Elea C.'s Profile

My take on Peet's:
Is the best coffee ever? No.
Is it consistently good? Yes.
Is it consistently fast? Yes.
Is it consistently better than Starbucks? YES.
Good place to work? Yes! (Yay, wifi.)

I like the staff at this Peet's, as they tend to recognize me despite my not going enough to be a true regular and they're friendly enough to impart fun anecdotes (last time, one barista told me about how he was fed eggnog brandy over the holidays). Also, on the occasions that I had to work here on Sundays and stay until closing time, they're never in a rush to kick me out.

The only thing I'm docking stars for is that they tend to get my drink wrong from time to time (despite me just ordering a mocha), but they're always super apologetic and nice about fixing the mistake.

Barefoot isn't what it used to be. They redid the decor, the menu, and changed up the employees over the last year. Now both the prices and pretentiousness level are higher and the quality justifies neither. The place just feels colder and I'd rather just get my coffee and go. Sometimes change is good. But with Barefoot? Not so much.

I had a hankering for bagels on the morning before we were going to drive back up to Mountain View, and saw that the Daily Bagel was close by our hotel. It was surprisingly crowded when I visited, and I could tell that they were all regulars because the lady behind the counter cutely greeted them by name. ("Hi Casey! You changed your hair!")

The staff was very friendly and patient with me as I indecisively eyeballed their menu. I finally ordered the Traditional and rewarded with a savory first meal of the day. I really loved how the sweet red onions blended with the fresh tomatoes, salmon, and soft warm bagel. and As I got up to leave, they called after me, "Thank you! Happy New Year!"

A week+ after our meal here, I'm still reliving the memories of my entree. I had originally made plans to try out Gordon Ramsey while in SoCal, but when we were running behind schedule, we ended up having to cancel the original reservation and switch to my second choice restaurant instead. End result: no regrets!

First off, the food here is fantastic. I've never been a giant fan of pork chop, but decided to take a risk. Luckily, the meat was incredibly tender and every bite left me wanting more. My boyfriend ordered the lamb, which was also amazing, although its flavor was more delicate and subtle compared to my dish. Since we tend to have smaller appetites, we skipped the starters to ensure room for dessert. Sampling the chocolate chestnut tart was intensely satisfying and the ice-cream sides were so delicious that we had to speculate over what Lucques's secret was (why does it taste so much better than any other ice cream we've ever had?what do they use to make it?!).

I was also impressed by the service, which was both attentive and professional. Our water glasses were carefully refilled - not with every two sips, but whenever they got close to being a quarter empty. The waiter also noted which beer my boyfriend had ordered (I know, I know, minus points for us for not being classy wine people), so that when asked for another, he could get it without us having to repeat the original order. Not too surprising for a high-caliber restaurant, but small touches are always appreciated. Thanks for a great experience, Lucques!

Having moved to Mountain View in the last year, I needed a new optometrist and turned to yelp per usual. Sadly, this time didn't pan out so well. Overall, it took me almost an hour and a half to get through a routine yearly eye exam - and yes, it was scheduled normally (meaning: well ahead of the date).

The major problems I have with this place are that they seem much less efficient and organized than any other optometrist I've ever been to - including Walmart optometry a long while back. I had to wait for the pre-exam, wait more after that for the doctor, and then wait longer when she wandered off for my glasses measurements (shouldn't that only take a minute or so to grab from the receptionist?). Then, they forgot to give me a copy of my prescription (I needed both glasses and contacts and insurance only covers one of those, so I wanted to find frames elsewhere). When I asked for it, the receptionist kept trying to sell me on the designer frames they had in-store and trying to delay the actual handover. Finally, despite them assuring me that my contacts would come in within a few days, it actually took a week and a half, which isn't itself a big deal, except that they acted as if I was being annoyingly impatient when I called a week later to check on things just in case.

It's a shame because despite the shortcomings of this place, I like Dr. Kuo - she explained things a bit more than most optometrists and was very friendly. But I'd prefer going someplace where I don't end up frustrated at the end of the experience.

Ah, the Mezzanine. It's probably super fun as a dance club, since the layout seems set up to accommodate gyrating masses, with a wide open floor downstairs. However, I've only been here for concerts, and in that case, I'm less impressed. Every time I go, there's been audio problems. Last weekend, we were at Florence + the Machine, and the lady delivered, despite a number of microphone feedback issues.

Although the stage is raised, it definitely favors the left side more of the time (but can vary depending on the setup the artist chooses) and you basically can't see from the back, unless you do happen to be one of the tall (which I, sadly, am not). This means I always have to work (read: jostle) for a good spot, or otherwise be satisfied dancing around, provided I can hear okay and it isn't at a sardine-can level of crowded.

One Saturday morning, overcome with a craving for comfort food, I turned to Yelp and found Country Gourmet, a restaurant I had driven by several times before, but assumed was terrible based on both the name and the look of the outside building, which can best be described as a poor man's Appleby's. Surprisingly, the inside was rather charming in a kitschy way, with options of outdoor, patio, or indoor seating.

I've only ever been here for brunch, and I will say that Country Gourmet knows how to do certain items on the menu very well (there have been a couple that  trended on the overly rich side). My favorite is the ridiculously tasty Banana French Toast Combo, though my boyfriend tends to prefer the Mexicali Scramble. As mentioned, it's a "order at the counter and get your food brought over" kind of place. On the occasions when we stumble in with empty stomachs, the lack of complimentary bread or anything of the sort has made the wait for our food seem much longer (especially because the place tends to be busy, at least during brunch times), but it's just not that type of establishment. Overall, I am a fan and I would recommend generally ordering off the board rather than the menu.

After hearing about all the controversy this place incited, I finally got the chance to stop by for the first time with a friend on Easter Sunday. First off, the address is somewhat misleading, as it's really located more on Campbell than Winchester. Unfortunately, I didn't find it worth going out of the way for, though to be fair, we did arrive at an odd time (1pm). I had planned to try several varieties, but because the donuts were mostly shaped like GIANT bunny heads that day, ended up only having a single Marble Madness, which tasted...like a normal chocolate donut. The $5 minimum for credit card use wasn't great either.

We ended up hanging out at Psycho out of curiosity about the live act that was being advertised for that time. In hindsight: dumb idea. I think the consensus was that the store is barely big enough for its customers, and definitely not large enough to host a show of any kind - we kept getting asked to move, even though we were squishing into the only spots we could.

Overall, I like the concept of Psycho Donuts, but not so much the execution. Everything just came off as overly gimmicky. Crazy donuts! Employees dressed as doctors and nurses! Pick up some bacon chapstick and Grow Your Own Boyfriend/Girlfriend/Shrink while you're there! Meh.

I was ecstatic when Philz opened up a location in Palo Alto, since I no longer have to trek up to San Francisco to get a hit of my favorite caffeine.

People seem to be put off by the ordering process (you step up to the baristas, order your drink, and then pay the cashier after tasting it and making sure it's to your liking) and the unique coffee blends here (with hippy names like "Itz the Best", "Philharmonic", and "Dancing Water"), but it's not meant to be your generic caffeine pit stop. They take their coffee brews seriously while charging very reasonably, and have definitely increased my standards for what really good coffee should taste like.

Not only do I frequent the stores, but I now also regularly purchase the Tesora beans so that I might be able to recreate some of the magic from home in the mornings. Sadly, it's never nearly as good.

Since I moved from South Bay to the Peninsula, I've been frequenting this place much more often and while I still think they're good, the initial shine has worn off.

Service depends greatly on who's taking your order - half the time, the staff seems to be struggling with using their iMac. One time I've ordered coffee and had my beverage completely forgotten by the newbie baristas. To be fair though, the owner himself is completely awesome - on one late Sunday night last year, when I had to work overtime, he saw my crestfallen face upon realizing that there was no wifi available on weekends and briefly turned it on long enough that I could check my work in. I still want to give him a hug every time I think about it (and yes, I did buy several drinks that night).

My favorite drink here nowadays is the mocha - it might be best described as molten chocolate with a shot of expresso. But all the coffee drinks here are strong, and this place is not for those who like their caffeine subtle. Since I'm not one of those people, I'll often drop by here to meet up with friends or just to get my liquid chocolate mocha fix.