Becky "Dozy Yank" W.'s Profile

Claudia and Jenny, I probably brushed against you.

I went to the Fox on May 21 for Gogol Bordello, as well.  

The venue was clean, cozy and totally gave old-timey vibes as previously mentioned.  The floor security was pretty cool.  

I see there is a balcony, but I didn't get a chance to go up there.  Parking was free (BONUS!) and there seemed to be adequate air-conditioning, even though we all got sweaty and out of breath anyway!  No venue stink that I noticed.

You know, I checked out this bar on their January Muirskin Derkin (or however it's spelled; I can't be bothered to check properly) when they have $3.75 Guinness and Harp and live Celtic music.  

The Dirges played and were awesome.  Open with a Pogues song?  Yes, please.

The vibe was fun and upbeat, the service was cool, well, to me.

The only weird thing was that there were a lot of 40-somethings there.  I think I went on some sort of club meet-up night, but whatever.  Guy-to-girl ratio is like... eight to one.  The other patrons were friendly.

Yes, the vibe is cute.  Yes, their coffee and hot chocolate are very good.  Yes, the outdoor seating so you can watch hipsters and fixie-bike-freaks walk by is quite convenient.  However, what sticks out most to me about this place is:

The availability of not-so-shitty vegetarian alternatives!

If you don't eat meat this is a good place.  They have a great vegetarian chili, and their vegetarian BLT, with fake bacon, is quite tasty.  

Egg salad sandwich served on pita bread is a good, filling option as well.

The staff are all nice and polite, but can be a little on the slower side when bringing your bill.  Speed of receiving food is good, but the bill takes it time on occasion.  

Come here to relax with a hot drink, smoke out on the patio, laugh like an idiot with your friends, but not if you're in a hurry.  It's laid-back and fun.  So, don't go unless you're at least one of those two things.

I went to this joint in August with a beau to check out a Zeke gig.  The atmosphere is definitely loud, punky, and if you go to a performance, don't expect to not get knocked around a little.  Despite my purposely avoiding the mosh area, I still got bumped.  Security does a good job of keeping things under control, though I wish they'd let the crowd have some more freedom when it comes to rocking out.

The barmaid knew how to mix my lame-ass girly cocktails, and it's great to see so much PBR.  Lol.  

Cover was reasonable (they only charge covers on gig nights) and it's a good, punky place.  If you are looking for a place filled with tables that you can sit at and write your latest Liberal Arts thesis, this is not the "hang-out" for you.

;)

My best friend and I decided to grab a quick bite whilst waiting for Lisa Lampanelli to perform at the Arlington, which is just down the street from this Quizno's.  

We entered, and the place was pretty clean.  The thing that really sucked was the greeting we got from behind the counter, "Do you guys want to order something?" when we were still perusing the menu.  Speaking of the menu, PAY ATTENTION!  The sandwich items are listed with pricing according to:

Regular   then   Small  then  Large.

So if you want the smallest portion, order the middle (lowest-priced) sandwich.

The food was good, really good, actually, but they desperately needed to empty their trash.

I ate here last night after a debacle at Fry's Electronics.  

The food was good, I got a hot dog and an apple juice.  The hubby got a bacon cheeseburger combo.  My hot dog was pretty tasty, but just like every other independent restaurant of its kind.

The place was clean over all, but the three people working there barely spoke English.  That, in and of itself, will make me not want to return to an establishment.  If I can't order a shake without trying to remember high school Spanish, there's a problem.

I've lived in Costa Mesa for like three years now and never knew of this place.  Only this morning, when I muttered, "Let's go to a cafe," did my hubby suggest the Side Street.  

We were able to snag a little table for two, and I was pretty amused that their menus are photo-copied and hand-written, the breakfast menu on green paper and the lunch on white.  

The walls are covered in family pictures, amusing signs and various bric-a-brac, reminding me of a tacky living room in the Midwest, but the orange juice served in a mason jar and the coffee brought out in a suvenier mug from some other joint made up for that.  I don't think they have a set of coffee mugs for the restaurant, as when I looked around, I saw all coffee cups were different!  Cute.

I ordered the "Cheapskate Number One" with Squaw toast.  My eggs were ordered over medium, and were a little on the over hard side.  HOWEVER, I much prefer my food (eggs, especially,) over-cooked to under.  So, that wasn't a bother.

The waitress was very sweet, and was always really close for a coffee warm up.  Pricing is fair and overall, a pleasant breakfast experience.

At the risk of sounding like an ass, I didn't like this place hardly at all.  My husband has raved about it for years, and we never were able to visit them during their older, weird-hours schedule.  Now that they are open later (or so it seems,) we were able to stop by.  The service was horrible.

The waitress walked away from us AS we were asking about a menu item.  We didn't get our soup prior to our meal, we got it with dinner.  The lentil soup was disgusting to me, BUT I understand it's an acquired taste, so I don't put too much weight on that.  

The portions are great, unless you are sharing with someone.  Each person really needs their own order.  Our food arrived looking good, but was barely warm.  We asked to have either a different dish or to have the food heated somehow (we were starving and not too picky about the method of getting a hot meal,) but we were told that we had to wait for at least fifteen minutes for the cook to finish the other orders.  Understandable, but sucky nonetheless.

To be fair, I would eat there again and see how it went, but as it stands now, this place is NOT on my top anything list.

As an aspiring bike builder/restorer/tinker-around-with-er, I am constantly checking out my local bike shops for both parts and bikes, as well as people with know-how to help me out.  I consider myself fairly easy to get along with, and I revel in the company of those with the same quality.

Chicago Bike is definitely valuable in that it has people who know about bikes, old bikes, and my addiction, Schwinn bikes, and they guy can probably get you almost any part you would need or want.  

HOWEVER, I have always valued service over the inventory, and this bike shop fell very low on my like-o-meter in that respect.  

Though I didn't get his name, the "main guy" at the shop, who is blonde, would not shut up about how many billions of times his shop has been written about in magazines, nor would he even acknowledge me in conversation.  He talked only to my husband, and even said, "Your questions stump me, because you work on bikes.  If she asked me a question (pointing at me), I could answer it in seven seconds."

I was insulted and offended by his assuming I knew nothing about bikes, I believe, solely based on my gender.  This guy is a real ass, and I will never patronize his business.

I do not recommend this shop.  If you value being treated like a human regardless of how much you do or do not know about something, this is NOT the place for you.

Oh, Florance. We keep finding each other. :)  I agree with you 100%.

This vet is our emergency for our "exotics."  The rats and rabbit.  I took one of my rat girls here and was there until 2:00 a.m. on 12/31/06.  The staff is very nice, and they treated my rodents with the same respect they would give a dog.  

Small animal people feel my pain on this, too.  It's nice to have someone not go "eeewww."  And yes, I have had vet techs do that!

Their surgery pricing is a little on the high side.  For example, a mass removal on a rat may cost $200 there, whereas I can get it done elsewhere for $150.

Their standard of care is high, and after their business hours, they have secure entry.

I definitely recommend this place, and Dr. Craig Fujioka as rodent doc.