Jason "don't hit me with your metal death machine" G.'s Profile
DateOakland, CA 94612
(510) 451-7197
Western Management Properties
Category:
Property Management
Neighborhood: Downtown Oakland
1 Previous Review:
-
3/30/2010
For just less than 6 years, I have rented in a building managed by Western Management (though the building has had two different owners).
I would say they're adequate, if inconsistent. They cash my rent checks, and they often respond to maintenance requests. They are also inconsistent about giving the (required) 24-hour notice for entering your apartment.
The last few times I've needed maintenance, it's been okay. They fixed my leaky faucet and leaky radiator. Their current handyman is hard-working and a nice guy.
I did have one major bad experience with them, however. The apartment upstairs from me had been remodeled a few years ago, and whoever did the work failed to properly seal the shower. So eventually my bathroom ceiling developed some scary-looking bubbles that leaked. Ay-yi-yi.
They ripped out a third of my bathroom ceiling, leaving some nasty-looking wooden beams and a sort of mildewy smell.
It was hilarious the first day I came home to it. It was not funny three weeks later.
It took them a couple months to finally do all the work (repair everything upstairs, install new boards in my ceiling, and paint it [that part took them forever for some unknown reason]), and I had to bug them multiple times.
And, the first year I lived in my building ('04-'05), they never responded to ANY of my maintenance requests.
When they tried to raise my rent the first time, about a year and a half after I moved in, I wrote them a letter saying I'd move out if they didn't rescind the rent increase, since they had never responded to any of my maintenance requests. That actually got results -- they fixed the wall and ceiling, and didn't put the rent increase through. That was good.
They do the minimum and eventually respond to pressure, but maybe my expectations are too high.
I like the atmosphere -- it is in fact a nice place to take it easy with some Thai comfort food.
The coconut curry is uniformly excellent, whichever main ingredient you get. I was doing the combination curry for a while (beef, chicken), then the seafood curry (shrimp, calamari), then the tofu. It's always a generous portion with tasty sauce, and perfectly cooked green beans & carrots. I also enjoy the Pad See Ew and get it when I want to change things up a little.
Their soup is good -- big portions. The appetizers are solid.
I'm not a big fan of their particular Pad Thai, though, honestly. If you're stuck on Pad Thai, expand your horizons -- you'll be happier with something else.
Listed in: My Neighborhood
Oakland, CA 94607
(510) 832-9463
Encuentro Café & Wine Bar
Categories:
Wine Bars,
Vegetarian,
Tapas Bars
Listed in: My Neighborhood
Berkeley, CA 94704
(510) 486-0449
Razan's
Categories:
Sandwiches,
Middle Eastern,
Vegetarian
Neighborhoods: UC Campus Area, Downtown Berkeley
It's a bit pricey for what it is, but I used to think the great organic ingredients and the great service made it worth it. Lately, my experience there hasn't felt worth it.
I've seen them get orders wrong two of the last three times I've been there. They completely screwed up my friend's burrito. The next time, they gave me black beans instead of the pinto beans I ordered (important for my particular digestive system) in my burrito (I ate it anyway).
Then this last time, I got a salmon burrito, which ended up being kind of a disaster. I asked for pintos and at least they told me they were out of them, so I again settled for black beans. However, it was way overstuffed with rice, and it had that overcooked thing that happens to tortillas (a bit crispy on the outside but too moist inside, and then it just falls apart). So it didn't quite close up completely, and since it was wrapped in paper, the moisture that escaped was deadly to the experience of eating it. It just fell apart and the paper was completely stuck to the tortilla by the time I got halfway through it.
Of course, I'm the one who chose to eat a burrito at a movie theater, but I've never had a problem eating a burrito in the dark (absolutely no innuendo implied), especially if it's wrapped in foil.
With lots of alternatives available, Razan's is not distinguishing itself anymore, which is a shame.
Washington, DC 20009
(202) 600-2755
Adam's Inn
Categories:
Bed & Breakfast,
Hotels
Neighborhood: Adams Morgan
In short, an excellent value, and I'll go back there next time I go to DC.
Of course, they have amazing vegan donuts. The wide variety of cake donut flavors is impressive. I've liked every one I've tried (including green tea [very subtle flavor] and caramel with sea salt). And the deep-fried donuts are quite good also, including the cinnamon rolls and bear claws -- they have a somewhat crispy outside and very good flavor. They would be delicious even if you didn't know they were vegan.
They also have a variety of vegan breakfast items. I go there Sunday mornings right before playing baseball and the scramble is quite good. In fact, now that they have a new cook, the food is better than ever.
The scramble has a good amount of greens along with tofu and mushrooms, and is served with hashbrowns and your choice of toasted (overly crunchy) Acme sourdough or (extremely good) multigrain Dave's Killer Bread. If you like shredding the top of your mouth, go with the Acme. If you like delicious bread, get Dave's. You can also get avocado and soy "sausage" (which is a little too much like straight tofu for my taste), though I haven't had the sausage since the new, experienced cook started.
The pancakes are also good, but the piece de resistance today was the breakfast burrito, also served with hash browns. It was an extremely generous portion, with tasty enchilada-type sauce on top, and containing brown rice, refried pintos, vegan cheese, pico de gallo, and total deliciousness. Topped off with avocado and chopped green onions, the presentation was as good as the taste. I hope they make that a staple on the menu, because it was awesome. I also like the coffee.
This is kind of a 4 1/2 star review for the eclectic hole-in-the-wall decor, but that's not enough of a quibble to knock a full star off, because the bottom line is that it's extremely delicious vegan food.
Oakland, CA 94612
(510) 834-0616
Good News Cafe
Category:
Coffee & Tea
Neighborhood: Lake Merritt
Despite new ownership (Mark, who seems very cool), the best things about this place are the same as they were before.
The coffee is the same, which is good, because I really like their coffee. In fact, my girlfriend swore off Starbucks after having had the espresso here.
And the menu is almost exactly the same, as well (excluding some of the more labor-intensive stuff, like the soup made to order). The pastries are super-good -- cinnamon rolls and sticky buns, especially -- and things like turkey, egg, and cheese croissants are perfect for a late Saturday brunch.
The only thing to quibble about is the cheddar cheese -- it's AWFUL. I mean, horrible. It has this weird pungent flavor that overpowers everything. I always order something else (like Jack), and still sometimes they basically ruin my sandwiches by accidentally putting it on by default. So it pays to look over the counter while they assemble your sandwich (if you're as picky about your cheese as this cheesehead).
Listed in: My Neighborhood
2 Previous Reviews:
-
8/23/2010
Closed for the summer. Not sure why, but Eric put some paper up in the windows, so there will probably be changes of some kind when he reopens. I'm looking forward to that because I miss the breakfast sandwiches and coffee...
-
6/26/2007
This unassuming coffee shop took a while to materialize, but it's since become a neighborhood staple.
The important facts are these: Good News Cafe serves tasty, organic, fair-trade coffee, and their other menu items are solid as well. AND it's an independent, locally-owned small business -- absolutely something to encourage in downtown Oakland.
It also happens to be right around the corner from my apartment, which is a bonus for me. I now stop by after work for a veggie sandwich or an Italian deli sandwich (really good), or on the weekends when I can't be bothered to go more than half a block for food. I'm a fan of the cinnamon rolls in particular -- they're dense and chewy (in a good way).
Everyone who works there is nice, which is something too easily taken for granted.
The interior is somewhere between "cozy" and "claustrophobic," depending on your point of view. It seats about 4 (technically 6, but there's no way 6 people would all sit in there at once), and the only reason it's possible to sit inside at all is that the front of the store is all window. But the outside patio is nice on a sunny, lazy Sunday morning.
As for the coffee -- I personally like the coffee to be a little less hot than scalding, which is the way they serve it most of the time. I like to be able to drink it on my way out. They will steam it up for you if you want it hotter (I've actually had to ask a barista not to do that once, though, because I wanted to drink it right away).
Good job, Good News. Keep it up.
Oakland, CA 94607
(510) 465-5400
Cock-A-Doodle Café
Categories:
Latin American,
Breakfast & Brunch,
Cuban
Neighborhood: Old Oakland
But you don't care about any of that gratuitous preamble. I got there two minutes after they opened and there were already customers there. I was given my choice of tables. Chelsea let me use my own cup for coffee (very tasty + generous refills) and substitute veggies for meat.
I got "The Cockle" -- eggs and pancakes with, instead of meat, the veggie mix from the veggie omelet. I was trying to figure out how to get the veggie omelet and a short stack without paying $17, and this was the way to go. The veggies (corn, diced tomatoes, peppers, & avocados, etc.) worked well with the eggs (though it was kind of interesting mixing little chunks of tofu into eggs, considering tofu tends to serve as an egg substitute rather than a complement). The pancakes were tasty and surprisingly hearty (a good thing). The service was perfect for 8 am: friendly without being overly solicitous. I'd go back and take a friend (though not a vegan friend -- the menu doesn't appear calibrated for them).
Listed in: My Neighborhood
I think they tend to be a little understaffed. I went in for a drink the other night right after work and my friend and I had to ask for our drinks twice (really?). Come to think of it, they advertise happy hour from 5-7 on weeknights right on this site, yet we were given no discount nor pointed in the direction of one, and it was 5:15 when we showed up. They are also frequently slow towards the end of the lunch rush. (It's fair for me to say that because I waited tables one summer.)
Anyway, four stars for the food minus one big one for service.
Listed in: My Neighborhood
Mari and Gary were longtime executives at Alonzo Printing in Hayward, which unfortunately was a casualty of the recession. My place of employment had worked with Alonzo for years and was very happy with them (including their use of best practices to be the Bay Area's "environmental printer").
We were glad to hear we'd still get to work with Gary at Dakota Press. He and Mari brought key staff over from Alonzo, as well as their environmentally friendly approach. They have invested in new state of the art equipment and are great at what they do, which is to produce high-quality work for a reasonable price.
I imagine there are still some adjustments and growing pains for them, but I haven't experienced them. Overall I'm very happy with the quality of work, timeliness, and professionalism I've experienced with Dakota Press so far.
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Oakland, CA
Yelping SinceJune 2007
Things I Love Find Me Ina state of shock
My HometownMilwaukee, WI, but I've adopted Oakland as my very own
My Blog Or Website When I'm Not Yelping...I am somewhere else online
Why You Should Read My ReviewsI am the most credible person ever. No, really!
My Second Favorite Website The Last Great Book I ReadAnathem by Neal Stephenson
My First ConcertCorey Hart
My Favorite MovieI Heart Huckabees
My Last Meal On Earthprobably something cube-shaped
Don't Tell Anyone Else But...I don't have any secrets
Most Recent Discoveryself-confidence
Current Crushthat one girl
For almost exactly eight years, I have rented in a building managed by Western Management (though the building has had at least two different owners).
They cash my rent checks, and they respond to maintenance requests. They fixed my leaky faucet and leaky radiator when I asked them to. The current handyman is hard-working and a nice guy. They have definitely improved at giving required notices.
The bad experience with the remodel upstairs and the lack of responsiveness in 2005 are pretty much ancient history and not really reflective of the current situation.
I put in my notice on my apartment today, so maybe that's why I have a bit of a glow, but overall I've enjoyed living in my current building.