Allison "Alikona" L.'s Profile

All you haters go on and hate.  I love May Dragon, I have since high school! That's how long this place has been around.  This was the go to place for everything, homecoming dinners, graduation dinners, first dates, group dates, and everything in between.

I don't think I'd been to May Dragon in a few years and when my friend suggested this place on a Saturday night, I figured well?  I could eat some Chinese food!  We walked in and sat right down. Ordered hot tea right away (which was delicious!).  The menu is large and has everything.  You know how Mexican restaurants give you chips and salsa?  Well May Dragon gives you fried wonton strips and yummy sauce.  Can we say amazing?  

We decided to start with some crab rangoon, which was creamy and so delicious.  If I hadn't been with my friends and needed to share, I wouldn't have. Then I ordered the Kung Pao Shrimp, I dunno, I wanted something common.  Didn't really feel like adventuring out on a limb.  It also came with a cup soup.  I chose Egg Drop and I'm not kidding, was probably the BEST Egg soup I've ever had!  Thick and creamy and with those fried wonton strips....I died.  Friends ordered the Mongolian Beef and Sesame beef. Ok.  Everyone likes Mongolian Beef, but listen up.  The Sesame beef was truly the star of the evening.  I have no friggin idea what is in that sauce....im guessing crack.  So good.  I mean the Kung Pao and Mongolian were certainly delicious, but we both had food envy.  

Price is right.  Service is great.  Food is delicious.  
Like I said, haters go on and hate.  Me likey the Dragon, May that is.

ME WANT COOKIES!!!! COOOOOKIE!!! Dude. Fo real. These cookies are da bomb.  Seriously, so delicious.  We got there right when a fresh batch of chocolate chip cookies were coming out of the oven and omgaaaaaah!  So soft and perfectly baked.  

MP & I ordered 1 peanut butter (yum), 1 white chocolate macadamia nut (uber yum), 2 chocolate chip (ORGASMIC YUM!).   Prices are good.  $.80 per cookie or I think $10 per dozen.  Nice.

The storefront is super small, but I mean, how long are you in a cookie store?  I know they deliver, that's awesome.

If you like cookies or don't like cookies.  Get some Tiff's Treats all up in ya.  You won't regret the party your mouth will have.

Hands down.  This place wins for most amazing place ever created.  Yes, even more amazing than that place...oh, and that place too.  Apparently they have really good Pad Thai, but unfortunately for my stomach (and liver) all I did was drink.  And drink.  So I didn't get a chance to have any food.  But in any case, let me break it down for you.  

Private karaoke rooms for you and your friends equipped with luxurious couches, two huge flat screen TVs, amazing song selections, private waiters, open till 4am...yep, FOUR!. Food served till then, but drinks till 2am.  Damn.  If your private waiter is being slow, no worries, there is a HUGE bar out in the main area.  Drinks are cheap and you can dance on the floor till your hearts content or until you want to go back into your room.  I can't remember the last time I partied like that.....all for karaoke.  Another amazing little point, when you choose a song, the video that comes up is a Korean music video made for American Karaoke.  Hilarious.  Also, if you don't choose a song in an appropriate amount of time, they will actually play the Korean song...and that my friends is awesome.

It's also amazing that even people that don't particularly care to sing karaoke or even anything about it....will eventually get up a make a fool of themselves.  Which is exactly the point.  We got there around 10:30pm and only waited about 15 minutes for a room, but I know you can make a reservation...and apparently if you don't, the wait is never very long.  

I also LOVE it because you don't have to sing in front of people you don't know (which is usually my problem)....its all about you and your friends.  I think its $22 per hour for a room, but don't quote me on that.....I clearly drank way to much.

Norma's is the one place I wish I could hate.  I mean really.  I also wish the people I brought here hated it too.  It's just always so good.  Every time.  The fact that I drive by this place a minimum two times per day (its on my drive to/from work) does not make it any easier.

Fresh made daily pies & meringues, you can get slices or order a whole pie.  You get a basket of fresh cornbread and biscuits with your order (sometimes you have to ask for them, but they will happily bring them to you). They have everything from Blue Plate specials...HELLO Chicken fried steak!  Waffles, Pancakes (which are ridiculous!!!), Eggs, Salads and even normal every day food like grilled cheese and hamburgers.  Seriously, you want it, they have it.

The girls who work here are so nice and have probably been working there for 100 years.  There are a few Norma's around town, but this one is the flagship and the best one!  Plus, you may even see a celebrity or two.  For serious.

Norma's with a side of gravy.  That about says it all.

USA Bowl is everything, yes EVERYTHING you wish for in a bowling alley. Crappy part of town, across the street from a strip club, full bar, free giveaways, black light shows and large screens that show music videos. Yes, amazeballs.

I'm so sick of those new posh bowling places going up...not only are they ridiculous (like 3 hr waits?) but you end up spending close to $100 to bowl and sitting on leather couches.  WTF mang?

USA Bowl is $22 per lane, up to 6 people.  $4 for shoes.  Done and Done.

We decided to do this for NYE, because lets face it....I really didn't feel like puking all night.  So we show up around 10pm and decide to bowl till after midnight.  For the 6 of us to bowl WITH shoes with $68.  Word.

We had SO much fun! Every few minutes they would give out free stuff, like "Lane 2 person 4, you have just one a free hour of bowling!" Woohoo!! A person in our party won one.  I personally *takes bow* won a beer bucket with coozies, a Budweiser hat, beer mugs and NYE glasses.  At the end of the night, a guy came around to each lane to make sure someone at that lane had at least won something.  

Thank goodness bowling like this still exists.  Guys kept walking around giving out free cups of champagne (it was warm, but FREE!), black eyed peas and smiles.

LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE! Then afterwards we can hit up Spearmint Rhino....who's with me?

Being in a little strip center, I'm sure you'd think the worst of this place.  But actually, the food is good.  Unfortunately I can't say the same on the service.  

It's BYOB so we brought our own bottle of wine, which was lovely.  The menu is huge, really a lot to choose from.   However when MP asked our server what kind of sauce was the "Seafood Curry" she had no idea.  When he tried to change up the question and ask it another way she just responded "saucy".  Great.  When MP's brother ordered the mussels to start, he asked the waitress after about 15 minutes if they were coming out and she goes "Oh, we're out of mussels."  Ok, were you going to tell us so maybe we could order something else?  So odd.  I ordered the Tom Kha soup to start.  REALLY delicious.  Then for dinner I ordered the Mussaman Curry.  Very flavorful.   MP ended up with the seafood curry (which incidentally had mussels in it), Dad ordered the spicy beef salad and Mom ordered a bento box.  

So, most Thai eaters know that they rank their spiciness on a scale of 1 to 5, 5 being the hottest.  I ordered a 2, MP ordered a 4, his bro ordered a 5 and Dad ordered a 1.  MP's was the spiciest and mine was the least spicy.  Hardly any spice at all.  Now go back and look at our numbers.  Wrong.

When I asked the waitress for some Sriracha (A THAI SAUCE that originated IN Thailand and a major staple at ALL Asian restaurants), she put her hands together and brought them to her mouth in a trance of deep thought like not only had I asked her to carry my first born child but also that I asked her for the oddest thing ever.  When I told her "Sriracha, a thai sauce in a big red bottle" she just stared at me.  Then in a bolt of realization she goes "OH! Sriracha" (pronounced a way I've never heard, 'seer-i-aka') and came back with a teeny tiny cup of it.  Fail.

Anyways, other than the weird service and the Sriracha debacle.  The food was quiet good and everyone seemed very pleased.  I'd probably go back, but for takeout only.

I absolutely CANNOT believe I haven't reviewed this place!!  MP's family lives in the 'Nati, so every Christmas when we come home we eat here two maybe three times.  

The owner Mark is hilarious.  If you don't know anything about him, the first 2 minutes in the place will be an experience.  He's grumpy, he's loud and if you waste his time he'll tell you to leave.  Plain and simple.  I'm not kidding....

So I will give you a few tips to take with you....
1. Decide what you want to order before you get in line.  
2.  Sit at the counter so you can watch everything going on.
3.  Their bagels are made fresh daily.
4. Buy a Challah
5. Try the egg salad
6. KOSHER restaurant.
7. No tipping! There are signs everywhere.
8. BEST BAGELS I'VE EVER HAD!

The walls are lined with pictures of Israel and local Sunday school kids drawings.  They have old pictures of Mark learning the bagel business, celebrities who've visited...etc.   I just love coming here.  It's a highlight of my trip.  Also, the people that work here have been there forever and are fast and efficient.  MP always orders 3 bagels, toasted with plain cream cheese.  They will give you PLENTY for your bagels....and its fresh too! Not those stupid little packets of Philadelphia cream cheese.  Ugh.  I hate when places do that.  The have everything from a plain bagel to pumpernickel to egg.  I just love. Probably over 30 different kinds.

If you live in the 'Nati and have not been to Marx...shame on you.  If you are visiting the 'Nati and want a good delicious and hot fresh bagel, you know what to do.

See you next December Marx!

For the price of $65 a night, this place is just perfect.  On our way from Dallas to Cincinnati we needed someplace to stay in the middle.  For the price and the amount of time, this seemed to be just what we needed.  The bed was comfy (and clean) the bathroom was big (and clean) and the room was big enough (and clean) with a large TV, desk, bed and bench, that we could relax for the whole 9 hours we were spending here (mostly sleeping).

The front desk staff was very friendly and surprisingly the continental breakfast the next morning was better than I expected.  Belgian waffle maker, bagels and muffins, cereal, eggs (hard boiled...but still), yogurt and fruit.  Juice and Coffee.  Perfect.

It's a quiet hotel even though it's right across from a hospital.  So if you ended up getting sick or accidentally incur a fatal wound, no worries help is close.

Please do not read this review.  It contains no useful information nor will it entice you to go to this restaurant.  It's terrible.  The food is awful and the service is some of the worst I've seen.  Just to make sure you don't go there, its in the old Hula Hotties location in the OC and its BYOB.    

The inside is not cute or homey.  The live music on Friday and Saturday is not enjoyable.  The menu looks gross and the fact that the server became my new BFF didn't do anything to help the cause. She was too friendly and we had way too much in common, don't you feel sorry for me?  Since we had to order, I ordered the Chicken Parmesan.  The homemade tomato sauce that apparently has been past down through generations should have been thrown out a long time ago.  The salad it came with had this vinaigrette dressing that I'm hoping they never serve again.  I accidentally spilled it all over my body and didn't lick it off.   MP ordered the Manicotti and licked the plate clean only because he hates to waste food.  I even tried to take a bite and he growled at me.  You see, this place only brings out the worst.  Oh and the homemade rolls with fresh garlic.  Forget it.  

When we left I figured I should take some traditional meringues because I mean, the display case was screaming at me.  So I took home 5.  Lay off me.  

Just because I became BFFs with all the people that work there (they are all family) doesn't mean you need to subject yourself to that kind of hospitality. Overall, we will probably not be going back because its convenient and about the only Italian place in the OC.  Not to mention that everyone that dines there are regulars and so super friendly....to be honest, the place makes me sick.

Ok, I guess you should go and at least try it. Or not, whatever.  I don't care.

Guys, really.  I mean, really.  A Mediterranean lunch buffet?!?  You had me at lunch.  The place is maybe only a few months old, its clean and a great big space perfect for a buffet crowd.   I know the word 'buffet' can scare people off, but have trust my pets....you will NOT be disappointed.

$12.99 seems a bit pricey, but wait until your pretty little eyes focus on the spread.   Pita, Zatar bread, Falafel, Schwarma, Babaganoush, Tzaziki, Tandori Chicken, Roasted chicken, Salads (Ceaser, Greek, & Cucumber), Soups, HUMMUS, Rice, roasted cauliflower,  kabobs (lamb & beef), stuffed artichokes...GAH! The list goes on.  

And since we're all friends here, I'll just go ahead and tell you that the hummus is so smooth and creamy, that my brain immediately went to what I could possibly do with the hummus.  Naughty and Nice...zing!  The food is truly delicious and freshly made.  You can see them cooking...so its not like they are bringing out stale containers of food...its steaming and piping hot!   Some of the dishes can be a bit salty (they use rock salt on some), but I enjoyed my food tremendously!!!

Does a great business and a full bar (yay)!  Hoping to venture for dinner sometime soon.  Hummus, I will be back for you. WAIT FOR ME!