Catherine "Coffee Addict" H.'s Profile

This is an update to my review for Barnes & Noble Books and Cafe.  I've moved my rating from three to two stars because:
1.  The cafe area is now so cold that it's really not passable as a place to eat.  Last weekend the staff was outfitted in three layers of clothing.  One of the woman was wearing (literally) a long sleeve shirt, sweat shirt and additional sweat shirt over the top!  The men were wearing t-shirts over long sleeve shirts (some with jackets).  The customers were wearing hats and scarfs.  This while people outside were not wearing coats.  I asked the woman working the register about it and she said, "it's because they're running the air conditioner full time."  It's true.  If you go there you can feel the cold breeze from the vents.

2.  Bathroom.  Last couple times I was there smell was worse, at least one stall was marked with a "sorry, out of order sign" and two other stalls had no paper.  The one remaining stall had urine on the toilet bowl and paper on the floor.

I always get delivery and have not been inside the restaurant itself, so this review does not cover the in-house dining experience.

The food quality is better than average and far better than Blue Sky.  The fried rice, Mongolian Beef, Chow Mein, and other dishes are consistent always good.  Their spicy dishes are not extra spicy (which is just fine with me), so if you want it really spicy make sure you ask.

The delivery service is great.  They found my house (which puts them ahead of almost every other company in the area), and always deliver within the time they say they will (Maybe I've been lucky, but it's nearly always under 20 minutes).

The restaurant has great hours and someone usually answers the phone quickly.  They also do not put you on hold when you're trying to order.

This Borders is generally good and very good compared to other stores in the area.  It gets three stars because of parking (poor), selection (good), service (mixed), and seating (ok).

Pros:
- Cafe seating is usually easily available if you get there in the morning / early afternoon.
- The book selection is better than the Borders in Los Gatos and comparable to the Borders in Santana Row.  (meaning it is good, not wonderful)
- Unlike many Barnes & Noble stores, which can be down right freezing, the temperature is moderate.

Cons:
- Bathroom has a foul odor that can be smelled from the hallway
- Cafe service can be poor (slow / incorrect orders / out-of-order drinks), but staff is friendly and courteous and will make corrections without complaint
- Seating area is very crowded in the afternoon, so if you get there after 2pm do not expect to find a table immediately.  (Special note: strangers will approach you to share your table even if it is a very small table or if you are eating.  This is something to be aware of if you have religious/cultural restrictions on such interaction).
- Unlike other area Borders, the cafe is not owned by Seattle's Best so they do not accept Seattle's Best promotions (such as frequent coffee cards) and may not have the same menu items (eg. no eggnog lattes in Nov 2008).

Lastly, and this is neither pro nor con, the cafe has a policy against bringing in outside food.  This is likely because it is privately owned and the owners can not afford to loose money on the students (and others) who frequently bring in Starbucks coffee from next door (really) and then sit in the warm cafe for hours on end.  The policy is enforced based on "common sense" meaning if you bring in healthy food, such as fruit, they probably won't hassle you, but don't bring in Starbucks.

Green Planet wins on selection, atmosphere and customer service.  Often yarn stores come in two varieties:  the snooty shop with great selection where customers feel pressured to buy expensive products and then get out, or the comfy shop with classes and free lessons that's short on selection.  

Green Planet Yarn has a friendly atmosphere with a working area where experienced knitters will often lend newbies who are stuck on projects.  The store also offers classes and workshops and the staff is very approachable.

The shop itself is new, clean and well laid out.  The store has a wide selection of yarns from leading domestic and oversees fair trade brands with a price range to accommodate varying budgets.  Be sure to check out the knitting kits with holiday themed projects.

Great pizza and one of the only delivery places in Campbell that shows up on time and never has trouble finding our house (a big plus!).  Food is reasonably priced.

First, allow me to do a silly-slap-happy-dance that Campbell has managed to bring in a business that is neither a furniture store nor an art gallery!!

Now to the review....

Lattes are excellent.  I've been there for them a couple times already and the quality is consistent.

Sausages/meats - important to this NY native - are excellent quality and yummy.  Try their salami sandwich (doesn't sound fancy and its not but it is really good) or sausage and peppers).

Salmon - also great.

Service - very friendly and attentive.  

Atmosphere - clean, quiet, well kept, and comfortable.  No wi-fi which is actually a good thing because there are other cafes with it and it discourages squatting and people working and chirping into their cell phones while you're trying to eat.

Prices - excellent.  Very reasonable.

I really hope this place stays open.  The powers-that-be over in city planning finally seem to have gotten the message that a dozen expensive furniture stores and 10 galleries does not a community make.  To get traffic and a real neighborhood you need variety including shops, restaurants, family, teen, and grown-up fare.

Bombshell Boutique earns a solid 5 star rating across several categories including my pet-category, service.

Like many stores in our small Campbell community, Bombshell is owner-operated.  In this case, by fellow Yelp member Brooke R.  

(By the way, for those wondering how business owners, *should* interact on Yelp, take a que from Brooke and see her entry below.  She does it right.)

Brooke, who I had never met in person before entering the boutique, is friendly and offers excellent service.  I'm nicknaming her the yenta of lingerie because she is a quick no-pressure match maker for ladies of all sizes looking to make that special purchase.  We gals know it's impossible to tell how that stuff is going to look when it's sitting on the rack and I was impressed at her dead on suggestions and professional manner with which she gave them.

In addition to "fun lingerie" (the kind you bring home to model for that special someone ;-) ) Bombshell has a wide variety of accessories ranging from very affordable and fun (young people seem to gravitate toward the t-shirts) to quality apparel by top tattoo artists.  Among the selections:

Tote bags by Blue Q including an awesome Jesus bag that I own.
Tattoo apparel by Black Market, Sailor Jerry, and Rock Rebel
Lingerie by Dreamgirl and Leg Ave

The store is located in the courtyard in down town Campbell (look for the u-shaped group of shops with the art gallery and doll shops on the corners.

It's refreshing to see another owner-operated  boutique with great selection and service come into town.  This is the type of place that makes Campbell stand out from the cookie cutter cities you see so often these days.

This is one of the better pizza places I've been to in California.  I'd like to see them get even more adventurous with the menu and perhaps add a good shrimp and pesto, but even without that, they're heads and tails above most of the pizza places around here.

Some of my top picks:

Salmone (favorite) - Pizza with mozzarella cheese, smoked Salmon ($14.95 for a smallish pizza - not cheap, but Yummy!)

Siciliana - Pizza with Tomato sauce oregano, black olives and anchovies

Romana - same as above but with mozzarella cheese added

Tirolese - Pizza with tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese, smoked prosciutto, onion and blue cheese

The pizza is what I'd call NY style meaning that the crust is thin and slices are large making them easy to fold.  If you're a thick crust fan, this is probably not the place for you.  

In addition to pizza they also have a small selection of pasta and salad and antipasto.

I used this company the first time I had my carpets cleaned.  Their service was very good and prices were moderate.  They get three stars because they were not able to remove most of the stains from my carpet.  To their credit, they offered to come back -for free- and try again.  I think the problem was with the chem dry process, but I am not a carpet cleaning expert.  

My opinion is that this company is good if you have carpets that are not super dirty and you want them to dry quick (steam cleaning processes will take a day or longer to dry whereas with chem dry your carpet might be dry in a matter of hours).  I would not recommend this company for move-ins/move-outs or carpets where you have heavy stains/odors.

This is a review for the Stanley Steemer located at the address listed here.  Note that Stanley Steemer is a nationwide company and quality may vary depending on which location you choose.  This review specifically covers work done by Raymond Sanchez  and Pharaoh Lewis (they agreed to have their names listed in the review).

Although I have expensive Berber carpet it was in horrible condition due to three years of abuse - coffee spills, two teenage boys, countless other teens over at the house spilling things, heavy foot traffic, etc.  I really wish I had some before pics!

I called Stanley Steemer to clean, deodorize, stain guard the carpets plus do the same for some furniture that was previously in my brother's (a smoker!) house.  So, like the carpets, the furniture was dirty and smelly and with the boys off to college it was time to clean house.

The men arrived on time and were courteous and professional throughout the cleaning.

The results were outstanding.  I can not overstate this.  My husband and I were blown away.

Heavy tread marks were gone.  Stains I thought would never come out were gone.

These guys are not cheap. You'll pay a lot less if you go with another firm, however having tried places like Campbell Chem dry, I can say that if you go with Stanley you get what you pay for.

My advice is if you're looking to get your carpet cleaned save your pennies until you can afford these guys.  It's not worth it to go with a cheaper place that won't do a good job and will require you to get your carpets cleaned again sooner.

Regarding service - I am presently at home recovering from surgery.  Knowing this, the Stanley guys took it upon themselves to take fans from my garage and put them in rooms to help my carpets dry faster.  They also opened my windows for me and just had great service all around.

When cleaning all furniture was handled with care.  They also left plenty of booties to wear while the carpets were drying and the booties are surprisingly good quality and not slippery -very important when you're recovering from major surgery, believe me!

I realize this sounds like a commercial, so let me state that I have no affiliation with this company or the fellows that work there and never met them before today.  I was just blown away by the quality of service and the amazing results -carpet really looks FANTASTIC- and I'm not easily impressed.

Recommended highly - 5 stars.