taken a picture because that was something that even I would not serve to someone for free. Zero presentation, and I know its just nachos but it looked like a hot mess of nachos that someone slapped together in 2 seconds and it tasted very basic. I honestly cannot believe that is a dish that they serve here because nachos is not hard to make at all, with absolute minimal effort you can make them amazing so I'm not too sure what is going on there. To top it all off, there was HAIR mixed into something in the nachos and I had the "pleasure" of getting that bite. I felt a piece of hair in my mouth and I went to brush it off thinking it was my own hair but to my horror it was hair that was not mine and it was a long dark piece! Once I cringingly pulled it out there was another. My boyfriend at that point told the bartender serving us that there was hair in the food and she just looked at us like we were stupid. He then explained it to her again and she asked to see the hair to which I obviously did not have on hand because once I had pulled them out of my mouth I had thrown it on to the ground in disgust so we had no proof. She then asked "so you guys are done with the nachos then?", of course we were done with the nachos, I don't anyone could stomach anything after that. My boyfriend then told her we were done and asked for the bill, once she brought it he asked for another round of shots for him and my cousin to which she replied "well you already asked for the bill" she at this point was coming in hard with the attitude after the nacho incident to which I assume she thought we had lied about, because any other server that would come across this issue would have handled it in a much more empathetic way. He then told her he would settle that bill and again asked for 2 shots. She brought them over and since it was our last shot of the night I decided to get one too so my boyfriend asked her for one more to which she replied "you already have 2" and he went to explain that he was getting another for me so we could all have a shot together to which she said that he was already too intoxicated and would not bring another shot, which really made no sense because he was the one that initially ordered the 2 shots and she didn't even know who it was for and if she felt that he was intoxicated then she should have mentioned that beforehand. She ultimately made a big deal and said that the shots were for my cousin and I and she would not get him another one as he is cut off and she would get into a lot of trouble to serve him another shot, which made no sense because he was fully coherent and not doing anything wrong or being loud or obnoxious so we were very confused as to why she said that because since we got there we had only had 2 shots each and that was the third. For someone that did not even ID any of us including my young cousin who just turned 18 and looks like a baby nor myself or my boyfriend which was surprising because we generally get asked for ID every time we go out, she could've gotten in trouble for that instead saying she could get in trouble for serving my boyfriend and completely disrespecting us. There were people at the bar who were loud and annoying and we were simply just sitting at the bar talking and trying to have a good time despite all the negativity as my cousin does not live here and we wanted to make the best of the time.He then took the shot with my cousin and she saw and said that we were all now cut off. This experience honestly soured how I view the rec room which is hugely unfortunate as I enjoy coming here and have had a fairly pleasant experience with the rest of the staff and have never had an issue with them but this definitely has me not wanting to come back again. | 0negative
| 837 |
I'm so bummed. I really wanted to give this place 5 stars simply because I'm a fan of the chef, love the downtown location, and dig on the vibe within the walls of this joint.
Unfortunately...I had two experiences with the food that left me with a "meh, it was ok" opinion of their fare.
Let's start with what was so so sooooo awesome. The Irish coffee. Mmmmmmm...Jameson, espresso, and a baileys whipped cream. I'm a fan. My friends who joined me on my first visit both enjoyed their drinks (Irish coffee & an Old Fashioned) as well and said they've experienced consistently fabulous drinks here. My guest during my second visit ordered a La Piscina, which tasted like a horchata, and loved every sweet, cinnamon-y sip. The bartender had a great personality and stopped by our table to make sure we were enjoying our cocktails. The bar (and bartender) is definitely a highlight, and makes a repeat visit worth it.
Now onto the food. We arrived during happy hour during both visits, so we ordered from small-bites which is 1/2 price between the hours of 3-6pm daily.
On visit 1 we selected meatballs, cheese fondue, roasted cauliflower, candies nuts, and the soup of the day. I can't remember what the soup was, but I believe it was a spicy version of butternut squash soup. It was delicious! The meatballs were fantastic too. Great texture, flavor, and an awesome marinara. I enjoyed it so much, that we ordered it again on my second visit. The roasted cauiflower was...ok...it was just ok. It didn't have any flavor that wowed me, and the two guests with me felt the same. We did not finish this appetizer.
On my second visit we ordered Brioche toast which had a squash purée, and micro greens. This was oddly tasty, but not exciting. It wasn't "toast" as indicated in the title, it was bread, it didn't really have any texture other than soft, and needed some sort of spice or...maybe salt?
The fondue is where my ultimate sadness comes from. I LOVE fondue, and get positively giddy when I see it on a menu. It's an interactive food experience with cheese, what's not to love?!?
BUT....twice I was disappointed. On our first visit the cheese congealed fairly quickly and an oil slick formed on the top of the glob left in the pot. We took the lid off and tried to stir it back to life to no avail. We were not charged for the fondue on visit one.
Try number two was unfortunately a very similar experience despite the presence of a sterno flame this time. The cheese again began to cool and made it nearly impossible to "dip" the bread or apples that accompanied it. The bread stuck to the cheese and fell off of our fondue forks into the pot and began to disintegrate in the oil on the top. The apples did stay attached to the fork, but instead of a creamy coating of cheese coming from the pot, we got a string of cheese that reminded me of melted cheese on a greasy pizza. We pointed out the issue to our waitress who did offer to have the kitchen reheat and stir the fondue...but by that time I was kinda grossed out by the oily, elastic cheese, and the collection of bread chunks in the pot. I know it was half price and I shouldn't complain, but I was not thrilled to pay for something we clearly couldn't, and didn't, eat.
*observation - the frame that the fondue pot sat on created a large distance between the sterno and the pot itself. Add in the semi-drafty environment of an older building and I think becomes pretty hard to keep warm at all.
Ok enough of that downer. Into another bit of yumminess. Candied nuts....mmmm. Roasted pecans with just the right amount of sweetness coating them and a little hint at some spicy heat that you can't quite place. I coupled these little beauties with my Irish coffee during both visits and was very happy with the finishing flavor I left with.
Overall...I like it here. I mentioned it has a good vibe and an awesome bar, and I think it's worth checking out again. I'm a sucker for a good discount, but maybe the happy hour menu just isn't a good indication of what they can really do.
Perhaps next time I will move past the small bites menu and try one of their dinner dishes with hope of finding the "wow" food that will earn them the extra stars I so desperately want to give them. | 1neutral
| 776 |
4.5 stars
Although this review is specifically tailored to the NOLA Fulton Street location of Ruth's, I'll "put it out there" that the food is consistent among all the locations I have eaten at so far, which include Broad St. in New Orleans (closed), Veterans Blvd in Metairie, Hard Rock Casino in Biloxi and Constitution Ave. in Baton Rouge, LA.
This was my first visit to the Fulton Street location and it did not disappoint. The restaurant's decor is very typical of the warehouse district and there are exposed brick walls and wooden beams throughout.
Many thanks to my friend HJK for hooking up the reservation and getting us a window table on the Fulton Street side. This dining room is all the way to the rear of the restaurant and IMHO is the best place to dine, as you are not in the sea of diners in the other dining rooms and it offers a little more intimacy. Besides, this is where the bar is!
Neither my wife nor I are big drinkers, but we were celebrating her birthday, we had a babysitter and a drink was called for. She had a"blackberry sidecar". For the uneducated like me, it's Remy Martin VSOP cognac, Cointreau, lemon juice, muddled blackberries and plum bitters in a sugar rimmed glass. Overall, a good sweet drink with a little kick at the end.
My drink was a Moscow Mule, which I never heard of until I read a recent review by NOLA Yelp Ambassador Joi B. Made with vodka, ginger liqueur, lime juice and ginger ale; this drink was dangerously delicious, as you could pound it down like a kid's drink.
As we waited for our appetizer ,we were served the freshest and most delicious French bread. Perfectly crispy on the outermost layer and delectably soft and warm on the inside. Bonus points for the butter being the perfect temperature to spread. (Yes, we ate 2 loaves).
Appetizer: The sizzling blue crab cakes are awesome. The breading is just sufficient enough to hold the lump crab meat together, and there is hardly any breading in the actual stuffing. And I mean this as a compliment, as there is nothing worse than over-breaded stuffing. Just mouthfuls of hot delicious lump crab meat here.
Side dish 1: These potatoes au gratin will never be confused for a box of Betty Crocker. The potatoes are sliced thin, loaded with butter and come with a "crust" of melted cheese so thick that you could practically walk across it.
Side dish 2: The creamed spinach, although not my choice, was a pleasant surprise. The spinach was chopped, but not so finely that you lost the texture. I couldn't put a handle on the ingredients of the cream sauce. All I know is that I wanted to lick the pate when we were done, but I refrained.
Steaks: My wife had the petit filet (2 - 4 oz medallions) topped with grilled shrimp. Cooked to perfection and served searing hot, these steaks were so tender that a knife was really not necessary.
Bone in 22 oz Cowboy ribeye -- If you want flavor, then a bone in ribeye is what you want. I had nearly forgotten what a great ribeye was all about. This aint your store-bought ribeye that's loaded with fat, and there was no fat to cut off of this masterpiece. However, it was marbled throughout with "fatty goodness" that imparted a flavor that is worth Yelping about. Served sizzling and with a slightly charred exterior, this is what steak is all about. Simply delicious.
Dessert 1: Fresh berries with cream was my wife's choice. Served in a large martini glass, this was a good looking dessert. Diabetics be warned as I think the cream is mixed with condensed milk as it is slightly thicker than heavy cream and way sweeter.
Dessert 2: Based on our server's recommendation, I opted for the creme brûlée. I normally go for a chocolate dessert or a cheesecake, but this creme brûlée was done up right. Real specks of vanilla bean were strewn throughout and the caramelized sugar on top was perfect. (Another missed opportunity to lick the plate).
The thing that tied everything together was our server Joe. Joe, aside from being a great server, was just an overall good dude. He seemed to instantly "read" his clients and I could see and hear the subtle nuances at each of his tables. His recommendations were spot on and he truly made this a memorable experience.
The floor manager also checked on us twice during our meal. It was a nice touch without being overly intrusive. Can't wait to go back and try to tackle the 42 oz Porterhouse for two.....with some help of course.. | 2positive
| 793 |
My fiance and I have never been to this restaurant before, but we have seen it in passing, and thought it was cute, so we decided to give it a try.
We originally booked our reservation for 1:15 PM, but when we were getting ready to leave, we realized we would be arriving at the restaurant MUCH sooner (around 12:30 PM). Luckily, I was able to modify the reservation, and it allowed us to choose the 12:30 PM timeslot.
We arrive at the restaurant, it looks very cute on the outside, as well as the inside (staying true to the age of the Inn). When we arrive at the hostess desk, we tell her we are here for our reservation, and she tells us it will be a few minutes. We definitely were waiting there about 10 minutes or so. I hear a group of six, as well as another group of two or three complaining that they have been waiting a long time to get seated (they were standing there when we arrived). We did not give the hostess a hard time (like the other people did), and as she walked us back to our table, she apologized about the wait (and we politely told her it was fine, no worries). We weren't in any rush, so it was fine.
When we arrive at our table, the seats were typical of the time period, very high neck booths, and luckily the tables were not bolted to the wall, otherwise I DEFINITELY would not have been able to slide in. It was a LITTLE on the tight side, but I was able to get in and out okay.
Our waitress Athena (I believe that was her name), was very nice, and asked us if we wanted coffee. We said sure. She started talking about the Brunch and how we were able to help ourselves to all the food out in the room. My fiance and I looked at each other and then asked if that was all they were serving. She told us that she could bring over regular menus, and we could start placing an order in about 12 minutes (I assume when the regular menu started). We were VERY grateful for that, and she allowed us to take our time reviewing the menu, as we mentioned we have never been there before.
I did not like the taste of the coffee that much, I felt that it had a weird aftertaste. It might have been due to the 0 calorie sweetener that I used (because there was no regular sugar at our table), but it was still fine.
I ordered the Plumstead Lemonade which was mango vodka and lemonade (SO DELICIOUS and refreshing!!!) My fiance ordered a 6 ounce of merlot.
For a starter, my fiance had the calamari and I ordered the chicken quesadilla. My fiance said his calamari was okay (I do not love seafood, I only eat it once in a while), so I did not give it a try. My chicken quesadilla was DIVINE, loved the chicken, cheese, caramelized onions, and BACON!!! It was a VERY generous portion, four cuts of the quesadilla, I was already starting to get full just from that! They used small sprigs of spring mix lettuce to decorate the plate around the quesadilla, and I definitely could have done without that. I think serving the quesadilla on it's own would have been fine! I love that they also served it with salsa, but I LOVE to SCOOP rather than DIP, so I would have loved to have extra salsa haha.
I originally wanted the french dip sandwich, but did not see that on the menu like I thought I saw online, so I ordered the chicken parm sandwich and substituted the potato chips for the sweet potato fries (at a $3 upcharge). I personally wasn't a huge fan of the fries, I usually love sweet potato fries, but these tasted bland and soggy in a way? I think if they were crispier, or perhaps had a maple syrup kind of dip, they would have been DELICIOUS! I took half of my chicken parm sandwich home. My fiance had the fish and chips and enjoyed it (he also took half of his home).
We were celebrating my fiance's Birthday so OF COURSE we wanted to get dessert, so we split the chocolate lava cake. It came with a scoop of vanilla ice cream which was nice, and the cake wasn't TOO big, it was the perfect size to split for a little taste of something.
All in all, I enjoyed the experience, our waitress was very nice, but I just wasn't MAJORLY impressed with the food. | 1neutral
| 786 |
Last night, I had the opportunity to go to Zahav for restaurant week with my fiancée and some friends. Upon immediate entry, I was impressed with the décor... it was very modern without feeling too cold. The main dining area was warm and inviting... very pleasant feeling.
My fiancée and I were somewhat early so we decided to order a drink from the bar. I was impressed that we were able to order a drink immediately. While there were definitely people eating and drinking at the bar, we were still able to get our drinks without waiting.
Now for the meal... when we sat down, our server, Ben, seemed pleasant. He told us about the Restaurant week menu and how the
first course would be served immediately.
Here's what we ordered off the menu(I'll review each meal next to each listing... this is where it gets really really mixed):
FYI... We asked our server, Ben, if he could go over what each of the entrees were since none of us were overly familiar with the cuisine. He rubbed me the wrong way because I saw him rolling his eyes. I noticed that his smile was fake and insincere. I found him condescending when he was describing the food as if we were wasting him. I kept my mouth shut because no one seemed to have noticed. The rest of the serving staff was very nice though.
First Course
Salatim - Selection of four salads: very nice and refreshing... we were able to sample all of the different salads. Some we liked more than others, but everyone agreed, the dish was well made and was a good start
Hummus-tehina - Served with house-baked laffa: some of the best hummus I've ever had. It was light, but full of flavor and went well with the accompanying bread.
Second Course
Crispy Haloumi - Cypriotic sheep's milk cheese, dates, pine nuts: total homerun... my fiancée and I could not get over how good this tasted. I have to say that I was impressed with the boldness of the flavors and how well everything went together.
Watermelon Salad - Bulgarian feta, black olives, parsley: I enjoyed this, but my fiancée didn't. I found it invigorating actually... the contracts in texture and flavor really seemed to play with each other.
House-smoked Sable - Challah, fried egg, green garlic: I had previously been told by a co-worker that this would be one of the best dishes I've ever had in my life... period. I thought it was great, but nothing overly special. The flavors were subtle and the fish was nicely cooked though.
Third Course
Fried Kibbe with Tahini - Lamb, Bulgur wheat, pine nuts: This was ok, nothing great... but enjoyable nonetheless
The Galil - Eggplant, tomato couscous, asparagus, tehina: And here it is.... The worst dish of the night. We couldn't believe how salty it was... simply inedible. It had to be one of the WORST dishes I've ever had from a restaurant. Seriously... I'd rather have eaten a Sizzli from Wawa. I found it so inedible that I wanted to send it back, but we didn't see Ben until much later in the meal.
As I understand it, restaurants soak food in brine to give the food a little more saltiness since the salt burns off when cooking. It seems like they didn't cook the food long enough to get the extra salt out. It's a shame because we were really looking forward to this dish.
Side note, near the end of the meal, I asked Ben if the Galil was supposed to be as salty as it was, he said, "well, it had been soaked in brine... so maybe that was it." He asked if we wanted a replacement portion. I thanked him, but passed.. Without looking me in the eye, he said, "I apologize..." but before he was even done saying those two words, he had already turned away. You can tell that he was really sincere with his apology... nope.
Fourth Course
Cashew Baklava - White chocolate, date syrup: I didn't enjoy this much... I like Greek style more. It tasted like a dog treat.
Almond Semifreddo - Chocolate crisp: pretty good... nothing great, but it was enjoyable.
Overall, most of the food was very pleasing. There were dishes we had that were almost inedible and our waiter was a plain old "d-bag"(yes, I said it, but I can't think of any other words to describe him... I didn't even list all of the things he did to make me come to this conclusion. And, even one of the other people at the table mentioned it.). Having a rude waiter can definitely ruin a meal(as it nearly did for me....), but the night was successful. Even with some of the off notes in some of the food, a great waiter can negate that... changing the night from successful to memorable.
I'd give the food, an overall 7 out of 10... and I'd give Ben a negative -5 out of 10. It's waiters like Ben that make people not go back to restaurants.
END SCENE | 1neutral
| 853 |
I have eaten at Longhorn just about every Sunday for the past decade. We are guaranteed a table and a good steak dinner every single time. Sadly, I am writing this review during the ONE time we did not have a great experience, so I am knocking off a star.
We always get the same thing. I had the caesar salad, he has the house salad. I have the New York strip. He gets the filet. I get steamed broccoli, he gets a baked potato. We both always agree on the stuffed mushrooms for an appetizer because they are so incredibly good. Also, we usually down a loaf of their steaming hot bread before the salad even arrives.
Once in awhile, we will take out our LH dinner. Eat it at home instead. We do this a bit more often during football season, because we cheer kind of loudly and we don't want to be obnoxious in the restaurant. The bar seating is usually full during football season so we don't want to eat there.
Last night, hubby brought home all of the aforementioned food. We live 20 minutes away, but the food always arrives home still hot. Not last night. Last night EVERYTHING was ice cold and the salads were luke warm. Not only that, but the steaks were not medium rare like we ordered but more like medium RAW. They were still mooing. When we cut into it, it was like someone cut the cows femoral artery and blood spurted all over our plates. No lie. The blood got all over my broccoli. My husband actually had to fire up the grill to re-cook our "cooked" steaks. I had to reheat all the veggies in the microwave. The bread had cooled by then, was no longer hot or even warm by then. I wasn't really in the mood to have to turn on my oven as well to reheat that. I have been sick for quite awhile now and my husband was trying to do a nice thing for dinner to give me a break. I could have cooked everything myself and gotten a better result. Meh.
So, after everything was reheated and what not, I tweeted Longhorn, showing them the bloody mess they sent us home with. No answer. Retweeted. No reply. So, we just called the manager at our Longhorn. John was very courteous, offered to remake our steaks, but we had just done that ourselves, so that was kind of pointless. Plus, we're 20 minutes away and by the time we were done, it was nearly 9:30 pm and no one was in the mood to go out (and hello? The Giants were playing. Duh!) So, he took my husband's email address and our home address and said he was sending something out to us. If it isn't a damn steak dinner, I don't want it. Two, as a matter of fact. I offered to send him photos I took of the bleeding massacre, but even he didn't want it. Can't blame him. I'm a surgical nurse and even I don't want to see that much blood, let alone put it in my mouth. (Although being a sparkling vampire would be kinda cool.)
Anyway, I have to yank a half star on that because consistency is key in the restaurant biz. I am yanking another half star because from time to time, we have had servers who were kind of on the bitchy side, which I generally don't care about most of the time; I would just reflect that in their tip if I was that upset with them. However, there have been a few times that it was a little over the top. Then again, if that's all I can complain about in 10 or more years, that's really not a bad thing. Most of the time, the culprit is usually gone by the time we go back. And one takeout faux pas is really not enough to whine about.
By the way, Longhorn Corporate? Whoever runs your Twitter can kiss my bloody cow steak. They finally got back to me almost 24 hours later. In social media time, that was like...ten years. I already spoke to the manager about it and he handled it just fine. Your social media person is awful. Just saying.
If we get something awesome in the mail, I will update this review. If I get a $5 gift card, I am yanking ALL THE STARS and replacing it with a bloody cow. | 2positive
| 754 |
This is a franchise which means the owners have a serious financial investment involved. We are mindful of that. But in our humble opinions my husband I think this may be the worst pizza we have ever eaten. Or not eaten as the case was here since we didn't finish our two slices. For a place that puts Pizza Pie up-front in name and even entering with low expectations for quality given "all you can eat" format, this is a fail for pizza. The bland, over thick, doughy crust was cooked on the bottom but had 'raw-ish' top texture as if under baked. And if you're a glutton (I'll revisit that theme later) for punishment, there is a dessert pizza selection too.
We are not "buffet types" but the enthusiastic reviews for pizza quality here and food photos (mostly owner provided it seems) encouraged us go in. If you're looking for good pizza, you'll be disappointed. But there were good-enough things in pasta bar and salad bar if AYCE buffets are your thing. And a very good thing in service which is a very rare thing in fast-casual-food format places these days. So good for them for that. Plus the space was clean.
We won't return here as it isn't a fit for us. But enough attention being paid by owners to move this from 2 to 3 stars to say to others if buffets are your thing, this might work.
SERVICE: A nod to the super friendly and courteous young staff, all guys on the day of our visit, who were hard at work greeting customers working in the kitchen and keeping the dining room tidy. They even thanked us for coming in as we exited. That's always nice touch of customer care.
PIZZA BAR: In everything is connected mode, the helpful service extends to making the pizza. All pizzas have signs to tell you what they are. If you don't see a variety you like on the pizza bar, they'll make one of the kind you want and add it to the options we were told. When we visited there were likely seven or eight options, including a couple without meat which is our preference.
PASTA BAR: A surprise of being better than expected. Served in shallow pasta bowls, a better serving dish than a flat plate, there are eight or ten types of pasta from which to choose. These are par-cooked in sealed clear containers behind the counter so you can see them. You choose the pasta you want in as much quantity as you want and the nice guys behind the counter put it in a little container and then heat it in tub of super-hot water. (A finishing process many restaurants use.) My penne and spaghetti were nicely al dente and so was my hubby's fettucine. There are about half a dozen sauces in both meat and meat free options in warming containers to ladle on yourself. The roasted red pepper sauce and the marinara sauce, which was nicely chunky with tomatoes, were tasty. There is also a choice of grated cheeses (parmesan, romano and asiago) to top off your pasta.
SALAD BAR: It is possible to make oneself a decent salad from things like iceberg heavy mixed salad greens, fresh spinach, beets, peas, cherry tomatoes, sunflower seeds...the list goes on. As woohoo note, they provide Balsamic vinegar if one wants to avoid the half dozen offerings of processed salad dressing. I appreciate that they put the salad items in small containers so that they can keep them changed out easily to keep them fresh.
PRICES: Lunch is $7.25. Dinner is a buck more. (Beverages not included in the price.) And if you go during the "happy hours" between 2:00 and 4:00, which we did, the price is only $5.99. For that amount we felt we got what we paid for in the pasta and salad bar. But noticing the gluttony (I said I'd get back to that) of some of the folks dining in on the day we were, I can't imagine what the revenue / profit model is for the franchisees to make money at these prices at what seemed like a hefty average consumption per diner.
VIBE: Located in one of Boise's myriad of decrepit strip malls, there has obviously been care given by the owners in the remodeling of this space. High ceilings, a sort of industrial vibe, lots of seating at standard height tables (woohoo for that, no high perch) and booths. While it must be very hard to do in a format like this, everything was sparkling clean at food service stations and seating location. Music mix was a good one of what seemed largely 70's and 80's rock turned up to vigorous level as one would expect here. As we were leaving this Queen tune came on. "Another One Bites the Dust". I hope the title wasn't prescient for the future of this business, given the competition it has nearby.
THIS N THAT:
PARKING: Lots of it in the big strip mall lot.
ACCESSIBILITY: One accessible parking spot with ADA non compliant curb ramp. Level in and all on one floor. Food service areas exceed reach ranges. Several options of standard height seating.
NEIGHBORS: Quick Wok on one side, H&R Block and Radio Shack on the other. | 1neutral
| 889 |
I really hate to even write this review but here I go...
I truly wanted to be a regular customer but their lack of professionalism and inconsistency has made me decide to never return.
I started going to Jerk Soul when they moved on to Cherokee Ave. I was super excited to try them because Jamaican food is my favorite and when they were in their Old North St. Louis location, I never made it over to them because it's on the other side of town and one thing about me: I ain't finna take a drive for nothing if it ain't guaranteed to be that thang (that thang = exceptional).
In all the several times that I've gone to Jerk Soul, I can honestly say that I've received a quality order (service + food) maybe once, twice at the most, and that one or two times was what made me try and try again. I know for certain, I've had more poor encounters with JS than good ones. My most recent experience was definitely the straw that broke the camel's back though.
I ordered the jerk chicken entree and jerk chicken tacos. When I placed my order, I asked the cashier to prepare the tacos without sour cream. I also asked her if the sweet corn salsa had any dairy in it. I asked her this because I have a severe dairy allergy and can't eat it whatsoever. When I got my food and got home to eat it, there was definitely melted cheese on the tacos. I was pretty pissed given the fact that there is ZERO mention of cheese being in the tacos (see the attached photo directly from their menu) and if I requested no sour cream and asked about the salsa having dairy in it - that should've at least prompted the cashier to ask if there was an allergy or sensitivity.
Then, if that wasn't enough, my jerk entree was undone to say the least. I bit into the leg quarter and there was blood literally RUNNING out of the chicken! The outside was cooked well but the inside was not done at all (see photos). This meant that they had the heat way too high. On top of all of this, the rice and peas that came with the entree had SEVERAL thyme stems in it. At this point, I'm fuming because what the hell?! I almost felt like Ashton Kutcher's goofy ass was going to jump out because I was being Punk'd.
I took the order back and by this time it was 7:15pm so they were closed. I knocked on the door and the chef (I'm assuming she's the chef because she literally was wearing the jacket lol) came to the door and propped the door open just enough with her foot to talk to me but to block me from entering. This was so trash to me because I had just been there, I had an order in my hand (so I obviously wasn't there asking for change or something) and when I arrived to place my order she was the one who let the cashier know I needed to place an order because there was no one at the register (another VERY regular thing for them).
I showed her the meal and she immediately agreed that the order was both incorrect and underprepared. She then said she would get the cashier to come upfront and refund my order. She did and now they will never receive one red cent from me ever again.
What made me write this review wasn't even the food being undercooked, cooked wrong or the several other half-assed encounters that I've had with them. It was the fact that when the chef took the order back to the cashier to show her what was done (or undone in this case), I overheard the cashier saying "ain't no cheese on the tacos!" She was wrong. There was definitely cheese
on them and the chef showed her that there was. But why was she so excited to potentially point that out when the chicken still had blood running out of it and the rice still had thyme stems in it? Even if the tacos were prepared correctly, which they weren't, the rest of my order still wouldn't have been right. Where the hell was the accountability and professionalism?
I have to reiterate too, this is JUST this experience! I haven't even mentioned the times when I've called several times in the middle of the day to place an order and no one answered the phone. Only to arrive, see that they aren't busy, place a walk-in order, wait 20-30 minutes for my food and then they completely forgot my order altogether. Or ordering one thing and getting all the way home to see that they gave me something else incorrectly. Then, calling back to alert them but because it's 15-20 minutes before they close, they won't answer the phone and I'm just stuck with something I didn't order.
Again, I hate even writing this review because I want to see all locally owned businesses, particularly those that are Black owned, thrive and do well. However, all businesses, Black owned or not, have a duty of care to the communities they operate in just like any others. Jerk Soul clearly hasn't realized that yet or they have and ultimately just don't care.
Save your coins or go to De Palm Tree. | 0negative
| 913 |
My experience at the Eldorado was not the greatest so I will start with some of the positives before getting to the negatives:
+ Most of the staff were very friendly, there were a few dealers at the casino that were short (probably due to my novice gambling skills) but on the whole I really enjoyed the people of the casino.
+ The food options were nice and priced well, not amazing, but not bad and on par for the cost of the food (except the Roxy)
I should start by saying that my ordeal was created over a single issue, so people who do not have issues with their bookings are probably going to have a better experience, but I think this shows how their staff handles issues. I am telling my full story, but will put # hashtags around what I view as important details if you want to get the TL;DR version.
When we first checked in we were met by a very cheery lady who just looked up our Expedia reservation and we gave her a credit card and my ID and she booked us into a room. I had requested a king, but they only had two queens and I didn't really care... I joked about my girlfriend stealing the blankets all the time anyway and we were on on our way.
As we were in Reno visiting family (like a reunion), I went to my father's room and noticed his was bigger than mine... So I called down to the front desk and asked if my room was a deluxe like I paid for. #They told me that the manager didn't come in until 12 so they couldn't confirm that I paid for a deluxe but that my room was a standard#. She said to call back after 12 or to just come down after 12 and we would get it sorted out... so I went to breakfast/lunch and came back about 12:30.
The front desk lady was the same cheery lady from before, she insisted that had I let her know she made a mistake last night she would have fixed it... I told her I didn't even realize I had got a standard room until I saw my dad's but it was no big deal and I was just happy to get my room now. She told me that there were no deluxe rooms clean right now, but there was a king deluxe (the only one in the hotel according to her) free for the night... just come back around 2-3 to get the room.
I came in at 2:30 and told them I would get the room and they told me there was a note on the room that it was still being cleaned and wouldn't be ready until 3-4. #She told me my room number was 606 and wrote it down on a piece of paper for me#. She also gave me a voucher for 2 free brunch buffets which I thought was a nice gesture that matched the inconvenience I had incurred. I especially liked that I didn't have to ask for it.
Instead of coming back at 4 we gambled and then went to dinner with my family and got to the front desk to pick up our key for our new room at about 6. This is when we were told that since we didn't show up by 5 they gave away our room to someone else (which doesn't make sense, they knew we were staying at the hotel, we had already paid for our room... we had already given up our last room). I tried to stay upbeat about the whole thing...
I asked to talk to the manager, and the woman I was speaking with went to the back and came back out and confirmed there was nothing else they could do. I told her that I appreciated the lack of options as far as my room is concerned but that there is the bigger issue of how much I have been inconvenienced this whole time. So I reaffirmed my desire to talk to a manager and he comes out, visibly unhappy that he has to leave his little manager room to talk to me.
I explain that I realize mistakes happen, and that I realize that him or another manager had already compensated me with a free brunch but that had been for the previous mistakes and this new one is a bigger mistake. He tried explaining that room preferences like King/2 Queens are preferences and are not required to be met, I explained that I didn't care about the room type as much as I cared that I was already given a room number and they gave it away, he proceeded to explain that it was him himself who freed up my room and it was because I wasn't there by 5. He was clearly frustrated and said if I wanted anything more I needed to take it up with expedia.
He refused to acknowledge that it wasn't the room type I had an issue with, but rather the number of times I had to come back and that he gave away my room when I was not told to come back (and there being no reason to give it away, I had already given up my last room). Finally after asking for two more brunch vouchers he gave me those, and handed to me and walked away without saying anything. Certainly not the friendliest hotel in reno. This guy needs basic customer service training (repeat the issue back to the customer, acknowledge their concern, offer a remedy) and the staff need to be more on the ball. | 0negative
| 955 |
I've been in about 5-6 times for happy hour, dinner and late night.
I got introduced to it by a friend who used to be a line cook; he told me about the awesome industry discount maybe a year ago, and we went in for late night together a few times. The service was phenomenal, the ENTIRE menu was available until 2 a.m., and the drinks were spot-on. With the discount, the prices were more than reasonable and I never left unhappy.
Their whole menu is divided up with this cute "good vs. evil" thing. Anything spicy gets shunted to the "evil" side, and anything creamy or sweet gets pushed into "good." My favorite item is a pasta dish with a smoky, spicy red sauce and some chorizo. There's a truffled bruschetta that's very nice. Every meal comes with bread service that includes two different kinds of homemade bread and two different house-seasoned butters.
Flash forward a few months, and one of the owners was bartending more frequently (I *believe* his name is Jon).... service went downhill, some of the really good bartenders started leaving, and we stopped heading down for late night.
I stopped in for happy hour a time or two and extended one or two of those into dinners. The HH food specials are pretty good, if limited, and the drink specials are decent. Nice place to blow off a little steam without having to enter a family-friendly establishment.
The drink menu was interesting and unique the first time I came in; I don't believe I've seen many changes in the last six months or so. Wine list is decent and they have at least 8 - 10 reds by the glass, which is nice. There are maybe 4 - 6 tap beers, and two or so of them are interesting.
I decided to give non-happy-hour-fueled dinner a try a few months ago and met my parents there. I arrived early, at about 5:30, and took a seat at the completely empty bar. The owner/bartender ignored me completely for a full 7 minutes while carrying on a personal conversation (I checked an incoming text right as I sat down and had a timestamp), and I finally got up and walked to the host stand for a table instead. The owner made this big deal about how the servers hadn't paid attention to me, and I told him I'd been sitting at his bar the whole time. He acted embarrassed, apologized, and made a point of coming over to my table and introducing himself, then offering to buy my first drink. All in all, a very polite and apologetic exchange. My parents arrived and we had dinner; the bill came out and nothing was taken care of; we left without saying anything.
To screw up customer service is one thing. To openly admit you were a bonehead, introduce yourself as the owner of such a fine establishment, apologize for said boheheadery, and then fail a second time is not excusable in a restaurant striving to cater to the demographic that Dante's is clearly targeting.
I've been underwhelmed by most of the service there since my first few times in. Perhaps it's that we got great service when people knew we were industry and my first impression was unfairly inflated.... Perhaps the good servers and bartenders are leaving because they're managed by a moron.... Perhaps I've just accidentally had bad luck.... Perhaps I'm expecting lousy service and therefore receive it when I go in.... Whatever the cause, it ain't what it used to be.
Unless there's live music--I believe that happens on Saturday nights, or maybe Sunday.... and it's bad (I know I'm grumpy about the service, but it's been too loud and too crowded to be enjoyable.... we just turned and walked out those nights)--or pub quiz, the dining room is quiet and classy. It's not a child-friendly establishment, which I appreciate; the setup isn't too cramped; there's linen on the tables and the nicer-quality silverware is polished; water glasses never come out pre-lipsticked. I just realized I've never used the restroom, so I have no idea how clean that is.
If I were rating them on food, it'd be 4.5/5
If I were rating them on drinks, it'd be 3.5/5
If I were rating them on service, it'd be -2/5
If I were rating them on cleanliness, it'd be 4/5
If I were rating them on atmosphere, it'd be 4/5
It's right near my house and I'll probably head back in for happy hour or late night every now and then. Clearly convenience and quality are trumping service for me. | 0negative
| 773 |
--The Dark Horse, in a nutshell--
First, the Dark Horse is a perfect compliment to Head House square and really has that quintessential pub appeal. The historic building is beautifully presented and on the inside it presents just what you'd hope for, that nice Philly gritty pub feel. They have seating outside when the weather's nice so that is a big plus. It's refreshing to enjoy a cold pint of Guinness in the evening before movie night Wednesday at HHS.
When you step inside, you'll find a Whiskey bar which typically is the calmest of all the bars (excluding the restaurant). It has a very easy going feel with quieter music, a dart board is up, and the mood is light. As you stroll up the stairs, you'll find a large restaurant to your left and more unexplored territory on your right.
Starting at your left, the restaurant isn't always open, but it's nice for families when it is - it is also very large and can hold a good sized party. I had one for 50 people in there once and we still had a lot of space. You could probably put 75 in there. There is a dart board (every room has at least one). For the explorers, there is a secret back room behind the restaurant called the "Pickwick" room that has almost a Colonial dining feel. A long table looks like it could house maybe 15 people. This is a reservation only room.
Moving to your right from the top of the stairs you'll find the Sports bar first, which is larger, has a big TV and several dart boards. This opens to either private parties or becomes the overflow bar when the main bar is packed. I'd guess this bar comfortably holds 50. Continuing on, the Rigger bar is on your right and more of a close quarters "whole in the wall" kind of nook. It holds about 25 and does have a dart board but really is the quiet kid in the bunch for the upstairs bars.
Finally, the main bar is a hodgepodge of old metallic beer signs, custom art glass, tons of windows, a huge wooden bar and more TVs. The crowd is very tidal here and on some nights there will be a couple folks having a quick pint all the way to nudge room only and rowdy with 150 people. Quizzos are on Monday, they support all the sports teams and are Union partners (This place is insane during world cup!!!!!). Here is where you may spend most of your time if you're the pub crawler looking for eats and drinks. Dart board here and you can catch the dart league playing some nights, I don't recommend challenging them unless you enjoy a beating but I will say they are all very nice and I've played them a few times. If they notice you're a rookie, they will pair up to make everything fair, which is pretty standard from Dark Horse regulars, they're nice people.
Another secret passage leads out the back of the main bar down to a sort of balcony which overlooks overgrown wasteland from yesteryear. The view isn't great but this is why it IS great - whenever there are fireworks at Penn's landing, this is one of the best views in the city! I've spent a few 4th of Julys and new years here and it's great, you can drink before and right after and there is no waiting at the peer!
So why does Dark Horse get 5 stars from me? Is it because it is my favorite bar ever, no. Is it because I've gotten to know all the bartenders and think they're great, no. How about because the fish and chips is just flat-out badass, Guinness pints are perfect, half-priced apps from 5-7 every weeknight during happy hour, no. How about that I've hosted about 5 events ranging from 30- 100 people and was totally taken care of by the great event planner and owner?
Why I give the DH 5 stars is because this perfect pub blend of renewing happiness brings me back here again and again. Sure, I've had nights where people were too loud near me or my food wasn't A+ but I've never had a bad experience that would sour me and I've been coming here for almost 10 years. If you too enjoy stopping in and become a regular, you may start seeing the bar as more of a retreat away from home and just have to pit stop whenever you're close, like me. It's generally full of a mix of real people and doesn't cater to any specific crowd, it's just that cool. Stop by, get a pint and soak in the win. | 2positive
| 796 |
I have to tell you that I was really happy with Jun Dynasty. We went last night and I just finished the leftovers tonight. But I'm getting ahead of myself. We arrived about 7 pm last night apparently just ahead of the rush. A few tables were occupied but the huge room was fairly deserted. We were greeted as soon as we walked in and offered the booth in the corner right where we could see all the food come flying out of the kitchen. We had some questions about the menu which was quickly answered. Drinks were ordered - iced tea - and they were brought almost immediately along with plates, a fork and chop sticks for both of us. We didn't have to ask for either one.
Shortly, a server came and took our order which we planned to be a large selection so we could sample a few things and have leftovers for the weekend. The order was hot and sour soup, house fried rice, the eggplant dish, kung pao chicken, and mapo tofu. The server disappeared and there we were watching the place fill up and crowds of what appeared to be mostly young Asian students quickly filled the place. Oh, a few more non-Asians showed up but not many. The conversations filled the room with noise but I couldn't pick up any English being spoken.
Food was flying out of the kitchen but nothing for us. I estimate we were left alone for about 15 minutes before something finally came our way. It seemed like the cook worked one table at a time so we were happy we just beat the crowd. Eventually the soup showed up. Good thing since it's a large serving bowl (no individual servings). We served ourselves using the provided ladle. No doubt this was excellent soup. Very good. However, we didn't get very far into this little bowl before more of our food came flying out of the kitchen. Unfortunately, most of these Chinese places can't pace the serving of the food. They cook it and it comes out, no waiting. So in short order, we had all of our order in front of us. So we put the soup bowl on the side and made it the first leftover to get packed up in a large Styrofoam cup.
Here's a rundown on the order:
Soup - Great!
House fried rice - not on the menu. It's just their fried rice with shrimp, pork, chicken, and peas and carrots. It was just fantastic.
Eggplant dish - See the pictures elsewhere on this Yelp page. It's the long purple eggplants, they fry them and put them in a spicy sauce. I thought it was the best eggplants I've had in a long while. Wifey says they were good but she like the eggplant dish at "the other place" I've written about previously. That didn't stop her from eating a good amount of the serving with along with the rice however. And that she polished off the leftover eggplant with some of the fried rice for lunch this afternoon.
Kung Pao Chicken - I wasn't particularly impressed with this. It was just a huge amount of chicken and raw peanuts. I like it when it comes with veges and a little sauce rather than the coating this came with. Now that doesn't mean the chicken didn't taste good. It did, it's just not what I wanted. Wifey didn't touch it. I picked the peanuts out. Took the leftovers home and reheated the chicken today in a frying pan and I thought the flavor was much better the second time around (no joke here).
Mapo Tofu - I'm a big fan of this and try it everywhere. I was very happy with it too. Wifey, again, thought "the other place" had better mapo tofu but for me this was right up there. I finished it off tonight by reheating in a frying pan.
Servers were plenty friendly but were obviously running hard last night given the crowd. So I felt a little neglected. At the end, we had to flag down a server to get the leftovers boxed up. Usually, they help with all that but this was strictly DIY. We were given the boxes, the bag, and the check and left alone. Well, OK.
Salt - Well the dishes were definitely not salt-free but not over salted either. You could taste the salt in the fried rice, the tofu and the kung pao but I thought in a helpful way and not at all over powering.
I saw lots of interesting looking plates come out of the kitchen, enough to know that I must go back. I just won't get the kung pao again. | 2positive
| 792 |
The Crave It Restaurant Group that brought Burger's Priest to Edmonton in March has brought Via Cibo, an Italian fast-casual restaurant, to Sherwood Park. This is the third Via Cibo to open in Canada, with the other two locations being in Calgary and Toronto. The restaurant opened it's doors on November 1st, and I had the opportunity to check it out on opening day.
Via Cibo occupies a fairly large space off of the busy Baseline Road in a great location that is easily seen while driving by. The space is clean, modern, and designed to be a quick dining option. As you walk in, you're greeted by the large menu boards behind the counters and a staff member at the register. After placing an order, you are given an order number and lead past the open kitchen to a beverage station before finding a seat in the restaurant. I love this self-lead form of service in casual restaurants, as each experience is tailored to your needs. Whether you're in to grab a quick bite to eat, or planning to spend time sitting down for a longer meal, the servers are available when you need them, and they're not rushing you with constant visits to the table either.
To start off our meal we had an order of the Tuscan Fries ($5) which are tossed with a mixture of rosemary, sea salt and truffle oil before being topped with a light shaving of Grana Padano Cheese. The fries were golden and crisp and the spicy garlic aioli gave the fries a nice punch. Although the rosemary tended to overpower the delicate truffle flavour with most bites, the fries were a nice little snack I would order again.
Next to arrive at our table was the Broccolini and Sausage Penne ($14) that was recommended to us. All pasta options on the menu (with exception of the gnocchi) can be served with your choice of penne or linguine, and gluten free options are available too. Pasta used at this location is brought in dry from Italy and cooked al dente. Our dish featured broccolini, house made Italian sausage and the pasta tossed in a chili garlic olive oil, tomato sauce and was topped with Grana Padano. The pasta had a good portion of toppings and was fairly portioned for the price.
At Via Cibo all the sandwiches (there are 5 available) are constructed between housemade calabrese bread. We tried the Ossobuco Panino ($14), because who can resist fall of the bone braised veal? The meat is combined with caramelized onions, arugula, provolone cheese and roasted garlic aioli. The sandwich may not look like much, but the tender meat was well seasoned and gave the sandwich a punch of flavour to contrast the sweet onions. The bread was soft, but I would have preferred for it to be slightly toasted for some added crunch.
Last but not least came the Prosciutto E Arugula Pizza ($15). Prosciutto and arugula are two of my favourite toppings on pizza, so I just had to order this one. Via Cibo uses prosciutto, arugula, Fior Di Latte, slow roasted tomatoes, Grana Padano and a fig-infused balsamic reduction on their version. While I didn't like that the prosciutto on the pizza was cooked (I prefer mine just cured), there was a fair portion on the pizza along with the other ingredients. The crust to the pizza was thin, but held itself together well structurally, meaning that it didn't fall apart or become mushy from the toppings. According to one of the operating partners, the staff are trained to place a majority of toppings towards the outside of the pizza so as not to put too much moisture or weight on the middle. So that's the trick! The crust was evenly cooked with some blistering, and I would be open to trying some of the other options.
When it comes to sweets, Via Cibo has brought Calgary's Fiasco Gelato on board to offer 10 different gelato flavours to customers after their meals. Flavours will rotate from time to time, and it's great to see that Via Cibo is supporting a great Albertan gelato maker!
Via Cibo is a great addition to the lineup of dining options out in Sherwood Park, and I'm sure people are welcoming it with open arms! The service was friendly, food came out quickly, and the food was both tasty and affordable. Catering options are available too, so it will be a nice option to change up the usual office lunches! A second location is set to open soon in South Edmonton Common, but in the meantime, stop by the Sherwood Park location for a traditional piadina and a little taste of Italian street food. | 2positive
| 789 |
I could honestly be here all day writing about the amazing things I encountered while visiting Bern's Steakhouse, but alas I shouldn't. My cousins and I made a promise that we'd have dinner here one of the nights I was down in Florida and made sure we wouldn't skip this for the world. I'll try my best to briefly summarize the night the best I can.
First off, a valet parks your car for your and I'm pretty sure that's a staple for Bern's as being classy is a pretty top priority. Once you walk inside you'll be in the lobby with the lounge/bar area to the right, while the tables are to the leftish and the bathrooms upstairs. The decor in this place is phenomenal and the lighting really boded well with the romantic, classy atmosphere. I got one drink in the lounge area before being seated and was blown away by the bartender actually caring for my Old Fashioned. Huge points in my book for that. We were then seated once everyone showed up.
I think we were seated in the Bronze Room, but there are plenty of others inside Bern's, all with a different type of feel. Once we were seated, we were given menus, asked for drinks, and shown the wine book, which should have really been considered a wine bible. With 250-300 pages of many different types of wine bottles, you know Bern's wasn't joking around, especially when they're widely known for their wine cellar. Our waiter, I believe his name was Mark, came back and explained the menu and how to properly order a steak because the variation of choices is more or less split into three different pages. One page explains the history behind how they choose and age the meat and also lists the sides provided with each steak entree. The next is a grid of the different cuts they offer as well as the thickness, weight, how many it serves, and how much it costs. The last page provides information on how you want your steak cooked, with a detailed explanation on how it should come out depending on how thick your cut is. Pretty unbelievable how in depth this process was and I'm still getting the jitters just thinking about it. I ended up with a 15oz T-Bone, medium rare warm center, with all of the sides accompanying the steak entree, an extra order of the creamy truffled wild mushrooms, and an appetizer of escargot.
The escargot, among other appetizers ordered, came out first. I've never had escargot before, so this being my first time had me a bit nervous on what to expect, but I was at Bern's and if something is going to be top notch, I might as well give it a try, right? The snails took the taste of the sauce it was cooked in, which tasted like a pesto, garlic, and butter mixture. They weren't too chewy and actually weren't as bad as I'd always expected. The best part was dipping the bread that accompanied the escargot into the sauce, ughhh so good. Next came the French onion soup and the salads we ordered. Pretty common stuff and everything tasted delicious, no complaints over here.
Then came the steaks, that were served with a baked potato if you ordered it as well. Mark brought the dinner plates out first, went back to the kitchen, and brought out another try with everyone's potatoes, making them and dressing them right in front of us. Awesome table side service and I was thoroughly impressed with how much care he put into seeing us have a great time. The steak by the way, melt in your mouth good. I didn't even add that much pressure to my steak knife when cutting into it and it just fell apart right there on the plate. All of the other sides that accompanied it were top notch as well.
Once we paid for the checks, Mark offered to give us a tour of the kitchen and the wine cellar, which were both quite delightful and super overwhelming, especially with all of the wine in the wine cellar. I was really impressed how much Mark knew about the whole restaurant, especially the small fine details. When the tour was over, we thanked Mark and he escorted us to the dessert room upstairs where another hostess seated us at a separate table. Each table was a room made of old wine barrels and all had a nice little private feel to them which I enjoyed. Our server came by with menus, told us a few recommendations, then gave us some time to glance over our choice. I ended up with a cappuccino Bern's Steak House and the Chocolate-Chocolate-Chocolate, Classic. Our orders came out quickly and boy were they good. The cake was perfect to the end the night and the cappuccino was absolutely delicious, and very souped up with liquor.
My hopes for Bern's were definitely fulfilled and I had an unbelievable night with my family. I can't recommend this place enough for anyone who lives or plans on visiting the Tampa Bay area. Just make sure you bring your wallet to this one. | 2positive
| 870 |
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