A-Dub "my hair doesn't move when I shake my head" W.'s Profile

I wasn't sure what I'd be getting from a fancy looking taco joint on Melrose, but I took my chances on Frida anyway.

I ordered a two taco plate which came out to about $8...seemed a little up there to me. For example, their tacos (which I had a feeling would be the small "street" style tacos) are about $2 each and sopes were about $4.50.

Anyway,  my plate was brought out and I was a little dismayed. The portion sizes for my rice and beans where about the smallest I'd seen at any Mexican restaurant ever. The tacos (pollo and asada) were on the small side, but I expected that. But man oh man! The tacos were great. Full of flavor. The rice and beans were good too, and though the portion sizes still seem laughable, I left full. Hard to tell if it was their food or the bottle of water I chugged though...

But it was tasty and I am a sucker for tasty food, so I'll definitely be back.

I have just recently started going to Dr. Gussman and I am so glad I found him!  I've received excellent service thus far from everyone in his office.  

When I arrived for my initial appointment, they saw me right on time - which rarely ever happens for any doctor or dentist I've been to.  His assistant was very nice and super chatty. It was actually a good thing because I was nervous about the appointment. I knew I would need plenty of work, but I was nervous about what Dr. Gussman would be like after the last doctors and dentists I've dealt with in the last few years. Dr. Gussman turned out to be really nice and explained everything to me very clearly. The woman at the front desk was also really helpful and friendly. They scheduled my next appointment right away.

At my second appointment, again, they were right on time. I saw the hygienist for a cleaning - and like everyone else she was thorough, nice, and helpful. Had a couple of cavities filled by Dr. Gussman who was, again, on time. It was quick and as painless as getting cavities filled could be.

So far, I'm very pleased!

Best brunch I've had!
A friend introduced me to this place and the all you can eat brunch. I was skeptical at the $35 price tag, but I figured I'd go for it.

The plates served are on the small side and I might not be as pleased if I were dining at another time - but since it's all you can eat - you can get more! Also, that price tag includes cocktails - bloody marys and mimosas for sure. I didn't bother looking at anything else as I KNEW I wanted the mango mimosa.

What i loved is that the food comes out as it's ready - so we didn't have to wait long before we could dig in.

All in all, I had 4 mimosas - which is kind of like getting all the food for free. Between the two of us we had:

Pan dulce (2 orders), chicken empanadas (2), bacon fried rice, sliders, ceviche, spicy tuna roll, meatballs, potstickers...and more. We kept the food coming and were there for a good two hours.

I could imagine it being even better with a few more people as you'd get to sample more items. But honestly, I feel like I've had a wide enough variety of items to know I like the place.

Our tab was less than $70 - and given that we had 8 or 9 mimosas between us, that was QUITE the good deal

Can't wait to go back!

Interesting experience.

A client treated me to a "foot massage" at this place and none of us (me, the client, and client's other business associate) really knew what to expect. They flat out call it a foot massage everywhere, but it's definitely more than that...

We walked in, talking like normal folk, then when we rounded the corner to get started, I felt a little bad because all these people were getting massages in almost total silence. Whoops!

I guess I don't know anything about reflexology or foot massages...because this was definitely more than that like I said before. It was pretty much a (clothed) full body massage. They started with our faces and heads, moved to shoulders, neck, arms, legs, back... a total bargain at $25 for an hour. $35 for 90 minutes! I'm so going back.

At certain points, I hurt quite a bit (the neck and shoulders), but this was only my second real massage ever, so I don't really know if it's supposed to hurt or not (same problem with my first massage). It's definitely uncomfortable and I don't like it, but if that's normal, I guess I just have to deal with it!

Every once in a while, someone would enter the place, talking loudly, jingling keys, arguing with people on the phone. This sort of stuff would jolt me out of my relaxed state. They definitely need a QUIET PLEASE sign right in front since they *seem* to want to offer a peaceful experience yet have no dividers or private rooms. Just a thought.

Also, since this was my first time there, I'm having a little trouble rating the women who worked on us. It seemed like they were creating a silent peaceful atmosphere, but occasionally my lady and one other would whisper above our heads. Slightly distracting, but if they aren't shooting for quiet and it just happened to be that way, okie doke, no problem. Wasn't thrilled with listening to my lady chew her gum either, but that's a personal pet peeve across all situations :-)

Interesting experience, great bargain. If I lived in the Pasadena area, I'd probably go every week....4 massages a month for the price of 1 some place else!

So far so good. I went to Xai Lounge for a special event all day yesterday.

Huge place, quite spacious. LOVE the decor. Clean bathrooms (huge plus), helpful staff, and yummy food. Granted, I was there for a special event....we were given super tiny plates (kind of annoying, but the event host could have suggested larger plates I'm sure, so I'm not faulting Xai).  I had salad, their friends (regular and sweet potato), a little slide and some sliders. All good.

I enjoyed the place, and it's only in coming here to review it that I'm learning that it's a hookah lounge. So, I'm not actually sure I'll return. Maybe during the day for brunch or something, but smoking is not my thing, in any form, and it's nothing something I really want around during my dining experience.

But I have no actual complaints and it seems like a great place. Hope they do well!

Wow, just ordered from this place and I am loving it so far.

I ordered a side of mac n' cheese (my favorite food) and their spinach berry salad (no tomatoes). I was impressed! While the price of the mac n' cheese seemed a little high ($4 for a small side), that seems to be what people are charging these days, so I suppose it's not terrible. And the taste? LOVED IT!! They used REAL cheese (not any weird cheese sauce crap), and it was definitely flavorful.

The salad was good too. Next time, I'll get it without the pecans and the crunchy noodle stuff. Sure, that doesn't leave a ton of other ingredients, but I'd rather just pay for the stuff I like and avoid feeling dissatisfied in the end. After I finished the salad, there were so many noodle thingies left, I totally wished they had been replaced by more spinach, feta, and/or strawberries. I got my salad with their blackened chicken which was juicy and had tons of flavor.

When I hit a $17 tab for the two items, I figured I'd skip the drink and didn't dare ask what they charged for a cupcake...But I'm in Santa Monica right? I guess it's to be expected...

But I'll definitely  be back!

Pazzo is one of my favorite hangouts in Silver Lake.

I'd only had gelato once or twice before coming to this place. Now I am an addict! Pazzo has so many flavors - and they all taste like what they'd say they'd be.

My never buy flavors: Avocado (why???) and persimmon.

My faves: buttered brown sugar, creme fraiche w/blueberry, Italian vanilla w/mixed berries, baked apple pie, mango, marscapone gingersnap....I could go on and on.

I've NEVER had a single staff member be unhelpful. In fact, the reason my friend and I started going so often, is because by our very second visit, we were already being greeted like regulars - which made me want to become a regular. And now I am.

They have so many flavors. Some staples you see more than others (many involving chocolate, which is not my thing - other than the white chocolate w/raspberry), but I could come in three days in a row (yes, I've done it) and find totally different things in the case. Keeps things interesting! They never get annoyed when I have to try six flavors before deciding and if they hear me mention a favorite flavor to a friend that's not in the case, they'll check the back to see if they have any. Drew (tall, bald) is always helpful and friendly. And so are the the two other guys whose names I don't know (yet). But they both wear hats and have longish hair...

They also have coffee, tea, and sodas, so when my friend and I just want to go there to read or work and don't have sweets cravings, we can just grab something to drink - and we almost always can find a seat, which is more than I can say for Casbah or Intelligentsia (whose coffee they serve) across the street.

I was pleased. I went yesterday for one of their mock events - so of course, everyone was on their best behavior, everything was spotless and so on.

They are really shooting for a 5-star movie experience here. After checking in, we were directed down to the lounge, where someone at the bottom of the escalator greeted us by name.

The full drink menu wasn't available and I don't drink wine, so for my two complimentary drinks, I had soda. My friend was excited about her wine though.

The bathrooms were clean and the soap and hand lotion smelled amazing. My friend said her auto-flush didn't work either time, but it worked just fine for me.

The seats were FANTASTIC. Each arm rest had a storage unit in it where you could put a shopping bag, a purse, etc. A good idea, but also a good way for me to forgot my purse :-)  The seats are wide and comfortable and recline as fully as they can in a movie theater without being absolutely ridiculous. When the movie ended, I didn't want to get out of the chair.

The table wasn't big enough for our 3 glasses and two plates of food. They should put a cup holder into the arm rest of the chairs, even though that takes the design down a notch. But I don't want to hold my drink in my hand while I eat, so its either that, or make bigger tables.

The picture quality was okay. There were occasionally vertical lines through the film, and I think it jumped a second or two a few times. Since this isn't a review of the movie (The Invention of Lying - really good, btw),  that's about all I can say.

I enjoyed it. I'd go back....but for the price, it would have to be a REALLY special celebration.

Well....it was 5 stars until about 10 minutes ago.

I've been to Stories three times and I love the place, but today, I'm a little annoyed.

Let's start with the good: I love that it's close to home. I love that it's also a bookstore. If you know me even remotely well, you know I'm addicted to books.  They have free wifi and more than one outlet - more than two outlets! They always play interesting music. And their turkey pesto sandwich is AMAZING. The little dressing they put on the side salad is delish.

And then there was today - my third visit. I started with a turkey sandwich. Love it. Love the side salad. I asked the server what the dressing was. I've already forgotten but I know it involves sea salt. Anyway, it's good. So far so good right?

Well, my meeting lasted 3 hours, so I thought I should buy something else. Even though some people come and buy a $2 drink and sit for hours and I purchased an $8 sandwich earlier.

There was a different woman behind the counter this time. I told her I wanted a mixed green salad. She told me she had a pasta salad, a greek salad, a couscous salad. Um.....I want a mixed green salad.  I explained that I like the dressing that they put on the side salad that comes with the sandwiches - and thats just half a handful of mixed greens.

She continued to suggest the couscous salad and said it was just a little bit of couscous on the mixed greens.  In my mind, I'm thinking YOU HAVE MIXED GREENS. Why can't you just charge me the same price as you do for all the other salads and give me my greens. That's all I want! But then I thought, okay, at Basix in West Hollywood, there is a little bit of couscous on their AMAZING Mesquite Grilled Chicken Salad. So I told her fine.

Ten minutes later, I am served  some greens with a huge slattering of couscous, some cranberries, and pine nuts. This lady also encouraged me not to look at the printed menu and look at the chalkboard. The chalkboard didnt mention pine nuts. I hate pine nuts.

So I started to dine. Totally not what I want. The couscous totally absorbs the dressing, so you don't get that tang that the plain greens have. Either that, or they skimped on the dressing like mad.

I guess I just don't understand how you can serve me plain greens next to my salad, but you can't give me a plate of it. It's not like you don't have the ingredients I'm asking for. I should have stuck with my first mind and not ordered anything extra when she tried to sell me what I didn't want.

I'll stick the to turkey sandwich from now on - at least I can get some straight up greens with that one...

It's all about Taco Mondays. To be more specific, its all about the tacos on Taco Mondays.

My friend and I have been at least half a dozen times since I discovered this Monday night gem. Each time, we've had the same waitress who is never very kind or friendly. Something usually ends up wrong or forgotten. She must not expect good tips, because she certainly doesn't treat us like she'd want one.

One day we showed up too early, but it turns out the bar opens before the restaurant (which is kind of weird, considering you can also order food at the bar). We thought, AWESOME. Riiiiiiight.

Service at the bar is not great, even when you're the only ones there. It takes work to get the staff's attention. They never seem to turn around and look behind them. I've watched many a person slip in and sit near us and go just as unnoticed as me and my friend. Feeling thirsty and your drink is running low? Drink slower because it might be awhile before you get a refill.  I will say the women working the bar are friendlier then the waitress we always seem to get, but the service isn't any better. It's actually more of a pain to order at the bar sometimes because of the slow service. And you can forget it once people start to trickle in.

So, it really is all about the tasty tacos (the potato never fails. usually the chicken doesnt either, but last week it was terribly bland). Be careful if you order any drinks though. My friend and I have seen dollar taco night turn into $50 check night....