Michelle "de-Elited but Not Deleted" C.'s Profile

Totally baffled...did I go to a different restaurant than the other reviewers?

We were exhausted and cold after a long, LONG day of sightseeing, and I was desperately craving a bowl of won ton noodle soup.  I had a long list of restaurant recommendations we'd gathered before our trip, but we were too tired to track them down, and were in the middle of Chinatown - seemed like a good time to be spontaneous.  I checked Yelp and chose Canton based on the reviews here - alas, somehow I missed the fact that my Yelp friend and London ambassador Yee Gan O. had an Asian food list.  I am sure he would have saved us from this utter disaster.

We started with some fried potstickers, which were okay - the skins were a bit on the thick side, but the filling was decent, and tasted like it had a bit of fresh ginger in it - not bad.  Then our won ton noodle soup arrived.  My husband and I each took a bite of won ton, and simultaneously and without saying anything to one another, both of us tried to politely remove the bites from our mouths and began to examine them.  The meat inside was clearly undercooked, to the point of being both pink and mealy in texture.

I waved over a waiter and told him I thought the pork was undercooked, pointing to my pink, mealy won ton innards.  He said, "It's supposed to look that way.  It's pork."  And walked away.

We were starving, so we ate the noodles and sipped some of the broth (which was itself sadly lacking in flavor), but left all of our won ton behind.  Another waiter came by and asked if everything was okay - when I told him our won ton were undercooked, he said he'd remove one from our bill.

He didn't.

We were only visiting London, so we'll never have occasion to come here again, but I wanted to write this review so that others might avoid making the same mistake.  There are way too many fantastic restaurants in London to waste a meal or your money here.

I'm such a huge sucker for James Holmes' other venture, Olivia, that I thought Lucy's would be a shoo-in for me.  But alas, Lucy's charms are still in disguise (and not with diamonds) after two hopeful visits.

Everyone has their own opinions about what defines good fried chicken.  For me, the batter shouldn't cover up the chicken flavor, but instead should tease out all the juicy-meaty goodness that's often lost in other chicken dishes.  Lucy's batter is just too aggressive for me.  So salty and thick that I don't taste anything else.  We tried the fried chicken livers, the fried chicken, and the fried deviled eggs, and I could barely taste the difference between the three...it was all batter, batter, batter.

I was similarly unimpressed by the collard greens, although the black eyed peas were pretty tasty.  

We turned to the pies, hoping they would save the meal.  The winner here was definitely the s'mores pie; the chocolate was nice and rich, and the toasted marshmallow on top was wonderful.  The lime took second place, but the crust was too thick and didn't provide enough of the textural contrast I need from crust.  The shoo-fly was also lacking a texture contrast from the crust, and tasted more or less like a glorified date bar (no dates, but I think the molasses conjured up a similar note).  The apple pie would have been pretty decent had it not been served cold.

Sadly, I think I'm throwing in the towel at Lucy's.  The service and ambiance are pleasant, but food rules the roost in my world, and Lucy's just isn't stacking up for me.

Actual conversation I had with a server today at O'Charley's:

Me:  What beers do you have on tap?
Her:  Miller, Miller Lite, Budweiser, Heineken, Yazoo...
Me:  What kind of beer is Yazoo?
Her:  It's...uh...a beer?
Me:  ...

Fortunately, a guy on the bar stool next to me saved the day by explaining that it was a local pale ale.  One Yazoo, please!

Despite being not-so-in-the-know in the beer arena, the service was otherwise heartfelt, and I was pleasantly surprised at how tasty my set of four mini-burgers was.  I generally assume that I'll have to dress up my restaurant burgers to make them taste good, but just a bit of cheddar and pickle was the only foil needed for these flavorful patties (never frozen, according to the menu).  The fries had veered into lukewarm territory by the time they arrived and weren't as crispy as I like them, but my Yazoo was large enough to smooth over that misstep AND ease my path home.

Not half bad for airport food.  Yazoo!

It's tiny.

It's L-O-U-D.  

It's drafty and cold under the vents.

It is impossible to have a conversation without a TV in your line of vision.

The only food available is take-out from Austin's Pizza next door.

There's almost no parking.  And no, the valet parking option does not count.  We are not at the opera, we're at a freaking dive bar.

They have one entire patio that you're not allowed to use (unless you're not drinking...but why in the world would you be here if you weren't drinking?).

But the drinks are strong, and after a single Mexican martini, shouting over the music suddenly veered from being annoying to being...festive.  Of course, this likely had more to do with the company I was keeping than anything the Corner Bar did.

If this bar were on a corner within walking distance of my house, I might venture back.  But it's not, so I probably won't.

A few things you should know about my husband:

1.  Once nominated to be on What Not To Wear.
2.  Wore Birkenstocks to our wedding.  With a tux.
3.  Claimed shirts could not be found to fit his "Italian neck."

So it was with some trepidation that I shadowed him to Men's Wearhouse on a quest for new dress clothes. We were quickly greeted by David Peerson, who jumped to our rescue upon a rapid assessment of the "deer in the headlights" look I'm sure we both had.

Before long, David had ferreted out our needs and had my husband in the dressing room as he efficiently snagged shirts, suits, sport coats, and pants for my patient husband to model.  A couple hours later, we emerged exhausted but exhilarated, with two suits, a sport coat, a variety of shirts in a muted rainbow of colors, several pairs of pants, and even a pair of shoes that - miraculously - make my husband look neither like a duck nor a 90-year-old (which is more than can be said for the rest of his shoe wardrobe).  Our wallets were significantly lighter, but much heavier than they could've been, thanks to a promotion they were running that offered 50% off in exchange for charitable donations of gently-used business wear.

If David would just practice saying, "Shut the front door!" he might have a career on TLC.

I am frugal and I love the popcorn I make at home, so I don't typically frequent ready-made popcorn places.  But I tried some samples of Cornucopia's wares at an event not long ago, and loved it so much that I popped in (ahem) to take a gander yesterday.

Flavors of every imaginable variety lined the walls (Dill pickle! Madras curry! S'mores! Birthday cake!), and you could serve yourself samples to your heart's content. I sampled like mad, and finally settled on a bag of pesto and a bag of their veggie corn which, despite its rather unexpected dark green color, tastes AMAZING. I actually think it is my favorite of all, despite the many other delightful flavors vying for the #1 spot in my heart.

I agree with the other reviewers that the prices here are a bit on the spendy side - $2.25 for basically a sandwich bag full of corn.  However, they occasionally run coupon deals with Groupon, Scoutmob, etc., and you can also garner yourself some discounts with a GoLocal card, or by buying a tin from them, which entitles you to 50% off refills.

Service was very nice, although they probably could have used a second employee on a game day Saturday.  It was worth the wait, though; I left with enough fluffy, crunchy, flavorful goodness to keep me snack-happy for days.  Colonel Sanders, move over - there's a new kernel in town.

We could not have been more pleased with our wonderful and comfortable accommodations at the Fuchsia Door. They were spacious, clean, and nicely decorated, with interesting tchotchkes and original artwork. Our friends paid nearly 50% more than we did for the largest trailer at El Cosmico, and DIDN'T HAVE AIR CONDITIONING; with the August temps in the 90s, we were so glad we did! We loved having access to a kitchen, too, for snacking or quick meals - an amenity we wouldn't have had at a regular hotel. Having wi-fi was also a huge plus for us, as we tend to be a little internet-addicted (I know you're surprised to hear this).

The location was a perfect jumping-off point for everything - literally across the street from the Get Go Grocery and the Marfa Ballroom, and easy walking distance to the Pizza Foundation, Cochineal, the farmer's market, the bookstore, etc.

Next time we are in Marfa, we will absolutely stay here again.

Another positive experience for which I can thank Yelp!

Patrick Moran was the most responsive contractor I think I've ever worked with.  He always answered my (many) questions promptly.  He always returned my calls immediately.  If I needed another color sample, it was at our house within a day.  He made it clear from day one that he would never be the cause of any delay in our roofing project, and he stood by that promise consistently.  He also did not require us to put ANY money down on our roof, not even a materials draw - we paid in full after it was completed.  That gave me supreme confidence that the project would be done to our complete satisfaction.  And it was.  

The roofers were fast, professional, and did a fantastic job.  They laid our shingles with incredible precision, and the finished result is obviously an example of fine craftsmanship.  The lines where the shingles meet at the corners are all perfectly straight, and surprisingly beautiful.

The only tiny complaints I might lodge about my experience with them would be ones of missed expectations, but I honestly don't think either of these are really Acura's fault.  First, our final total ended up being $1000 more than originally quoted.  This was because we ended up having a fair amount of rot under our old roof, so they had to spend a bunch of time (and buy a bunch of materials) to repair that wood.  I understand that they couldn't really have known that before they got into the project, but it was a little bit of a shock, as you can imagine.  The other thing that disappointed me slightly was that I hired Acura because I was SO impressed with Patrick, but as it turned out, I don't think he ever set foot on our property.  In retrospect, though, perhaps that's just a good example of a savvy division of labor.  The guy who's good at sales and management does just that; the guys who are good at laying shingles handle that end of the job.

On balance, I was pleased enough with our experience with Acura to give them five stars.  We have a beautiful new roof that should last us a long time, with a 30-year materials guarantee and a 5-year workmanship/labor warranty.  Peace of mind and a beautiful roof over our heads - what more can you really ask?

I could've sworn I looked for reviews of this place before I booked.  Guess I must not have...

It took an HOUR AND A HALF on a Sunday morning to pick up a freakin' car here that I'd reserved ahead of time.  45 minutes to wait through the line, then another 45 minutes to get my car after I'd checked in.  Unbelievably, inexcusably inefficient.

If you're looking for a reason to spend some time cooling your heels, then by all means, rent from this Avis.

If buying pretty trinkets is your drug of choice, then Tarrytown Pharmacy is your drugstore.  I found the following list of surprising items there during my last visit:

$111 earrings
The Uchi Cookbook
Kate Spade notecards
Pet towelettes (for when you want to clean your dog's ears with lavender essential oil)
Wind-up tin robots
Cocktail rings with more sparkle than Mr. Clean's head
Chutes & Ladders games

Sure, you can get deodorant, toothpaste, and Wet Ones here, too - but at least if you are counting in square feet, Tarrytown Pharmacy is more gift shop than drugstore.  Stop in here on your way to your next birthday party for a lovely present and a fun greeting card; grab a bottle of aspirin for the after-party while you're there.