Christopher "csrollyson" R.'s Profile

As an avid cook, i really appreciate the creativity, economy and design in the kitchen and the personality and hospitality up front. It's like a trattoria b/c you're in Diego's house. Rarely in the U.S. do I encounter this kind of hospitality in a restaurant. Simple crafty decor. Sincere, warm and responsive service. Here's a rundown on the food:

Beet salad exceptional; a conversation among marinated thin onion, beets and argula that balance each other yet are distinctive voices. Toasted almonds whisper from the balcony. Goat cheese bauble perfect temp & crunchiness, a famous diva sitting in on the third act.

Grilled chicken delightful. Base is lightly seasoned, grilled eggplant slices, half chicken nests on them, with bell pepper and zucchini adding supporting commentary. The pollo has several levels of flavor: vinaigrette, black pepper, some carmel under the broiler imparts an assertive but not overpowering effect. Diego hides a little pocket of pesto in the lower piece of pollo. The juices soak into the eggplant. Garnished with dots of sweet pepper coulis.

Highly recommended!!

"Caffé RoM" joins branding hall of shame. From their ad copy: "After numerous trips to Italy, we always came back wanting more.." They obviously never noticed that it's caffè, never caffé! How could one have have numerous trips and never notice THAT? This makes me question their authenticity, quality and attention to detail. They join Così and "Caffé Baci" to have made the same mistake; the former has been in the process of correcting it for several years but signage still not consistent. One look in the dictionary...

Very happy I took afternoon stop for tea here after verifying wifi, power outlets and full-leaf tea. Stopped mid-afternoon, and service was total local café: attentive, considerate and creative (they didn't fall apart when I selected a tea and made my own iced tea from it). Tea was excellent. If you're into ambiance, this place adds tons of value there: awesome chiaroscuro affect in the afternoon due to southern exposure, curtains, high ceilings and tons of places for light to play. This is a place you could reflect, write or invite a special someone. No loud music, not frenetic. I'll definitely return! Closes early, though, like most cafés in Boise.

Yelp did me proud here. Having presented through lunch and done one flight in the afternoon, was quite peckish and thirsty. The beer sampler was good, here's a rundown: 1) Provo Girl Pils excellent opener, clean, yet plenty of character; 2) Chasing Tail Ale okay, nothing special; 3) American Wheat Hefeweizen was solid, followed the Chasing Tail well; 4) Organic Amber Tail loads better than the Chasing Tail which was needlessly sweeter; 5) Full Suspension stole the show! Tons of character, very herbacious, good body but not heavy, 6) Captain Bastard Oatmeal Stout explodes with flavor, crunchy, nutty. I ordered a Full Suspension with the Blackened Talapia salad, which was really good, but next time I'd ask them to hold the crunch tortilla strips, which were very hard to eat with plasticware. The atmosphere was great, crowded, so I invited myself to a 4top where one guy sat with a laptop (no other tables available); he was just leaving but friendly. In turn, someone joined me and had good convo. 5 stars for airport restaurant, highly recommended!

The height of mediocrity: Had moderate expectations that were barely met: rubber omelet, fruit was rind-y oranges, a few wedges of granny smith, 1 of 3 strawberries had flavor. Service not patient w punchy customer although Dick's was empty. Music was on par, mostly pop, not really retro, came across as tastelessly fake. One of the only breakfast places at SLC where you sit down; would only return under extreme duress ,^)

North Side institution, doesn't take itself too seriously, serves up stick-to-the-ribs crepes with wholesome fillings. Gr8 patio. Often live music. Founded by Mr Roignant, who successfully creates a gr8 casual restau, bohemian brasserie atmosphere all its own

As a long-time Apple customer, I cheered the opening of this store even before I knew what it would be like. I have had many experiences here, including: bringing in old Macs for on-the-spot troubleshooting before you had to make appointments for the Genius Bar; warranty work; replacing a cracked iBook screen, iPhone goofiness troubleshooting, wandering in to tweet with various machines (esp. the Air), buying Nanos or accessories. This is one of the few stores in the city that I'll enter for the joy of it. The employees are invariably helpful and knowledgeable in my experience, even across the breadth of experiences I just mentioned. Consistent. Two highlights: the power supply for the iBook died (I'd bought Applecare but had forgotten to activate, and the Genius gave me a new power supply because he believed me; second, I went through a prolonged period of iPhone 2.0 weirdness; they replaced the phone once and we finally determined that something about the settings goes awry. The Genius plugged the phone into their diagnostic machine, and he said my performance should be better on Safari, he didn't try to snow me that it was really okay, he admitted that it was subpar. I had a similar experience in Reno when a power supply died; the guys were so helpful. In my experience, such a genuine and consistent experience is exceptionally rare in retail, it's inspiring. I didn't mention that the Genius Bar is free, and the level of expertise is amazing. They will also try to get you in when you have emergencies. Cannot over-recommend!

The Social Networking Conference London 2009 pre-conference party here (great choice, Marc!), and it was awesome. Great selection of beers, and the ambiance satisfies the thirst of this yank who likes to measure history in centuries, not decades as they do in the 'States. Filled with historical memorabilia and warmth. I returned a few days later with friends and, on both occasions, the clientele and service were exemplary: warm, attentive without being cloying. There's something fantastic when clientele is having a good time without being explosive or particularly rowdy. There are numerous small rooms and nooks, and the terrace over the River Thames is fantastic. As in many European restaurants, the kitchen is somewhat inflexible because they only buy so many fresh ingredients, so they often run out of things on the menu if you arrive late. The beer never runs out, though ,^). Will always think of going back when I'm in the West End.

Had a quick breakfast here on my way to speak at the Social Networking Conference, Jan 2010. Totally mediocre food and relatively high prices. However, the waitress was fairly quick, even though there were very few people, although she didn't provide the fast service that's usual in diners even though I told her I was in a hurry. They are 24 hours, and no one in South Beach gets up much before 10:00 except workers who don't eat in restaurants. Was a "meh" experience, would not rush back.

I love Intelligentsia for the quality of the tea and coffee and the ambiance. I often invite people here for meetings when I'm not downtown. Also the people who work there obviously love it and are committed to awesome service. The only downside is they have a goofy local wifi set-up, so you pretty much have to pay by the day/hour. Also (not their fault), I barely get one bar in there (AT&T), so there's no connectivity for me of any kind. So I go there to meet and enjoy the atmosphere, but not practical for working. Nice terrace in summer, catches afternoon sun.