|
"Kinda like the man behind the curtain..."
- 1137 Friends
- 620 Reviews
- 61 Review Updates
- 104 Firsts
- 203 Fans
- 1515 Local Photos
- 433 Events Submitted
- 114 Lists
-
Rating Distribution
Loading...
- View more graphs »
Review votes:
6911 Useful, 4670 Funny, and 7176 Cool
Washington, DC
Yelping SinceDecember 2006
Things I LoveYelp, Ethnic Food, Cooking, Deep Dish Pizza, Dollhouse, Lost Boys, Chocolate Chip Cookies, Heroes, Neil Gaiman, Joss Whedon, Bubble Tea, James Perse
Find Me InEconomy class. Why can't one airline fly all of the southeast US for cheap?!
My HometownSmall town, USA
My Blog Or Website When I'm Not Yelping...I'm on a phone... gabbing about Yelp to someone hundreds of miles away...
Why You Should Read My ReviewsI'm likely gushing about something.
My Second Favorite WebsiteOh hellz. Guess what I didn't need: http://deals.woot.com
The Last Great Book I ReadWorld's End. Holy crap. The funeral at the end? Must know what that's about!
My First ConcertSister Hazel was my first concert, Evanscence was my first concert epiphany
My Favorite MovieTen Things I Hate About You
My Last Meal On EarthHomemade sui jiao and zhong zhe
Don't Tell Anyone Else But...I'm a model. Yup.
Most Recent DiscoveryThat my little cousin is not only on Yelp... she's also Elite. Mind is blown.
Current CrushCrème de violette - it's my school color!
DateMiami, FL 33159
(305) 876-7536
Miami International Airport
Category: Airports
Foot, meet mouth.
Having let hunger and exhaustion get the better of us, we three ignored the singular pre-existing two star review and thought to ourselves, "Hey, this is convenient. It looks pretty nice. And they have a gorgeous sun-lit outdoor patio. Why not take a chance that the only other yelper who tried this out had a fluke poor experience."
Yeah... well, the fluke apparently wasn't so flukey after all. Just getting seated is challenging enough. We stood around the front entrance, looking appropriately lost/confused to no avail. So I took it upon myself to ask a randomly passing-by employee whether or not there was a host I should speak to for seating. He pointed me to a handsome lady, who greeted me... then a third gentleman swoops out of nowhere to take us to a table without any prompting. Whiplash! What just happened?! At least we ended up on the sunny patio like we wanted...
Five minutes later... no menus. Five more minutes later... still no menus. Really? I wander inside and find the same handsome lady to ask her if we might have a server. The response: "We very busy..." Then she wanders in the other direction. Uhh...
Server finally comes to offer us menus. I'm about ready to start gnawing on my arm. We immediately order edamame and some green teas. Teas were a mistake. Sure, it looks green. Like, Ecto-Cooler style. But it sure didn't taste like tea. Fail. One sip and done.
And while the lunch specials are reasonably priced for the quantity of food, it appears that Sushi Siam puts a lot more stock on its presentation than its food quality. Like many men, this grub was good from afar, but far from good. Dry rice in the sushi and a gloopy sticky-sweet glaze on the teriyaki chicken meant that the miso soup was the highlight of the meal.
Lesson learned: Disregard the warnings of other yelpers at thine own peril.
And working with Colleen at the Townhouse was a breeze. Not only is she warm and personable, she's a consummate professional, insuring that we had anything and everything we requested to pull off a week of meetings in the penthouse suite. Event planning is way easier when you have an ally like her on your side!
And let's just talk for a moment about conducting conference calls and working sessions on the enormous waterbed cushions at their rooftop deck. In the middle of November. While wearing shorts. Uh huh. These are the special moments when I reflect upon how much I absolutely love my team and what we do.
A brief walk to the beach, a simple yet filling continental breakfast offered for free in the mornings, and a room that's fine enough to crash in after a long day of being out and about in SoBe means I'm a pretty happy camper.
The staff are polite, friendly, and efficient. Even random run-ins with them in the hallways of the hotel will win you a courteous "Hello, sir." Or perhaps a "Good morning, sir." And it was almost impossible for us to hang onto our luggage, since so many employees were always swarming all over us to lend a hand.
But for all of the grandiose, beautiful, luxurious surroundings and attentive service... I have to admit that I was a little frustrated about the finer details of my hoteling experience here. It seems like such a tiny little thing... but it just stands out in my mind: the bedside lamps wouldn't turn on.
Considering how impressive everything else about the stay was, it seems shocking that a little oversight like this would make a difference. And on top of that, it took me a good five or ten minutes just to turn -off- all of the lights in the room to go to sleep. For anyone else who stays here and reads this, you'll find the switches to turn off the lamps on either side of the television tucked away -behind- the lamps.
I was expecting there to be some master light switch that I just wasn't observant enough to find. No such luck. Similarly, I imagined that there was some light switch I hadn't flipped on in order to make the bedside lamps light up. Also, no go. It's still a mystery to me.
Regardless, the Viceroy is definitely a superb hotel. I can't imagine staying anywhere else when visiting The Magic City.
*I'm pretty sure this is a patent lie, but if someone else manages to figure out how to make the coffee machine wash and fold laundry, please PM me so I can make use of it on future trips.
This is Miami. People are just -arriving- at the clubs at midnight on Thursday night (Oh, hello Buck 15...)! How could it possibly be so ridiculously difficult to find a joint that will deliver edible food in Miami Beach around midnight?! Apparently, extremely. And by "extremely" I mean "nigh impossible."
Enter: Yelp and all you beautiful, wonderful, sparkly yelpers' reviews for Cheeseburger Baby.
I blame the excessive amounts of liver damage from earlier in the evening for our indiscretions in ordering. Half pound bacon cheeseburger, bucket of chili cheese fries, pile of crispy onion rings, and mistaken crunchy chicken fingers (woops... the "sandwich" part of "chicken finger sandwich" must have gotten lost in translation). OMGWTFBBQ?!
Thank you, cute foreign delivery boy. You made our night. I'm never eating anything fried ever again.*
*Until we go to La Moon, hopefully tonight.
Miami, FL 33137
(305) 573-5550
Michael's Genuine Food & Drink
Category: American (New)
Not a single item we ordered was off-base. Service was absolutely stellar -- frequent brief check-ins without being down-your-throat. And the space itself is just plain lush with dark woods, low lighting, and a pleasant rumble of conversation under an airy high ceiling.
Highlights of the evening, in no particular order:
- Cute, professional server (totally giggle/point-worthy)
- The shortrib with toasted almonds & hazelnuts that was meltingly forkable apart
- Side of crispy pig ear (Who knew that pig ear could be served any way but sliced ultra-thin in a chili oil sauce?! Clearly I need to go somewhere other than A&J once in awhile...)
- Pretty tall fauxhawked chef
- Crispy sweet and spicy pork belly with kimchi and crushed peanuts (far superior to traditional Korean offerings, and I don't say that lightly. Please reference Yechon experiences: http://bit.ly/1Kffsp)
- Bottled Chimay Blue
- Cute, professional server (um... call me?)
Of course, how could this joint -not- be pretty darn awesome in all respects? It's nestled into the Design District and surrounded by nifty shops that are eye-catching and alluring even when it's mid-evening and they're all closed. I dig.
I've had crispier, more flavorful pita. I've had more savory gyro meat. I've had more succulent tzatziki sauce. Honestly... at pretty much any Mediterranean/Greek eatery I've been to that I can recall.
This isn't to say that it was a -bad- gyro. It's large and filling and came out in a jiffy. But for the price point, I was kind of hoping for a little more somethin' somethin' than just size and a quick delivery, y'know?
The first thing that stood out to us long before we even go to the food was that the space itself is well appointed. Wood paneling and backlit etched glass frescoes adorn the walls. It just looks open and upscale in a way that other dim sum joints in the area don't.
While the food options at Silver Fountain don't seem to be as impressively diverse as over at New Fortune, what they -do- serve they make well. Items aren't excessively greasy and everything we had seemed to be freshly made. I wish that the sha chong fun (wide rice noodles wrapped around shrimp) had a little more consistency to the wrappers, but I really liked the giant blocks of luo buo gao (radish cake).
Sadly, they didn't seem to have any fresh greens on carts, or guo tie dumplings as I've seen at other places. It's possible that one could order them from the kitchen, but we ended up going the route of just plucking items off the rolling carts.
Stuffed to the brim, in and out in about half an hour, and oozing delicious chrysanthemum tea from my pores, we ended up getting out for roughly $25 with tax and tip for two people. Pretty darn good, I'd have to say!
Random aside: The parking lot was kind of a deathtrap when we were here, due to an apparent old school car show of some sort. This seems like an irregular event, but it definitely made entering/exiting the parking lot extremely challenging (and dangerous, considering how many Asian drivers there were).
There's not much seating, but it almost seems superfluous anyway. In my singular experience, no one actually hangs out here - all of the other ten or so customers that we saw during our visit took their drinks to go. Still, it's an open airy space that begs plopping down with a laptop or catching up with a friend over some boba.
And as far as the tea itself goes, it's pretty ideal. The couple that runs the shop obviously take great care of, and great pride in, what they make here. The servings are quite generous at the price point, the proportion of tapioca pearls to liquid is appropriate...
... but if there were one thing I'd strongly prefer, it would be that they use real fruit instead of powders and syrups. Not that my tea itself wasn't just fine, but compared to The Juice Bar's freshly blended frozen lychees, the lychee syrup used in my bubble tea wasn't much of a comparison.
All in all, it was worth the ten minutes drive over for a little afternoon pick-me-up following a sumptuous dim sum brunch. I'm definitely filing this little gem away in my memory banks for future visits if/when I'm out in the Rockville neighborhood and looking for a simple, fulfilling study spot.
NB: Private parking exists out back - you just have to make the first right into the sketchy looking alleyway on Rollins immediately past the actual storefront.
Washington, DC 20003
(202) 232-2156
The Gibson
Category: Lounges
Neighborhood: U Street Corridor
And, as much as I adore the Stranger on a Highway (which I've been enamored with since before it was even on the menu) I think I've found a new lover, and its name is John's Scorched Earth. If you like your peaty whiskies, you're bound to dig this cocktail stirred up with some of my fave ingredients: Benedictine and Domaine de Canton.
Also, this is only the second joint I've ever been to that knows how to throw together a flip drink. And possibly one of a handful that I'd trust to do it without killing me.
Thanks go to Mel for helping the boy and I salvage a disappointing evening of failed Hawt on Yelp pampering... and for surprising me with a shockingly fine time and a stunningly brief wait on a Thursday evening. I don't imagine it'll hold out once folks learn that the upstairs is now open for business.
8 Previous Reviews: Hide »
-
8/30/2009
It's been a long time in coming, but I'd like to revisit my trip to The Gibson from a couple weeks ago. Being one of those wild experiences that is just too hard to put in words.
There are very few bars out there where I'm perpetually impressed with the cocktail craftsmanship, where the space is moody and comfortable, I score multiple fabulous new friends (Hi Vijaya! Hi Pacci!), -and- we close down the place at 0200 to crash on a friend's couch on a Monday night...
Enter: The Gibson.
In semi-chronological order...
- I had -two- delicious cocktails of which I can never remember. Brendan just goes to work, and about ten minutes later, I'm presented with something that I can't help but slurp down like it's going out of style.
- Julie and I share a delicious cheese plate, which is far more filling than one would expect, along with a medley of olives
- We strike up a conversation with some guy who's moping by himself farther down the bar, steal his iPhone, and install the Yelp app... then sign him up for an account (Score!)
- Meet fabulous Vijaya and her friends, one of which is leaving for the far northern wilds of Michigan for school; we discover that Vijaya and I have virtually identical tastes in drinks (Old Fashioned, FTW!)
- Mysteriously end up outside on the patio, where I meet Pacci, who's also friendly and fun; it's still unclear how she ended up finding me on Facebook later... this portion of the evening was admittedly a little fuzzy.
- Get offered shots of [insert mysterious liquor here] with the bar staff...
- Run out to try and sober up at Ben's with an order of chili cheese fries each. Because -that's- always a good idea... We even convince Brendan to sneak out to hang with us briefly before he had to head back to close down the bar...
- Return to The Gibson to see if everyone's done; the lights are up... I'm sure I look like a mess, but no one cares at this point. Melanie attempts to coerce me into taking another shot with the kids there... -so- glad I avoided that, otherwise I would have been hurting the next morning...
- Stumble over to Julie's place to crash on her couch.
For all these reasons and more... The Gibson might as well be my Cheers. Just hold the beer. -
7/24/2009
Are you familiar with the scientific method? Everyone learns that kind of stuff in grade school, right? And it's been around for quite some time, so people who are around today have at least been exposed to the concept, yes?
For those too lazy to wikipedia it, I've pulled it in below, along with my own attempt at an application of it.
1. Define the question: How does one have an ideal experience at The Gibson?
2. Gather information and resources (observe): Read previous reviews by other yelpers to form a basis of knowledge.
3. Form hypothesis: Off nights at the bar are one's best bet.
4. Perform experiment and collect data: See previous half dozen reviews.
5. Analyze data: I've correlated my level of enjoyment with nights of the week and seating situations.
6. Interpret data and draw conclusions that serve as a starting point for new hypothesis: Sitting at the bar is the only way to go. Sunday late nights are the most superior, with the level of enjoyment as the week progresses readily modeled by a logarithmically decreasing function.
7. Publish results: Self-evident in this review.
8. Retest (frequently done by other scientists): Oh, I intend to.
If you enjoy a mild, potent, grapefruit beverage, be sure to ask Derek for his 3121. Journos and politicos, geek out. -
5/1/2009
Okay. So, for those haters of The Gibson out there (Venu, I'm looking at you...), I'll reiterate my perpetual warning: go on off nights. That means Sunday, Monday, and possibly Tuesday if you want to risk it.
I come here for the space.
I come here for the drinks.
I come here for the conversation.
I come here because I can roll up in jeans and a tee, and that's a-okay.
I do not come here for snark from servers.
I do not come here to play power games with the wait staff.
I do not come here to argue about the existence of drinks by name (more on this later).
Fortunately, the company, the conversation, and the ambiance served to help forget about the frustrating experience of obtaining my first drink choice. Plus, now that the Boothby Manhattan is on the menu, I can at least be guaranteed that all the bartenders will know how to craft it (and it's just as enjoyable as before, when it -wasn't- on the menu).
This past Wednesday was a great case in point: you're best served rolling in on a chill Sunday evening and pulling yourself up at the bar. Cut out the middle man and have a conversation with the gentleman (or gentlewoman) crafting you your cocktail. Seriously.
-----------------
And just for reference, I found this on CocktailDB with little effort.
Crescent
Shake with ice and strain
1/3 Amer Picon (1 oz, 3 cl, 1/4 gills)
1/3 Martini sweet vermouth (1 oz, 3 cl, 1/4 gills)
1/3 bourbon (1 oz, 3 cl, 1/4 gills)
3 dashes raspberry syrup
Use mixing glass
Serve in a bar glass (16.0 oz) -
4/28/2009
Peaty whiskey. Are you familiar with what that is? No, no. It's okay. Be honest. Because I didn't have a clue either. At least, not until I was presented with a drink using that as a base. And now I get it: it's magic.
Let me clarify for a moment. I'm not talking magic like walking broomsticks gone amok, or silvery unicorns, or The Power of Three a la Charmed.
This is a subtle, insidious magic. It creeps and coils around your taste buds, tantalizing you with undulating essences and a kaleidoscope of flavors - smoky, bitter, sweet, and others that don't have accurate enough words. This is magic that worms its way into your veins.
I wish I could remember all of the components to this drink, but alas, the memory escapes me. Yet again, it's another one of Brendan's obscure creations that undoubtedly has a name to it (and one could find it in a thorough enough cocktail encyclopedia).
And... I may or may not have returned here the day after my most recent review update. No, I'm not an addict. It just happened to be convenient. And the boy had never been before. Seriously. Not. An. Addict. -
4/20/2009
It just keeps getting better.
A polite doorman to greet us.
Plenty of seating (It was my first time in one of those cozy little booths off to the side - comfortable! Not recommended for ummm... big-boned people, though).
I didn't even have to order a drink. Brendan came over with cocktail napkins and simply said, "I have a cocktail for you." Ummm, okay. None of his other creations have failed me yet (although I did see the Boothby Manhattan made it onto the updated drinks menu).
They now serve food! I believe it was $30 per person for a whole array of cheeses, meats, olives, and crackers, but having just come from an enormous meal (where even I gave up on trying to finish all the food), we passed on this.
And the outdoor patio was open for the first time that I'd ever seen... although it looked to me like it was being utilized more as a smoking lounge than for seating.
Oh, and my mystery drink? It was a Crescent. Later on, Derek Brown (of head mixologist fame) wandered in, and I mentioned it to him and even he was stumped at its obscurity! Deliciousness - I've never before had a Manhattan (I think that's the category it falls into) with equal parts whiskey and sweet vermouth. A little sweeter than I typically would order a drink for myself, due to the raspberry syrup in it, but as always... dangerously smooth.
Does this mean that I should consider myself a regular here? -
3/22/2009
I've come to the overwhelming conclusion that one must absolutely go to The Gibson on an off night for an ideal experience. This is the second time that I've been here where there's been no crazy guest list shenanigans, no holier-than-thou doorman, just let yourself in and grab a seat at the bar.
Apparently I've been here frequently enough (all of four times now?) that Brendan recalled I was a fan of the Boothby Manhattan. As much as I do love good Boothby, I was up for switching it up a little bit, and Brendan was on his game. Although I tossed out that I had been quite fond of the Manhattan I'd had the last time I was here with some Ramazzotti, he pulled together a completely new and different concoction that would thoroughly enjoyable.
I don't know that I'll ever quite grasp the intricacies of cocktail crafting. But I sure as hell know how to enjoy one! Tonight's poison ended up being a rye whiskey with some kind of port, and some amaro. I've never been a big fan of sweet drinks. I'll consume them, but they don't particularly interest me. This was not sweet. At all. And it was delightful.
I have to say that I've yet to order up a Manhattan here that isn't deliciously smooth. This one was no exception. Considering that they measure all of their ingredients precisely with jiggers, it shouldn't be a surprise that they're consistently delightful. Still, the creativity and encyclopedic knowledge required to catalog and retrieve the ingredients and order to prepare a fine drink perpetually impresses me.
Stop in on a late Sunday or Monday evening. Order off-menu. And if you can, sit at the bar. Not much tops hanging at the corner by the door, by far my favorite spot in the house to catch up with a handful of friends over a cup of cheer. -
2/10/2009
The bartenders here are personable! Well, at least one of them is...
I made reservations for Monday night at the last minute. Yes, Monday. Yes, we wanted to get our drank on. Partially, I wanted to show Chantelle the magic of the drinks at The Gibson. Partially, I felt like we needed it to unwind from an exhausting day of back-to-back meetings.
We rolled up to the nondescript door five minutes before our 2100 RSVP and ring the doorbell. Wait... wait... no response. Ring again. Wait... no response. Ring a third time. Finally, I jiggle the door. It's unlocked. We let ourselves in. No host? So confusing. Why'd I make a reservation again? Why'd they -take- the reservation? Unclear. We're greeted and invited to seat ourselves wherever there's room. There's room everywhere. Sloooooow night!
Chantelle and I sidle up to the bar and plop ourselves down on the corner. I know what I want. She peruses the menu. I have another Boothby Manhattan, because the last one I had here was delicious. This one's equally scrumptious and smooth (and heavily alcoholic). She and I dish.
Then we engage our bartender, Brendan. A simple question about how one gets into the craft of cocktail-making turns into a lengthy dialog on the origin of The Gibson, the science behind a great cocktail, varieties of house-made bitters, and why a Ramos Gin Fizz is that drink that the bartenders will hate you for ordering*.
An hour passes by in a fraction of the time, but we're exhausted, so we settle our bill and pack up.
There's something to a buzzing bar and the energy and hum of many conversations that's enticing. But sometimes, all you want is to sit down, have a great drink, and relax with good friends. Apparently Monday nights at The Gibson are the latter. And that suits me just fine.
NB: They do have a patio, which will be opening up when the weather gets nicer. Do I sense a possible fifth star, when I get to scope that out, and their super-questionable RSVP process gets fixed?
* The traditional Ramos Gin Fizz apparently took twenty minutes each to properly shake up. Brendan explained that there used to be a line of assistants to help shake up batches of the beverage, fire brigade style. When one got tired, they'd pass it off to the next one to continue shaking. Intense! -
1/17/2009
Drinks: Five Stars
RSVP Process: One Star
If you're going to require that your customers call ahead to make reservations in order to be let in on time, then you should probably have competent and communicative staff to handle those transactions. Particularly if there's no electronic method of submitting and confirming reservations.
I had called last Thursday (1/8) to make a reservation for this week. The girl on the other end of the line informed me, initially, that her manager had "the book" but that she'd have him call me back. He did call me back within a half hour, and I booked a time for just this past Thursday (1/15) evening, and he explained that if I needed to change that time, I should call back.
I confirmed that one of my guests was busy on Thursday evening, so I promptly called last Friday (1/9), that I'd like to update my reservation to Friday (1/16) instead of Thursday (1/15). The girl who was handling my reservations update -specifically- clarified with me that I was -not- planning on coming in that night (1/9), but for the following Friday (1/16), to which I replied "Yes, -next- Friday, correct."
What happens when we show up at our reservation time? I'm not on the list. It turns out that I was on Thursday's (1/15) reservation. The hell?! First off, we weren't even -talking- about Thursday anymore. Secondly, the girl specifically -clarified- which particular Friday I was RSVPing for. Ball... meet floor.
In the end, the evening was reasonably salvaged. We put in our name for the waiting list, and after we had a few drinks upstairs at Marvin we got a text message saying that our table would be held for ten minutes. Chugging our just-ordered champagne, we headed back over and into a den of bohemian excess, perhaps on an order greater than PX.
With drinks ranging from roughly $10-$20, there are a variety of options available on the menu. It doesn't hurt to ask for ideas for off-menu drinks either. I ended up with a Boothby Manhattan that was off-the-menu and it was deliciously smooth. Possibly one of the most delicious Manhattans I've had.
Yes, the vibe is pretty impressive. The booths for two look super cozy and great for a date, if you can manage to snag one. We were seated at the table at the very front and informed that we'd have to leave by 2300 hours because another party had a reservations. An hour and change was plenty to sip down a drink, have some great conversations, and enjoy the space. Be warned - you will feel the frosty air blowing in from the outside if you have the misfortune of being seated up front.
Huge props go to our witty, well-informed server, Melanie. Not once was she fazed with the daunting task of providing valuable recommendations. Nor with the obscure off-menu drink orders submitted by the more Gibson-experienced among our party. She definitely won back some good faith points for the quality of this establishment with me.
Lesson learned: until they get the system more streamlined, it is absolutely essential to call ahead (perhaps multiple times) to ensure that your reservation did not vanish into the ether. Once inside, the experience is superb. It's navigating the awkward, broken call-ahead system that requires an extra layer of effort, but is well worthwhile in the end.
114 Lists
Trying to find the cab line to escape the terminal is a complete cluster. A little signage, por favor?
Waiting through the interminable lines for security is a complete cluster. It's as if no one going through this airport has ever flown before.
You know it's bad when I'm comparing against Dulles and I'm starting to think my home airport is really top notch...
On an up note, they reportedly have free wi-fi through the end of the year! That's something, right?