Geoff D.'s Profile

A mom and pop retail store devoted to custom trophies and shirts? In Palo Alto, with rents as they are these days? That's worth 5 stars right there.

We've ordered 2 batches of kids soccer trophies over the last couple weeks - and both times got great looking trophies with no engraving mistakes within a week. I was also able to order via email, which made the whole thing very convenient.

I met the owners yesterday too; couldn't have been more friendly. They have owned the store for something like 25 years (if I am remembering correctly) and had just rescued a cute little dog from the pound.

My kids have been doing the mini clinics here for 5-6 months now. I wrote an earlier review under Winter Lodge, with which Kim Grant's tennis is co located. We are still coming about once a week . The coaches do a nice job of working with all ages, and it's super convenient that we can come any day of the week (they run clinics 7 days this time of year) and bring 3 kids at very different skill levels at the same time.

They wear cool hats and jackets.
They handed me a pristine newspaper to read in my car.
They finished my oil change in 15 minutes.
They honored the $10 Yelp special offer, so my total was circa $35.

Best oil change I have ever had.  

Only minor downer was that I had to press them a bit to accept the special offer on my iPhone -- they really wanted it printed out.  (Yes I understand why, but ultimately you would think the point is to just get the business.)  Will go back and hope to hit 5 stars next time.

What a place. I was reminded yesterday of my visit here in 2005. At the time Mr. Littlefield was still alive, and a colleague of mine managed to setup a private tour for us through some friends of friends.

Cool to see that folks are able to get in now and just pay an entrance fee... granted free is nice, but it would be such a shame if this huge collection was locked away.

For those of us city slickers who are did not join ROTC, where else are you going to climb in tanks and check out a missile launcher?

If I recall correctly, they also have the massive propeller from the WWI-famous Lusitania on display.

Even if you're not into military stuff, it's worth tagging along just to see what a 500+ acre property in Portola Valley can look like. Zow.

At the end of our meal last night, my wife said: "That was my favorite meal... ever."

Okay, I'm feeling pretty good about my selection. Might even make up for one or two of the bad action movies I've chosen in recent history.

We went for the Kaygetsu menu. The food was delicious, gorgeously prepared and just plain fun to eat with the scores of different flavors. The service was also pretty close to perfect... friendly, knowledgeable and at your beck and call, but never hovering. The view gets a C compared to some of the other top-end restaurants out there, but hey, something's got to give.

They change the menu monthly, so I won't bother listing things here. Some of my favorite flavors, however, were the:
- Fig, jicama and sesame cream salad
- Beef nigiri with dipping sauces
- Pork belly with chii flakes and an interesting side salad
- Sesame ice cream (who knew?)

The wallet can't handle eating here weekly, but I will look for a reason to come back again soon.

Our latest adventure at Winter Lodge has been... summer tennis lessons!

These folks understand their customers' crazy schedules, and have come with a flexible path for introducing 3-10 year olds to tennis: the "Mini Clinic." During the summer the clinics run at 9 and 10am both Saturday and Sunday. You can show up for whichever time and day you prefer, skip weeks, change lesson times or bring 3 kids one time and 1 kid the next. You pay only for the clinics you attend, and need to give them only 24 hours' notice. In the fall I believe the schedule switches to afternoons Mon-Thurs, but the same flexible clinic concept continues. You can tell I like the scheduling convenience.

Even more importantly, my kids are getting a ton out of it. They have liked almost all of the instructors (these vary depending on how many kids are coming, etc.) and I've been impressed with head coach Lou and how he motivates the young-uns. They kids really hustle around the court for a full hour, which is - frankly - a little shocking since it's hard for me to keep them pointed in the same direction for more than 15 minutes at a stretch. We've even put my 3 year old in the clinic (since otherwise he's just watching his 5 and 7 year old brothers) -- he's hanging in there and is often joined by several other 3 year olds. They typically break intro groups of 3-4 kids per instructor, so of course what you work on depends a bit on who else is showing up at that time.

After spending so much happy time here as a kid, it was a pleasure to see the stunning new facility and hear that it has been so busy.

My favorites:
- White alligator
- Rainforest dome, especially the "pond"
- T-Rex fossil cast
- Leafy sea dragons
- Hands-on tidepools with sea stars and such
- Living roof
- Well stocked cafe and outdoor seating

Minor critiques:
- Poor walkway designs for crowds; tons of dead ends
- No major shark tank, one of my old favorites
- Small and hard to view penguin exhibit
- Many "adult" exhibits with prodigious small type (anyone read these?)

All said, an awesome museum to have hear in Golden Gate park. The aquarium is not in the same league as Monterey Bay's, but the Academy does offer a number of other winning features... and heck, it's a whole lot closer to the 7 million of us who live in the Bay Area.

If you love Village Pub but prefer a casual vibe on most occasions, Mayfield is going to be fantastic.

We had our first Mayfield dinner last week; I say it's going to be fantastic because they are clearly still working out some kinks in the service, but our food was delicious and the atmosphere was a comfortable step down from the fancier Village Pub.

I had the Beet Salad, Burger, Strawberry Lemonade and Coffee. All exquisite. My better half ordered Shrimp Crostini, Chicken Soup and Cherry Limeade and also gave rave reviews.

The kinks were material (e.g., drink arrives 3/4 through dinner; we were graciously comped cupcakes for desert but then they disappointed because they were very dry; $3 coffee arrived when desert was over), but I'm rounding up because I know they will sort these things out

...so I did leave with a happy overall impression and a desire to come back soon for brunch.

Now I remember why I took three years off.

I've been working a block from this Chevy's for four years, and just got back from my 2nd lunch here in that time.

- $39 (with tip) for two chicken fajita orders with water
- Gaudy loud Chevy's interior just doesn't make sense in SF
- Plenty of good, cheap, real Mexican food nearby
- Plenty of better tasting and nicer business lunch spots at this price

I'm actually not a Chevy's hater, in fact I like it fine when I'm with the kids coming back from an amusement park or ski trip. Somehow though, it just doesn't make sense to me as a business lunch spot in downtown SF when there are so many excellent options nearby.

Mango Cafe used to be my favorite restaurant in Palo Alto, but several ownership changes left me looking for a new place to satisfy my Caribbean needs.

Back a Yard is one of those classic places I could have driven by 100 times without knowing it was there -- it's in a tiny, lightly-marked building on a Willow side street.  But they make tasty eats and were super friendly during my visit for take-out the other day.

We ordered:
- Jerk Chicken
- BBQ Chicken
- BBQ Ribs
- Caribbean Chicken Salad
- Collared Greens
- Sweet Potato Pudding
- Key Lime Pie

I think this totaled $69 for the family; reasonable but not "cheap eats."  But it was all darn good. I'm sticking with 4 stars for today, but could see myself rounding up after a couple more visits.

Extra credit for being allergy friendly: the woman who took my order (owner?) knew what was in the different menu items and was able to quickly steer me away from those we'd have problems with.