Danny "dannyman" H.'s Profile

I have eaten at this place once every few years, usually when entertaining out-of-town guests.  At each visit, the menu seems pared down to an ever-smaller selection of ever-more-expensive items.  Nowadays the menu is basically an over-sized greeting card, prominently steering you to the $40 steak.

This place is perhaps worth visiting once when you have someone coming to town who loves garlic and really digs kitschy stuff.  The food is good and filling, but the bill outweighs the value I would assign to the experience.  After a few visits over the course of the decade, this place has lost its appeal and my visit on Sunday was likely my last.

Are you burdened with Chevrolet tastes and a Cadillac budget?  Mollie Stones is waiting to take your cash!

I normally shop at Safeway but sometimes I like to find something special at a fancy supermarket.  On this day I was looking for some chocolates and was in need of a loaf of bread.

Pretentiously delicious "artisinal" bread was featured near the door.  The same bakery loaves sold at Safeway, but half the size, with the price discreetly tucked underneath each loaf, because if you've got to ask the price, you can't afford it.  Alternatively, such "premium" brands as Sara Lee and the faux-wholesome Oroweat, chock full of only the finest high-fructose corn syrup and a variety of exotic ingredients that only a chemist could truly appreciate.

Chocolate?  They had a shelf or two stocked with special fancy M&Ms, and the same delicious Lindt chocolates sold at Walgreens, but at twice the price.

I left empty-handed.  At least a fair number of proletariat earn some wages in parting indiscriminate bourgeoisie from their un-needed cash.  That's something, right?

If you've been to Cafe Benally which used to occupy this spot, then you've been to E Surf Cafe before.  Same self-serve air-pots, and the counter has been moved toward the rear, making more space for the very cheapest, most uncomfortable chairs Ikea has to offer.

The guy is proud of his Thai chai, which certainly has a pleasantly distinctive taste.  I'd like this place more if there was a comfy couch or two, ceramic mugs, and fresher, less cloyingly sweet pastries but I am very particular about my cafes.

Dude intends to have sandwiches soon.  If he plays his cards right he should be able to make some cash off the high school students when they return in the fall.

There's a Yogurt shop coming in two doors down.

Solid, tasty breakfast.  Excellent, fast service.  Nice decor.  Closed at 3pm.

If it were just me I'd be fine with a pastry at Greenhouse, but many weekends the girlfriend is visiting and she demands a proper breakfast.  You've read the reviews so you know this place has kitchy decor, cool old photographs of San Francisco, pie, and Elvis, not to mention the old-fashioned waitress uniforms.  The food is good and the waitresses are extremely friendly to regular customers, and if you bring your Grandma in the waitresses move from friendly to fawning.  This place is worth the visit.

NOTE: Yelp doesn't have the hours recorded, which is a pity.  Be advised Manor is CLOSED on Sundays, which is when we wander over to Village Grill, which closes at 3pm.

My neighborhood is sorely lacking in taquerias, so I have high hopes for this place.  It used to be the Hawaiian Island Cafe, which recently retired and was promptly replaced by Taqueria El Sol.  They have kept the dolphin on the sign, the "Aloha" on the door, and a few Hawaiian-themed specials.

They also serve breakfast, which seems intuitive for a place with a wide bank of East-facing windows.  But they are competing with established and efficient breakfast places a few blocks down Taraval and over on West Portal.  El Sol is open 'til 4AM, so they may see some after-bars traffic.

They are also advertising burgers in the front window, which you won't see on the inside menu.  Groping for the right combo.

I've had breakfast and Mexican here.  The food is good enough, but they still need to work out execution: taking orders efficiently and accurately.  My own crazy peeve is that dine-in coffee should be served in a ceramic mug.

The prices are a little higher than I would expect: the French Toast and egg plate at Tennessee Grill a few blocks down is around $5, and that place will get you your food lickety split.  And I know people are going to gripe that chips should come with your taco or burrito.

This place is two blocks from my house, and I have been wanting a taqueria for years.  I have high hopes that as they find their stride in the coming weeks and months that I'll like this place a lot more.

I was going to impress the girl by taking her over to the Indian ice cream place, but along the way I smelled burgers.  We studied The Monk's Kettle and headed in for an early dinner.  They have a huge selection of beer.

This place has hipster cred: a billion upscale beers, and all the waiters are "cool" especially the guy who hangs out at the door sporting an extremely well-groomed 19th-century mustache.  At least, I assume he works there.  To be sure, I'm talking about well-groomed hipsters with decent-paying jobs.  You know, dot-com employees who commute from the city.  I think the accepted terminology is poseurs, which is nice because they aren't as annoying as "authentic" hipsters.

The menu features a few different burgers, presided over by an executive chef so they're a bit pricey to boot, but not hysterically so.  It would have been nice if instead of shoestrings they served fat Belgian-style frites, maybe with a mayonnaise-based sauce, but then I was recently spoiled by such a place in Philadelphia so one can dismiss my pretensions.

The most memorable part of the meal was when the girlfriend asked if she could have a Coke or Pepsi, and the waiter explained that they didn't have those commercial beverages, but they could serve her a Jones Cola.  Later, it took a waiter some minutes to make change, as he seemed stymied by having to interact with the newfangled late-20th century electronic arithmetic device.  You can't fake that kind of tragically hip charm.

At work we call this place "Thairish" since it is down the block from the Irish Place which is totally awesome.  I also call it "the incompetent Thai place" since every time we come service takes forever, food comes out at random, and the service takes forever.

White Elephant is a better Thai place but there's some soup the boys like that is only served here.  The decor is okay, the service poor, and the food is satisfactory.  Though, today I had to wait extra long for my tofu larb and it came in a pool of vinegar.  Ugh.

Don't come here if you're in a hurry.

I have been here twice, so this is the restaurant in New York City I know the best.  Sicilian pizza of adequate quality cooked in a New York style.  Indifferent service.  +1 star for the beautiful mural.  Woke up ten hours later with a bout of diarrhea.

The sort of quality hot dog you expect from Chicago, conveniently located between changing planes at Midway Airport.  Prices are a bit steep, and the staff have that vacant, sad, neglected, abused look of people who really have no reason at all to enjoy their jobs.  Milk shakes are on the menu, so I thought I would indulge.  "No milkshakes," and several other items were unavailable, no explanation as to why.

If this place could deliver either a milkshake or even a friendly smile it would merit more stars.  As it is, a special treat at the airport falls flat, like fries in a cardboard box without any salt to put on them.

Also -1 star for Yelp which really ought to support airports in the location search.