Melissa "melly pie" K.'s Profile

Since my last review of this restaurant two years ago, I have become a serious Sabrina's convert.  You might even call me a devotee.  My friends and I probably have dinner here once a week and there is nothing I don't love about the place.

I guess I should start by addressing some of the comments from my earlier reviews:

Service -- Admittedly, I was pretty harsh on the service staff at Sab's in my earlier reviews and I'd legitimately had some negative experiences there.  What I didn't know then and now understand is that these experiences were exceptions and not at all representative of the restaurant or its staff.  In fact, I find the staff to be among the friendliest I've met at any restaurant in the city.  They are kind, attentive, fun to chat with, and definitely one of the reasons I keep coming back.

Food -- Since my last review, I've had the opportunity to sample tons and tons of the food at Sab's (in part, thanks to Kevin, who has generously allowed us to sample the hummus plate and mango cheesecake, among other things).  There's almost nothing on the menu I don't like.  If you're going for dinner, I recommend you try something on the specials menu.  Most of the entrees on the specials menu are large enough to share with another person and they're all delicious.  I have to say I'm kind of crazy about the stuffed meatloaf and stuffed chicken.  I also love the sweet potato fries, which come as a side on many items.

Finally, I should mention that I'm crazy about the dessert at Sab's as well -- all the cakes, pies, tortes, etc in their dessert case are delicious.  My favorites include the blackberry torte (topped with vanilla ice cream) and the peanut butter and chocolate pie.  Still, my current favorite thing at Sab's is the cappuccino.  It might seem silly that given all the delicious food in the place, that's what I'd choose, but they make the absolute most fluffy, frothy cappuccinos ever.  I'm telling you -- you should try one!

Although the food, drink, and service are all exceptional, the thing that makes Sabrina's among my favorite places in the city is how I feel when I'm there.  It may sound cheesy, but when my friends and I want to step away from our chaotic lives for an hour or two, we know that we can meet at Sabrina's and rejuvenate a little in a quiet booth there.  So, as I say above, I am a Sabrina's devotee.

My husband and I were in Daytona Beach for a three-day stay and we ended up having breakfast at Bertie's on two of those days because the food is so damn good.

The atmosphere of Bertie's kind of reminds me of a more low key version of the Seinfeld diner, except most of the patrons are over the age of 70.  Really, the perfect place to hang out and have a nice meal.  In the diner, you'll notice lots of old pictures, many of which seem to be photos of Bertie's from its earlier location -- very cool stuff.

The prices are also incredibly reasonable and the food is absolutely delicious.  The best thing to try is the biscuits and gravy -- the small is actually kind of huge.  I asked to have my topped with two eggs over medium and this combination was among the best breakfasts I've ever had outside of my own home.  Plus, the total for that combination was about $5.  You really can't beat it.

Oh my effin' eff, seriously.  Before coming to Chutney Company, I hadn't had a wada in FIVE WHOLE YEARS.  I was so excited when I walked into this place and looked at the menu that, no joke, I ordered the wada appetizer, samosa appetizer (both to split with my husband), and idli appetizer with sambar.  My hubby also got a chutney wrap (we didn't realize that the chutney wraps are American-style).  Everything was really good.  I actually don't think I've ever had idli/sambar at a restaurant before and I was shocked that it was under $5.  Even though the idli/sambar is considered an appetizer and side, it was actually the size of a whole meal, with three medium-sized idlis and a cup of sambar.  I wish we'd tried the dosa as well, but that'll happen next time.

The wada appetizer was also three wadas.  I'm surprised that Katherine got three of those huge samosas when she ordered the appetizer.  We ordered the same one and only got two (super huge and super filling).  It's possible though that they're still revising the menu... I know they are planning on doing delivery in a few weeks as well.

Anyway, now that I'm done with all that scatterbrained excitement, here are my basic feelings and rationale for the four stars:

1. availability of idli, sambar, wada, dosa
2. price, quickness of service, friendliness of staff
3. ambiance -- it's cute and clean; big windows; lots of color on the walls/floor/furniture
4. general tastiness and freshness of food

I took away a star because I felt like somethings could have tasted a little better.  A big one for me is the chutneys.  Many reviewers say that the chutneys are excellent; we got the cilantro, coconut, and mango chutneys and all were decent but not incredible.  I was especially disappointed by the coconut chutney, which was excessively watery.  I could be slightly biased because my mom's chutney is out of this world...  either way, I can't wait to go back!

i looooooove this place.  Great food and drink, not bad prices, and most importantly: the kindest, most attentive, but not annoying staff ever.  I can't wait to go back.

I want to love Zavino but it's got me feeling a bit confused.  First of all, I think combining pizza with a fun bar setting is a brilliant idea, but for Zavino, each great facet is combined with a pretty major fuck-up:

- Like I said, fun bar + pizza = awesome, but the place is so small that it's hard to feel like you're casually hanging out in there.

- Outdoor seating?  In theory, hell yeah, but the holey iron tables they have outdoors are not conducive to actually eating food... they're hard to clean, which means people won't want to put their silverware on the table.  Still, the plates are curvy and small, which makes it hard to sit silverware in them.

- A gourmet spin on pizza... ok, I guess that's cool, and I think it's worth paying a bit more for it, except that the pizza just isn't that good.  The crust is way too soggy wet in the middle and way too burnt on the outside.  Worst of all is sitting outside trying to enjoy mediocre $15 pizza as someone walks by with a huge cheesy slice from Zio on a paper plate, which they probably paid $2 for.  It makes the unequal price-to-taste ratio all the more obvious.

Like I said, I really want Zavino to be good; I just haven't seen that yet.

Let me just say that even though I grew up on Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and had birthday pizza parties as a kid, at some point in my adulthood, I turned my back on pizza.  Looking back, I realize that this is indicative of a system: pizza is just not what it used to be and every year, it's harder and harder to find a good slice.  Some people blamed it on Philly's hard water; others pointed to the inability of processed cheese to melt right; frankly, I didn't know what to believe...

And then, I tried NYPD's pizza and the first bite of that cheesy slice brought me back to my childhood.  Thinking of Michelangelo (the turtle), I almost mumbled, "Cowabunga" in between rushed bites of pizza.  So, so good.

NYPD Pizza has made pizza a weekly thing for me.  As Hayley Sara B says, it definitely holds up during delivery; plus, their delivery guys are so friendly and polite.  I also like the added touch of NYPD's pizza box: "In Pizza We Trust" (seriously, it says that)!  I guess my point is that NYPD has brought pizza back to my life.

I don't necessarily think of Flying Monkey Deuce as just a bakery.  Now that they've opened the Garden Room, I think of it more like a cafe, a place to have coffee with friends or to do work.  Looking at it through this lens, it is by far one of the most tranquil and comfortable places in the city to do work.  The Garden Room is quiet and peaceful; on a Sunday, you might even see a man gardening (and bees flying around) in the large garden next door.  The room itself is painted green and each table has a plant or terrarium on it.  It is incredibly tranquil and welcoming.

I note that others have commented on the food.  I haven't tried the brownies, but I've had the cupcakes multiple times and I think they're pretty good.  Flying Monkey seems to do a lot with buttercream frostings, so you really have to wait until it warms up a little to get the true taste and texture.

I get what Raena and Clifford are saying though about things seeming old... I haven't personally experienced this, but given the seeming lack of frequency of visitors to Flying Monkey Deuce, I wouldn't be surprised if they kept day-old things.  At the same time, Kelly writes that when she visited, they were sold out on many items, so maybe what they really need to work on is coordinating product with days/times.  I think this is super important to business sustainability, and really, no one wants to pay $2.50 for an old, dry cupcake, or for a cupcake that is only kind of what they wanted.

Before I forget, there are two other really important things that have contributed to my four-star rating.  First, the baristas at Flying Monkey Deuce are all friendly, helpful, and personable.  Everytime I'm in there, I am greeted with warmth and the baristas make an effort to have real conversations with me.  Second, the bathroom there is always spotlessly clean -- to me, this speaks volumes about how much they care about their customers' comfort.

Holy hell -- this place is incredible.  Stopping in on a cold morning before work, I had planned to get a cup of hot coffee and maybe some sort of breakfast snack, and to do a little bit of reading.  What I hadn't expected was that Nook would have delicious, freshly-baked goodies.  The whole wheat berry muffin I purchased was warm and toasty, with fresh berries baked in.  The coffee, too, was perfect -- not too hot or overbrewed.

I was also very happy with the cafe and staff.  The cafe itself was super clean, with lots of space for fixing one's cup of coffee, and signs for where to leave your dishes afterward.  The staff, too, were really friendly, not just with me but with each other, and very helpful when I had questions.

If I could change one thing about this cafe, I'd add more seating.  The couch is comfortable, but I had hoped for more tables and chairs, i.e. something a person could do work on, or even use a computer at.  There is counter seating by the window that could serve that purpose, but unfortunately, there are only about three actual tables with chairs, and it seems like these fill up fast.

Overall, I was majorly impressed and I definitely plan to spend more mornings doing work at Nook.  It is a breath of fresh air -- we are a city with tons of good cafes, but not too many excellent ones.  Nook is definitely excellent.

This was my first time at Sampan and it was tons of fun.  For starters, the food was delicious.  I liked everything I tried.  The drinks were great, too.  Lots of fun people and Felicia is awesome!

Between my husband and me, we ordered an eggs benedict, a sausage and gravy, and an order of french toast with fruit on the side.  What we didn't expect was for the portions to be huge... completely more than we could eat.

Both the eggs benedict and the biscuits and gravy were good.  The french toast was just okay.  The fruit we ordered wasn't the freshest, though I'm not sure if that had something to do with the time of year.

Overall though, the food, service, and atmosphere were just fine for a relaxed Saturday brunch.