Stephanie "lives at the airport" S.'s Profile

Update: Talked to the restaurant owners -- opening within the next week. They apologized and were very nice about the whole thing. I will update with the date soon. Will definitely check it out when it opens and reserve my review for then.

In a far away land, where people are extremely wealthy and enjoy unusually expensive dining, the elusive and rare 40 dollar pumpkin pie can be found. Once the dessert of peasants, the 40 dollar pie frees you from all the normally perceived luxury pies like cherry, and apple, and key lime. Luxury pie, you have eluded me, but now I have found you! Here at Urth Caffe..

I have yet to decide if spending $40 on pumpkin pie could ever be worth it, although yes, the pie was good. I think it's worth an $8 slice or however much you spend for one serving, but 40 bucks! Wow. That's rough.

What I did enjoy was the thai iced tea boba. The boba balls were perfectly cooked and not weird, melty, or too hard. The thai iced tea was not as sweet as normal thai iced tea, but I thought it appropriately met the mark. The cafe itself is overall quite pleasant, although my friends and I are positive we saw a real life witch driving over. Lots of fireplaces and fire lanterns to sit near and keep you warm. No one seems to pushy to get you out even when it's closing time, so I can definitely see myself returning to grab a latte, a table to study, and an evening of stealing pie samples from the counter.

Zac Efron Lookalike Waiter + Mexican Vanilla Chocolate Cupcake + Spicy Pork Tacos = Yay. And a 3.5.

No reservations, easy to walk in and grab a table at 5:30 for dinner. The service is pretty attentive, to the point of near aggravation. Two points for overzealous waiter Zac Efron. Maybe I look like Vanessa Hudgens?

Dinner with a friend helping me with life advice. We start with the frozen pomegranate margaritas and I am happy. Not so much alcohol that I can't get down to business and ask what's on my mind, but the right amount that the flavor balances and I don't feel like someone ripped me off again because they were skeptical of my age. Trust me, even when you have the proper identification the bartender can and will still judgment call you and put less alcohol or none if they think you aren't of age. Which I am. But I don't look like it.

I order the carnitas tacos because I don't know any better but to order pork everywhere I go. I could never be kosher. They are excellently spicy and I am surprised. Chain Mexican restaurants always get the spices on these things wrong. They're always water down forms of the original recipe. But this wasn't. Nice change. I'm going to guess Efron wasn't in charge of making the tacos.

Last, but not least was dessert. I sensed that neither my friend nor I really wanted dessert after cramming down all those tacos, but after Zac explained the special, there was really no turning back. The cupcake is called a Pingüino, and they made it in celebration of the chocolate festival. It's a Mexican chocolate cupcake filled with hazelnut mousse and a creme fraiche frosting. Yeah. You try telling that no. Try it. I'd be impressed.

This was a family favorite for years. My first ever mochi ice cream was here and the first time my dad learned that putting the entire blob of wasabi in your mouth was not a good idea.

I've always loved the quiet family feel of this place. The tables are cozy and the waitresses are extremely friendly. I feel like I am back at my best friend's Japanese home, eating rice and lettuce, and whatever other things, maybe less identifiable, that her grandma has thrust at me.

The best deal here is the bento box. Stacks of California rolls, beef or chicken teriyaki (I'm partial to beef myself), and shrimp and veggie tempura. It is extremely reasonably priced and you'll have plenty left over for lunch the next day in the days when you're trying to stretch your meals out a bit.

It isn't the place for a very serious date. It's quiet and in the Target shopping plaza, so you're not looking for fancy here. I think what I love the most about this place is its simplicity. Vegas is full of sushi places trying to top one another in overtly sexual names (including tastes like your ex-girlfriend...SERIOUSLY? NOT A NAME TO BE ASSOCIATED WITH SUSHI) , over stacked rolls with extremely complex ingredients and combinations.

This will always be my first and last sushi stop when in Vegas. It feels like home.

A USC BAR ? IN NEW YORK? *screams*

What a great place to hang out on an SC Saturday to watch USC crush Notre Dame and whoever the hell else thinks they can beat the Trojans. That's right kid, I'm talking to you.

They have two great rooms in the back stocked with televisions and a pool table to bring your favorite 20 or so football friends and plenty of comfy couches. Upstairs is the same with more private spots and game tables. On the ground level is a couple of booths and the bar table itself, prime seating for the huge projection of the game they have on the front wall. Make reservations if you want a table. They go quick and trust me, you'll need 'em if you want to make it through the game.

Drinks weren't too expensive and they had an okay selection of drafts. Didn't try the food, but it looked like your average bar fare. All in all, a nice place to spend a Saturday in NY to gear up for more festivities as the day, and night wear on.

I hate being a dissenter but...

It was only okay. The food was all right although the service was fantastic and the dessert was really great. I just thought the sushi was overdone. Too many things in it so it was hard to identify a single defining flavor.

I would definitely return for drinks and maybe if I order the simpler sushi.

Visit number two 6 months later and I am still a fan. Some things have changed, and some are the same, but I'm still reppin this place.

The room is still gorgeous, private bank rooms, a giant vault, and great, beautiful couches. It is a lot more crowded now that it has been around a bit longer, but the wait line (20 minutes) is STILL significantly less than at the Edison and there is NO ONE telling you where to stand (like at the Edison) every five seconds. Point!

People here are also gorgeous. I  met lots of guys and girls who were super attractive and extremely friendly. Not a person in the bunch who was just too good for everyone else. Point!

No cover! POINT! I'm so much more likely to spend bank on alcohol when I don't have the dirty aftertaste of a cover in my mouth.

The bank lounge is now for private parties on Saturdays. Sad. I love the vault. But I found that if you meet someone in it...you're good to go ;)

Golden yen drinks still strong and tasty as ever. Crocker Club, I love you.

Holy shii-- I am in love.

Vegetarian options, absolutely not. Soggy fries, absolutely yes.

What are soggy fries my friends? They are delectable bites of heaven in the form of a potato surrounded by mysterious and life changing spices that are covered in the juices of flame broiled chicken with a chef's secret orange sauce that has a slight spice, but insane overall flavor. Sacrifice 10 quarters for the new love of your life. She might be a cheap date, but you'll be glad you picked her.

I can see why this place is a cute bistro type place for breakfast. Granted, I didn't get the full experience because I went to the Century City Westfield version. It's probably a good spot if you want to have a leisurely breakfast and go shopping afterward, but it turned out to not be the type of "breakfast was the only thing I was planning on doing today type spot." It just doesn't feel like you can sit there for very long.

I only had an almond croissant but it was fairly fancy and intense.  It tasted great, I just thought it was physically a bit much. Kind of like the new Diet Coke commercial with Tom Colicchio. Be simple, not overly complicated :)

Kind of empty at 10 pm. They said it was because of labor day, which is possible I guess. The drinks are pretty strong, which I appreciated. The bartender was good about that although there is a two drink minimum.

This place is great for a large private party of you and your favorite 50 people looking to get drunk. The patio is quite nice and it is really set up to be a cozy type of place versus a bar you go to meet people and mingle. That's just not what it was built for. Plus, the doormen have no idea what is going on at any given time. Including opening the bar at weird times on a Saturday (like 10:05 instead of 10:00). Sorry guys, you're just not exclusive enough for that type of behavior. No one in LA really should be, but you really have zero clearance for it.

I'd come back here to have a party. But not to look for one.