Gemini "explorer.writer.muse" M.'s Profile

All. You. Can. Eat. Crab. Legs.

(We'll come back to that part... are you hungry yet?)

I have had the lobster enchiladas and was a bit "meh" over them. Not bad, necessarily, but I expected more. The sandwhiches have all gotten rave reviews from my tablemates. A simple order of crab or lobster has always been good.

The salad has always been fresh except, admittedly, one night I wanted a little coleslaw to go... and I got a very little sample-pack size and it was not fresh and way heavy on the mayo. That made me a bit wary. But each time since then, it has been crisp, fresh, and tangy without being doused in mayo.

I love their bisque and clam chowder and, as I said opening this post, I love the AYCE crab on Tuesday nights.

It's always hot, fresh, and tasty. You get a ton of crab and all the tools you need to dig into it. They offer all the extras if you want them: butter, coleslaw, fries, etc. Not for me, though... I am a purist. Give me the crab, and no one gets hurt. Legs, claws, and bodies; freshly steamed and brought to the table steaming hot and with a lot of lemon. A bit messy, and totally worth every paper towel and wet towlette on the table.

There are no limits, as I have witnessed in a group setting... As long as you keep ordering it, they will bring it to you. A table for two? No problem. A table for 8? No problem. And always with a smile.

Service has been slow on occasion, but it's always friendly, personable, and dedicated to making sure you have what you want and enough of it to make you happy.

Oh.... Do not miss some of the pastas... the crab mac n' cheese my friend had a few weeks ago made me miss mac n' cheese something FIERCE! It was amazing!

A great go-to-spot for eating in or taking out. Doc Holliday's being connected, there is also full bar service. It's handy to have, let me tell ya...

... and I will; maybe I'll see you on a Tuesday!

Overall, this was a great way to have a Happy Burstday! The show was a lot of fun (separate review to be done over on that page) and the Yelpers were fantastic!

Ticketing was easy and efficient, seating was great (I loved the shared booth seating that allowed me to meet 2 more Yelpers!), and the show was far more entertaining than I anticipated! So far, so good!

Moving from the post-show public meet-and-greet to 107 Lounge was a little slow, but let's be fair and acknowledge that the elevators shooting us all up to the top of the tower only hold so many people at a time. :)

Getting up to the lounge and finding our little party space was easy. We were afforded a lot of room, various seating arrangements and, of course, a phenomenal view of downtown Las Vegas!

Chatting away, some folks enjoying what I understand to be very yummy food, and then who walks in but Frankie and the boys! Woohoo! Cool, casual, and very personable, it was a great way to ice the Burstday cake! Conversations flowed, the feel was laid back and easy, and everyone seemed to mingle and mix and make new friends. A really great way to top off the evening.

Only four stars for this part:

While Sasha (the Strat staffer working with Misty on this event) was AMAZING and friendly and showing no signs of any stress or strain - the woman is fantastic! - the rest of the staff was a little slow on the uptake. Mainly? The servers in 107. Specific to this event, the service was slow, a bit shaky, and one of the servers just ooooooozed the vibe of "I really don't want to be here with you." As it was a ticketed event, they had the numbers for those thirsty Yelpers who were going to be descending upon them with drink tickets, cash, and a yen for a good craft cocktail or three. The saving grace was an amazing young lady who, even though she was getting off her shift, still came back to help out and keep everyone going. Huzzah!

A fantastic night with fantastic people. Thank you, Mama Misty and Yelp!

Whether you want tattoos or piercings, these guys know what the hell they are doing.

I had heard the name from a friend and so went in to check it out. I wanted a custom tattoo to incorporate my name, Gemini, into the Burning Man symbol as commemoration of my first trip home to the playa. It was a long time coming and this tattoo was extremely important to me.

I walked in (no appointment, FYI), sat down with Zach (who, I believe, has now moved to another shop) and explained the idea in my head, roughly sketched it out for him, and discussed ideas on placement, size, etc. I left him to come up with something and went to run some errands. He called me a few hours later and said he was ready.

When I returned he had come up with the exact idea of what was in my head. We started immediately. I really appreciated the time he took and, while we were working, together we came up with some embellishments that really made it pop.

I was so happy with my experience that I went back that night and Miguel did a nose piercing for me. The next month, a girlfriend and I went back for more piercings.

Fast forward another couple of months and I went back for a custom tattoo that spans both wrists. Special thanks to Gary who helped me customize it just *so* and make sure I was completely happy.

Clean, professional, creative, and not afraid to share their opinions to make sure the end result is something you want to wear and show the world.

I have recommended others to Sted Fast and have watched them work on friends.

Very happy with them and I will be going back!

CJ, a manager, had contacted me and asked me to call him about my experiences. We chatted and I said I would give them another try.

Amy recognized me (good or bad, I was impressed) and made no bones about apologizing for that first night and expressing her hope that this time would be different. We shared pleasantries and my guests and I bellied up to the bar for our meal.

CJ introduced himself, offered to make us some drinks, and seemed on a mission to make the perfect blackberry margarita. He didn't fail; the drink was great! Fresh and fruity, he made it with muddled blackberries and fresh limes (no mixes!). It was delicious.

Guacamole Flight - The chipotle had the bite to it that I was hoping for (chipotle, duh?) but it was undercut by too much acid. It challenged what should have been a yummy chipotle smokiness. The plain guacamole was just that, plain, and the mango was plain with mango chunks thrown in. Edible, but I was hoping for more ingenuity, flavor. We tried a little salt in to pop it a bit, but no go. The texture of all three was perfect, so credit where it's due.

Salad: Caesar. Sysco? It didn't taste like a house made dressing. Meh.

The BBQ nachos came out as a small size when he ordered the large. They fixed it quickly. My friend really enjoyed the combination and found it to be tasty and well executed. I liked the BBQ sauce but thought it needed more cheese. That said, the flavors were good and the chicken was tender. A good dish.

Florentine nachos. I was skeptical about the cheese sauce; I tried it before and found it supremely disappointing. CJ gave us a small ramikin of it with some chips and we loved it. The cheese was perfect, the prosciutto was crispy, the spinach chips were fresh, and it all worked together very well. I even took my leftovers home and fed them to friends. I don't really do leftovers, much less nachos, but these were worth sharing that night.

The chicken sandwich was a bit on the dry side, but overall it was a decent, basic, grilled chicken sandwich. The sweet potato fries really made my friend happy.

The service was great. Friendly, quick with the drink refills, and extremely helpful if anything was needed. We really were very well taken care of.

Full disclosure: We were well into our entrees when CJ mentioned he was going to buy our entrees (we covered the rest). It was appreciated. It was a welcome combination of excellent service, tasty food, and - yes, I checked - clean and stocked bathrooms! While there were some standout points, I am still hesitant to give too many stars... not everyone will have this experience, and as much as it was appreciated and very good, it's not the daily M.O.

***
I knew it would be a singular and special visit if I was to be waited on by the manager. Balance, fairness and *reality* are key, so I did go in and see him... but I also went again as a "regular" customer.
***

Amy recognized me right away. After I was seated, our waitress, Sam, immediately came over and took my drink order. As recommended, I tried the red sangria. She said it was not as sweet as some sangrias but fruit came on the side. The (small!) glass came packed with ice, garnished with lemon and lime wedges. So, slightly sweetened red wine over ice. It wasn't a bad drink, per se; but it wasn't a good sangria. The citrus helped, but I wanted more fruit, depth, and, yes, more actual drink.

We opted instead for a pitcher of the blackberry margaritas. Just as I remembered them, sweet but not too sweet, freshly made, and packed with real fruit. Score!

The chips were a bit too oily and needed salt, which we added. Still, they were good, hot, freshly made and crisp.

Dinner: Sonoran Dog sans bun or beans. We got the hot dog, wrapped in bacon (crispy! yay!), on a plate with ramikins of cheese, mayo, mustard, and diced tomatoes. My avocado-lime "salsita" (*great* kick to it!) was missing and had to be requested. Suggestion: replace the bun with lettuce and create the dish as you would with a bun. The presentation fell flat and, because it wasn't constructed, the flavors, too, were missing something. The veggies (instead of fries) were fabulous! Corn, onions, and peppers well roasted and seasoned. Best thing here so far!

The coconut flan was generously portioned, creamy, and the caramel sauce was very, very good. Rich and flavorful, it was perfect.

And, yes, we checked...the bathrooms needed attention. Once I commented on it, they were better, but far from good, clean, and well stocked.

The "entertainment" wasn't. It was unfunny, way too loud, prohibitive to conversation, and, for a family place on a Thursday, rude and inappropriate.

***
Overall? I commend them for their efforts, but it's still "Meh, I've experienced better." Amy, CJ, and Sam are amazing, and there are some rare menu highlights, but I am just not excited about it.