Devora Z.'s Profile

Finding a spot that has both regular breakfast and Mexican breakfast is an oddity; finding a place that does both WELL is a downright rarity.

Chilaquiles: delicious. Oatmeal pancakes with strawberries: delicious. Fried plantains with crema and beans: even more delicious.

Word of warning - that green salsa is not your basic, mild-ish salsa verde - it is HOT!

I've been here once for a normal dinner and was unimpressed by the high-priced menu.

However, last Monday I had the pleasure of sampling the "Monday Bites" menu for a friend's birthday, and was pleasantly surprised and pleased by the offerings, the portion sizes, and the price.

Between the three of us, we ate:
- artichoke, fennel and prosciutto salad (clever in concept and yummy but not remarkable)
- seared tuna bruschetta (exceptional! amazing sauce, good combination of textures, would go back and order 3 of these just for me even though just 1 is good-sized)
- suckling pig (tender and well-sauced)
- lamb (kind of basic but the SAUCE. Bay Wolf does know their sauces.)
- salmon (rare and perfect, so delicious... not the most original, but satisfying)
- DOUBLE DUCK NOODLES

The duck noodles deserve their own section - the dish was large, brothy, full of meaty bits of duck and crispy duck skin. Plus a whole duck leg on top. So. Amazing. And surprisingly subtle!

Service was slow and we had an awkward 10ish minutes at the beginning when we felt like we were being completely ignored, even though we were sitting in the middle of the room.. but our server warmed up to us eventually and was nice throughout.

Another thing we liked was that the Monday Bites selections were supposed to be smaller than their regular-menu counterparts, but all three of us felt that the portion size was perfect for all courses. Wish more places charged less and served portions this size! Satisfying without being too much or too little.

I'd definitely go back for the Monday bites, but I'm not wowed enough to give their regular menu another try - would rather spend my money elsewhere.

Excellent, basic Italian food. Great alfredo, decent salads.

I rarely say this, but we had really awful service on a Sat night. I mean, standing around and chatting with each other while a number of large parties wait, and 4-5 big empty tables are waiting to be bussed and re-set? I know that being a server is hard, but the place wasn't understaffed or overcrowded, and the servers didn't seem new :(

Good for bringing your kids, can find something for everyone.

WHAT. A. FIND.

Magpie Cafe is one of the few locally-sourced places in Midtown - the BLT was amazing (cress! roasted tomatoes! crispy-chewy bacon!) and they use purple potatoes right now for their potato salad. Good iced tea too.

Great service, great attitude, stellar food. Will definitely be back.

This is my favorite go-to pho place. I have been mostly unimpressed with other food I've gotten there, except the spring rolls which are nice.

But the PHO. IS. AMAZING. Perfect meat to noodles to broth ratio. And the broth is tasty, not dull or boring. The Pho Ga is my go-to for cold days. Toss some basil, lime, cilantro and sriracha in there and you're good to go.

What an awesome find! Abesha Ethiopian is a true gem.

I had never had Ethiopian food before, and was dragged here by some friends on a Saturday. We went for lunch and were so full by the time we left. I went again a few days later on my own and had another great meal.

The veggie platter for lunch is a great deal. Get that, the kitfo (raw beef but seriously amazing and unless you have a very sensitive stomach, no digestive problems here), and some spiced tea. My favorite vegetarian dish was the yellow lentils, but the folks I'm with liked the mushrooms, the red lentils, the collards, and the cabbage as well. The injera is dense, not too sour, and perfect. Yum.

Decent service, definitely not crowded either time I've been, and really wholesome and delicious food. I will be back!

Service: excellent. Adorable servers, efficient & unobtrusive service.

Food: aw hell yeah!! Focaccia with red pepper hummus is a steal, bruschetta was grand (eggplant, mm!), rick's pizza ( w/ potatoes, fontina, goat chs, arugula, pancetta, olives). Tip: get a side of their tomato sauce to dip the pizza in.

Libations: house wine! Sweet, cheap & satisfying.

Decor/atmosphere: not too full for a sat night, which was refreshing! Cool fences outside, with old bike parts welded into the metal. Also bustling but not noisy.

Overall: slam-dunk! So coming back here.

I've never had to replace a tire before, and as such was totally clueless about where to go to get a new tire after I blew out one of my rear tires on the freeway yesterday.

Rouse gets GREAT reviews on both Berkeley Parents Network, which is an invaluable source of advice, AND Yelp. And not only that, but they were literally three blocks from my apartment! What luck!

I called, told the woman (Susan, I'm guessing) who answered what kind of car I had and the brand of the tire, she knew exactly what kind of tire I needed for the make & year of my car (older Prius). I was worried about whether any place would have the tires in stock, since I'd heard that the tires are fairly rare for my car. But Rouse had the right kind of tire in stock! Woo!

Now, I knew to trust this place's advice based on the various reviews, and knew that they wouldn't be trying to get more money out of me for money's sake - as soon as I got in there, Susan looked at my tires, told me that the front two were in good shape and would last for a while, but that the other back tire was also in need of replacement. Trusting her judgment plsu a great explanation from her, I replaced that one as well.

So, the generally awesome things about Rouse:

- I called at 3, was there by 3:15, out by 3:30 on a Friday afternoon.
- Susan took the time to talk to me, tell me all about tires, when I should get my tires rotated (only $9 at Rouse!), and how often I should check the air in my tires.
- The guys changing my tires were quick, efficient, and absolutely knew what they were doing - I've heard horror stories about people taking their cars to Firestone to get new wheels and having their tires fly off in the middle of the street - these guys were so pro and my tires are on so well that I have no doubts at all.
- The tires I bought were on sale! Woo!
- Super close to my house :)
- And everyone was really nice and smiling!

What a great experience, considering the bad luck that brought me there in the first place. I'm definitely gonna be back (although hopefully not before my 5,000 mile rotation check!)

Thanks Rouse Tire!!

Totally my kind of place - hundreds of beer taps hanging from the ceiling,  probably about 25-30 taps, most of which were interested microbrews from all over the country that I had never tried before (and I love beer).

Friendly bartenders and bouncers, dogs are apparently allowed in which is really cool. Even on a Wednesday the place was pleasantly crowded, with a very un-douchey and down-to-earth crowd.

Also a good jukebox, which is always a plus. Pool & shuffleboard too, plus food from the little place next door although we didn't order any food. Looked decent though, general pub stuff like burgers.

Generally, a place I could see myself hanging out all the time. Too bad I don't live in SD :(

Delicious tortilla soup with fresh avocado chunks!

Accommodated me even though I arrived and ordered a good 30-45 minutes after my friends.

Funky decor, decent prices.

We had some complex requirements for how to split our check, and the lady behind the counter took care of it in about 5 seconds flat. Have never seen more efficient handling of a split check! Bravo!