Danny "Danito Supreme" P.'s Profile

If you had just handed me the plate of pancakes, tiny bacon and eggs and said, 'here you go!'* I would have said thanks Mr./Mrs. IHOP waiter person, because the breakfast here wasn't anything special.

I mean, sure, the pancakes were sufficiently pancake-y and the eggs indeed were served as I asked for them. But if I'm going to fight a crowd almost twenty people deep at the front door, make sure my entire party is there at the exact moment you call my name, lest I be usurped by the hungry hordes haranguing me it's kind of a let down when I see these fairly adequate but otherwise unspecial breakfast is going to cost me $20.

Well, $17 for the pancakes, two eggs and two tiny pieces of bacon.

And it's cash only. Yowza.

Anyway, Bubby's isn't bad by any means, and I don't mean to knock the food (too much) or the service (our waitress and hostess were really nice) but it's a really bad price-for-value location. Consider this: they don't serve Diet Coke, they have homemade soda concoctions for which they'll charge you $5 each. That's a steep price for a Diet Coke, even in New York!

I get that this place is popular, and by no means would they miss me if I didn't come back, but if you're just looking for breakfast or brunch, I'd suggest you find somewhere else.

* - I'd first wonder why you were handing me a plate of breakfast. Do I know you? Did someone put you up to this? WHO ARE YOU!

Beauty, and produce, is in the eye of the beholder.

If you look at Brooklyn Fare as a bodega in a neighborhood that has a Trader Joe's not a 10 minute walk away, but even then that's a little far, then it's 10 stars and the world's greatest bodega. I mean not only is there a section with cheese both local and imported, there's a full fledged butcher and quite the organic collection of fruits and veggies.

You can pick up a refillable growler and, well, refill it with Sixpoint and specialty brews and you can even buy a sandwich and eat it at the tables just past the checkout (but be mindful that it's really loud over there).

So, taken at that rate, it's fantastic.

But if you look at it as a full-fledged grocery store, it's missing some of the basics to make it perfect (though I think it's tons better than Trader Joe's). They have really, really small aisles so it's tough to navigate more than one person up and down at the same time, and are missing some of the basics (no Bisquick?) that I'd think are staples in pursuit of higher end, more, to quote peter d, "esoteric" items.

You're also not likely to find a decent selection of pre-packaged meats and though you can go to the butcher counter, meat here is very expensive.

Most every male who shops here has a beard* and big black-rimmed glasses and the preponderance of customers with strollers is high. Expect, especially after work, to get stuck in a long checkout line, but they usually move through it pretty quickly. The staff is very friendly, though, and they're cycling through things as best they can.

Don't let my lack of a fifth star deter you in any way -- Brooklyn Fare is the best place to shop in the neighborhood.

* - Not me. But mostly because the beard is red and my hair, what's left of it, is brown.

Why hello there Jasper's and your well bourbon which also happens to be the best bourbon around, I am quite pleased to make your acquaintance.

I came here while in town on a business trip, but it's a welcoming spot -- not quite a sports bar, but there are some tv's so if you're hanging out at the bar by yourself* enjoying the delicious, reasonably-priced honey-colored deliciousness you won't feel too out of place. The bartenders are chatty and engaging, but will leave you alone if you want.

Once you walk in, you'll see lots of group space -- this is the kind of place where you could easily sit at a table that a two-top has already claimed and still have plenty of space. It's like Jasper wants you to make friends; this city really is a different place from New York. But up through about 10pm you won't find it too hard to find a seat, unless it's the weekend.

As for food, I played it close to the vest to get a good handle on what they do well and what they don't. The soft pretzel is a good appetizer, and with the liquid cheese they serve it with you've got a fantastic combo of bread and cheese, which is hard to mess up. Warm and tasty, but not particularly special. The burger is tasty, but ask for it rare to get medium rare -- I had the burger twice in the week I was there and it was overcooked both times. Fries are nothing special.

On the important points, it hits the right notes. There's a constantly rotating selection of 23 beers on tap** as well as a fairly robust cocktail list. As for bourbons, they have a wide array, including Blanton's, Evan Williams and the aforementioned BT. I think I saw some Barton's 1792 blend, but I can't be sure. A bunch of the bartenders here either currently work, or previously worked at, nearby Bourbon and Branch so you can trust that the drinks you'll receive are really worth drinking.

This really is one of the only cool spots in a tourist neighborhood, so as soon as folks learn to walk over from Union Square Jasper's will be packed.

* - What?

** - Available in half servings, but make sure you pay attention to the price for the one you're ordering; they can be kind of pricy.

Not fantastic, but it will do in a pinch.

I didn't expect to find anything related to froyo after I had finished my burrito* but fortunately found this place stuck right in the midst of three or four bars and nightclubs. It seemed like a weird post-drinking food, but they must be doing something right because it's still there.

That said, the froyo was really icy, and they only had four flavors as opposed one of the pull-your-own-lever types of places that usually have six to eight options. They didn't really have a flavor I wanted, but I really wanted some froyo so I went with the strawberry, which turned out to be pretty good.

Price is reasonable, so it works out fine, especially in this area where there aren't a ton of things in the way of froyo.

* - Don't ask me how I even had room for it after that burrito.

Disappointing from a price to value ratio, but not awful in total. I mean, Flip is located inside Bloomingdale's, so you shouldn't be expecting a burger for tree fitty or anything, but what you pay for what you get is a bit much, even for here.

First off, you have to find Flip, and that means a long walk if you come in the Third Avenue Bloomie's entrance as the restaurant is located near the Men's Lab section on floor LL. Walk back that way and right before you go down the stairs to the Lab, Flip is on your left.

It's primarily a lunch spot, with waiter service, but you can sit at the bar and snack on your burger which comes with a ton of different meats. And, wait, it's only $12?! Obviously, you think I'm lying to you about the overpriced-ness here.

But that's only partially true -- you can get a burger, with your choice of meat including short rib, brisket, spiced or veggie (and more) for $12 but that doesn't include fries or your drink. Be prepared to shell out another $5 for fries ($7 for the signature topped fries) and if you want more than one topping (first one is free) it's $1.50*.

Add in a soda (not even a beer) and you're well over $20 for lunch of what is a burger and fries.

The salads are even more disconcerting, as when you order a chopped salad with the burger blend (which is $18), it's a small bowl of mixed greens with a burger on top. Not mashed up and included within in the salad, but just some lettuce with a burger on top. Sure, it tasted fine, but it's not convenient and it's certainly not appealing.

Let's be clear, everything I ate was tasty. But the price and presentation left a lot to be desired.**

At least there were free refills on soda.

* - To be clear, you can get one cheese and one topping free, but if you want anything other it's $1.50.

** - Presentation meaning plate presentation; everyone was very nice.

Maybe it was because it was one of those frigid January nights, where walking one block, let alone three, causes my snot to turn into icicles. Or because when it  gets dark at 5pm the long walk from the 8th Ave. subway stop to 11th Ave. makes this a desolate, lonely walk to the West Side Highway.

Or, who knows, maybe it's because I don't have any taste.

Either way, I was frozen before I got here on a Wednesday night at 7pm to find only one other table occupied in the entire restaurant. It's not a large place, but probably holds about 100 people total in plush, leather and dark velvet. The lighting was spectacular; dark and romantic and perfect for a date. But it was empty, and kind of creepy, and to compensate they turned the music up so I had to raise my voice across the table just to be heard. Every time the door opened (two more groups came in while we were there) we got a blast of cold air, even though we were a good twenty feet from the door.

And there's a creepy fishtank on the wall.

That said, the food was good, it not entirely filling. I enjoyed the ginger crusted snapper, and despite evidence to the contrary (my plate was wiped clean) I didn't think it was amazing; it's just that I was very hungry and it wasn't very big.* The spinach seemed to be covered in the requisite amount of butter, so that was tasty. The roasted chicken breast was well cooked and tasty; I wish I had ordered that.

The desserts were less than engrossing, but the lemon cream and strawberry jam was sufficient in the way that desserts go. They have a chocolate chipotle mousse brownie that I really wanted to try, I just really hate spices in my brownie so we passed on that.

Overall it's a fine date place, specifically if you live in the neighborhood but for the cost I wouldn't make the trip regularly.

* - Fair warning -- I'm kind of a big guy, so my version of "very big" might be different than yours.

Nice job of getting flowers to a friend to give our condolences when she lost a family member but I can't tell you much about the shop itself.

That said, over the phone they were nice, up front about costs* and obviously knew the area I was trying to get the flowers delivered, which was reassuring. They didn't have a ton of low-budget** options, but were able to do a basic assortment that conveyed our thoughts.

If I were sending flowers to this area of the country again, I'd have no problem calling this company.

* - I always find it weird the first thing just about every flower shop asks is how much you want to spend -- shouldn't they ask "what are you sending flowers for" or something similar that doesn't end in a preposition?

** - Don't take Amex.

My first night in my new apartment, and we were looking for somewhere to celebrate: thanks to peter d's review, we ended up at Rucola.

Overall, I love the rustic Italian vibe of this place, even though Italian isn't their specialty. There are a few two and four-top tables around the edge of the space, with one long communal table down the middle; everything's packed in there as Rucola is doing its best to maximize the small space they have.

The pros: the staff were fantastic, really knew their stuff and were more than helpful in trying to direct us to the food and wine we'd like. Our waiter listened patiently, intent on figuring out what we wanted and even when correcting my pronunciation on a particular type of cheese, did so in a way to not make me feel like an idiot*.

The cons: sitting at the middle, communal table meant that patrons and servers were walking up and down the row a lot and with not a lot of room, often bumping into us which was annoying (and not really anyone's fault -- they do the best they can with the room they have). Basically, the only safe spot was at the opposite side of the smaller tables.

The food also wasn't particularly noteworthy -- we found our dishes to be generally bland, and the chef's selection (including cheeses and meats) to be fairly non-descript. The fusili was incredibly salty** and my dining companion didn't finish her dish while, after moving heavy boxes all day, I had no problem polishing off the pan roasted chicken, which was juicy and tender, but tasted basically like chicken.

We didn't get dessert, and possibly sitting at a table where we were a little more out of the way, it'd be a more enjoyable dining experience. But overall, the price seemed high for a nice neighborhood restaurant, which is where Rucola lives for me.

* - To be fair to him, I am often an idiot.

** - so much so that when we mentioned it at the end of the meal, with more than half the bowl remaining, they apologized profusely and took it off the final bill.

I don't have a problem with this store that a lot of other people do; as long as you know what to expect, this store delivers fairly well.

It won't have the selection of the 34th Street store, naturally, and it's more likely here that they won't carry the one particular thing you're looking for, but overall they have a lot of the stuff I need in a pinch and for basic household items, this is a good spot in this neighborhood.

Best bets: look for housewares (cooking supplies) and bedding, as that's what they specialize in. The luggage section isn't bad, either, and you can usually find what you need in the leased stores in the men's section.

Areas to avoid: the men's store is fairly cluttered and disorganized, and you're not going to find anything here you can't find online, but for trying on items you want to buy on the website it's a good start. And you probably want to avoid the food courts -- no point in going in there when you can just step outside and get a ton better choices.

Overall, not bad -- no need to hammer it incessantly. Sure, no one likes to work retail, so don't blame the people that work there, but if you have a specific item you're looking for this is a good place to stop for it in the neighborhood.

I've done things I'm not proud of in my life -- some of them involve tequila, and some of them* involve me thinking I know more about what's wrong than people who have studied it for years or worked in the field for decades.

That's the way I often thought about mucus** and mostly that if it sticks around too long in my sinuses and nostrils, eventually it will give me an upper respiratory infection. I didn't know what technically was the cause, I just knew mucus = coughing for three more months, so whenever I was in that situation I knew to go to the doctor, ask for a Z-pack and in five-to-ten days I'd be healthy and ready to go.

To be honest, that is basically what was wrong with me this time, but until my visit to Dr. Carmical (with a specialty in ear/nose/throat), I hadn't ever known exactly what was wrong with me and how to effectively fix it.

I called this morning to get an appointment, and though I was told I couldn't get a spot on the calendar until tomorrow, if I could get over there right away they could see me right now.*** Upon arriving, I filled out the requisite forms and went to meet with Dr. Carmical. When he asked what was wrong, I told him it was a sinus infection and relayed that the symptoms were pretty much standard for what you expect.

Hold your horses****, he replied, and informed me that my standard might not be the same as his standard, and that I should just start from the beginning.

He performed all of the requisite tests, really asked questions to verify that what I thought it was was, well, in fact what I thought it was***** and prescribed me the pills I needed to get rid of things. He has a very comforting way about him, which really helped when he was jabbing a large metal spike into my sinus cavity.

Only two downsides: he's been in this office for a little while, so some of the equipment looks a little worn and old (though it is very sanitary and effective) and they don't take credit cards so if you have a copay, bring cash.

* - Most of them.

** - In other words, I spend a lot of time thinking about things most people don't care about.

*** - Please note this was probably a one-time thing due to the return from the new year's holiday and the fact that my company's office is only a block away from Dr. Carmical's clinic. If I get a call from their office saying that people from Yelp are calling expecting instantaenous appointments, I will make sure and feed you to the Ravenous Bugblatter Beast of Traal.

**** - May not have been his exact words.

***** - http://www.youtube.com...