Jeff "Manifest Destiny" W.'s Profile

Just as great as the old one, but a tad more out of the way and congested since it shares a parking lot with McD's.  It obviously feels a lot newer and less grungy than the previous location.  Food continues to be top notch and will be my peruvian chicken location of choice.

I had a very pleasant brunch here one Saturday morning before attending the Free-for-all at the Shakespeare theater.  It was not crowded at all which was a little surprising, but it was still pretty early.  I at first didn't even think they were open.

Of the 2 or 3 Clyde's I've been to, this is one of the classier ones.  Very cozy and dark.  We ordered some biscuits but they hadn't made them yet so they gave us some complimentary coffee cake which was nice.  It was a sizeable portion served with some sweetened butter, and was really good!  Almost too good as I kinda filled up on it before my meal arrive.  The main entrees aren't particularly unique, but the food is really solid.  I can't quite recall what I had, but I think it may have been the eggs chesapeake.  I just remember enjoying it and finding it to be just a really pleasant experience.  Not too heavy, not too crowded, not too expensive.  Low key but still classy.  I would definitely come back here when I'm in the area.

3.5 stars

I came here out of necessity as it was just about the closest place to me that would be showing one of the Ravens preseason games.  At first I was just expecting a typical generic sports bar but there is enough uniqueness here to make it a worthwhile destination, even if it's not for a sports related event.

For starters, there is a ton of space.  Large TV's everywhere displaying any and every game.  No need to worry about being able to find a spot, or getting a bad view as it's practically impossible not to be within 10 feet of a big HDTV.  In fact, unless I missed one I think every TV here is a flat-panel widescreen HDTV.  The other cool thing is how they have a big NBA style scoreboard but instead of just taking space and adding to the theme it actually has scrolling score updates from all sports.  Really a great idea and actually quite helpful.

And not to be outdone by the plethora/oversaturation of sports, the beer list is actually really good!  I could believe it when I saw more than just Budweiser and Miller products.  They actually have a pretty decent selection of microbrews on tap.  I'm not sure if they change them up at different seasons, but I was pretty impressed with the assortment.  Plenty of local brews, with my particular favorite being the Backfin Ale.

The food was pretty good.  I was a particular fan of the pretzel appetizer.  They offer standard bar fare but actually have some unique options like the Steel City salad.  I got a grilled sandwich that was very satisfying.

Green Turtle offers up all the sports viewing you could ever want.  If you're in the area and want to get out to watch a game with some friends or some comraderie with strangers, then you will find happiness here.  It definitely serves it's purpose, and serves it well.

The quality is good and the atmosphere is classy, but this is just not my kind of place.  I had heard so much about the tuna sliders that I knew I had to get them.  At $24 for nine sliders I was expecting a sizeable portion, but in reality they are about the size of a ping-pong ball.  While they tasted great, I just can't comprehend that kind of cost, and most certainly can't justify it.  And all the other food items I saw were even smaller!  There was a cheese plate that had items so small it looked like prop food for an elf movie.  Laughable.  The chefs here must all use tweezers to prepare the food as I can't imagine any human having fingers tiny and dexterous enough to actually handle the products.

The house wine was a pretty decent value for happy hour, but with cocktails all exceeding $10, again I just can't justify it.  If one beverage that costs the same as two footlong subs appeals to you, then I'm sure you will enjoy it.  I can't foresee a situation where I would return.

This "monument" kinda makes me laugh because you enter this grand park with a little mini Washington monument, you have a visitors center with info and a map and then you proceed to the birthplace, either by way of a tour or on your own.  So after this kinda big buildup, you show up and see...an outline.  An outline of the building in the area he was supposedly born.  It kind of resembles a chalk outline of a homicide victim and you just can't help but find the humor in a "monument" that is a simple white box.

Still, the surrounding area is quite beautiful and it is fun to tour the sort of recreated farm and catch a glimpse of how life was lived back then.  It's a bit like a mini Williamsburg, on a much MUCH smaller scale.  I went on my own so I didn't hear what info is offered on the tour, but you can wander around and read the map to see what it says.

I wouldn't really go a great deal out of my way to come here, but if you're a George Washington fan, or are passing by through the area, it can be a worthwhile experience.  And the view over the river is really quite gorgeous.

Disclaimer: This review will say "your balls" a lot

I thought a little TopGolf tutorial would be useful, as it can be kind of confusing to figure out what to do when you first arrive.  For those that don't fully understand how it works (like me, when I first came) you can't just come in and grab your balls.  First you go secure a tee area, which is good to host maybe 4 people, and their balls.  More than that should get an additional spot.  If you've never been, you have to get a debit card that gets charged with funds from the front desk and then you go to their automated ball dispensing machine to fill up baskets with your balls.  Then you take your balls to your tee.  You have to drop your balls into this little hole by the tee first before you hit them so it will register it.  You can log in with your name and then it will track your balls as far as how far they go when you hit them, or whether or not you got your ball into a hole near the little scoring islands scattered throughout the range.

It's a lot of fun to take turns with friends and compare scores and who can hit their balls the best.  There is waitstaff that comes around and takes food and beer orders.  Definitely a cool way to spend the evening but it is not without flaws.  For starters, the tees are really really high.  Maybe that is standard driving range protocol but I could barely prevent myself from popping up my balls when using a driver.  I mostly just hit my balls right off the mat.  It is also pretty common for a ball not to successfully register or track.  If you're looking for serious information and feedback about your shot I wouldn't come here with particularly high expectations.

They also have a mini golf course which I'd love to come check out.  I'd say that the driving range portion is definitely a lot of fun and worth trying out a few times, but if you're looking to actually work on your game I don't know that it would really be of much help.  If you want to go somewhere where you can smack your balls around, this is a good option.

I was drawn in by the sign saying they had Boars Head deli meats, which are far and away superior to just about any other deli meat out there.  I was thinking back to an italian deli in Baltimore that made a bunch of amazing sandwiches using Boars Head products.  But here, it's basically just a convenience store that will put sliced meat and cheese onto bread for you.  I was disappointed in my sandwich which had no creativity to it at all and was rather small and unfilling.  As far as conveniences stores go, this spot is a notch up with their fresh deli meats but compared to other delis in the world, it's rather unappealing and lackluster.

If you like rollercoasters there's nothing to think about; just come here.  Gorgeous location right on the lake, jampacked with exciting coasters, and other standard amusement park rides.  Yes, be prepared for lines, but really there are only 3 that suffer from multi-hour waits: Maverick, Millenium Force, and TopThrill Dragster.  Everything else I was able to get on at a 45-minute or less wait, and that was on a pretty busy day over Labor Day weekend.

I rode most of the coasters, but my favorite was easily Maverick which is just one of the best all-around coasters I've been on.  Really really quick and well designed.  The Millenium Force is big, powerful and fast.  The first hill might be the greatest moment I've had on any coaster.  I really love all the smaller rides as well like Chaos, which was an old boardwalk favorite of mine, witches wheel, the racing carousel, and even the giant ferris wheel directly adjacent to the beach offering a gorgeous view of the beach.

As far as food, it's the generally overpriced fried amusement park fare.  A little disappointed that there weren't many sitdown options or that there was nothing even remotely light and healthy, but I guess that's what you expect.  I did, however, love the ice cream parlour which gave me 3 GIANT scoops of ice cream in a waffle cone and it was only around $4.  Quite unexpected given the other food choices.

So this is clearly a superb park, I just had a couple little issues.  The waits can definitely be unjustifiable, especially for a minute long ride.  The inconsistencies on some rides is also irritating.  Some you can take a bag and put it in a container, some you cannot have any belongings and must pay for a locker, others you have to actually carry with you.  It should be standard operating procedure to anticipate guests having belongings and make appropriate accommodations for them.  

Still, I wouldn't hesitate in returning to Cedar Point.  I'm disappointed it took me so long to get here for my first time!

I came to Solly's for their biweekly trivia night which is held in the bar upstairs.  It's always sponsored by a different charity or non-profit organization which I think is a great idea.  The trivia is 8 rounds total, but it goes by really fast.  You wager on scores and have the option of doubling your entire score for a certain round, but you can only do that once.  I like the wagering trivias a lot since it's easy for the lead to fluctuate.  Overall, a very solid trivia that I'll definitely be coming back to.

As far as the bar itself, the atmosphere is cool and laidback, but maybe too much so.  The bartender consistently seemed to be put-out when I'm come to order drinks.  He spent the entire night talking to some girl at the bar and seemed unable to tear himself away from the conversation when somebody came to order something.  Their signature item seems to be the daily $3 PBR which may or may not be a good deal, depending on who you talk to.  I was fine with sticking with those for the night.

I'm not sure what Solly's is like on non-trivia nights, but I enjoyed my time here and wouldn't hesitate in returning.  I just hope that some of the bartenders will actually pay attention to the customers and not just the girl at the bar.

I get nervous reviewing chinese restaurants because my review almost always makes someone upset, or I get an angry PM from someone or passive aggressive review written about me.  So I will keep this short and sweet.

We came here at sub-prime dim sum hours (i.e. dinnertime) and ordered dim sum.  Some tell me that's a faux pas, some think it's fine.  I'm not gonna get into that fight cause food is food to me.  Anyway, not surprisingly it wasn't that fresh tasting so I'm certain it was leftover from earlier in the day.  I'm not gonna pass judgment based on that so I would be open to returning at a prime hour.

But we also ordered an awful lot of non-dim sum items, including several duck dishes and all were a disappointment.  Tasted overcooked, unflavorful, and just generally disappointing.  Instead of being fueled with a desire to eat it all up I got tired of battling with it and eventually we all just gave up on our respective duck dishes.

So I'm open to giving it another shot, but based on my first time I wasn't very impressed with the food or the service.  That is all.  Ok, bring on the anger.