Ryan S.'s Profile

Tried this place out tonight and was quite impressed. As other people have noted the decor is very authentic and it's a nice French escape in Ballard. We went on a Sunday so there was no wait and a ton of open tables. We sat inside but it looks like the outdoor seating area is nice.

The wine list is quite good as you'd expect. I was starving but thought the food was definitely worth the trip. The mac and cheese is an excellent way to start and in true French form it's nice and creamy. My wife had the fallafel which she said was good but not spectacular. I went with the classic Steak and Frites and was very pleased with the way the meet was cooked (good, medium rare as it should be) and the sauce for it.

All in all this is a good spot. The wait staff seems like they're still ironing out some kinks; we got our check without asking for it and before we'd finished our main course with no asking us about desert. But all in all it has a good ambiance, it's only a tad on the expensive side, and fills a good niche in Ballard with good French cocktails and good French food.

I brought my wife to Spokane on a business trip here and we decided to make a romantic weekend out of it complete with the Bed and Breakfast. This was a wonderful choice.

This beautifully restored Victorian Mansion was our best B&B experience yet. The room are tastefully decorated in Victorian antiques. Everything from the claw-footed tub in the bathroom to the ornate chandelier in the dining room made us feel like we had stepped back in time. We would love to come back for one of their Victorian high teas. Every course of the full service breakfast was delicious, especially the dutch babies.

The staff was great. Heather, the daughter of the owner, is an excellent cook. She made us feel comfortable and welcome. Looking forward to staying here again.

Big fan of Marjorie. The food is always good, they've got a good wine selection, and the outdoor seating is fantastic on a nice Seattle summer day.

If you're going make sure to get the plantains - it's a great start to the meal. We went here with a couple of friends and ended up getting a lot of the little plates to share. It was a fun way to try a bunch of things and still leave with full stomachs.

I also love the decorations in the guys bathroom. I have no idea where they got the "Good Manners/Bad Manners" posters from India but they're classic. And they have a record player in the bathroom which is pretty awesome.

This place was awesome! Great little find in Chicago as we were walking around the loop. We were there for lunch on a Monday and it wasn't super crowded but there was a steady flow in while we were there. The vodka menu looked fantastic but as it was lunchtime we didn't get any.

The house tea is pretty good and they have a nice selection of Russian teas. They also have a great selection of beers from Russia, Ukraine, and the like. Something for everyone.

The food we had was good. I haven't ever had Russian food so I can't really compare it to anything but it was tasty. We had the pumpkin Perogies to start which were quite good. I had a Ruben sandwich that was pretty standard but still good.

The ambiance was what made it a lot of fun. Good Russian music playing, lots of cool pictures and nic-nacs around. Definitely worth checking out if you're in the area.

As a Starbucks replacement, Argo tea is great. If you're a coffee drinker and you want to come over to the good side, Argo tea will be a wonderful introduction to a much more fulfilling world. As a tea store though, Argo doesn't cut it. I'll start with the goods:

Plenty of power and free Wi-fi - a must. The atmosphere is welcoming and it's a very good place to get work done or to come hang out for a bit. The menu, food selection, and process are all close enough to Starbucks so that anyone can come in off the street and know what to do - a refreshing change from a lot of snobby tea stores. The staff was also very helpful and friendly. Also, they have a lot of interesting tea-based drinks including the Bubble Tea and the Tea Sangria.

The bads. The tea selection is only moderate as they only have one kind of black or green tea on the pot at a time. What makes it worse is that they brew very concentrated versions of the tea and then water it down. That may work for the tea signature drinks but it's terrible if you're an avid tea drinker.

All in all I like Argo because I think it's a great addition to the tea scene. We don't have anything like it in Seattle but I wouldn't trade our tea stores for this one at all. If you like Argo I'd encourage you to check out something more tea-focused as you get more and more familiar with teas.

King's is always great whether you're coming for a happy hour on Tuesday or in the middle of the swarm during a weekend Ballard bar crawl. There's the skeeball of course, but what makes King's great is it's a good combination of dirty old pub and popular hotspot. The food is good old bar food (the After School Special burger is not to be missed), the drinks are pretty cheap, but it's in Ballard so you get the trendy crowd as well.

I like it best during the downtimes when you can just sit and have a beer (they've got a pretty good selection). But King's is really the kind of place where there's something for everyone depending on when you go.

Gotta love Ballard.

I was kind of underwhelmed by Agave. The drinks were good, but the food was so-so. The restaurant has a great atmosphere and you can tell it's kind of trending towards the hipster crowd with a Mexican flair.

The choices on the menu are pretty good. Lots of fish, which I like, but when they came out, the dishes were kind of 'meh'. They were good, and Agave isn't super expensive, but I like my Tex-Mex a bit more exciting.

I went with a big group and they have a GREAT group-sized table up on the balcony so you can chat and look down on the rest of the patrons. Fantastic spot for big groups.

One of the better spots we tried in Savannah. Seemed a bit pricey for the quality of the food but if you're out for a nice night on the town, this is a very good place to go. I would have brought my wife here if she was with me. The restaurant is actually on multiple levels with the second floor being the kitchen so you have to take the elevator to get to the 3rd floor seating area.

I had the duck which was cooked very well and was quite tasty. They have an extensive steak and seafood menu with some Georgia flair so there is something for everyone to try. Wine list was pretty good though I'd stay away from the Midnight Blue.

All in all it's a very nice, romantic spot in the heart of Historic Savannah.

I'd give 4 stars for beer and 3 stars for the food but the food outweighs the beer. Beer, very good. Had the Swamp Fox IPA and liked it (should have gotten the sampler). The food was decent but not spectacular. This is a great place to go in Savannah if you're just hanging out and you like to try microbrews.

Service was excellent while I was there at lunch. The building has a cool, old, southern charm to it.

I always try to find a good tea store to work in when I'm on the raod and Hina's is perfect. Some people seem to not like the decor, but it's bright, roomy and they have plugs that are fairly accessible for anyone with a laptop. I was able to sit at the bar and have my laptop plugged in behind the counter.

The tea selection is absolutely phenomenal. If you're a tea junkie you'll be in heaven and if not don't be overwhelmed, the owner can select something very good for you.

I was there on a Wednesday afternoon and it wasn't crowded at all. A lot of the customers seem to be regulars and the owner is very friendly.  She'll be able to chat about you with anything or let you be to do work and enjoy tea. It's not quite as good as my beloved Miro tea at home but it comes really close.