Sonny D.'s Profile

i'm not a big fan of 100% vegetarian meals, but i must say that the one i had at hummus kitchen tonight was stellar.  stell-aarrr!

i must mention though that my buddy, who's israeli, deserves credit for the dining experience.  he was familiar with the menu items so he ordered for all 4 of us, otherwise we would have been clueless as to which ones to get.

the hummus sampler was really good.  i liked the whole wheat pita, although i have to agree with rey in that they're a bit thicker than i would have preferred.  the mediterranean salad was fresh and simple but really tasty.  the (complimentary) seasoned olives were also pretty good.  for dessert, we had this flan-like pudding with rose water and pomegranate.  really good!  i'm pretty sure i've never had that one before.  the best part for me was probably the lemonade + mint slush.  i had the version with anise liqueur.  very refreshing!  once the summer months roll in, i will be definitely drinking this all the time!

as for ambiance- faultless.  the place is tiny, but with the high ceilings and sparse but tasty decor, it didn't feel cramped at all.  service was fairly competent.  the waitress was talking in hebrew to my friend for the most part, which was ok- it just limits my comments about the service, that's all.

it's a pity that i pass by this place all the time (it's a block away from my gym) and head to the 3,452 thai places on 9th for dinner after workout.  but now i know better!

wait- so why hasn't anyone reviewed topman yet?

i stopped by last saturday for a look-see, since there was no line outside.  might as well check what the buzz is all about.

topman -- the men's dept of topshop -- is at the basement of this multi-level store.  all of their lines are here, including the expensive designer stuff.  i really like their "smart trousers" -- i've been buying those online from their UK site years ago, after a friend recommended them.  the quality is admittedly so-so, but the fit is great and they don't require hemming.  unfortunately when i checked out the exact same pants at the store they were longer.  hmm.. weird.

lots of colorful, quirky and trendy stuff here - in other words: very british-european.  not exactly my cuppa.  i do like that they have XS (and even XXS) sizes, their cut is slim, and that they offer free advice from an in-store stylist, but in general i think that they're a bit overpriced for the middling quality that you get.

not sure if i'll be back here soon, unless maybe they start having interesting sale events.  personally, among the "fast fashion" types of stores (h&m, zara, etc), uniqlo two blocks up remains my go-to place for cheap basics.

knocking off 1 star due to the fact that as of 12/15/08, the towel service will no longer be offered.  the reason given is that it's becoming costly for them to replace "lost" towels.  seriously... who steals towels from gyms???  sad.

no towel service makes this "sports club" more like their lower-priced "total fitness" gym type.  maybe they should give out refunds to everyone who paid "sports club" gym prices.

and so it came to pass: yet another fro-yo place just opened up.  hmm.

peaches replaced a womenswear store that's been on this spot for a long time.  this has been a pattern on the upper west side along broadway- quite a number of stores closing up shop, with most of the space remaining vacant even after a few years.  i fully expect them to be replaced by either a bank or a pharmacy or dunkin donuts, aka the new starbucks (wow, DD has been aggressively expanding lately, huh?!).

so i guess in a way i'm glad that a yogurt place has set up shop instead of any of the aforementioned businesses.  also, peaches does not appear to be a chain.  but come on- how many more fro-yo places does new york need?

be that as it may, the frozen yogurt i had was actually pretty good.  i had green tea ice cream with pomegranate and mango toppings- all perfectly fine.  i thought the yogurt tasted more like pinkberry than red mango.

the decor is very typical, in fact it looked like a red mango shop.  it's clean and bright and wholesome.  the first customers were all school children and locals.  seems that it already has that neighborhood feel to it.

this place is huge!  from the main entrance it doesn't look like it, but once you get to the middle, you realize that there is a lower level.

as with any hong kong supermarket, you can find all sorts of asian grocery items here.  i came to stock up on spanish sardines though, heheh.  well, they're made in the philippines, so there's that asian aspect.  (note: they also sell some standard american/western items).

what i like best about this location though is that it's cleaner and has wider aisles.  well it's also new (it soft-opened this week, i was told), so hopefully the cleanliness holds up over time.

this place has undergone some renovation recently.  the food counter is now longer.  new seats, new tables, even the flooring is also new.

and yet the shawarma is the same old, familiar, nice, juicy platter of goodness.  the same friendly, smiling dude works the grill.  and still open until 4 in the morning.  i love this neighborhood spot!!!

minus 1 star though for the relatively higher price ($10 for a shawarma platter, for example).  i suppose that's a function of the more expensive UWS commercial rent prices...

mei lai wah has re-opened on 08/08/08 as mei LI wah BAKERY.  with the name change, not sure if that means new owner/management, but its raison d'etre -- pork bun -- remains the same.

the new interior is bright and clean.  gone is the dark, decrepit atmosphere of the old, pre-DOH era (which i kinda miss and prefer, actually).  they have more workers now, all wearing bright orange polo shirts.  i recognized a couple of familiar faces, so that bodes well for having some of the old with the new.

this place is so highly recommended on yelp and offline by friends who live in the area, but my experience with them left much to be desired.  my guess is that the "fame" caught on, and that these guys now suddenly find themselves with a lot more work orders.  the sign on the shop says same-day service, but i think that you might need to be pretty persistent (and maybe borderline annoying) to demand such speedy turnaround.  otherwise, plan for a day or two before getting the finished product/s.

or so i thought.  i brought in a few dress shirts for alteration (basically convert them to slim/athletic fit).  i told them i don't need them right away, so i'll come back after two days.  which i did, after 3 days, since i was in the area anyway.  but they weren't ready yet.  eventually, i got my shirts after a full week.  tsk tsk.

it would definitely be wise if you call ahead before you go down there to pick up your stuff.

as for workmanship.. i think they're good.  especially for the price.  no complaints from me there.  ($12 shirts, $6 waist, $4 hem.. i mean, come on!  my neighborhood cleaner on the uws charges $14 just for hemming alone).

but they really need to work on their demand management skills.  i would definitely be back though, as long as i don't need my alterations done rather quickly.

eek!  methinks not.

that's what yelp says when you hover over the one-star rating.  it somehow approximates how i feel towards this place, although hmm...  does anyone really say "eek!"?  and how??

anyway.. ciao was a lesson learned for me.  i should have known better to check on yelp first, but in our hasty effort to avoid the thickening crowd waiting for the pride parade that day, we ventured away from 6th ave and just wandered along bleecker.  on paper, ciao looks good.  corner location, outdoor seating, somewhat rustic ambience, somewhat decent menu.

but damn, the service was... how do i put this delicately... egregious and truly abysmal.  i asked someone (an older gentleman who appeared to be the owner or manager) if we could please be seated right underneath the ceiling fan (it was a rather humid day).  he replied, rather sharply, that no, it's a table for four, not two, so we should take the smaller table near the window next to -- get this -- the only 2 other patrons in the entire freakin' restaurant!! (okay, there were people outdoors, but thought i'd be dramatic).

anyway... things like waiting way too long for your first glass of water.. the check practically being slammed on the table in front of you.. i don't think there's an excuse for those if you're in the service industry.  in new york city.  aka the restaurant capital of the world.

the food btw was just ok.  actually it was borderline good, but the service (or lack of it) negated every other positive aspect of the dining experience.

so yeah... methinks not!

thanks to daniel p, i now have a go-to place for a nice, cold avocado shake in the city!  i've been here a few times before (it's close to my gym), but i've never noticed the avocado shake on the menu.  then i realized that it was listed under "diet shakes".  basically i tend to gloss over anything that says "diet", "low fat", "vegetarian", etc.  i ordered my shake with whole milk, instead of the skim milk that was on the description.  it was good, but a tad too milky.  the filipino eateries in queens still do it better.

as for food... it's your typical diner.  nothing to write home about.  service can be spotty though.  it sometimes takes an effort to get the wait staff's attention- even when the place is half empty.  also, my buddy who lives a block away tells me that they always, *always* manage to get his delivery order wrong.  yikes.