Caroline "Crackhead" C.'s Profile

I found this place through Yelp and was looking for a reasonable dry cleaner that also happened to mend clothes. And it fit the bill. But not only did Ariel, the owner, resurrect my favorite dress that I sure was a goner (thanks to a tear down the side that was not on the seam) but he was so friendly and attentive, listening to my concerns. This is definitely my go-to dry cleaner/dress fixer from now on. I also like how Ariel remembers his customers.

It's always so great when a photographer can take what you've envisioned for your shot and make it a reality. I needed a photographer to do my portrait for an event I was promoting. Since the theme of the event was old Hollywood, I asked Jennifer if she could shoot me in the style of George Hurrell. In short I wanted her to turn me into Ava Gardner, a very mean feat. But with a simple overhead light, she transformed me into a starlet. Not only talented with the camera but post-productionwise, too. And I liked how she was open to my ideas. Very easy to work with.

OK, first, I hate it when Yelpers change their lackluster reviews about a place after getting a freebie from the remorseful owner of a venue. So when the owner of Brew Coffee Bar graciously offered me a free pourover and a better experience, I turned him down. Thankful for the quick and nice reply but I wanted to have my own true experience. In any case, I've been to Brew anonymously several times now, morning and afternoon, and the customer service is over-the-top nice.

The folks there are smiley and polite and friendly. Even after keeping me waiting half an hour for a pourover, they were apologetic and kept trying to give me free pastries. The pourover barista was still nice even after I was all grumpy with her when she tried to get me to smell the freshly ground coffee. After I got my coffee and took a deep breath, I shook her hand when she offered it to me to introduce herself and once again apologize for the wait.

I will be a frequent customer of Brew. I just won't order pourovers in the morning when there's a wait. Like I said, I ended up waiting half an hour because there was a wait of four ahead of me. So I just bought myself a bag of Stumptown coffee so I could make my own back at the office.

But I'm definitely a fan of the hot chocolate. Not so much the mocha which wasn't as chocolate-y as I would have liked. But the pourovers, if you get a chance and are a coffee lover, are a must.

I travel a lot for races that my boyfriend participates in and this has got to be the best motel I've ever stayed in for any of those races. Sure, I'm comparing it to Motel 6s and Best Westerns but take my word for it. After being on the road you learn to appreciate little touches like great decor, comfortable bedding material, lots of TV channels and proximity to a bar. And the Inn Marin succeeds in all counts.

Other Yelpers complained about how it's noisy and close to the 101 but you can always ask for a room in the way back away from the highway. Only real issue is that apparently people like to get married here and have their reception, too, so after those guests leave the reception they tend to bring the party back to their rooms. And since the walls are thin you can hear the partying. You can complain to the front desk but they usually ask them to bring the party to their courtyard. Which is fine til the partyers return to their room again.

For the morning, there's a "continental breakfast" at Rickey's, the on-site restaurant, which is simply composed of cereal, bagels and DIY waffles. Simple but at least it's free.

Speaking of Rickey's I like having a full bar within stumbling distance of my room. The beer selection is limited -- 3 taps and about 6 bottles -- but they have a decent booze selection like Plymouth Gin. Just be sure to tell the bartender if you want to sit by the pool outside as they have to serve the drink in a plastic glass "for safety."

The pool area is a nice place to lounge. Fun for taking in a view of the dance floor especially when there's a wedding reception going on.

Next time we're racing at Infineon, this is going to be our motel again.

We were looking for a place in SLO with a great beer selection and saw that this bar had 15 beers on tap. When we got there we were pleased to see that they also had an impressive bottle selection like Firestone Walker Reserve Porter and Telegraph Porter. The 22-ounce bottles were about $14 a piece. Not too bad considering a pint of the Deschutes Obsidian was $7. So it evened out.

We loved sitting at the bar and being able to chat up the bartender who was so personable and attentive. Originally we came here to just enjoy one good beer but we ended up having some absinthe, too. Apparently Broad Street Tavern is the only place in SLO with an absinthe collection. Why absinthe? To go with their French theme.

And they have the good stuff, too, like Nouvelle Orleans and Pernod ($15 each) as well as Lucid ($10). The bartender said the best way (most potent way) to enjoy the absinthe was the traditional method of cold ice water dripping over a sugar cube into the absinthe. But if you want you could also have their absinthe "cocktails" i.e. with champagne, cognac or even red wine.

I'm only giving this place three stars because the ambiance was lacking. We were basically the only people at the bar and I really blame the decor and lighting. If it wasn't so bright and they made better use of the space and got better furniture, they could probably get more people in. As it is, it seems that everyone skips over this place to go to Big Sky next door.

In any case, it should be noted that they have an impressive beer selection. The bartenders don't know much about the beer or the booze but if you know what you want you'll be fine.

Like everyone has said the food here is surprisingly exceptional for bar food. I took Yelpers' advice and went with the mac and cheese and was not disappointed. It's creamy, cheesy and buttery but not disgustingly so. So delicious and indulgent. The beer selection, if you're a beer fan, isn't all that great but we were able to make do with the Firestone Double Barrel, the best they had on tap. Happy hour is every day and you get a pint of beer or a well drink for only $3.50. The staff was very friendly and attentive. What more could one ask for.  Great place to grab a late lunch. When it was around 6 or 7 it started picking up. And since I read it could be quite crowded and obnoxious after 9, we made sure to not stick around. In any case, I'd definitely come back for the food and a beer. BTW, glanced at the specialty cocktail list and everything was Sex and the City sweet. They also have classic cocktails, including a Manhattan but I have a feeling this is the sort of place where you have to request that they stir not shake your Manhattan.

I was just passing through Vallejo and looking for a great breakfast joint. Yelp reviews pointed me to this place. The breakfast selection is pretty limited in that they only have a breakfast burrito, breakfast sandwich and egg bowl and a bunch of sweet pastries. Coffee fiends might be able to make do with the drip and espresso drinks, and apparently they have French press.

For breakfast I got the egg bowl with turkey and was just not impressed. I had asked for light on cheese and sour cream but there was still a lot of both. But then again maybe normally it has a ton of cheese and sour cream. The eggs were really dense. Meh.

The reason I gave this place three stars is because the guys who work here are sooo nice and prompt. Sure, it isn't a destination breakfast spot but it's decent enough. On a nice day, grab one of the Vienna hot dog cafe tables outside and people watch. On a Monday morning that meant lots of seniors and their dogs.

I went to Dogromat because of all the positive reviews it got on Yelp and everyone was right! I told Tony, the kind gentleman who works there,  that I've never had a dog before and this was my first time washing one and he kindly showed me what to do. He picked out an aloe shampoo for my pit bull since her shoulder is currently shaved because of her stitches from her operation. And then helped me lift  all 60 pounds of her into the tub (OK, he did all the lifting).

I love the bathing area. The sink has wood slats on the bottom so that the dog won't slip-slide all over the place. I like that the blow dryer can be turned low, important since my pittie hates the high-pitch squeal when it's turned on full blast. They also gave me lots of towels and lots of options to apply the shampoo.

Afterward Tony gave my dog some treats, asking me for permission first of course. She loved him. Faith the cashier was also wonderful. She reassured me that I shouldn't feel bad that I wasn't able to dry my dog thoroughly since apparently that's bad for the skin of short-haired dogs. Good to know!

But I love this place and especially the fact that it's only $12 to self wash your dog! Faith says that she grooms, too, on Sundays but currently doesn't charge since she's still going to school. But will take tips.

Anyway, I'll definitely be back. Especially since they said that after you come here six times, the seventh wash is free!

OK, full disclosure, I am friends with the owner, Matt Kang, but even before that I was and still am a huuge fan of Scoops ice cream. Such innovative flavor combinations like lemon and Hefeweizen or coconut and wasabi.

In any case, I'm extra excited that Matt brought Scoops to the Westside. Before, I hated having to go all the way to the Eastside location for some of Tai Kim's ice cream. Now, I just walk down the street. Woot!

Sure, the interior of this Westside location is white, bright and sparsely decorated and it ain't the fanciest, most adorable ice cream parlour ever but it just opened. Apparently Matt will be filling it up with furniture and TVs and do up a movie night for the neighborhoodies to enjoy with their ice cream and coffee. Yes, Matt, a huge coffee aficionado also made sure to serve up the best coffee: Intelligentsia. However, he won't do affogato because the ice cream and coffee here are wayyy better on their own.

If you're more about decor than flavor then this isn't the ice cream parlour for you. However, there's nothing to stop you from just getting a pint to go and enjoying it in the comfort of your own beautifully decorated living room.

But yay for the parking lot and for it being just down the street from Chego. Will definitely be a regular.

OK, I'm going to cut this place some slack considering it just opened up a couple of days ago. Sure, our pizza took FOREVER to arrive and the cocktails were OK. But they're still getting their bearings. However props for $6 St. Bernardus ABT 12! Unfortunately they didn't currently have it in stock when I was there but $6 is a great price considering I usually see it sold for $10-$12. Cocktails here are $10, I don't know if that's normal or pricey for the Valley. But the drink list features mostly classic cocktails and maybe a couple of their own.

For food, my friend and I just split the funghi pizza which was huuuge and delicious.

The seats aren't all that comfortable though, I'm talking the tall two-tops. If anything, try to grab a seat at the bar, re: cute bartenders.

I'll probably come back and check out this place in six months to see if they've fine-tuned themselves.