Inna "Eee-nah" B.'s Profile

They have a good selection of phones and some employees that know a lot about the phones and plans. I've had more luck getting useful information from the male employees than the female.... but I did see a female employee that had memorized a lot of the info about international rates... It was impressive!

I wish they weren't super pushy about signing in, though. My friend and I almost left once because we just wanted to browse some phones, and we had 2-3 employees going "Have you signed in to be helped? You need to sign in!" in the first few minutes of being in the store. Chill out! Sometimes we just want to browse, and don't want or need any help!

When I returned later, the sign-in person was nowhere to be seen at first, and then the wait was about 20-30 minutes, which was a pain... but the employee we eventually got was really helpful and brought my old iPhone 3G back to life a few hours after its "death." (My SO has been using it since I upgraded to the 4S.)

So, my experiences have been mostly good... but they would have probably benefited from not being so pushy about signing in. I think that friend would have considered switching to AT&T if they had been more chill.

My boyfriend and I arrived early for his meeting at Starbucks, and I happened to look over at the salon and notice that the sign said "Family Haircare Without Appointments." We had 30 minutes and he was in need of a haircut, so we decided to step inside.

They had two stylists working that Sunday afternoon, so they were able to start on him and the man that stepped in right behind us almost right away. The stylist seemed friendly and was done in about 15 minutes. Awesome! We forgot to ask about the price, but didn't find a reason to regret that because his cut came to just under $18 before tip. He's had cheaper cuts (he doesn't really care about the experience or style; he just cares that it gets short and the job is done quickly), but this was a good enough experience and not "too expensive." Plus, it was super convenient!

I doubt we'll ever plan to go here for his haircuts, but if it's convenient again in the future, we/he are likely to return.

TIP: They don't accept bills bigger than $20.

It was the night of my cousin's birthday, and she (or her friends) decided that they wanted to go to the Bonefish Grill for happy hour (and Bang Bang Shrimp).

The waitress was friendly, answered all of our questions, and kept our table satisfied with all the drinks/plates we wanted. She did a fine job taking care of us, and we appreciated it.

The food we ordered was not what I'd normally order, but the outing wasn't about me and my preferences, and it's fun to try something different on occasion. A lot of the food was fried and not very spicy (even when the menu said it should be spicy). The Bang Bang Shrimp was fine and I enjoyed the dumplings. I think the happy hour beer list was small, and I ended up getting a Stella.

For a chain restaurant/happy hour, this place is pretty good!

I haven't been to many restaurants in Everett, but this one's definitely my favorite of what I've tried so far. I'm so glad my friend (who DOES live up there) suggested it!

It was a Sunday afternoon, I think, and sadly the place was empty. The employee (owner?) was fantastic, however, and helped us pick out some delicious food to order.

We started with the Sacchetti Fritti as our appetizer. I'm not usually a huge fan of fried things, but these were spicy and delicious! I would definitely order them again. My friend had the Cuban sandwich with fries (which she seemed to enjoy), and I ended up going for the Churrasco. Mmmmm. I do love a good steak! The steak came with some veggies and beans, and rested on top of delicious french fries. The fries were probably overkill because I was quite full when I got to them, but they were so good I couldn't really stop myself.

It's too bad Sol and I are not located close to each other, because I can see myself easily becoming a regular.

I was hungry and in downtown Bellevue one Saturday afternoon, and happened to be walking by Black Bottle several minutes after they opened. What luck!

My phone battery was almost dead, so I found a table where I could plug my phone in. The server/bartender came by with the menu, and ended up recommending a (delicious!) beer after I told him which beers I usually enjoy. My second visit was several hours after they opened, so it was much busier and louder.

I was quite hungry and apparently felt like indulging (both times), so I got a 1/2 dozen oysters and their steak with daikon. The oysters were small and pretty standard... nothing too exciting... but the steak was pretty fantastic. It was exactly as rare as I wanted it to be, the greens on the side were perfect, and the daikon was a fabulous visual replacement for potatoes. It was spicy and took me a little while to finish, and I didn't enjoy every second of that, but I really liked having something that looked liked potatoes, but definitely wasn't. Well done, Black Bottle chefs!

If you're a gastropub fan (and/or at least a little bit of a foodie) looking for a meal and a drink in Bellevue after 3pm, I would definitely recommend this spot. Just remember that it's a 21+ establishment, so you can't bring anyone younger.

(This is my review #800!)

I like Liberty much more since my last spontaneous visit with a big group of people.

The back room was fantastic for housing our group, as well as the other group of friends that somehow ended up there at the exact same time as our group. (We were at different events prior to our Liberty stop.)

What made me even happier than the back room? The nigiri sushi was absolutely amazing.

A warning to other sushi addicts: If you're on a budget, ask about the nigiri prices. My bill total was much higher than I expected because I saw it said something like $6 next to the nigiri section, but I didn't notice the "+" after the 6. I don't know about you, but I dislike mystery prices. You shouldn't go cheap when it comes to sushi, but some fish can be really expensive, and I prefer to not order those special kinds of fish accidentally.

I look forward to going back to Liberty for more delicious sushi!

What a cute shop! What friendly employees! What delicious cheese!

A few weeks ago I found myself really hungry and craving some cheese, so I walked over to The Calf and Kid. The employee asked me what I was looking for, and I wasn't sure, so I just stared at the varieties and she got a few samples out. (I LOVE SAMPLES.)

I tried a French cheese and some other kind of cheese, and really really REALLY enjoyed the French triple-cream brie-like cheese (something du Vallage?), so I asked for a bit of that one. She asked how many people I was buying cheese for, and when I said it was just for me, she offered to cut a little "snack" sized piece for me. Since then, I tend to prefer that cheese when they have it, but I purchased a bit of tasty Gorgonzola (I think) once. Sampling cheese is fun!

I've also been grabbing raw cheese for my sweetie, and that has kept him very, very happy. Some varieties have been much better than others (we decided one raw cheese tasted like "cow butt"-- don't know how we came to it, but it made sense...), but overall he's been very happy to finally have cheese he can eat again. (The "This tastes like.... cow butt" experience taught me to really appreciate that Calf & Kid lets you sample cheese. He finished that block of cheese, but he's enjoyed the others much more.)

On my first few visits I picked up a loaf of Macrina bread with my cheese purchase, but they have since stopped carrying bread. Now they just have a brand of crackers that I frequently see on cheese plates at restaurants. There are also some books and veggies in jars, but I haven't properly explored those shelves  yet.

What's left is... how much that cheese costs. Cheese isn't a super cheap thing, right? I was a little worried about the cost of my purchase the first time (many per-pound prices are in the $20s), but never since then. The small pieces of fancy French cheese I've gotten have cost $2-5 each, which was MUCH less than I expected. When I was looking at the per-pound prices, I was imagining that I'd be spending $5 or $10 on a tiny slice. Guess that shows how bad I am at estimating the weight of cheese!

Momiji quickly made it to the top of my list of places to get sushi on Cap Hill.

They have a beautiful space, delicious fish, great presentation, and a happy hour. When I was there, the table next to me was really particular about the fish and how it was raised, and Momiji was able to accommodate their requests. Kudos to the person/people that make(s) purchasing decisions for this restaurant!

What do I recommend? Definitely the sushi set and the don bowls. The happy hour sashimi was good, but seemed like a small serving for the price. What am I looking forward to trying? Way too many things. It'll be dangerous to find myself near this place when I'm really hungry!

I can't get enough of listening to a European accent, so hanging out at this wonderful cafe for an hour (or two) is EASY.

The wonderful pastries are definitely a bonus of being here, and a much better reason. As soon as I walked in and started looking at the options, I knew I had to have the savory pastry with tomatoes, pine nuts, olive tapenade, and whatever else was on there. That pastry is beautiful, and a wonderful breakfast!

The mocha I had was also quite good, and either less sweet or stronger than I'm used to. I'm not sure which. Not exactly what I was hoping for, but not at all bad. I'm sure plenty of people prefer it that way.

I was there on a Sunday so I'm not sure if it's always this way, but I saw this cafe as a wonderful spot to learn a bit more about the neighborhood... or at least what it's like to be a small business owner. The majority of the customers that morning seemed to own/run small businesses near by, and they chatted about business while grabbing a bite or a cup of coffee. Quite a few of the regulars seemed to be treated like family (or at least close neighbors), and that was nice. I haven't been to France yet, so I'm not sure if this place is like a cafe there, but I kind of felt like I wasn't in Seattle anymore.

I think I need another savory pastry.

What impressed me most? That the waitress remembered what I ordered even though I was part of a scattered group of about 15 people.

What else really pleased me? The steak salad and the beer selection! The salad and the steak were fantastic, and I would definitely order that plate again. It's one of my standard orders lately (whenever it's on a menu), and I'm almost always very pleased with what I get. Next time, I will probably end up asking them to hold the smoked Parmesan dressing, though, because that was a little too much for me.

I don't remember what I had to drink (maybe the Duvel?), but I remember having a hard time picking a beer, so I mentioned a couple of favorites and ended up going with whatever a friend and the waitress agreed I would like. They were right!

The simple hand made pretzel didn't really seem very special or great, but I think that had little to do with the pretzel, and a lot to do with what else I was eating/drinking. Perhaps another night I'll come back and try having only the pretzel with my beer.

It was very crowded indoors and outdoors that night, but I loved what I saw of the decor, and the outside area was plenty warm thanks to the heat lamps.

I look forward to enjoying the Brave Horse Tavern many more times!