Franco "Scandalous!®" C.'s Profile

Japanese Style restaurant.

I say Japanese "style" as it is not run by Japanese, but it is owned and run by Chinese which is pretty much the case in most sushi places these days, however, I find there is a difference in not only the food, but the attitude when the owners are not Japanese.

The food is good.  Not spectacular but solid.  They offer an interesting array of rolls and combinations of sushi and sashimi that should be of enough variety to satisfy anyone.  That said, the rolls seemed expensive to me, and they really didn't pack a whole lot of taste in my opinion.  They were very pretty but you can't savor pretty...

We settled on some apps and the sushi-sashimi combo for two.  We were contemplating getting a boat, but at 75 we were skeptical until we saw the size of the boat- you could get in that sucker, that's how big it was... and as if that wasn't big enough, they had something akin to a battleship for $125...  yikes.  The mushroom soup was decent, but a bit on the sweet side.  Loaded with mushrooms though!  The squid salad was good - not too chewy.

The combo for two was large- there was a lot of sushi-sashimi on there and it all seemed fresh and colorful.  You get 2 special rolls to pick for the combo and neither one was mind blowing good- we were unable to finish it all which was fine since now I have lunch.  We skipped desert as we were stuffed.

There is a bar / lounge area that is visually nice and they seemingly have every concoction back there so you can drink to your hearts delight.  Sapporro on tap was crisp and cold - perfect.

The atmosphere was very nice - dark all around and with a very "loungie" feel to it.  Definitley a nice place to sit, eat and chat.

It is absolutely hard to find from the road as there is not opening onto Franklin Ave - odd but true.  You'll have to hunt around a little to find it.

All in all decent- I'd go again but to me, there are much better places out there for sushi-sashimi.

Parking in front of the entrance.

Laser hair removal.

Oddly enough, as I get older, I find that Newton's Third law is alive and well on my head: as I add Rogaine in ever greater amounts to the back of my head to grow hair, the need to remove unwanted hair from other areas of my head is occurring at the equal and opposite rate.

Call it a natural occurrence to getting older, or maybe I'm just becoming more vain about my appearance but I am getting tired of plucking this and that from ears and uni-brow areas and such... so I figure, why not nuke the hell out of it and call it a day?

I found Soft Touch Laser  after doing some research so I went for an appointment to see what is what.  The owners are a husband and wife team and after getting up close with the magnifying glasses to my faccia brutta we decided what approach would work best.  

The initial treatment went off that very day and it takes about 4 or so visits to completely whack those pesky follicles - each person is different so you may have to go more times.  In any case, I have definitely seen a change in the areas involved and soon expect to have more time in the morning to do other things other than plucking...  

The offices are very clean, the staff is great and the treatment, at least in my case, is only a few minutes and you are one your way.  The cost for what I needed was much cheaper than what I expected.

So what are you waiting for?  Nuke your cooter, fry your follicles, zap that moustache, undo that uni-brow or even get rid of that pesky butt hair... just do it!

Parking is tight, small lot in front of the place.

Bar / Restaurant

This place has been here in one incarnation or another for some time.  Located in an industrial park, it is somewhat off the beaten trail although relatively easy to find.

The place is hard to explain - restuarant area is spacious and there are candles everywhere - it sort of evokes one of the basement restaurants located all over NYC but on a larger scale.

The bar area is of fairly good size and seemed to be hopping the night we were there.  The bartender was very good.  There is a quarter height wall that separates the bar from the dining room which is to say, if you are in the dining room, you are basically part of the bar crowd.

They have live music apparently and there was a good turn out for this - although the patron mix was somewhat to the north of "freak show".  Basically an older crowd, there were a couple of lesbians and one totally drunk dude showing off his moves like Jagger... and then promptly falling on his face.  

All in all I would say this place is probably better off during the day where you can get a meal if you work in this area - the night scene is odd at best.

Parking front and sides.

Law offices.

You'd be better off putting a sock puppet on your hand and going to court with that- you would arguably get better results at a fraction of the cost.

My advice:  Go for the free consultation, look around the parking lot (you'll understand when you do this) and then go get your sock puppet...  you probably know more law than these guys do.

Parking in rear or on street.

Electrical stuff...

When you are in the need for electrical stuff, Monarch is definitely the place to hit up.  Beware - the Yelp address is close, but no cigar...

Resellers of all things electrical, their prices are great, particularly if you have access to a resale certificate and can get things wholesale.  That being said, they also give the big-box retailers a run for their money on common items such as bulbs and fixtures.

A few locations scattered around NY / NJ but I've only been to this one.  The  NY location is not really a retail outlet - it is far easier to call and have it dropped at your work site and since they have their own truck the freight is minimal.

Fast friendly service and great prices - what else do you need?

Pumps & motors (obviously)

This place sells and repairs pumps and motors but to be honest, it is only a meh experience - these guys are in total disarray - the left had has no idea what the right hand is doing...

I'd go elsewhere as there are more reliable options in the world...

Mechanical Motion stuff.

Looking for bearings and other items that make the moving parts in your world move?  This is the place for you.  

Motion is a reseller of practically anything that has to do with mechanical motion - gears, motors, controllers, bearings, belts and so on.  They also have related items such as lubricants and industrial supplies, but I haven't used those items so far.

Good prices, wide variety and they usually have it in stock- or it can be delivered within a few days.  I only use their online ordering (or call in) so not sure what the physical store front experience is like.

If you need these items, they are worth hitting.

Mcfast food...

There is not a whole lot to say about McDonald's that you don't already know:  wide selection of items that are tasty and not all that great for you...

This locations does a banging business - the drive through is always crowded but it generally moves quickly.

Decent prices and they get the order right. Perfect.

Parking front and sides

Tires / Brakes

I am generally not a fan of this chain of tire places- I've had some bad experiences in the past at other locations so as luck would have it, I picked up a rather large nail on New Year's day and had to fill the tire every couple hours to keep it from going flat.

The Monday after New Year's day was also a holiday and having called around, Mavis was the only place open for business.  I topped off the tire and shot over there.  I explained the problem and although there were a few people ahead of me the guy said they could look at it.

Fully expecting to be told that they had to replace the tire (which means at least 2 tires) I was somewhat shocked when they told me it was all done and out the door for $16.  

The other members of this chain may stink but this location is honest and I would go again.

Parking in front and side

Trattoria. (And my first 2012 review!)

I am generally the first to review anything on Long Island so when I'm not the first (damn Yelpers are everywhere nowadays), I like to read what others had to say about the place to see how it compares to what I thought.  After reading the 12 reviews here, I notice that everyone either loves it or hates it here.

There are really 3 elements at play here:  Bar area, pizza place / take out area and the main restaurant.  I used the bar and main area and only walked through the pizza place so I cannot comment there other than it was brightly lit.

The bar:  good sized bar with a standard selection of wines by the glass.  The bartender was adequate and we enjoyed our pre-dinner cocktails without any issues.  Prices are average.

The main trattoria:  For those who do not understand how Italian places work, this is a trattoria where you can get any scale of meal up to a full blown dinner.  So let's look what others had to say:  Portions are large - no doubt about it.  You will not be able to polish off what you ordered unless you are a fat bastard and laugh in the face of weight watchers...

So large portions are nothing if they do not have any flavor and these were all good.  I would say this is a *solid* 3-star place.  Nothing so outrageously amazing that you lick the plate and nothing so bad you'd make a scene like one of the reviewers telling the waiter he wouldn't eat their "s**t" food - that guy is just anti-social.

Price: I was amazed actually that some people complained about the cost - this place is very decently priced so I can only imagine they do not go out all that often or they stick to the dollar menu at the drive-thru when they do.   I know times are tough and everyone is looking for a bargain, but if you are in that position, you shouldn't be eating out in the first place...

FYI - I had rack of lamb and at $24 it was very good.  That same dish normally goes for about $34 everywhere else except Outback Steakhouse.

The help:  the waiter was very solid- no pressure and he got everything right.  Bus boys did what they were supposed to do with bread / water / clearing so that was fine.

The atmosphere: old school looking interior - makes you fell like you are in the 70's at a family dinner.  Nice.

All in all, we eat like champs, we didn't get crushed with a bill and everyone walked out happy.  Really, isn't that why you go out to eat in the first place?

Summing up: Solid food, decent costs and very good service.  

Parking front and side.