Karl "a Dutch / Indo half breed" H.'s Profile

A couple years back I gave up the whole reviewing thing.  Especially on Yelp.  I found that my reviewing was more about the Elite badge than it was about sharing an experience.  Let alone the flame wars that have, on occasion, been started by a few overzealous restaurant loyalists.   God forbid you say anything bad or offer up a constructive criticism... you'll end up cyber stalked and/or ridiculed.  

That was then... and today I say 'eff those guys.  When I gots something to say, I'm going say it damn it!  Enter Preservation Kitchen.

My experience from the first phone call to the valet was utterly superb.  At the last moment  I was looking for a restaurant that could accommodate a group of 7 for a New Year's Eve dinner.  I headed over to one of them online reservation sites and found only 3 restaurants that could handle a group our size at the time we wanted.  Preservation Kitchen here we come!  New Year's Eve day I was called by hostess at Preservation Kitchen asking if we would like a private dining room upstairs.  Unfortunately, I forget her name.  Regardless.  She was very easy to speak with, very accommodating and quite kind.  Plus, getting a private dining room completely makes it seem like I'm big timing it!  Anyhow, when we arrived at PK for our reservation we were greeted by the very same person that called me... nope... still can't remember her name.   She took us upstairs where she left us in the very capable hands of our waitress Danielle.  Danielle left us wanting for nothing.  She was great with the banter, knowledgeable about the menu, and hand real opinions to offer when we pulled the 'ol "if you had your choice..." routine.  

For New Year's they had a set menu offering your choice of three different appetizers, four entree's, and two desserts.  All of which sounded fantastic.  Now with seven people at the table I was fortunate enough that it worked out that I was able to sample EVERYTHING!  Man it was so good.  The duck was near perfect, the duo of beef was succulent, tender and flavorful, the risotto was delicious and creamy (may have had a bit too much of a lemon zest for my liking), and finally the scallops were flawlessly seared.  The only downside of the evening is that we all had drank and eaten ourselves silly that we almost... and I mean almost... ruined dessert.  But, the staff was in no rush to get rid of us and gave plenty of time to drink a bit of coffee and let things settle till we were capable of having either the Champagne Sorbet or flowerless chocolate cake.  After we settled the bill we headed on down the stairs and headed outside.  Every one of the staff that we came across made it a point to say goodbye and wish us a happy new year... right on down to the valet.  

It was a great experience.

Our evening at crow almost didn't happen.  The long and the short of it... I was wrong an my wife was right.

Not something I'm exactly happy about and I'm definitely glad she doesn't Yelp.  

I'm glad she ended up being stubborn enough NOT to accept the fact that I had something planned on Tuesday (which was the only day she wanted to do this thing).  Because, this 3 courses for $25.00 is actually a good deal.  

Apparently, I didn't know that we were catching this great deal on the ass end of its promotional run so we really only had Tuesday to eat at the one place we really wanted to try out and that was CROW.  

It was a great choice I have to say.  We met up with a few friends and all went a different route on our meals.  This gave us ample sampling opportunities.  I think the stand outs for the evening was the braised pork osso bucco and the pan roasted chicken with prosciutto.  They were definitely note worthy.

Also, noteworthy was their selection of house cocktails.  Remember this... Scottish Meadows.  This should make your server smile.

All in all it was worth the drive from the east side in the middle of a rain storm during the height of rush hour traffic to dine here.

Don't judge a book by it's cover... This place is scary on the outside, but heavenly katsu goodness on the inside.  Not too mention the yummy BBQ specials they run too!  The beef short-rib BBQ is delish!

Service is friendly, portions are healthy, but the prices tend to be a tad high. But, I'll gladly pay as long as they keep up the quality and quantity.

Taco truck Thursday!!  

Oh, how I look forward to thee.  

With your fantastic taco's, burrito's, your torta's and your quesadilla's.  

Always so fresh and quick.  

Make sure you have a few pesos in your pocket because they don't do check or credit.

Not a bad place... there seems to be a good mix of people here as well.  The facilities even have a virtual driving range.  Nothing like pumping some weights and then hitting a few golf balls.  Also, there's always a good choice of classes to take here too.  They have everything from pilates, to yoga, to spin classes, to kick boxing.

Two words... Ghhhhhe ttoooooo!

It's like that scene in Zombieland where they go to the abandoned store to look for twinkies only without all the blood and guts.  

Zombies present? Check!  
Aisles slightly unorganized and somewhat bare? Check!
Creepy mid 70's muzac music playing overhead? Check!

Never going back. Check!

This is one of the very few Safeways that I truly enjoy. This store is well maintained, well stocked, and offers a wide variety of quality products.  Not too mention the employees are always friendly!

This is not a bad little neighborhood  grocery store.

There is one major issue with this store.  Parking is atrocious.

Booooo!  I've been here a few different times and they are always either out of bread or out of the drunken chicken.  

Everyone tells me how awesome the drunken chicken is.  I think you kids would say it's the shizzle.  But, it seems like it's not in the cards for me.  

Bastardos!!! I want my DRUNKEN CHICKEN!!!!

It's a throw back to the simpler days.  The food is ok, the happy hour decent, the staff friendly, and the prices are cheap.

Definitely a place to hangout after work.... But, I'm not going to be taking the wife here anytime soon.  She'd kill me if I did.

I really liked the food... The cocktails we had were great... The service was totally friendly... And the crowd was diverse in a good people watching way.

But, I hated my entire time there. It was something about the layout of the room and where we sat in the bar. So, most likely my fault.  I'm going back for a happy hour soon to give it another try.