Becky C.'s Profile

Had a hearty, tasty breakfast here at the beginning of the month. The food was good, the view was great, and the service was fast and friendly. I'm not sure what's not to like.

I had very high hopes for Galatoire's based on previous reviews & its Zagat rating. We arrived dressed up - me in the same outfit I wore to the French Laundry and my husband in a jacket (unlike the couple that walked in before us) - and were quickly shown to a table at the very back of the restaurant, next to the bar and kitchen walkway. It was away from a screeching child, so I couldn't complain too much but obviously not an ideal seat in the dining room.

Prior to going, we had read that instead of trying to figure out the menu you should defer to the experienced waiter's recommendation based on him asking you what you like. This is where things went downhill.

We figured out very quickly what appetizer we wanted so that wasn't a problem but the waiter wanted us to order our full meal having only had the menu for a minute or two. We asked what he recommended for a main meal and he started pushing the app (that we were already going to order) and some potato souffles. We didn't want to be full before the meal even arrived so we passed on the potatoes and he seemed offended somehow. We ordered sazeracs and he spent a lot of time explaining to us what they were even though we told him we'd already had them. [Note: they put ice in theirs.] When we asked for a main course recommendation he seemed flustered at having to talk through the menu, stuttering and fumbling his way through the conversation. The only dish he kept pushing was the trout almondine, which sounded good, but he didn't tell us about anything else. The waiter two tables over was giving very detailed and crisp descriptions to his table. I wish we could have heard him better. Based on his descriptions we said we weren't ready to order yet and needed some more time with the menu. He said okay and walked away. And then our appetizer came while our menus were still on the table. And they stayed on the table for a long time while we waited for him to come back. We were done with the appetizer before he even took our main entree order - trout almondine and a crab dish with hollandaise, bechemel, and green onions. The waiter said he liked that one and it was a good choice. I hoped so because that was all I had to go on. We also ordered asparagus so that we could get some vegetables in. He kind of sneered at that, but whatever.

Our food comes and the trout almondine is beautiful. The crab dish is a pot of lump crab met literally swimming in a rich thick gravy like sauce. It tasted good but WHO EATS THAT MUCH SAUCE? The asparagus was cold and had probably been steamed and then put in an ice bath several minutes before.

At the end of our meal, he finally comes back and asks us if we want dessert. We don't because of how rich and filling the food was. He actually huffed as he walked away. He brought us our check, literally putting just a piece of paper on our table and walking away. I'm at a five star establishment and you can't even bother to put that damn piece of paper in one of those leather portfolios? I know you have them BECAUSE WE'RE SITTING RIGHT NEXT TO THE REGISTER.

At that point I wanted nothing more than to get out of there. It was clear that our waiter wanted us gone and was making no effort to hide it. We were spending over $100 on a meal and he couldn't be bothered to even pretend to do his job? Because of him I spent my last 20 minutes in Galatoire's wishing I had kept our reservation at Muriel's instead. (We had Sunday brunch there and everything about that meal surpassed Galatoire's in every way.)

Like I said at the beginning of this review, I've eaten at the French Laundry and several high-end restaurants in San Francisco and Oakland which is to say that we're not new to fine dining. We love food and can usually have a great meal in any location, in any circumstance, but I have NEVER had service this poor in a restaurant with such a stellar reputation. In fact, I had better service at Cafe du Monde than I did at Galatoire's. I just wish I could remember the name of the waiter so that you could avoid him at all costs. Because of him I will never recommend this restaurant to anyone

I've experienced better - like when this place used to serve more than six Caribbean dishes. Apparently they've switched from being an island restaurant to an Indian restaurant that serves a handful of Caribbean dishes. The bul is as good as ever but the food was not. I doubt we'll go back (even though the back patio is adorable).

We came back from an emergency trip out of state tired, stressed out, and needing to catch up on work. Plugging our computer in, 75% of the electricity in our house blew - on a Saturday night at 8 p.m. Now we were tired, stressed out, needing to catch up on work, AND panicked. Never having had an electrical problem, we had no idea who to call but we obviously needed this to be taken care of as soon as possible. We called an electrician we found in the phone book and they wanted $200 an hour, with a one hour minimum, to come check it out. Also, they didn't have the part they thought we needed based on the description of the problem so the earliest they could come would be Sunday. That really wasn't going to work. From there we called Sid and it's a good thing we did. He picked up the phone himself immediately on a Saturday night and methodically talked my husband through the issue which led to us learning that we had a faulty power strip which saved us a lot of time and money, not to mention our sanity. The next time we need electric work done, I know exactly who we're calling - service that good is hard to come by so I'd recommend you check Sid out as well.

I had a followup appointment at EPFMG since my last post stemming from an ER visit I had. While the lady I asked to fax records to my endocrinologist gave me a hard time, whoever answered the phone this time was quick & courteous. However, when I went in - to their credit, very promptly after I called to request the appointment - my insurance was wrong, again. Admittedly I've switched insurances a couple of times in the past few years, but they have my husband's insurance information correct? WE HAVE THE SAME INSURANCE AND I'M THE PROVIDER. I just don't get it. Once again, I met with Sarah White and again, she is a darling human being and a wonderful nurse. She is a credit to the practice. If the front office staff was more like her this place would be sunshine, roses, and unicorns. She definitely cares about her patients and makes sure that they get the best care possible. My husband was with me at this appointment and he was impressed with how much time she spent with me. Despite my initial post saying I was outta there, I'll probably keep going because I really do think I get good care - once I make it past the gatekeepers.

I have been dealing with major tooth drama since March 2009 when my bottom left molar suddenly cracked and more than 1/4 of my tooth fell out. The hatchet man of a dentist I saw decided that my other molar was cracked so he chiseled it down to a stump and put a temporary crown on. Then I needed an emergency root canal for an abscessed tooth - you know, the one he effed with wasn't the one I went in to get fixed. That one, the one that broke on its own, that one's fine ... but here I am two years later and my other crown has fallen off twice, I've had to get a new one remade, and the effer STILL hurts. So yeah, I know bad dentistry. I'm happy to report that my experience at Montclair Smile Design has been the exact opposite of my last dentistry experience. The front staff is courteous and helpful (my PCP's office could learn a few things from these ladies!) and generally very pleasant. They know who I am when I come in - even though I know they read it on the appointment sheet probably a minute before I walked in, it's the little things that matter. Dr. Becker herself tells you exactly what she's doing and why. She lays out all of her your options and helps counsel you on which is the best one and why. Sure, she ain't cheap - between my husband and I she's likely made a pretty penny off us. But our teeth are the better for it. Oh, and my last few fillings? I fell asleep in the chair. Me, the one who is terrified of crackpot dentists wielding torture devices, was relaxed enough to doze off. That's the biggest stamp of approval I can possibly give.

We went here on Friday for a company event and I really enjoyed it. I've been going to Sonoma County (Alexander Valley, Russian River Valley, Dry Creek Valley) for years and have visited all the wineries there that are worth visiting. On ambiance and view, Lange Estate ranks right up with the best of Sonoma. I wanted to love the pinot - after all, that's what Oregon does best, right? - but at $60/bottle I don't think it stood up to anything produced in the Russian River Valley. However, their chardonnay might be one of the best I've ever tasted. I was flying home later that afternoon and didn't want to deal with checking my luggage, but the chard was so good that I changed my mind and purchased a bottle. I can't wait to try it.

I'll be frank - this place is NOT fancy. But it is extremely clean, in a wonderful location, with great service, and spectacular views. For several years we've looked for a home base in wine country that allows 1-night stays - after two stays now the Geyserville Inn is that home base. If you're okay with basic ammenities then I strongly encourage you to book this hotel the next time you're looking for a place in Alexander Valley.

I stayed here last week for three nights for a work event and I'm really happy they booked this location (versus the last company offsite). I arrived at 11 p.m. and was greeted warmly and professionally at the front desk. I was a bit overwhelmed when I walked in because the vibe is a whole lot hipper than I'm used to. The first thing I tweeted was that I'm just not cool enough to stay there. Showing my Starwood Preferred Guest card to the gentleman checking me in I was given a better room, which I always appreciate. I have a king size bed at home; I do not want to sleep in a double regardless of where I am. Getting off the elevators I had a bit of a hard time finding my room because the lighting situation is quite ... intimate. Getting to the room, I was very pleased. Beautiful crisp white linens, great window seat, lots of task lighting if I needed it. One of the ways I rate hotels is if the room is better than what I have at home. On that level, I was really pleased with the bathtub. A lot of hotels - yes, even those four star properties - put really shower, standard issue tubs in their bathrooms. I have no idea why. Not so with the W. After a long day of work and travel I was able to take a nice, hot relaxing bath in a deep tub that wasn't overly aggressive about draining for my safety. I also really enjoyed the Bliss bath products as I had forgotten my Lush face wash at home. The one thing I would have appreciated about the room was if the iPod docking stations had been updated to charge iPhones. Unfortunately they didn't so I had to crawl behind a side table to plug my charger in. That said, overall, I really enjoyed the hotel. I also enjoyed the space used for our work event and that the WiFi there was free (unfortunately it was $40 for my stay in my room). If I was going to Seattle for pleasure, I'd probably go back to the Alexis Hotel or Inn at the Market, but if someone told me they'd booked the W I'd tell them they were in for a good stay.

We had originally booked a couple of campsites for Memorial Day weekend up at D.L. Bliss in Lake Tahoe. Two days before the trip we checked the weather and the forecast called for temps in the upper 30s and snow. We quickly cancelled our reservation and hopped online to see where else might have availability at such short notice. Anyone that's ever tried to book "a good site" for camping in CA knows that you need your reservations months in advance. Thankfully Hendy Woods had two sites left - both ADA compliant. Thankfully one of the members of our party has a handicap sticker due to a fall down some wet stairs, so we booked without really knowing anything about it and hoped for the best. On the drive up we were worried because the car's thermostat kept registering colder and colder temps. Ten minutes outside the campground it was cold, foggy and raining. A mile from the campground the skies cleared up and the temps jumped a few degrees - thank you Anderson Valley microclimate!

So now my thoughts on Hendy Woods -

I really liked the fact that the park is off the main highway. Too often the campsites we book are just yards from the road and in addition to loud neighbors we have to suffer through car & truck noise all night long - not so here. Well, at least not the car noise. We did, however, find ourselves flanked by a couple of groups that were well above the maximum occupancy level with what seemed like 10 kids for every 1 adult. It would have been fine if the adults had made an effort to keep their kids out of other campers' areas, but that's the fault of the people in charge, not the park's. (Still, I really hate people that have no courtesy when it comes to fellow travelers.)

The bathrooms were perfect for camping - they were clean when we arrived and we always had toilet paper. My only complaint was that the shower that I used (there were four in our area) was scalding hot no matter which way I turned the handle. I am a fan of the "boil your skin" technique of showering, but this was unbearable. Mother in law reports her shower was fine. Husband reports that his shower was a bit on the cold side. Takeaway? No consistency in temps.

I really enjoyed the hiking onsite at Hendy Woods. The strolls through the redwood groves were beautiful and I liked that we could also walk down to the Navarro River for a bit.

We didn't make use of the proximity to my favorite winery, Goldeneye, but the next time I want to make a trip to Anderson Valley I know where I'm hoping to stay.