Rod "Not Rob" B.'s Profile

I love the Red Sox like a basset hound loves cheese, and first heard of this place because the owner and head chef is the brother of Sox first baseman, Kevin Youkilis.

Imagine my delight when it turns out that the restaurant is frickin' amazing regardless of any slight association with the reigning world champions.

My wife and I went for brunch during hipster-free-Mission weekend (ie. when Burning Man is happening).  Hotty waitstaff welcomed us in, and we started off with a couple of glasses of Blueberry Mimosa. Yum.

We shared some of the cinnamonny doughnut holes (Fun challenge: try to eat one without licking your lips.  Even funner: Challenge your dining partner to do so!).  Also yum.

My wife had the Pecan French Toast, while I tucked into the Duck Confit Hash with Youk's Hot Sauce.  (Aside: the hot sauce was delicious, but nowhere near as hot as I'd expected, leading me to believe that maybe, just maybe, Kevin Youkilis is a big pussy).  We loved it all thoroughly, and can't wait to return.

I love sandwiches like a basset hound loves cheese.  Slap something tasty between a couple of slabs of bread, and I'm there.

So when a friend told me about Roxie's, I hit them up post haste.  And boy, am I happy I did.  Their dutch crunch bread toasted is almost enough without any fillings. BUT OH MY GOD THE FILLINGS!

From their meatballs (massively yummy with provolone) to the Roxie Special (meat, meat and more meat, with cheese and veggies), I've never been even *mildly* disappointed.

Yes, it's a bit run-down and slummy, and you have to stand near the rack of hot-rod-and-porn mags while you wait. But it's 100% worth it.

Added bonus: British chocolates near the register. Hurrah for Maltesers!

A group of us stumbled upon Poc Chuc late on a Friday night, looking for a bite to eat.  Although technically after their closing time, they welcomed us in, gave us free glasses of a delicious sangria-like fruity drink, and were warm and friendly throughout.

The turkey-topped-tacos were delicious, with drops of their bitingly hot habanero sauce, and I really enjoyed the chicken macarone soup, while my friends dug into huevos rancheros and a duck dish.

I'll definitely be coming back to sample some of the other treats on the menu.

I'm in the middle of moving from Boston to San Francisco, and have been staying at the Mosser for close to three weeks while I wait for my apartment to be ready.

The pros: The location. You're right at Union Square, round the corner from the Powell BART, a block from the Moscone Center, a pleasant walk from AT&T Park.

The cons: Nearly everything else.

The rooms are TINY. If you get one with a shared bathroom, there's barely enough room for you and your suitcase (Seriously. I know this sounds like an exaggeration, but it's literal).  If you get one *with* a bathroom, you get to experience the petitest bathroom ever.

The elevator is SLOW.  There's only one lift serving nine floors, shared between guests *and* the cleaning/maintenance staff, so it takes forever to get to your floor.  And it constantly smells... how to put it... "skunky".

Wi-Fi is expensive - $10 a night (although if you're going to be there more than 4 nights, you can sign up for the $20-a-month plan, then pay $20 to break your 12-month contract)

The staff are meh.  They may be dressed smart, but you get the impression that this is just another McJob to them.

The area is loud. There's constant buzzing, whistling, shouting and clattering outside your window, which you need to leave open because there's no other ventilation

And the price isn't cheap. I suppose it's reasonable for the city and location, but given the cramped lodgings, it's barely worth it.  (Since I was staying for over a week, I ended up paying $69 a night for a 12'x12' room with shared bathroom)

Wouldn't recommend it unless you were in a seriously bargainous mood.

I've lived round the corner from Neighborhood for four years, but had always been put off by the huge line outside on weekends.  

But today I was working from home, and after some severe chastising from friends for not sampling the Neighborhood, I popped-round on a "school day" to avoid the line.

Some things are great: The menu is simple -- You pick a main dish, and then you get coffee, OJ, toast, fruit etc automatically.   The specials looked truly special (waffles stuffed with chocolate cheesecake and strawberries‽), although I wussed out and plumped for steak and eggs.  And the food was delicious and hefty for the price.

That said, I was sat right near the front door, above a heating vent, so had to deal with alternate icy and firey blasts.  And the coffee was bitter and unpleasant.  I'd have been happier with Dunks.

So, much like other local "must visit" brunch spots (S&S, Soundbites, etc), go for the food, preferably on an off-peak day, but tolerate the "experience".

I popped into Grand earlier, and liked what I saw.  It's a little out-of-place for Union Square (usually home to peruvian restaurants and dodgy cellphone shops), but along with other recently-opened businesses like Bloc 11 and Hub Comics, it suggests the area's about to change.

The store is definitely, um, "open" -- some might describe it as sparse or barren.  But there's some really cool items on display and for sale.  Best way to describe it? Imagine taking the Urban Outfitters on Newbury St and throwing out about 99% of the crap they sell.  The homegoods are stylish and smile-bringing -- the Sun Jars in particular caught my eye as a great gift.

The hoodies and t-shirts looked dashing if pricey, but alas they didn't have any that would wrap around my portly belly. Jon said they'd try to get an XXL version of a hoodie I liked, so if that comes through, I'll bump them up an extra star.

I'll absolutely be popping back to Grand, as it appears they'll be cycling through merchandise regularly, and look forward to seeing how it evolves.

I'm a scruffy sort.  Tend to have a beard, simply because I'm too motherloving lazy to shave most mornings.

But having heard that this branch of The Art of Shaving had a full service barbers shop (most don't - they only do demonstration shaves on Saturdays), I had to give it a go.

I booked ahead for a haircut and "royal shave".  The haircut was quick and painless -- but very helpful in that the barber took the time to explain how I should be applying "product" to tame my hair, rather than just selling an overpriced tub and leaving me to my own devices.

Then the shave.

First hot lather was applied, then a steaming hot towel.  Then some oil, and another hot towel.  Lather, shave, another hot towel.  Lather, *another* shave, hot towel.  Lavendar face mask, cucumbers on eyes, cold towel.

Let's be honest: it was the prissiest, frilliest, girliest facial spa treatment imaginable, but in a totally hetero-acceptable manly form, what with the sharp blade near your jugular.  The only thing that would have made it better would have been a cold Manhattan to sip between swipes of the razor.

All told, it took about an hour, cost about $95 including tip, and afterwards I felt absolutely bloody amazing.  Part of me wishes I could get one every Friday on my way home from work to start the weekend.

Will definitely pop by every time I'm back in Vegas.

Meh.

I was booked here by work when I was in town for CES.  I realise that everywhere's expensive during CES, but for the price being paid, I expected a significantly nicer room -- Not one overlooking a construction site where work started every morning at 6am.

The whole place seemed a bit run-down.  Like it was a glamorous place to stay 15 years ago, but now that the Bellagio and Venentian are up, they don't even try any more.

Of particular annoyance was the Lance Burton advert constantly running on the TV in the elevators.  THE CARDS ARE ALL DIFFERENT THE SECOND TIME!  I GET IT!  I LEARNED THAT TRICK WHEN I WAS SEVEN!

On the plus side: In the mornings, there was a blackjack table with a $5 minimum.  That's pretty hard to find on the strip these days.  Also, there's a CVS right outside the front door, so it's easy to get reasonably-priced bottled water, ibuprofen and cigarettes, rather than the exorbitantly marked-up stock in the hotel shop.

Our first visit to Atasca a few years ago was under unusual circumstances: Joy & I were renting a new apartment, and the landlords were Joe & Maria, the owners of Atasca.  Let's just say: Best lease-signing EVER!

Since then, we've moved, but still pop back to Atasca on the occasional "date night".  Some things are always the same -- we always enjoy the delicious mozarella and prosciutto small plate, and the tasty Cintra lager.  But when it comes to the entree, it's time to go adventuring.

One of my rules for dining out:  If there's a dish on the menu that comes with a fried egg on it, that's the one I order.  At Atasca, that's their delicious steak with fried egg and crispy fried potatoes.  I've had that several times, and it never disappoints.

Other must-experience dishes are the salt-cod with caramelized onions which mashes together flavours in a most exciting fashion, and the chicken with St. Jorge cheese and risotto.  Finish it off with the chocolate mousse or coconut cake, and we're happy campers once again.

Stumbled upon this place after an afternoon's drinking, and a visit to see Mamma Mia.

First off, the beer selection was extensive and tasty, and the cocktails looked tempting.

But the burger... oh, the burger!  I plumped for the Kobe beef on a sesame bun with mozzarella, bacon and a fried egg, with sweet potato fries, and my word, I was in heaven.  The flavours melded together perfectly into one lovely meaty, cheesy, greasy mouthful of awesomeness.

The one disappointment is that we only found this place the night before heading home.  I guess I'll just have to make my next Vegas trip sooner rather than later.