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chrism.yelp.com

Chris "Grover" M.'s Profile

Photo of Chris M.

"I have a yellow belt in sneaky"

Elite 2008 Elite 2007 Elite 2006

profile votes icon Review votes:
238 Useful, 102 Funny, and 191 Cool

Location

San Francisco, CA

Yelping Since

June 2005

Find Me In

A constant state of perplexity.

My Hometown

East Coast, USA

My Blog Or Website

http://chrisjm.tumblr.com

When I'm Not Yelping...

Sipping scotch or wine, shooting some photos, enjoying life

Why You Should Read My Reviews

Because I'm honest about stuff, yo!

My Second Favorite Website

http://www.upcoming.org, http://www.digg.com, http://www.flickr.com, http://gmail.google.com

The Last Great Book I Read

Getting Things Done by David Allen

My First Concert

HFXmas Festival (Cake, Garbage, Soul Coughing, Hole)

My Favorite Movie

Fight Club, Lost in Translation, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

Current Crush

Who has time for crushes when there are so many other places to Yelp?!

Recent Reviews

134 Reviews

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586 Castro St
San Francisco, CA 94114
(415) 431-2988

Eye Gotcha Optometric  

Categories: Optometrists, Eyewear & Opticians
Neighborhood: Castro

5 star rating
 8/7/2008  
My eyes suck.  I'm talking -9.5 in each eye astigmatism suck.  Because of this, I haven't had good luck with eye doctors as they've been too impatient with me as they try to find the EXACT prescription that will give me perfect vision.

Dr. Philip Tawil was that patient eye doctor.  Also being extremely nice, he was able to give me several different options and wasn't afraid to give his opinion on type or brand of contacts.

I finally have a brand of contacts that I think will actually be comfortable AND I can see out of them (what a concept!).  

Thank you Eye Gotcha!

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901 Castro St
San Francisco, CA 94114
(415) 206-9644

Neon Monster  

Categories: Toy Stores, Comic Books
Neighborhoods: Castro, Noe Valley

5 star rating
 8/7/2008  
Walking up the Castro St hill on the way to a buddy's place, I stumbled upon this oasis at the top.  Needing to get some new graphic novels (Preacher and Astonishing X-Men to be precise), I kind of figured there wouldn't be a chance this tiny comic store would have them, but wanted to look around nonetheless.  Boy was I wrong!

Though there weren't any Preacher volumes, Neon Monster did have quite a selection of new and old comics and graphic novels.  After snagging Astonishing X-men and The Boys (HIGHLY recommend, btw), I saw that the store also carries toys, old/rare vinyl records, and some games.

This place is totally rad and now there may be a reason to trudge up that nasty hill, just for the oasis at the top!

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561 Valencia St
San Francisco, CA 94110
(415) 487-1600

Bar Tartine  

Categories: Wine Bars, Breakfast & Brunch, American (New)
Neighborhood: Mission

3 star rating
 8/4/2008  
Getting here early (11am) for brunch and sitting at the booth table with 3 of my good friends was an amazing start to a Sunday morning.

A tad hungover, I splurged for the $8 mimosa in my attempt to find the best in the city.  Sadly, I think this restaurant took the same route as many other fancier brunch locations and splurge on the quality of champagne rather than the quantity.  Sometimes I just need the latter.

Food was good.  We all agreed that we probably wouldn't go out of our way to go back, but would definitely entertain the idea should we be asked.  This isn't to say anything _against_ Bar Tartine as it's a very fine establishment, just nothing special as far as brunch goes.

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1199 Valencia Street
San Francisco, CA 94110
(415) 695-1199

Beretta  

Categories: Italian, Bars
Neighborhood: Mission

4 star rating
 8/4/2008  
My first impression of this place?  Fancy, fancy pizza.  About the same price as Pizzeria Delfina for some extravagantly pretentious pizza.

Don't get me wrong, this place is good and I will likely be back.  However, it's hard not to notice the tongue-in-cheek hipster mockery this place actually is.  Or, maybe it's no mockery?

The staff was very nice and even commented on the fact that we brought our own plant decor (i.e. recent purchases from the Scarlet Sage next door).  They are EXTREMELY knowledgeable about the menu and please to answer any questions with enthusiasm.

The pizzas (price range $9-$14) were very tasty.  The margherita rivals even Pizzeria Delfina and I highly recommend getting it with burrata.  The potato and Gorgonzola was rather pungunt (as bleu cheeses often are), but actually very tame to the taste and complimented the starchy potato and bread combo rather well.

Our party of 3 was able to chow down on two pizzas rather easily.  Starting with some fava bean bruchetta and finishing with delicious homemade sorbet and gelatto made this a great Sunday evening dinner.

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1516 Folsom Street
San Francisco, CA 94103
(415) 503-1950

Sushi Groove South  

Categories: Sushi Bars, Japanese
Neighborhood: SOMA

4 star rating
 7/31/2008  
Whenever I find myself in SoMa, I will definitely keep checking this place out and recommending it!

No more expensive than most other sushi joints, the fish is very fresh and presentation impressive.  Servers were extremely nice and helpful.

The Rock 'n Roll was extremely good and dripping in enough amazing glaze that I didn't need to dip the rice in soy sauce.  Yum!

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2814 19th Street
San Francisco, CA 94110
(415) 821-4608

Universal Cafe  

Categories: Breakfast & Brunch, American (New)
Neighborhood: Mission

5 star rating
 7/31/2008  
Went here for Sunday brunch.  At about 10:30AM, they were just about out of space and we may have gotten the last table.  By around noon, when we left, there was a line out the door, so plan accordingly.

Logistics aside, to the important bit!

The french toast is freakin' phenomenal.  The bread and peaches really made this an awesome dish.  I was at the risk of exploding when I finished it all.  And I HAD to finish it all.

Everyone else seemed to like their dishes as well, so the food was just really darn good.  It's a bit pricey (french toast was around $10.95 I think...but WORTH IT!).

A word of warning!  Beware the $9 mimosa.  I thought it was going to be a huge glass.  NO!  Small glass!  Good news is that it's mostly bubbly.  However, it's probably ultra-fancy champagne, which is drowned out by the orange juice.  Give me Andre mimosas in a huge glass.  Seriously, I won't notice the difference.  Secret is safe with me *wink*

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1253 Coast Village Rd
Santa Barbara, CA 93108
(805) 969-7878

Jeannine's Bakery  

Categories: Bakeries, Coffee & Tea, Breakfast & Brunch

4 star rating
 6/9/2008  
Very cute place with great atmosphere and a nice outside seating area that's right by the street.  So far this place has always been pretty crowded (though I've only been here two days so far) and seems to be a local hang-out.

The Breakfast Club was pretty good, though a bit pricey ($9).  But, what would you expect for this area?

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501 State St
Santa Barbara, CA 93101
(805) 730-1040

Santa Barbara Brewing Co & Restaurant  

Categories: Nightlife, Restaurants

3 star rating
 6/9/2008  
Fairly good beer.  Your typical micro brew pub though.  Not sure what the deal is with these places, but the wait staff, other than the hostesses, are all super angry.  Maybe management doesn't let them sample the goods at all?

Anyway, nothing to write home about, but it was nice to get a couple pints before a long bike ride.

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14 W Figueroa St
Santa Barbara, CA 93101
(805) 962-5541

Los Arroyos Mexican Restaurant  

Category: Mexican

3 star rating
 6/9/2008  
Got a suggestion to go here from Christopher L.  

Though the homemade corn tortillas were awesome, I just didn't see the different between this place and any other taqueria.  It also may have been my lackluster order of two chicken tacos.  No toppings other than rice, beans, and 3 shreds of lettuce?  $9 bucks too?!  Guess I should have gotten a burrito.

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1198 Coast Village Rd
Santa Barbara, CA 93108
(805) 969-0834

Peabody's  

Categories: Nightlife, Restaurants

5 star rating
 6/9/2008  
Stopped in here for some beer, chicken fingers, and the Celtics vs. Lakers game.  This seemed to be a semi-hidden locals hang-out and I was just craving some normal pub food.  Not so easy when you're in a fairly fancy town.

Anyway, beer was cold, food was what I expected (i.e. low expectations and loving it), and Jake, the bartender was very courteous.  Met some locals while there who were more than happy to give me other restaurant suggestions.  Thanks Peter and Marie!  Go Celtics!

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77 Compliments

  • Herra Chink y.
    Hot Stuff

    i don't think i've had burrata on a pizza before and it sounds A-MAZING.

  • Herra Chink y.
    Hot Stuff

    i still haven't been here yet, been meaning to go but something has just… More »

  • Linda M.
    Great Photo

    Love your Colbert pose and your Yay Beer shot!  But sorry, you look too… More »

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3 Lists

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My Neighborhood

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1.  Arinell Pizza
Definitely dig this place…
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I think with the…
3.  Honeybee Acupuncture
My sister's fiance is…
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