Charlene "I am the head voodoo in charge!" L.'s Profile

i hate going to get my car worked on. No matter what, I always feel like I'm about to get swindled and jacked. Never fails. So when the state of California tells me that I need to get a smog check, I get all sweaty and stressed out because not only am i going to have to deal with a car shop, I'm going to take a big chance that I might not pass.

Due to some budget strangeness, I receive my car registration only to learn it's due in TWO DAYS. Fresh. So not only do I have to stress over going to a car shop, I have to do it NOW.

I headed over to Emerald, which is just down the street, and I walk in, winded and ready to gird my loins for what could be an epic fail, but kind Sir Jim said, come back in 1 hour. I'm on lunch, no big deal. I'll just walk a bit and get some yums. He then says, no wait, 45 minutes. What? My day just got better.

I went out, got my lunch, and came back 45 minutes later and biggety bam, smog is done! Friendly, professional, and very kind enough to give me a recommendation for restaurants to try in the area. That's service, and I'll be back for sure. I'll be telling my coworkers to head here for a stress  free smog experience.

It's a Longs, what's there to not like about that? My fave thing about this spot and I'm sure you can find this at all Longs is the massive selection of cheapie Locals slippers your local friends would love for you to bring back home. Also, grab some kitsch for the homies too while you're at it.

This group was a huge help when I was a new parent - it was nice to learn about what worked, what didn't work, etc. Loved the email, the community and the feedback.

Things changed though..and I started to notice posts removed or deleted by mods. Certain opinions were not allowed about preschools or medical professionals, and I just don't agree with that. I enjoy dialogue and discussion (when civilized, of course).

$75 was a huge sacrifice to me but I got a lot out of it and gladly paid. However, with the change in transparency and ban on opinions, I'll be done with it when my membership is up.

Buying a home in San Francisco seems like 1) a dream, 2) impossible, and 3) for the rich. I know that many people think that way, and I know that we thought that when we debated on where to buy a home. But what we really needed was someone to walk us through the process and show us that home ownership in San Francisco can be a reality. And we have the keys to prove it thanks to Jacquelyn Pio Roda.

Jacqui took us from home shoppers to home owners in less than three months. A referral from our lender, we realized that her relationship with the lender (Wells Fargo) was unstoppable when it came to making our dreams reality. Jacqui and her team worked tirelessly to make sure we were happy with our process, that we understood what was required of us, and helped us strategize. It's easy to feel intimidated, but with Jacqui in your corner, you not only felt prepared, you felt confident, assured, and capable.

As first time home buyers, we didn't know what to expect from the home buying process, but we had a partner to help us along, not someone who was looking for a commission or laid on the pressure to buy. Jacqui was patient with our many questions, was willing to come see us at our workplace when travelling to her office would have been inconvenient, and was accessible all around the clock. If we were panicked with questions late at night, we got a response within an hour. My damn best friend won't even call me back on the same week!

If you're going to make this huge commitment to buy a home, you want someone who's going to be on your side, who understands what you're looking for, and someone with whom you can be utterly confident. I am so pleased with my experience and so grateful that we had her on our team that I can't help but highly recommend Jacqui to anyone who will listen. She's that good. I'm starting to think she's either a jedi or just really good at what she does. Hell, maybe she's both.

In short, we have a house that we thought we couldn't afford (but actually could, thanks to her guidance), and a realtor we want to tell the world about. Call her ASAP - cause your house is out there, and Jacqui will help you get it.

Headed over for a visit in the rain - for the second time. That should tell you again how much I really dig the spot. The service has always been top notch, and the food can't be beat. Comfort food? Hells yes.

this morning I had the standard breakfast, and I know it's hard to screw that up, but it was plain and simple good. I'm a BIG fan of the bakery next door, and what pushes it over the top is the levain bread. Simple, but so full of flavor.

My prior visits made me fall in love with the potato and leek soup. The mac and cheese will make you say more please. The fish and chips were fabulous too (levain bread included!)...but I only got one small piece of fish. Bummed. That's the reason for my -1 star. At least two pieces, please!

My husband's kobe burger was, according to him, one of the best burgers he's ever had. And dude's had a lot of burgers. So head on over there...its' worth the walk in rain. BTW, what's up with all the foxy people there? I mean, besides ME. Eye candy galore.

Place has lost its luster to me...maybe it's the wait between dishes that did it for me...and maybe because some other sushi restos have opened up nearby that give me more options. I will always love Jackson to death, but know it can be better.

I really wanted to like this place. It was right around the corner from the condo we rented, so it could have easily been our go-to spot.

But it was just meh. Midday, there were only two servers and almost all the tables were taken. So dudes were running around, not that attentive, and we had to flag down ours a few times to get the necessities.

The food was aight. The usual pub fare. We made the mistake of sitting in the long tables though, and that was a pain because of the fans overhead kept making me feel like there were strobe lights. No wonder the table was available. Good beer though, and I won't hate on that. But even all the beer in the world couldn't make me go back for another visit.

Go if you're hungry, don't expect much. If you want to get your beer on, then by all means.

PS: They LOVE 90's pop in that spot. WTH.

Fresh fish...so what could go wrong? Service. He was nice enough, but he was clearly distracted and it took a while for dishes to roll out and he often forgot about what we asked for and needed to be reminded. The food also just rolled out all at one time and it was overwhelming. I would have liked for it to come out at a nice pace like I'm used to at the sushi spots I frequent.

Hey, it's a busy spot and I understand that, but it really ruined my experience. If you want to get a table, make a reso, but they don't take them until 8:30? So you have to show up and wait for freakin' at least an hour to get in? I could bitch because they did forget about us (and that prolonged our wait). Sheesh, but at the very least there are stores you can tuck into while you're waiting.

Be prepared for the wait. And be prepared again when you're inside for a little bit of a wait there too.

Eating in Maui is pretty expensive, and with all the resorts touting their restaurants, you want to find some local grinds. I guess for me it wasn't as easy as Oahu...no Zippy's. oh well.

We came here first because we were staying at the RItz, and it's not cheap there, so we found this as a happy alternative to baller food. straight up, I'm from SF, and I'm Filipino, so spam? eggs? rice? breakfast? hell yes.

It's been recently remodeled and is so much nicer than how it used to be. Enjoy enjoy enjoy!

Quite possibly the best meal I've ever had in my entire life. No really. I hate throwing around superlatives like that, but the fish tasted like it was just hauled out of the ocean. Open air, right on the beach, beautiful decor and it was out of a postcard. I could have spent all day there.

The wait staff was lovely, and even when they forgot to bring out my husband's dish, they turned it around so fast and were so cool about it that it didn't even need to affect my rating. I had the opakapaka. Husband had the lobster stuffed fish. He called his dish "orgasm dish." Yep. That good.

You need to make sure that you have plenty of scrills on you if you're going to eat here. It's not cheap, but it's worth every single hard earned penny in your bank account. Yes, it's away from the beaten path in Maui, but it's well worth the visit.

Whatever you do, get the Polynesian Black Pearl dessert. I day dream about that dish. I am NOT lying.

If you have a little one, don't bother with the kids menu...so freakin' expensive. Fish and chips? 20 bucks? Oh hell no. Give 'em a plate of some of your food...if you are nice enough to share ;-)