Recent Reviews

98 Reviews

  • 4.0 star rating
    9/8/2010 Updated review

    Special Offers:
    1) Five (5) soft tacos (your choice of meat), and a Free 20 oz soda, for $5!
    2) One Super Burrito, and a Free 20 oz soda, for $5!

    4.0 star rating
    11/6/2007 Previous review
    **Grand Opening Week - Nov 1 - 7, 2007**

    A sweet addition for this section of Monument. Located…
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  • 2290 Monument Blvd
    Pleasant Hill, CA 94523
    4.0 star rating
    1/18/2009 Updated review

    Additions to this great lunch spot:

    1. Their lunch special has been reduced a bit; still a good deal.
    2. Last time there a friend bought the appetizer egg rolls (4), and got 3 - buy 4, get 3? Huh? Another friend also was missing his egg roll ... times are tough!
    3. I tried the sweet-and-sour pork a few visits back (I know, not real Chinese food); I wouldn't recommend it.

    4.0 star rating
    1/6/2009 Previous review
    ** Big Play's Official Bargain Bites! **

    Off of Highway 680 going East on Monument Blvd (aka Taqueria…
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  • $ Pizza
    600 San Pablo Ave
    Albany, CA 94706
    4.0 star rating
    1/8/2008

    ** Big Play's Official Bargain Bites! **

    These guys deliver value! Their "pizza by the slice" is a Monster Slice about the size of Barry Bond's head! Mis-shaped like it, too. Bigger than a personal pizza at other pizza joints ... includes a soda, and one topping. My "slice" was actually FOUR slices.

    For $3.50. Waaaa????

    Add $1.00, and they throw in a salad. (My homie ordered the Monster for me, so I didn't have time to try this.) Not a gourmet pizza ... but so great on a cold, rainy day when I was so friggin hungry!!

    Beverages? Sodas - .92 cents. Domestic beers, $1.75; Imports, $3.00.

    They offer 14 standard pizzas: the Carnivore, Popeye, Greek, Tex Mex, Herb, et al. Coupons on the back of their take-out menu.

    It's located a hundred yards from Albany Bowl, and the interior vibe is OK. Nothing fancy. The restroom was clean, and service was prompt and friendly.

    (NOTE: Big Play's Official Bargain Bites are $10, or less! Check out the full list under my List section.)

  • 5.0 star rating
    1/8/2008
    First to Review
    Listed in Cheap Gas

    CHEAP Gas!

    I've driven up Highway 680 for years, and always saw this place sitting off the freeway (just east of 680), by its lonesome self, with empty land, open hills, and always figured it had to have cheap gas. It does! As gas prices rise and fall, here was the comparison:

    Shell: $3.55
    Local cheap x: $3.39
    Sunol: $3.25
    Sunol - cash: $3.23

    They also have a large crap-food selection.

    Coffee: they do have a cute "buy 5, get 1 free" coffee special.

    Bathrooms: yes, they are offered, the men's displayed a decent amount of grafitti with attempts at humor. (The bathroom could use work.)

    Racing Fuel: at the pump, they also offer racing fuel, as well as 5 gallon cans.

  • 3.0 star rating
    12/18/2007

    This place is a puzzle - they have great possibilities, a great space, good food - but the attitude... yes, it is odd.

    The food - my sphere is limited, as I fell in love with the open-faced chicken pesto sandwich! (So I haven't tried many other items.) It is wonderful. Five Stars! Bell pepper, onions, pesto sauce, and chicken, on top of an open-faced sourdough roll. (My friend loves it, and wants to try to replicate it.) We also had a medium-sized pizza (with take home) on a recent visit, and it was quite good (better than the chains).

    Other menu items - can Yelpers please comment on some of their other menu offerings? (Which are extensive.)

    The space - high ceilings, warm colors, and a mixture of comfy padded booths and chairs. There is also a large, covered patio, and large windows. (No, the view isn't of Mt. Diablo.) Please note: the patio is very popular during the spring & summer.

    The service? I've often had one waiter (short hair, mid 40s), who is typically very prompt, fast, and does a great job - except he seems to have a chip on his shoulder. (Unless there is a hot woman for him to flirt with.) And the guy behind the counter when you walk in, he is ... half  friendly? Waaa?

    Let me put it another way. We had a lunch group that ate together, 3 - 4 days a week, for several years. Hubcaps (Walnut Creek) was one place we loved to go to; Mangia was a second-tier choice. When I hadn't been to these places in a while, when I went to Hubcaps, I received a smile, a warm welcome, and they wondered how I was doing. A friendly interchange. Capeche? Mangia? They acted like they'd never seen me before. Apparently, they haven't learned that a smile is free, and consumers have hundreds of choices on where to spend their food budget.

  • 3158 Stevens Creek Blvd
    San Jose, CA 95117
    2.0 star rating
    12/18/2007

    2.5 Stars for this throw-back trip to the 1980s. Or was it 1970s? The inside has a retro-cool-fake fern bar appeal. Is this where plastic plants go to die? Well, they are clean, and green.

    The marketing yahoo's who run this place in corporate really need a severe spanking. The "official" menu signage is minimalist, and stuck in 1975. So because they wouldn't spend $500 for a new menu, they have decided to kill hundreds of trees, and plaster window, after window, with gigantic signs telling us what new cardiac menu items they offer. I guess these signs might serve a purpose - in an unsightly area? Cover up the windows! But if there is any kind of view, why not let us see a sunny day, or the cleansing rain? I know, I know, you want two or three signs to attract folks in cars ... but do you really need 50 Jumbo Signs?

    The roast beef and cheese was ok, and the bun was soft. The new (?) apple turnover was pretty good (for fast food). Personally, I'd spend a few more bucks and get a quality roast beef sandwich.

    Yes, the outdated bathroom was run by the same guy who ordered those 50 Jumbo Signs.

  • 4.0 star rating
    12/12/2007

    Excellent movie theaters!

    Context is everything, right? When I first moved to The Creek, I wished they had a place like this. What did we have before? Four, maybe five screens, most were small. Outdated, outdated, outdated. An ugly cinder-block theater. And NO parking garage! Sucked.

    Now we have a fantastic 14-screen theater - right downtown?!! A cosmopolitan-looking, glass building AND a huge parking garage (that even tells you how many spots are open). Yes, you have to walk up (or down) some stairs - will that kill you? I mean, really... if you can't handle 20-30 stairs, you have MUCH BIGGER PROBLEMS in life than this lovely theater! (For disabled folks, seniors, and the lazy, there is an elevator.) Two snack bars, phoo-phoo ice cream, specialty candy, plentiful, new bathrooms. And the mid-week doorman (the blonde chap in the wheelchair) is a riot ~ and knows his movies! A solid 4.5 stars!

    What is to not like? OK, $9.50 for a movie is pretty ridiculous... and they used to have a weekly email coupon for a free drink or free water (with purchase); when Cinemark bought them, they put the kabosh on that.

    BTW, an added "bonus" is that with all of the new theaters in the area, the old domes in Pleasant Hill now show independent and foreign movies - something we had to drive to The City to see!

  • 3.0 star rating
    12/11/2007

    A decent place that offers a great option when in suburban hell. Service was prompt (but all I had was a gyros wrap). It is a modest place in a nondescript stucco retail-strip mall. They serve both Greek and Mediterranean food. I missed the sandwich, fries and drink special (advertised on a sandwich board outside).

    The gyros was decent. Other Yelpers will have to comment on their stuffed grape leaves, lamb souvlaki, kabob's, prawns corfu and moussaka. I wouldn't drive out of my way for the gyro, and would give the overall rating a 2.5. Add a .5 for giving local folks a different dining option.

  • 5.0 star rating
    12/9/2007

    ** Big Play's Official Bargain Bites! **

    There are certain "classics". In La-La Land, its Pinks, The Pantry, and The Apple Pan. Up here, we've got Ole's Waffle House in Alameda, Millie's Kitchen in Lafayette, and Sam's in Tiburon. To that mix, add Red's Java House.

    Located on the Embarcadero, this structure is roughly a hundred years old. Not old for Boston, but old for the West Coast. This ramshackle clapboard locale has that funky old warmth. If you can, grab a window table with a water view. This is Old School, drama mama's not allowed. No foie gras, wasabi, or truffles here.

    I had the breakfast sandwich on a sourdough roll ($3.55), while my friend had an American breakfast ($5.50?), which included ham, eggs, toast and hash browns. Service was prompt, and banter with the gent manning the cash register was lively. This place used to serve longshoremen in a time long gone, but some of the feeling is still there. You can get a dog and a Bud for $4.50? (And for the Hipsters, yes, they sell PBR here on the cheap.)

    (My second visit, I had the Italian sausage sandwich, on a French roll. Included a few onions ($5.00). An average sandwich that could use a little help.)

    Historic photos document the past, and an outdoor patio out back serves the thirsty when the sun is shining. My bet is that drinks are priced reasonably, and strong to boot. This is honest, no-frills dining. Some of the food is bare bones, but the waterfront location, historic aspect, price (value), service and vibe win for me.

    This business is on property owned by the Port Authority, and if they ever try to axe this place, the Dungeons and Dragons crowd should break out their paint ball gear!

  • 3849 Mount Diablo Blvd
    Lafayette, CA 94549
    4.0 star rating
    12/9/2007

    Not many suburbs have a place like this. I'd basically break it down into five components.

    1) Lower trail - paved, with multiple bathrooms perfect for all, especially soccer Moms. Clean, safe bathrooms.

    2) Upper trails - multiple trails - from hilly, to super hilly.

    3) The Reservoir - perfect for a summer's day, and always a nice view. Birds, fish, boaters. What's not to like? (Paddle boats for rent.) Multiple docks for fishing.

    4) NEW Children's playground - as you face the reservoir, located at 10 o'clock. The local community raised over $100,000 to build multiple child-safe climbing structures for toddlers, youngins, and kids a bit older. Perfect for young families.

    5) Large lawns - at 10 o'clock and 2 o'clock (or port and starboard), there are two large lawns for picnics, volleyball, BBQs, baseball, catch, and more.

    There is parking up above, or park down at street level, and enjoy the walk up to the reservoir (as well as the wild turkeys). The reservoir also boasts terrific California oaks and wildlife.

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369 Compliments

  • You're Funny

    Classic review of Captain Kosmakos! Right on the money...ha!

  • You're Cool

    Woot woot!  Are you going to the games this week?

  • Thank You

    Wooohooooo!!!  I have Dub fever, baby!

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3 Lists

Cheap Gas

For real. Mainly East Bay.
1.  Sunol Super Gasoline
CHEAP Gas!  I've driven…
2.  ARCO
When your gas prices are…
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** Big Play's Official…

Who doesn't like a bargain? I stick to the…
1.  Tú Lan
** Big Play's Official…
2.  Red's Java House
** Big Play's Official…
3.  Araujo's Mexican Grill / El…
** Big Play's Official…
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"2x Perot Voter, Fiscal Conservative"

Review votes:
327 Useful, 172 Funny, and 255 Cool

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Location

Concord, CA

Yelping Since

March 2007

Things I Love

Words, friends, travel, Warriors, Dr. Thomas Sowell, Tu Lan, ...

Find Me In

The Bay Area, or @ street faires

My Hometown

Planet Earth

My Blog Or Website

DrudgeReport.com

When I'm Not Yelping...

Something new: hiking the Summarian Gorge?

Why You Should Read My Reviews

Because I am semi literate; I love great dives!

The Last Great Book I Read

Blink

My First Concert

Elton John; the Commodores; Confunction!

My Favorite Movie

Midnight Express, Finding Forrester, Casablanca?

My Last Meal On Earth

... with a sexy, non-drama woman!!!

Don't Tell Anyone Else But...

I'm considered liberal in over 25 states...

Most Recent Discovery

Falaffel's Drive In (San Jose) ! Thank you, Yelp!!! & Scotty Sauce...

Current Crush

She knows

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