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Brent G.'s Profile

Photo of Brent G.

"Love downtown San Diego!"

Elite 2009

profile votes icon Review votes:
285 Useful, 111 Funny, and 203 Cool

Location

San Diego, CA

Yelping Since

April 2007

Things I Love

food, italian, steak, sushi, downtown san diego, golf, bowling, football, technology, sunshine

Find Me In

a restaurant, on a golf course, downtown, a bowling alley, a Padres game

My Hometown

Toms River, NJ

My Blog Or Website

http://www.brentgrab.com Sales & Marketing Strategy Blog

When I'm Not Yelping...

I'm golfing, working out, downtown, pool, beach, or out to eat!

Why You Should Read My Reviews

I love to eat and provide accurate & informative reviews.

My Second Favorite Website

http://www.facebook.co...

My Favorite Movie

Rocky 4

My Last Meal On Earth

A lobster, crabs, clams, shrimp, scallops, and some lasagna on the side.

Don't Tell Anyone Else But...

I recently moved to downtown San Diego and love it!

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Recent Reviews

134 Reviews

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509 9th Ave
San Diego, CA 92101
(619) 727-4000

Phi Terrace  

Category: Lounges
Neighborhood: East Village

2 star rating
 Update - 11/10/2009  
Beautiful Venue with slow service, terrible food, and they always seem to close early- around 9pm! Never busy, very expensive, and such a waste of a nice looking restaurant/lounge.

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  • 4 star rating
    9/29/2009

    a great spot... that's never open.  I won a gift certificate to come here, $100 worth of food/drinks.  I've tried 3 different times to come here and they always seem to close at 10pm! Why so early?  The bottom area near the hotel lobby is awesome looking. A contemporary water fountain, huge oval shaped bar, and stylish dining tables with a few flat screen tvs surrounding the dining area and bar.  The terrace (not rooftop, but around 7th floor) is small/medium sized, but classy and modern. I really like the looks of this place, but have yet to enjoy my $100 gift certificate since they close so early. I hope they start getting more business and staying open later. The downtown SD rooftop/terrace lounges/bars are really cool.  This place is a couple blocks from my condo so I hope they get their act together soon since I'd like to frequent the lounge/bar downstairs and terrace.

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1409 C St
San Diego, CA 92101
(619) 702-6010

Hive Sushi Lounge  

Category: Sushi Bars

1 star rating
 11/9/2009  
Awful sushi restaurant! After reading the reviews on Yelp, I anticipated a long wait for the happy hour; but did not expect 55 minutes! It took 55 minutes for us to get our food= are you kidding me?! Upon entering the restaurant I immediately noticed the stench of the fish. At first I was grossed out but I got used to it after a little while. But I really don't think a sushi restaurant, or any restaurant should smell like you just got off a deep sea fishing boat. Anyway, we ordered the food, and as other reviewers noted- the waitress appeared extremely stressed. While she is the only server for the entire restaurant, I don't believe it was overly busy for her to manage the tables. I believe their system is severely flawed. Inefficient and the food preparation time-frame is not acceptable. 55 Minutes Literally from time we ordered to time we received our food. On top of that, there was no 'checking in' from the waitress or updates during our wait to find out how much longer. Finally, the taste of the food is sub-par and we noticed the sushi rolls/rice seem to be doused in vinegar. While prices are fairly cheap, it doesn't warrant the terrible service and poor food quality. Will not return to this place.

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424 Market Street
San Diego, CA 92101
(619) 231-0131

The Haunted Hotel  

Category: Amusement Parks
Neighborhoods: Gaslamp, East Village

3 star rating
 11/2/2009  
Eh, I expected a lot more after all the press reviews and the online videos that pumped up this haunted hotel. I guess maybe since I'm not a teenager/kid anymore, it wasn't too scary for me. I think the whole tour lacked character- It was basically just a bunch of different sections you walk through with different real people dressed in scary outfits. I think they should do more 'themes' and tie in real scary movie characters in the actual hotel. I think the only real character that was there was Freddy Kreuger. Personally, Michael Myers, Jason, and others freak me out, and I think if they did different themed rooms with some of those guys in it, people would be much more scared. I did the 25.00 expedited pass that gets you to the front of the line versus the 15.00 pass which you have to wait in the long lines for- sometimes 1 hour or more. I'm happy I did the quick pass since I didn't have to wait, but I would not do the haunted hotel again. Recommended for kids 10-17.

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722 5th Ave
San Diego, CA 92101
(800) 954-3915

Panevino Osteria  

Category: Italian
Neighborhood: Gaslamp

5 star rating
 11/2/2009  
Great restaurant, romantic, outside seating within the upbeat area of the Gaslamp. I've walked past Osteria several times and saw people eating beautiful seafood dishes with enormous king crab legs and giant prawn shrimp and always said- 'man, I gotta eat there one night!' Well I went last night and had a delicious dinner date.

From the appetizers, to the main course, the service, the views/seating, and the overall experience- I give this place 5 stars. Classy, sophisticated, and great food. I'm not sure why some of the people are hating on the restaurant with the very poor reviews- but I am originally from NJ and know the owner, who is also from NJ and his food is on par with good places like NJ/NYC Italian restaurants.

I absolutely recommend you come here with a date or a small group. Excellent place with superior service and fairly reasonable prices. Great service, fair prices, and excellent food is a winning combination in my book.

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315 10th Ave
San Diego, CA 92101
(619) 255-0383

Wings Pizza 'N' Things  

Categories: Bars, Chicken Wings
Neighborhood: East Village

5 star rating
 Update - 10/20/2009  
getting boosted to 5 stars because they improved their blue cheese and ranch dressings. As mentioned in previous reviews- it used to be watery. It is not anymore, and the wings are delicious as always and it's even better with good tasting blue cheese.  Beer specials everyday here and incredible shot specials for the wild ones. Half-priced appetizers during happy hour and Monday Night Football too.

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  • 4 star rating
    9/22/2009

    Great spot, good buffalo wings, nice specials- $3 drafts on game days. A wide mix of customers here- locals, die hard fans, old people, young people, girls, guys, etc. A fairly social spot with plenty of TV's to watch every game. One gripe is that they don't seem to honor the 'perks' membership that I have with my gym. The blue cheese and ranch dressing is very watery, they should adjust that. They're advertised as giving 20% off any food, but the 2 times I went they gave me the locals only 15% off discount.  While it's still a good discount, I pay a ton of money to go to my gym monthly and I would like to get the 20% off that is advertised on the website.

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  • 5 star rating
    9/14/2009

    This place is awesome.  I came here on Saturday night for the USC vs. Ohio State football game and it was jamming.  Busy, but not so busy that you couldn't grab a seat. Plenty of seating inside AND outside and massive amount of HDTVs!  I'd say there were over 7 games playing at once on 3-5 TV's for each game, so about 30+ HDTVs?

    Local Crowd, they give you a discount if you live in the East Village 'hood and incredible beer specials during games- $3 Miller Lite Pints.  My only gripe was that the buffalo wings were very expensive- $8.99 for 10 wings, come on! That is crazy. But after the discount it knocks a little off, plus because the drinks are so cheap it doesn't really matter too much.  

    I recommend coming here for any game, especially Saturday College Football or Sunday NFL Football. I'm going to give it a try tonight for Monday Night Football.

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5812 Mission Gorge Rd
San Diego, CA 92120
(619) 563-1095

Honda Mission Valley  

Categories: Auto Repair, Car Dealers, Car Rental
Neighborhood: Grantville

1 star rating
 10/20/2009  
Horrible Service.  My review is based solely on my experience with the service department in arranging for and getting an oil change.  I left 2 voicemails for their service department on a Monday and Tuesday and didn't get any call back so I called again Thursday and had to speak to the service manager to set-up the oil change.  Upon arriving at the service center, I was greeted about 5 minutes later after standing by my car wondering when someone would acknowledge my presence.  The service employee proceeded to do the routine- write my mileage down and ask me what I'm here for.  He then went inside and didn't come out for 10 minutes! I stood there waiting instead of him inviting me into the lounge area or briefing me on what to do- instead of standing there like an idiot.

I was told the oil change would take 34-45 minutes.  My car wound up being done in 1 hr. and 5 minutes--- about 20 minutes longer than I anticipated.  On top of that, I go to my car and it's dirty!  I ask the service attendant 'what's the story, I was told you do free car washes with all service visits including oil changes?'  He replied-- this oil change is an express service so we don't wash it unless you ask us to.  I said, I want my car washed, I waited over an hour, I at least want a car wash now.  He looked at me like I was a jerk and then went and washed it himself lol.

I felt like I was the employee at this dealership and I was working for them instead of them working for me and doing what they could to make me happy. From booking an appointment to my experience at the dealership, it was less than 1 stars all-around.  Now, I begin my adventure in finding another Honda dealership or competent facility to provide my services. This Honda dealership is terrible!

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2760 5th Ave
San Diego, CA 92103
(619) 260-1411

Hane Sushi  

Categories: Sushi Bars, Japanese
Neighborhood: Banker's Hill

3 star rating
 10/20/2009  
Overrated. Expensive. I came here after calling them on the phone- very nice guy answered the phone- informative information and friendly so I booked a reservation and went in for dinner at 5:30pm on a Friday night. I got there and it was not busy at all throughout my entire time there and the food took so long to get.  I'd say about 25 minutes for our appetizers to come out, and then the main sushi/roll dishes didn't come out for another 15 minutes after that.  So we were sitting there for 40 minutes before even eating.  The portions are tiny and the food is VERY expensive. The layout of the restaurant is upscale/modern, and pretty 'hip' but it's not worth the price in my opinion. I think there's a lot more places at about half the price that do just as good job with fresh sushi, but faster service and lower prices.

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509 Park Blvd
San Diego, CA 92101
(619) 239-1980

Ellure Salon  

Categories: Hair Salons, Hair Removal, Skin Care, Nail Salons, Makeup Artists
Neighborhood: East Village

3 star rating
 Update - 9/30/2009  
Came 2 more times after my original haircut and it was a bit rushed. Still a decent haircut. One thing that turned me off is the chatting during the haircut.  It's normal to make small talk with your customer and vice-versa with your stylist, however, I felt like I was being barraged with questions. I felt a little uncomfortable on the last 2 visits and am now looking for somewhere else to go.  Questions about what I do both times I came in (didn't remember), asking about how much I pay for rent (none of your business), and basically prodding when I felt like relaxing. 3 stars for a decent haircut and great location, but minus 2 for the awkwardness and because there's no A/C- very hot in the salon and small/crammed.

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  • 5 star rating
    8/12/2009

    Good haircut.  Great location for me, just a half block away from where I live. I called in and Jenny told me to walk right down and she could get me in.  It's a quaint little shop located next a trolley stop in East Village in between Park/Island. What drew me in was the reasonable price ($22) for a men's haircut.  Reasonable in terms of salons because most charge 25-45 or more.  Supercuts and any of the chain restaurants I don't even factor in because they are a joke.

    I am happy with my haircut. I believe it is a fair price for the work and it came out good.  I will go back again.  For the convenience of downtown SD and a reasonable price I believe this will be my regular go-to place for haircuts. I'm excited to learn more about the 'mixers' and happy hours Jenny puts on in her salon for the 20's/30's singles of downtown SD.

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3683 Adams Ave
San Diego, CA 92116
(619) 281-9080

Chez Rouge Salon  

Categories: Skin Care, Hair Removal, Hair Salons
Neighborhood: Normal Heights

1 star rating
 9/29/2009  
Terrible haircut. I was so upset after leaving here.  I came here on a recommendation from one of my friends who is a girl and her hair is beautiful.  I figured I couldn't go wrong. Well apparently the men's haircuts are awful here. I asked for a #2 clipper at the bottom faded up with scissor cut midway up to the top and it came out looking like a fresh  marine cut.  I'd say it looks like a #1 clipper and a minimal fade, mostly shaved all around.  The guy gave me the whitewalls around the ear (the big gap between ear and hair) which looks terrible/old style. The top and sides are very uneven and when I came home I had a lot of fixing to do.  A week later, its starting to grow out quickly thank God, but I will never come here again.

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Rio San Diego Mission Valley
San Diego, CA 92108
(619) 281-3484

Canvas Impact  

Category: Arts & Entertainment
Neighborhood: Mission Valley

5 star rating
 9/25/2009  
Excellent work from the guys at Canvas Impact. They took a high-quality image I had of a panoramic scenic view and they re-created it on canvas. It would of cost me over $350 for me to matte & frame the photo at 5 feet long but I wound up getting it on canvas for about half the price and it looks awesome. They have a huge portfolio of pre-made work or you can get something custom. I highly recommend Canvas Impact for any of your  home or business photo/art/canvas needs.  The work they produce will bring life to your room.

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120 Compliments

  • You're Cool

    Sounds like you're hitting some kind of rut with those low star reviews. Go… More »

  • Hot Stuff

    Like a strip of bacon frying over an open fire, you're seriously sizzling.

  • Great Photo

    Oh and your a USC fan even better!!!

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1 List

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