Jennifer "homeowner" L.'s Profile

Not sure why this place has such low ratings.  Especially since the new owner is so nice - maybe the old reviews relate to the old ownership?
Fair enough - I have a big blob of . . . . something bird related I'm guessing. . . on top of my car that was left behind after my last trip.  Annoying.  I should've gone back to have it removed.  But the inside of my car was clean and nice smelling, and I knew I'd be back soon enough anyway.  Staff is always pretty nice, and they're fairly quick to boot.  They offer a frequent customer program, and offer $2 off your next wash each time you go.  It's my go to car wash spot in Alameda.

Our annual fondue celebration brought us to Fondue Cowboy this year, and we were not disappointed.  Each fondue serves two and is very reasonably priced and comes with a TON of bread and potatoes, and a few other sides.  My request here would be to do away with the olives and pickles (the cheese is already salty, and some of the fondue already features olives, so this was salt overkill for me), and up the ante on the veggies - more broccoli and maybe some I dunno, carrots, cauliflower or mushrooms?
The dessert fondues are fab as well - I'm not a milk chocolate fan so I skipped that other than a couple of tastes, but I devoured the dark chocolate and loved the kick from the cayenne.  The chocolate-chocolate chip bread stuff made for an insanely intense chocolate bomb.  I could only eat a couple bites of that combo without a big glass of cold milk.  My recommendation here would be to add some of that salt in - pretzels would be amazing.  
Both savory and sweet fondues came with plenty to dip - and really, it was perfectly portioned so that you didn't run out of cheese or chocolate before you ran out of dippers or vice versa - both of which kind of suck.
Service was good.  We were a little bit perplexed by the cowboy lean - everyone needs an angle, but I think fondue might already be your angle, you know?
A great, well priced fondue evening - a few small tweaks could make it five star.

We had a great work dinner here in the back room.  Great decor, good food, somewhat absentee though friendly service.  I can hardly blame them - we were all the way in the back, being all engrossed in each other, and part of this is probably just me missing them when they did come around.
I liked it enough to give them the benefit of the doubt.  I'll be back!

I have come to the realization that when it comes to nail salons, I am a lot like a DMV driving test proctor (are they proctors?  The people that tell you what to do when you're 16 and nervous?).  Certain flubs are an automatic fail, regardless of how nice my nails look after the fact.
The ladies were pretty nice, and there seemed to be some loyal customers in house, which was encouraging to see.  What was not encouraging to see was the super old (and cheap - sinful?  the stuff thats like $1.99 at Walgreens?) nail polish festering on the front case.  Much of it looked like it hadn't been used in AGES which made me think they must not get much business.  Well, once I finally left two hours later (two hours?!), I understood why.  The "massage" I got with my pedicure was more a rough application of lotion than anything else.  She seemed angry as she applied it.  I saw the jars of blue disinfectant on the back counter, one for each lady, but I never saw either of them put their tools into it.  This sent up huge red flags (I saw that thing on the news!), made a billion times worse by the fact that both women made me bleed on separate occasions.  
I don't go to the salon to bleed - ever.  Bleeding means you did something wrong.  I was shocked that they use the nail file drill thingy to remove cuticles - that seems insane.
So, blood and unwashed tools - you decide if you want to risk it.  Me, I'll look for somewhere else.

Remember how I said I liked knowing that the APD was here to protect and serve and enforce the law and all that naive drivel?  I take it back.  I filed a report for fraud (which I had to wait several hours to do - they send the officer to your house which is great, but not when it means you're trapped in your house all day wondering when they might show up; though I did get a call apologizing for the wait, which was nice), did a good bit of unexpected detective work myself, and made three calls to the officer that took my report, all to no avail.
At the time of my second call, I was seriously concerned that I was going to have these thieves hanging out on my porch, or possibly breaking in, waiting for their delivery, and yeah, I guess that's not really worth checking on.  I guess I'm lucky that they called and had the delivery rerouted thereby giving me their address - too bad no one cared to follow up on that either.  Fed Ex was more help than the Alameda Police.
When I went online to try to figure out how to leave feedback, the program they use is something I have never heard of and is not compatible with my system so I can't even open it, and most of the links that take you to the additional "hey aren't we great" services they supposedly provide are broken.  
What a let down.

Why oh why do I keep letting these four Yelp stars trick me into thinking that I just ordered the wrong thing?
After three separate experiences, I guess I just do not like The Ark.

After trying twice to get in to Pappo and failing both times, I think I might be ready to give up now that I've found Asena.
After walking by for months and wondering about it; after seeing their van in the neighborhood and being reminded of it; after seeing signs in town. . . well, you get the idea - we finally tried it.
The place was packed to the gills with one holiday party after another, and our centrally located table was definitely a hub of people moving to and fro - servers delivering and clearing food and drinks, revelers delivering and hugging thanks for gifts - but we were surrounded by people who were clearly having a great time.
Everything we ordered was polished off (figs, fried artichoke hearts, salads, soups, raviolis, salmon, shrimp with orzo, lamb, tiramisu, affogato - not on the menu, but they'll make it for you - and drinks, of course), and happily.
I will certainly be back - there was loads more on the menu that looked yummy.

I am still waiting to try them out for brunch, but for an evening cocktail and maybe a nibble, they're a winner.  Almost always crowded, but we've been able to snag a spot at the bar on every visit luckily.  Staff is pretty nice, drinks are good too, though I feel like the specials veer a bit toward college bar specials (shots, and super sweet concoctions built for hangovers).

The staff is friendly - both front desk, and the aesthetician (or she just a waxer?) I had.  Bummer she's wrapping up her final few weeks there - the fewer people I have to go all spread eagle under bright lights for the better.
They use the hard wax, which I feel isn't quite as effective as the traditional stuff with the fabric strips.  The hippie in me likes that there is less waste, but the pain receptors in me are irritated that it takes more passes over the same spots to remove the hair, and that it also requires hours of contorted plucking to get all the little hairs that are left behind.
The packages are very reasonable (do I really spend that much on waxing per year?!  Holy crap!), and I'm guessing I'll probably purchase the 12 pack, which will bring my per visit price down to less than I was paying in SF - yay!

I spent an insane amount of money on a chance shopping trip here.  I guess I really buy things stamped "local" and "hand made" - probably just because.  The good news is that I got some really cute stuff that I can feel good about, and will serve as Christmas presents if I can bring myself to part with any of it. . . .