Crystal K.'s Profile

WOW. When we read reviews of the White Porch on Trip Advisor (99% positive) we had high hopes for our stay there, but we were blown away by every aspect of this wonderful inn.

The rooms are happily lacking in Victoriana kitsch, instead decorated with a modern beach theme and while they may be a bit small, some boast gas fireplaces and jacuzzi tubs. The beds are excellent. They offer wine in the afternoons as well a great breakfast in a cozy social atmosphere. The location can't be beat...you are a stone's throw from Commercial and just a couple blocks from the main pier.

But truthfully, Tom and Thomas are really what makes the White Porch Inn special. They're delightful hosts and you can tell that they really love having so many people come through their inn.

We're heading back in the fall and will definitely stay here again!

We ate here on the second night that Cafe Edwige was open for the 2009 season and wow, so glad we did. It's not a big place but it's cozy with big skylights and wooden booths that look out second story windows to Commerical Street.

The duck confit spring roll appetizer was flaky and flavorful. The halibut ceviche was full of lime taste and made an excellent opener for the meal.

The braised short rib was excellent, but the skirt steak was probably one of the best steaks that I've had in recent memory. Absolutely delish.

The 3 milk cake was just ok...nothing spectacular there, but the other desserts looked good.

One of the highlights was definitely the ginger martini. They infuse the vodka in-house and it was a nice switch from the super sweet martinis that the denizens of P-town seem to really love.

We ate here  just a couple weeks ago and it was an awful experience. The staff never asked if we had been there, or if we understood how it worked, so we sort of winged it.

We didn't realize we should have got one of the special broths because the plain broth is just that. Very plain. The vegetables were all old, wilted and I pretty much opted for things like carrots and turnips that seemed to have a little shelf life. The meat was dry and flavorless. My husband had the seafood and felt it was beyond sub-par.

Definitely won't be returning here...there are so many wonderful places in the Square where you can go instead.

We go here for lunch on the weekend about once a month or so. Service is always good, price is right and the food is great. I often get noodles while my husband opts for sushi. Always decent with good, reliable service.

This was the second time I've been here and T.W. lived up to our memory of the first time. We went for my husband's birthday and decided to get the 7 course tasting menu. I chose the veggie menu and my husband went for the meat, then we ended up swapping a couple dishes around (I wasn't keen on the poached egg on kale, because of the kale but he LOVED it).

Both times we have visited we have ended up waiting at least a half hour for our table, but the complimentary glass of wine while you wait makes up for the inconvenience. It's just a very small place and table turnover isn't always as quick as it might be in a larger restaurant.

The food was, as others have indicated, amazing. I particularly loved the barley risotto and the tagliatelle while my husband loved that egg and the salmon. Best of all though was the orange creme brulee. I'm not usually a huge fan of creme brulee...they tend to all be the same in my book, but WOW. And it was a pretty large portion so despite my extremely full belly I couldn't bear not to eat all of that luscious dessert.

There is only ONE nitpicky thing, but sort of important given that if you order the tasting menu you might be there for 2-3 hours. The chairs are awful. I remembered that from my previous visit too. They are almost like upscale lawn chairs, except lawn chairs don't have backs that curve too far back so that you can't lean back in your chair comfortably. I felt like I always had to lean forward and because the chairs were so awful and I was uncomfortable I ended up with my elbows on the table without realizing it then had to slap myself upside the head about the poor manners. I hope at some point they reconsider the chairs.

All in all, just a great experience. Wonderful ambiance, impeccable service, fresh, tasty food and a very very good birthday dinner for my husband.

We went here after a quick trip to LL Bean over the weekend. I was thinking we could hit up Fresh City but when we saw this place tucked in the corner the thought of sushi made us head over to check the menu. As we did an employee poked his head out and said, "sure you want to come in! everything is great!" or something to that effect, which should have been our first indication that we should head the other direction. When it's 19 degrees out and they are trying to lure people in its not a good sign.  The other not so good sign was that the big restaurant only had a few people sitting on one side.

So they sat us and it turned out to be a dirty table complete with the check/tip folder from the previous person. So we switched to the table next to us instead. The soy sauce bowls were dirty on that table and it was at that point we decided that we would stick to cooked food and forgo the sushi. Sushi in a dirty restaurant...ummm, no.

Our poor waitress was new and had NO idea about asian food. She was scattered and forgetful, even not putting my order in till the last minute. But she was really trying and was communicative and apologetic so she still got a decent tip from us. In my book that's what really matters...the personal touch.

The food though? Well, they didn't mess up the edamame. But the Chow Foon didn't use chow foon noodles and instead used Pad Thai noodles. The Japanese Udon noodles I had were flavorless and greasy. I'm glad that I asked for chicken to be added...I ended up picking those pieces out because at least there was some taste involved. My husband indicated that his noodles were equally tasteless. I don't think either of us had more than half of our dishes.

So I would say, STEER CLEAR. Dirty, strange service and most of all, BLAND UNINTERESTING and ICKY food.

We order delivery from here all the time. Super timely,  food is always good and hot. I LOVE the Udon noodles and beef w/crisp pea pods. My husband orders something different every time and is never disappointed.

The coconut pineapple fried rice is great...not greasy, just yum. The ravioli is always good and it was nice to see pork strips on the menu (they were a big fave when I lived on the west coast but I never see them here).

The sushi is fairly mediocre so we stick to the Chinese menu, but it's nice to know there is a sushi place close for delivery in the event we're really jonesing.

We really like this place, located where Sushi 21 used to be in Watertown Square. Love the well-priced sushi, clean decor and the great service. Plus they are open for lunch so we will often swing by there when we are randomly in the area.

Love the mango maki roll, in particular. Super creative and very tasty rolls all around.

WOW. With as many negative reviews this place has you would think they might take notice. What is that rule...for every negative review there are dozens more waiting in the wings unsaid?

It's true though, we really hate this place. Whenever we end up having to truck over here because we don't want to wait for something online and its not at Best Buy (which we aren't huge fans of either), my husband starts steeling himself for the awful experience ahead. Because it's ALWAYS awful.  

The sterility of the place I can sort of put up with. But the service, the preying staff, the stupid f-ing rebates, etc. etc. make us want to rip someone's eyeballs out.

We've bought computers here, keyboards, memory, misc. parts and all the same run-around. The same push from salespeople to make their bloody commission. The same feeling when you go to the customer service center (which they make you stand in for anything a salesperson helps you with vs. going to the cash register) or to the main checkout. We've had rebates that weren't refunded even though we followed all instructions to a T. We've had salespeople fudge the truth to try and get us to buy items. I mean come on, rebates?? Most stores have abandoned them because customers HATE THEM HATE THEM HATE THEM.

Every time we are in this place we walk out angry and frustrated.

Over the recent xmas break we decided to get a wii but of course they were sold out all over town. Begrudgingly, we went to Microcenter and the salesperson told us they were getting a new shipment in soon and he would call us when it arrived. Best Buy and Target sold the unit at $250 and he said they did as well...although their console comes in at $300 it drops to $250 if you also buy a game and a controller, bringing the total back to $300. Fine. I gave him my card.

He called that night saying that someone had failed to pick their wii up so we agreed to come in the next morning. When we got there, he wasn't there although he said he would be. We got some manager who was nice enough but didn't offer the bundle until we asked for it.  We were told that any game and any controller worked with the bundle. Okay, so we looked around, grabbed an extra remote and a $49 game. He takes us up to the service desk where the people behind the counter really seemed like they hated their jobs.

Price rang in at $360. WTF? So we explained what the guy the day before had told us and they said no, you pay full price for game and controller. So we said, well we just want the console, which comes in at $250 at Target and Best Buy. At first they said, well ours is $300 but I asked if they match price. Yes, if we had proof. So I stood there and called Target on my phone and got someone in electronics to verify the price. The guy we were working with went to check and some head honcho in the back told him no way, the console was $300 take it or leave it.  We were really frustrated at this especially since I had just called Target, so another manager there thankfully decided to make some executive decision "we don't want to continue holding up the line" he grumped, "just give it to them."  So we got the console, but again, the frustrated angry factor when we left. I mean, don't tell us something wrong then give us crap for just wanting what we were told...not a way to make us feel like valued customers. We felt like they couldn't get us out of there fast enough.

It is so frustrating...with the dearth of computer stores in the area Microcenter really has a chance to shine and totally corner the Boston market, but hands down I will buy online or head to Best Buy or Target if I can. Microcenter is a major last resort for us.

We had a glitchy time on our last visit to Rocca...but what impressed me most is that the management really went out of their way to see what they could do to rectify the situation.

The food here is wonderful and the atmosphere is far more friendly than Gaslight down the street. The lounge is cozy and the drinks are delish.