JL "JL Watkins" W.'s Profile

Super? More like Great Target.

I've grown up as a Target devotee, so when I moved to Houston, I was thrilled to finally have a Super Target to call my favorite, new shopping spot. And it's pretty good, all things considered.

First of all, it has all the usual, quality stuff you'd expect from any Target with the bonus of having a grocery store tacked on. Although, I feel like there are better stand-alone Targets in the area, and better stand-alone grocery stores, as well. This place is perfect if you just want to "get it all done and not go anywhere else". You might find better prices at another chain, but they have all the major brands you'd expect.

Here are my only real complaints about this location, and why it only gets 3/5 stars:

1.(cue theme from Jaws)
The massive parking lot is a vast ocean, with rogue shopping carts circling, waiting to attack your vehicle. Maybe because the place is so big, they have trouble keeping control of the carts, I don't know. But I gotta warn you...the only place where you are probably-almost guaranteed to not live in fear of a shopping cart ramming into your car is right next to the cart return. They are just EVERYWHERE...all the time.

2. The folks at checkout aren't so nice. I've have plenty of trips there where the person ringing us up didn't make eye contact or say a single word - which will always cost you a star in any of my reviews. Everyone else in the store, Super Cool - just not so much at the place where they take your money, oddly enough

Hope that helps!

/JL

This review is based on my experience having lunch at the HOB, but I can definitely say I'm interested in seeing a live show there - especially with such a close, intimate stage.

Anyway, a bunch of us headed over to House Of Blues for lunch since we were nearby at Discover Green. Parking was terrible, but I circled the block enough times to get lucky. We ventured out where there wasn't much of a rush, so I can imagine that it'd be more frustrating to find a parking space during peak hours.

The guy that greeted us at the door was really friendly as he led us to our table. We seemed to get there during "family time" when there were a half down other people eating lunch with their little kids (like we were). It seemed rather family friendly - probably too much for the table of rock-n-rollers at a nearby table. I felt bad for them. I could tell that they were probably made a whole of day of going there for lunch. They wore rock t-shirts, were covered in tattoos and piercings, and the girls sported rock-a-billy Betty Page haircuts. And then they were surrounded by screaming kids and soccer moms.

The food was decent, but don't expect much of a menu. Like other trendy-food chains (Planet Hollywood, Hard rock Cafe) the food isn't too 'out there' and they just cover all the basics, with a few odd selections to make it look unique.

Talk about basic: I ordered the hamburger. I don't even recall if it had a name other than that. Just Hamburger, and the description was "hamburger on bun, your choice of cheese, lettuce and tomato..."
Pretty much the most boring burger you could think of. However, the waitress didn't give me any static when I chose Bleu Cheese as my cheese topping and I asked for the Garlic Mayo that I saw on another sandwich. I also switched out my steak fries for sweet potato fries. If they weren't going to create a magical burger, then at least they had the good sense to keep out of my way and let me create my own masterpiece.

All in all, it was a good lunch. I was the only one who really thought the food was great, and even then I had half a hand in creating it.

PROS: Fun to visit or probably go see a show. Memorabilia to buy.

CONS: Overpriced. You are paying a few extra bucks for the HOB name. They have no draft beer, and change around $6 for a bottle.

Hair salons are such a subjective thing to rate, because getting even a slightly bad haircut could easily throw off the scale of a particular review. I'm gonna do my best to rate the place, based on my experience as a whole.

First off all, I don't think I'd ever get my hair cut at the mall. But it's gotten just insane looking, so much, in fact, that my wife just made me the appointment and told me to go get my hair cut that night. And I was all, "What? It's in the mall?" But like I said, I was looking like a lunatic, so I just went with it.

Nervously, I walked into Visible Changes. Electronic dance music was blaring, and people in black smocks and outfits were bustling all over the place. The front desk is massive, and kinda reminded me of an airport ticket counter. There are probably like 100 hair styling stations in this place. I said to myself, "This isn't a salon. It's a haircut factory!"

The people at the desk were super-nice, and the guy who swashed my hair was pretty cool guy. At one point, when I told him it was my first time at Visible Changes he remarked, "Well then you're in for a real treat." That struck me as a kinda odd thing to say. I guess I consider a "treat" getting an unexpected massage or a margarita.

However, I gotta say it was a really pleasant visit. The "Master Stylist" who cut my hair was so much fun. I'll admit I was sortaa nervous at first because of her Vietnamese/English accent, and I was only worried because I was afraid my styling instructions might get muddled-up. But she was just delightful, and kept saying to me in her cute, semi-broken English, "Oh you going to look so handsome!" She was really sweet, and did a remarkable job, considering I probably looked like a total weirdo when we got started. Now I look just shy of a million bucks (I blame the economy).

I guess I've been putting off getting my hair cut since we moved to Houston because I wanted to find the right place, and not wind up getting a horrible haircut before meeting people and clients. My experience at Visible Changes was great, and I'll probably head there again for another haircut  - either until I find a salon I like, or this place becomes my regular spot.

And seriously, you can't beat a location next to a food court.

You think that visiting a place called "Party City" might make for an exciting, if not pleasant experience. However this location has all the charm of a funeral home.

Places like this are usually kinda dingy and not much to look at, so I'm fine with that - and this place totally fit that description. But I'm one of those people who thinks customer service is important, so Party City just doesn't rate that high with me.

From the moment I walked in the door, I felt an overwhelming feeling that the clerks didn't want to be there, and they just wanted us to get our stupid paper plates and leave without trying to speak to them. When it was time to ring up our order, the lady was sighing and grunting in frustration. And let's not forget the amusing moment where one of the employees stormed down an aisle, forcing us to maneuver out of his way, and all the while, smacking the hanging pinatas down the aisle with the gigantic ladder he was carrying.

Pros: The place has whatever you'd need for any kind of themed party you can think of, and the prices are pretty decent. It's in a good location, right off 59.

Cons: Not the most pleasant place to shop. If your kid is gonna go freakin' nuts if everyone at his party isn't wearing a Clone Trooper face mask and you absolutely need a bunch of candy lightsabers and R2-D2 birthday candles, then I'd suggest going here. They'll have all that stuff. But if all you need are pink paper plates and some cheap balloons, I'd just go to the Kroger a block away.

All around Costco is pretty awesome, but my review is gonna be for this specific Costco location - which at the time of the review, opened just a few weeks ago.

The store is clean, and has nice wide aisles to accommodate the Escalade-sized shopping carts. Pretty standard stuff for Costco.

The employees are what really makes me love this location. They're always really friendly and helpful, and it seems completely genuine. None of them are ever having a bad day. Kinda makes me want to work there.

Kudos to the folks at the lunch counter who are constantly slammed with customers, but still remain cool. And I'd like to give a shout out to the folks in the photo lab who are insanely helpful and even helped provide me with the color calibration of their printing machine.

My only complaint (and it's very minor): this location is the EXACT opposite layout of every other Costco I've ever been in. Everything is on the "left" instead of the "right" - guess that makes it feel even more special.

Also, gas is super cheap there.

I just moved from Greenville and never took the time to write a proper review of Smoke on the Water. This is the place that my wife and I would always bring out-of-town guests and clients. It's Southern, but has a distinct style as well. The owner is always there, and is probably the hardest working man in the restaurant business. He's friendly and modest, and runs a great place to eat.

It has the most perfect location, right on a corner in the thriving West End. The patio seating in front is a great place to spend an evening or afternoon.

My favorites: Fried Green Tomatoes, Beef Brisket, and any of the burgers and sauces.

Only complaint: you only get like 5 wedges when you order steak fries as a side. What's up with that?

We didn't stay long enough to have the pizza because the guy at the register was a total jerk. Got annoyed when we asked basic questions. I ordered the lunch special on the board, but it wasn't available on weekends - even though there was nothing posted to that effect. He rang us up before we were even done ordering, and got annoyed when we said, "We'd also like something to drink." which is pretty standard when ordering a meal. He rolled his eyes. Before it got any worse, we just canceled our order and left.

There was another guy working there when we walked up to the front door, but he did everything he could to avoid eye contact, or greeting customers.

To be positive: the place looked nice, and the pizza selections seemed like something I would've enjoyed.

After much searching, I've landed on this Randall's as my default place to get groceries in my neighborhood. Parking is great, especially in the downstairs lot, and everyone that works there are really pleasant.

However, I've never had a good experience in the deli, and the same employees are always standing around (and not helping customers) every time I go in there.

I don't know why I'm even bothering to write a review about Spec's. It's pretty much as awesome as every review here states it is. Although I'd like to add: not only can you find every beer, wine, or liquor that you can think of, they have a ton of other cool stuff like an insane collection of different colas. I love sodas from microbreweries, and there's so many to choose from.

Also, I love that you can sorta do minor grocery shopping at Spec's - perfect place to get everything right up the last minute before your next house party.

Minor complaint: they're total fascists when it comes to checking bags at the door. Although, I don't hold it against them, it's a liquor store, so I imagine some sketchy stuff could happen when people walk around with backpacks.

I heard good things about Farrago, and I'll probably go back for dinner sometime to see if I have a better experience.

We went for lunch on a weekend, and sat outside, which might've been why our service was so bad. We got menus, but they didn't have drink menus for us. I had to eventually go inside to see what beers they had on tap. Three of them were out. My wife asked about the difference between two items on the menu and the waiter was impatient, and when I mistakenly said the name of a pizza wrong, he was super annoyed. I had to go back inside for whatever we needed. Napkins, salt and pepper, extra utensils. Our waiter finally noticed that I kept coming inside for stuff and seemed even more terse after that. Keep in mind that there were less then four tables being served at the time.

The pizza was delicious, but overshadowed by the sucky service. I'll give it another shot - maybe we had an off day, or at least our waiter did.