Joey D.'s Profile

I've become a coffee snob. It's true - I bring a thermos of home-brewed French press almost every day.

But there are some days I don't have time or the inclination, so I head to Kick Butt 2 on the way to work. Mostly because they serve up a robust Red Eye (dark roast with a shot or two of espresso in it), but also because of the staff. Maria and Bess are super nice, remember your name and coffee drink, and they often engage in some quick chit chat about life, the weather, SXSW, ACL... most anything. Their cool demeanor keeps me coming back, along with the fastest shop service in North Central Austin.

They've got punch cards so every tenth is free and the owner does a nice job bringing the community into his Austin-based venture. I dig that.

Yesterday I took a step back in time, to a place where a barber shop was a safe haven for men.

My friend Tom told me about the new Capital City location so I decided to give it a try. Tom lured me in with visions of straight-razor neck trims and warm towels wrapped about your head.

So when Patrick (my son) and I needed trims, we went. What a great experience.

The room is filled with old chairs and, most importantly, talented and easy-going barbers. Brian cut the boy's hair and Juan cut mine. I was thoroughly impressed with Brian's dealing with Patrick. He was patient, and you could tell he's been around kids quite a bit. He tempted Patrick with a train table to play with if he was good, and the boy sat still from that moment on. Perfect.

Both barbers gave great haircuts and we enjoyed conversations that guys have at a barber shop. I think we'll be back for certain.

I recommend Capital City. Take your sons.

Kenny Hill supports local bike racing, so I support him.

His estimate (for wiring fog lights on my new Jetta Sportwagen) was within an hour of the actual, and I found his candor honest and transparent. In fact, I enjoyed shooting the sh*t about old VW's and what they've meant to us.

There's a lot of negative reviews about this shop, so I'm glad the work I needed to be done was elective and not required to keep my car on the road. But even if it were dire straits, I still think I would trust Kenny and his mechanics.

I can't tell you how many times I was promised a Chicago dog, only to be disappointed by misleading claims. But today I found MIKE & mike's and - as a true blue Southside Irish ex-pat -I can tell you it's legit.

From the S. Rosen's poppy seed buns to the neon relish and sport peppers, this is the real deal. The beef is Vienna as promised, and the celery salt was used in moderation to create a wonderful dog.

MIKE (the dad) is a cool dude and apparently a White Sox fan, thought he could've said that only because I said where I was from. Either way, it was appreciated.

Got an old image you want blown up? These guys are the real deal.

I uploaded a hi-res scan of my grandpa playing football in the 1920's. The original is grainy and not real clear, but that helps add to the cool factor.

The processing results were very positive - it looks like a giant 2.5' x 3.5' sepia tone that will undoubtedly be great in a frame (when I get around to it).

I'm local, so I was able to pick up my print and they run a tight ship - clean and friendly. Plus I got to see their work on canvas. It's not exactly my thing (I like my photo printing to be true), but I did like the idea presented by a member of the staff who said "older images work well on canvas because the texture helps hide imperfections." Something to consider.

I was called when my order was ready and I even received a handwritten thank you note - always a positive in my book. I'd recommend them to anyone.

I really like the team at Sun Tint. I called yesterday, got a quote (which was fair, if not lower than others) and set an appointment. This morning I pop over and 45 minutes later my windows are tinted.

It's not typical - they say to allow 1-2 hours. But I was truly amazed.

The staff is nice, the waiting room well furnished and there's free wifi and a cool coffee shop across the street (Thunderbird).

How can you go wrong?

If my tint peels off the windows I'll be back in this forum, but for now I give the crew at Sun Tint five whole stars.

Scratches on the wife's Prius are now a thing of the past. I found Donavin's service on Craiglist after not finding the best reviews here. I thought I'd give him a try - I liked his ad.

He came out a couple days later to look at my wife's car. On the phone he gave me a range, and I immediately thought the worst - seems most service providers don't get it. But for the minor scratches and slight stains on the seats on a compact car, he said it would be the low end. I was pleased, shocked and happy all at once.

We scheduled with ease and he came out one day when the wife was working from home. To have my lady say "he's super nice, friendly and is doing a top job" is the biggest compliment a service provider can get. She also mentioned her car looked as good as the day we drove it off the lot. I agree, he made it look super fine.

He also followed up with suggestions for a windshield repair (small chip started) and sent an email to ask me how he did.

A+ service. I really like this guy and would recommend him to anyone.

Oh yeah - he comes to you and uses only two gallons of water the whole time. THAT was amazing to me in water-restricted Austin.

Dim Sum all day every day - what a concept.

Went there with the kids tonight and the staff was very receptive. They helped us get situated (we have two-year-old twins) and talked about how to order (simple pen and paper tally).

The Bao was great, same with the Spring Rolls. While it's not SF Chinese or Lang Lee from the Southside of Chicago, I found the food tasted good and the joint was clean.

The kids seats could use some repair and the Chinese Broccoli was more stalk than leafy goodness.

Who the heck knew that there is a difference between fresh roasted coffee and the store variety that is vacuum sealed? I didn't until a friend told me about Pilot House.

At the site I read that coffee loses flavor after sitting, so I thought I'd give this uber fresh roast a try. I ordered the Guatemala blend and it was delivered later that week, apparently hours after it was roasted. Robby, the owner, personally walked up to my door and handed it off with a couple of tips.

I love the taste and it does well in my Iced Toddy maker. Plus they deliver via scooter, a nice green touch.

I recommend the Pilot House and look forward to my next bag.

You know what's expensive? A wood countertop.

But sometimes you find an element or part of a remodel you want to be special, and this for us was the top on our remodeled bar (part of the kitchen). We set out looking for options, considering steel and stone and kept coming back to a butcher block top. But not just any top, we wanted something nice.

Enter DeVos.

My wife and I rifled through their website and a few others about town. DeVos seemed the most complete, so we called.

The owner was courteous and knowledgeable in the art of woodworking and he kept encouraging us to visit. We had our minds made up, or so we thought, and he thought we should get a true read on the woods and colors and patterns.

At the showroom, the DeVos clan let our two-year-old twins explore and touch all the wood samples. They showed us the works in progress in the finishing shop and you could tell it was just the tip of the iceberg for this company. I saw several other buildings on his property, presumably for construction of the tops and storage of all the wood types (they have a ton).

We went with Texas Pecan with a softened edge on edge gran construction. It looks marvelous and has been commented on several times now.

Oh, I almost forgot. When we ordered the piece we had our dimensions switched. So it was off by a half inch on each side and not exactly perfect for the space (our walls are not true). DeVos suggested we make a template and bring it back. So we did and upon picking it back up, we learned there was no charge. It was our fault, but they are a very stand-up group with a deep level of understanding.

We're happy to have a natural native finish in our home and recommend the DeVos group to anyone looking for a countertop.