Justin "fligtar" S.'s Profile

There are so many hotels in Paris; don't stay at this one.

The good parts: it's in a great location and 1 minute walk to 2 Metro stations. The wireless internet is fast and once you log in initially, it doesn't prompt you again during the stay.

The bad parts: everything else. Seriously. My room didn't look like the pictures on the websites -- it's incredibly small to the point the bed barely fits. It smells. The shower is so small that all you can do is stand still. If you try to even turn around in the same spot, you'll bump the handle and change the temperature to scalding hot or freezing cold.

The night desk attendant wasn't too polite, and other staff didn't speak English (at a hotel?). There's only one elevator and it's prone to stalls of 15 seconds to several minutes.

But the worst thing of all is that I completely lost trust in this hotel on my last day. I stayed for 4 nights, and always put up the Do Not Disturb sign in hotels when I'm staying for a brief period because I don't want to deal with my things being moved around and because I'm totally fine sleeping in the same sheets for multiple nights. On the 4th day, I came back to find that the Do Not Disturb sign was taken off the door, placed on my bed among my clothes, and that the room had been made up. They intentionally ignored the Do Not Disturb sign. If this had happened before the last day I would have immediately checked out.

There are way too many hotels in Paris to risk it with this one.

I purchased an Infiniti G37 here earlier this year and everything related to that experience was great. The salesman was helpful, patient, and informative. The finance manager was friendly and helpful as well. I'd give it 4 stars for that.

However, all of my experiences since then have been pretty bad. After 2 months of having my temporary registration, I finally called the dealership to inquire, and they said that my license plate had been there for a month waiting for me to pick it up. No one bothered to call.

But the really annoying part happened today. My car is due for an oil change (which I've pre-paid for at Infiniti dealerships) so I booked an appointment online to come in at 2pm today. Today is Labor Day, so at a normal business I would be surprised that they were open, but car dealerships are often open on Labor Day and there were 2 service managers with slots available today. I received 2 confirmation emails about my appointment prior to today.

I drove to Redwood City and was a bit early for my appointment, so I killed some time, and then drove over to Peninsula Infiniti. As soon as I arrived it was obvious that the service department was closed. I walked inside and spoke with the receptionist who confirmed that it was indeed closed; only the sales department is open.

No one bothered to mark today as closed in their online system, and no one bothered to look at appointments for today and call people to reschedule them. It's clear that they're really only concerned with providing *Vehicle* Service, not *Customer* Service.

I've tried 'Possom Pete's, Skunk Sammy's, and Raccoon Riley's, but Armadillo Willy's is by far the best BBQ restaurant named after notorious roadkill this side of San Antonio. (the street, not the city) And they've got stuff from Texas all over the walls so you KNOW it's legit.

But seriously, I love their 18-hour beef brisket plate with a corn muffin and salad. I've brought many friends and coworkers here and they've all liked the various items they've ordered. It's a good place to relax and grab a bite to eat with friends.

Minus one star for not having armadillo anywhere on the menu (not even a side dish).

Some coworkers and I discovered Adamson's last year and it's a great place to grab a BBQ Pulled Pork Sandwich or Au jus for lunch. Their fries are great and nicely seasoned, and they have about 10 different kinds of root beers that come with frosted mugs.

Adamson's is now quite popular at lunch time, with a line out the door, so you may want to order online or through their mobile app to skip it.

I knocked one star off because of the limited seating and early hours. For such a popular place to have few seats and close at 7pm most nights is a bit silly.

I've always loved The Counter, and I just moved really close to it, which is definitely going to be a problem!

The burgers are delicious and the toppings are fresh, their shakes are creative and excellent (I love their Peanut Butter & Jelly and Churro shakes), and their appetizers are quite tasty too (especially fried pickle chips).

I was hesitant to bring my vegetarian friend here, figuring she probably wouldn't find a lot she'd like, but I was totally wrong. She ordered a veggie burger in a bowl with all sorts of vegetables and loved it -- she's probably even a bigger fan than I am now, so vegetarians are definitely welcome here.

The Counter is quite popular, so be prepared to wait for a table if you're going at peak hours.

Scratch is always a good choice for an upscale lunch or dinner in downtown Mountain View. I usually come to Scratch for lunch (great place for business or interview lunches), and they have an amazing grilled cheese with sliced apples on it, along with a side salad that's very tasty. Unfortunately, I have to say that the last few months, the quality of the grilled cheese has not been as good as when Scratch opened; I probably won't be ordering it again, even though it was my favorite dish.

I've been a handful of times for dinner, and each dish I've tried has been excellent. The duck and fried chicken are great choices, and they have a nice cocktail menu. Stay away from their Hurricanes though; you can find much better elsewhere.

Scratch is on OpenTable, which makes reservations a breeze. The service seems to vary from excellent to mediocre.

Overall, Scratch is one of my favorite restaurants on Castro and is probably the best upscale American dining in the area.

When I moved to California, I looked on Yelp to find a dentist and Dr. Kodani was very highly rated. Even though she wasn't part of my dental insurance plan (Metlife), I decided to give her a try.

Dr. Kodani is by far the best dentist I've ever had. Everyone on her staff is so friendly and outgoing, and I'm somehow always relaxed when I go in for a cleaning or work.

Even though I no longer live in Redwood City and I often have to pay out-of-pocket, I'll be going to Dr. Kodani for a long time.

When I moved to California 2 years ago, I struggled to find a good haircut. Though my hair isn't complicated by any means, most places assumed I just wanted a buzz cut. I had never been asked "what number are you?" before.

Then I discovered Rouge, where I've been going for a Men's Cut with Angie every 6 weeks. She does a great job and knows exactly how I like my hair. I'd never been one to talk during haircuts, but Angie has somehow changed that and remembers what we talked about last time better than I do.

Rouge washes your hair before and after the haircut, and I love being able to book appointments online. Even though I no longer live in Redwood City, I'll gladly keep going back for my haircuts.

I've had quite a few massages at Baysix over the last 2 years with a different therapist every time, and they've all been superb. The entire experience is extremely relaxing and when you book a one hour massage, you actually get a one hour massage, not 50 minutes.

After both of my housemates used California Loyal Movers and highly recommended them for my move, I called up Marco on a Monday and was able to schedule my move for that Thursday. He came by the day before to look over my things and provide a flat-rate price for the move, which was definitely reasonable.

On the day of the move, Marco and his team arrived in their truck and began loading my boxes, furniture, and clothing. They took great care with all of the furniture, wrapping even the cheapest little IKEA tables in blankets and securing them with cellophane. They packed all of my hanging clothes into garment boxes and secured other loose items I hadn't fit into boxes into their own boxes. They also disassembled my bed for the move. Throughout the loading Marco checked in with me to make sure I was happy and that everything was going well.

After a couple hours, the truck was fully loaded and we set off for my new place. Marco drove very carefully and we did a tour of the house, showing them where all of the big items were to go. The team began unloading and placing everything in the proper spots and putting felt pads on the furniture so as to not damage the floors. They reassembled my bed, and checked with me when they weren't sure where to place an item. The entire move was finished in about 5 hours.

With my large furniture and living upstairs, I'm so glad I decided to get help with my move. Marco and his team were extremely professional, courteous, and careful -- I'd highly recommend them for your next move.