"World's most manly nurse"
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Review votes:
86 Useful, 49 Funny, and 60 Cool
Alameda, CA
Yelping SinceJuly 2008
Things I Loveeating, cooking, hiking, biking, reading
Find Me InCafes and bookstores
My HometownAlameda, CA
When I'm Not Yelping...I'm thinking about my next meal
The Last Great Book I ReadBrave New World
My Last Meal On EarthBowl of Pho
Don't Tell Anyone Else But...I use my laptop in the bathroom
Alameda, CA 94501
(510) 521-2613
Thin Man Music Co
Category: Musical Instruments & Teachers
Coming here is like going over to your next door neighbor's place to get service. The setting is very casual and you can't help but find yourself talking guitars with the staff or the locals. I worked with Ed Ramirez who was an absolute stand-up guy to work with. He was obviously very knowledgeable, and had a slew of other guitars he had to work with - a testament to his skill and customer loyalty.
My guitar plays and feels like a dream right now.
The shop itself also carries a bunch of affordable quality guitars as well. We're talking about high quality imports from blueridge, recording king, and etc.
While you won't find any brand new high quality guitars from american or boutique makers here, Ed and his crew carry an assortment of vintage american guitars that have been patched up and sold at a very affordable price. I saw a patched american guild here for 500 dollars and what might have been a scratched up but very playable 000-18 martin for 1200.
Their prices are fair but his turn around on repairs and services can be a little slow because of the high volume of work they get. But that's more of a demonstration of people's faith in them rather than a negative.
Berkeley, CA 94709
(510) 883-1893
Gregoire
Categories: French, American (New)
Neighborhoods: North Berkeley, Gourmet Ghetto
This would be a great place to take anyone on a budget who has never tried out california cuisine with french & italian influences. The portion sizes are made just right and all of them come in cute little boxes. Service can be a little slow tho, but this is acceptable since the kitchen is so small and needs to turnout such a high volume of food.
*Bonus points for having an open kitchen!
Berkeley, CA 94704
(510) 841-2648
The Starving Musician
Category: Musical Instruments & Teachers
Neighborhood: Downtown Berkeley
The selection of gear they have is nice, and you can find some unique used goodies here. The amp selection is huge and has some used gear at good prices. The electric guitars they have are also of a large variety, but you won't find any high end stuff here from gibson, PRS, and etc. Their choices for acoustic guitars is extremely small tho.
***Correction*** The owner informed me on yelp that there's actually more acoustic guitars in a different room that many people miss. I'll have to check it out next time.
If I was local to the area I'd probably end up giving it 4 stars, but it doesn't have a vibe or anything too unique for me to make a trip outta my hometown to come here.
Berkeley, CA 94703
(510) 841-4106
Subway Guitars
Category: Hobby Shops
Neighborhood: North Berkeley
The first time I met fat-dawg he was talking to a customer, and eating while helping me out for a service repair. This sort of service may turn people off, but a guy who eats (talking while he chews), deals with the phone, and provides service to you means he knows he's good enough on his skill alone and doens't need to spend energy on good public relations - my kind of store.
My friend had a guitar in storage for 25 years from her father that had a lifted bridge, neck that needed truss rodding, and action high enough to put your thumb through. Fat dawg and his crew replaced the bridge, gave us a full setup and a set of strings for 45 bucks which is a very fair price for the repair work he did.
*There was some left over glue from the bridge repair that was barely noticable, but that sort of stuff doesn't matter when you're repairing an old korean guitar from the 70s. Glue was also visible from the nut job as well, but no biggie.Otherwise, action * Intonation was dead on and perfect.
I would definitely recommend this place if you need repair work done.
Pleasant Hill, CA 94523
(800) 797-5750
Guitar Heaven
Category: Musical Instruments & Teachers
I came here to get my Taylor's ES repaired. I had one of the first generation ones that were prone to breakage. Benny took me to his workshop and took out the magnets in the taylor and showed and described what was exactly wrong with my guitar to me. I had my guitar repaired and fully functional within a weeks time.
I am planning on coming back here to get a buzzy open E string fixed on my semi-hollow and to work with Benny again. In his workshop you can see a whole bunch of other guitars waiting for repairs, so people obviously trust him with their instruments.
The two dollar bread sticks also change (daily...i think) and usually have an assortment of clever flavors.
Definitely give this place a try. The macaroons themselves are well worth it and other reviewers have good things to say about the bread, cakes, cookies and other treats.
Oakland, CA 94601
(510) 436-3851
Tamales Mi Lupitas
Category: Mexican
Neighborhoods: Fruitvale, East Oakland
I ordered my usual al pastor tacos and tried out there tamales, bean and cheese papusa, cheese and veggies papusa and horchata. MMMMM MMMM MMMMMM! I will say right off the bat that sinaloa is still my favorite, but this place is definitely competative.
The al pastor tacos came with perfectly seared pork and the sauce is came in was thick with salty bbq flavor. The shells were also thick and crispy and very durable; they do not come apart or tear easily. The papusas were also delicious and is the main reason why I'm giving this place a 5. Without the papusas, I would have given this place a 4.
The papusas here actually tasted better than the ones from platanos in berkeley, ca. The cheese was very flavorful and complemented the beans and veggies well. The dough was also very soft, which I like over crispy papusas.
The tamale was done salvadorian style, ad was good...but the meat portion was close to non existent.
So give this place a try if you're looking for a taco truck that serves great papusas.
Oakland, CA 94620
(510) 654-9292
Sura
Category: Korean
Neighborhoods: Temescal, North Oakland
I came here on New years day to celebrate it Korean style. This meant dumpling soup and (for my pleasure) octupus bee bim bop. I wasn't expecting the inside to look so traditional. Lots of dark wood furniture and korean art. The place also housed a large number of old korean people which got me excited for the food since elders know best (for food...usually...at least).
As my friend looked through the menu he noticed that lots of the things on the menu were dishes that were more traditional that you wouldn't be able to find in many korean restaurants. After inquiry frm our server, we also found out that they fermented their own soju and wines. Also, everything on the menu is homemade.
Our sides came first. I counted 23! It came with all the usually kim chee, radishes, fried anchovies and etc but also some sides I have never seen before such as vegetable roots. It was quite a feast by itself. The dumpling soup that came was amazing. The poached egg was done just right, and the rice discs that came with the dumplings perfectly complemented the entire bowl. The dumplings themselves would have been worth the dish alone. The bee bim bop octupus was also delicious as well...AND SPICY! I really loved the bee bim bop at Korea house in concord....but this place has it beat!
We were also given free green tea ice cream to end the meal. Service throughout the whole ordeal was professional and quick. I would definitely come here to introduce people to korean food due to all these factors.
The Gyros was tasty and generous in the meat department. Meat was caramelized on both sides and each bite was thick and flavorful. The sauces and meat were nice and salty and were enchanced by the more neutralness of the wrap. But wait! It gets better! put on some of their homemade yogurt hot sauce and BAMN! The gyros just becomes twice as good!
The mezz platter was good. The dolmas here are greek so they have meat in them. They are also not as thick with olive oil as well. The Falafels were absolutely a marvel. It was so heavily packed together that it retains it's shape perfectly with each crunchy bite. The Egg plant salad was also a nice change of pace from Babaganoush. Its chunky and makes you feel like you're actually eating a plant rather than a colorless paste. The hummus was very good as well and came with a cilantro yogurt garnish. The portions I felt could have been a little bigger and they definitely need to give more pita bread.
So definitely give this place a try!
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The place feels very chain like with it's generic tables and setup, but I could care less because both burgers came out tasting great. Meat was done just right and packed with flavor. The sides they gave us were also nice and plentiful as well. The turkey was not dry either and blended extremely well with the cheese and avocado. While nothing was "wow!" I left saying, "those were some nicely done burgers."
The sweet potato fries were a seperate highlight on its own. Crispy, flavorfull, and not tasting like it was coated with frying oil, it was a delight to pop every single one into my mouth.
I probbaly wouldn't eat here again because there's so many options out there to try, but wouldn't mind going with a friend if they wanted to try it out.