Ivy "monkeys love me, yes they do" K.'s Profile

The boy and I decided to splurge on a night out at Sweet Basil, hoping for a positive dining experience in Vail. I did my Yelp research and ordered everything that came so highly recommended by others:

- Warm apple & beet salad: 2/5. Mild flavors, nothing too impressive. I was disappointed that they only used red beets, no yellow beets, as described in a different review.

- Pork raviolo: 2/5 Everyone raved about this dish but neither my boyfriend or I were impressed with it. It was a little cold in the middle and the flavors didn't complement each other well.

- Cauliflower bisque: 3.5/5. This was actually pretty tasty! I liked the tiny lump of crab that they poured the soup around. Not sure if I'd order it again because it was so rich, but I'm glad I tried it.

- Lamb chops: 5/5. WINNING! The lamb chops were definitely the star of the dinner. Perfectly cooked (medium), flavorful, tender, and tasty. Yay for yummy lamb chops!

- Pork chop: 3/5. Less impressive. Okay, but not as good as the lamb chops.

- Sticky hot toffee dessert: 4/5. The first bite was DELICIOUS! Warm, sticky, and sweet, just as advertised. The dessert decreased in enjoyment with each bite, and I would have been happy with just one or two. The boy said it was too sweet for him but I like sweet so that was fine with me.

- 3 glasses of red wine

Dinner for 2: $260 including tip. Yikes.

For that kind of money, I was really hoping for a 5-star dining experience across the board. Service was lackluster, our table was very wobbly, the overall vibe was snooty, and I felt kinda out of place being the only female in the restaurant without a giant, puffy fur coat.

Overall a mediocre dining experience. Would've been made more sense had the price been half of what it was, but it is what it is.

Love the guys 'n gals at Powder Tools!

Christy Sports' snowboarding section expanded into its very own little store called Powder Tools in Vail Village (by the water fountain). There's plenty of parking in a giant structure next to the village and the shop is a short, lovely walk across the bridge and through the town.

Powder Tools has a ton of great gear for sale (snowboards, bindings, boots, jackets, goggles, etc.) and also offers complete snowboard rentals for the best price around. I called around and renting at other places in Vail/Avon costs $53-70+ per day, and boots, bindings and a snowboard rental at Powder Tools costs $45 per day. Totally reasonable and they are great about honoring discounts! (we got 20% off for being part of a Snowboarding Club)

The manager and employees are super nice and knowledgable. They obviously love snowboarding and were kind enough to tune up my board and heat-mold my new boots free of charge! Totally chill vibe, very honest, kind, funny and friendly place. We were impressed very with the service, quality and value at Powder Tools.

This will be our go-to place for snowboarding gear and rentals whenever we are in Vail. :)

OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG!!!!!!!!

This is my first trip to Vail. I've been a skier for almost 20 years now and a boarder for 8 years (made the switch and never looked back, yay for never having to clunk around in ski boots ever again!)... Season passholder at Mammoth Mountain for the past 4 years. Mammoth is TINY compared to Vail!

Vail is HEAVEN for both skiiers and snowboarders.

GIANT mountain, TONS of looooooooooooooooooooong runs that'll make your thighs burn and scream for more, and all the tree runs your heart could hope for.

Vail Village is an adorable ski town. We stayed in the Lionshead Condos ($150/night via VRBO, baby!) within walking distance to the gondola at Lionshead Village, which is also freaking cute with its overpriced little shops and ice skating rink and all.

Weekends suck line-wise so make sure you hit the slopes M-F... No lines today, a dusting of fresh powder, no wind, and miles of runs to explore = A very happy me.

Tip: Pack your own lunch... We made the mistake of forgetting to do so our first day on the slopes and ended up paying $10 for a tiny cup of soup with a sad little chunk of corn bread.

We were lured in by the description of Jalapeno Mac & Cheese w/Bacon...

Friendly service, lackluster and TASTELESS food, and an overall incredibly disappointing dining experience at $120 for 2 people. The food:

Jalapeno-Bacon Mac & Cheese Seriously lacked flavor, which is appalling given the delicious-sounding description. 1/5, would NOT order again.

Sirloin Sliders w/Carmelized Onions & Bleu Cheese Crumbles: Dry bun, tiny overcooked meat patties, reminded me of White Castle. For the price of these disappointing sliders, I could've had 5 In N Out Burgers which would've been MUCH tastier!

Scallops & Shrimp in Lemon Butter: How can you mess up anything in BUTTER?? Ore House managed to. The scallops and shrimp were cooked well but... Once again, flavorless. What's a girl gotta do to get some decent-tasting grub in this town??

The boy had a fish dish that he said tasted okay. It came poorly presented, a lump of fish with some veggies on the side. For over $30, you'd think they'd come up with more creative plating.

Spinach salad: It was a salad. At least you can't mess up a salad.

One star for the food, one star for the service. We will NOT be eating here again and will be giving Sweet Basil a try tomorrow night. Hopefully it'll be a better dining experience.

Oklahoma City is tragically devoid of good Korean BBQ (or ANY Korean BBQ, for that matter) so I was absolutely thrilled when my sister decided that she wanted Korean BBQ for her bachelorette party dinner in Dallas!

Chosun is now Koryo Kalbi Korean BBQ. We could smell the delicious aroma of cooking meat from the parking lot and followed our noses to the restaurant (make sure to walk into the restaurant on the left, not the bar on the right!).

Our group of 7 girls were seated quickly and we weren't too hungry, so we ordered 4 platters of meat and a seafood pancake to share. Normally there's a $3/person charge if you don't meet their minimum order, but our server was kind enough to waive that for us!

Service was STELLAR, by far the best service I've EVER had at a Korean BBQ place anywhere in the world! In LA, all the Korean BBQ places I've been to (Soot Bull Jeep, Honey Pig, etc.) have had snooty and lackluster service, especially if you're not Korean, but that isn't the case at Koryo Kalbi! Our server was a guy with glasses and spiky black hair... He was a total sweetheart and kept bringing us "special free dishes" to try! In addition to the standard yummy and plentiful banchan dishes (my favorite was the spicy radish dish!), he brought out special bowls of a spicy soup, fish in egg batter, and extra everything for no additional fee!

The food was DELICIOUS. Amazing galbi/kalbi, excellent short ribs, and delicious bulgogi (which came out cooked in the kitchen so we didn't cook it ourselves). Super flavorful, extremely filling, and such a blast to eat and enjoy with friends!

Fantastic service, incredibly delicious food, and ultra-affordable to boot. We split the bill 6 ways (of course the bride-to-be wouldn't be paying!) and it was only $18 and change for each of us. We tacked on generous tips and will definitely be back to fulfill our Korean BBQ cravings in the future!

I meet fellow Yelper Jessica I. here for coffee/lunch and am so glad she suggested it as our meeting spot!

The Red Cup was easy to find with plentiful parking. It is an adorable, renovated craftsman home turned artsy/indie coffee shop with tons of personality and charm. For those who prefer the blandness of generic stores in prepackaged strip malls or for those who are scared of something different and unique, please go and hang out elsewhere.

The cashier recommended a spinach salad with goat cheese, raisins, walnuts, alfalfa sprouts, and carrots with a balsamic dressing on the side. It sounded good to me and I was prepared to pay $10-15 (easily what this salad would have cost in LA!). I was pleasantly surprised when he gave me my total: $6.40. Sweet!! More money for a tip!

The ambiance was laid-back and chill, very Venice Beach-y. Tasty and healthy food, diverse and friendly staff and customers, wonderful place to chat with a friend or get your study on.

I'll be back to try the veggie burgers soon!

Spicy Pickle beats the pants off of Subway!

A cute and clean little sandwich shop unassumingly located in a strip mall.

I had a the Pick Two combo of a half salad and half sandwich consisting of the Santa Cruz (roasted turkey, cheddar cheese, EVOO chipotle mayo, avocado, corn relish, lettuce and tomato served on Ciabatta) and the Spinach salad (spinach, fresh apples, walnuts and bleu cheese served with apple cider vinegarette).

Prices were very reasonable ($5.99-8.49 per sandwich or salad) and the food came out LIGHTENING fast! Sadly, I wasn't a huge fan of the spicy pickle spear itself, but the rest of the food was tasty and fresh. I especially loved vinegarette that accompanied the Spinach salad!

Can't wait to go back and try more sandwiches, salads, and flatbread pizzas!

Yay for an awesome, adorable little winery in Bricktown with a friendly owner and free tastings!

I recently attended a MeetUp Group here (giving Oklahoma a month-long "test run" before making the official move in March or April) attempting to meet new people in the area and they held a wine tasting at Put A Cork In It.

Quaint location right along the water in the Bricktown canals. Clean, warm, rustic, and welcoming interior.

The owner treated us to several wine samples, many of which were absolutely delicious!!! My favorite was the Skinny Dip which was delightfulyl sweet and refreshing. Gotta buy a bottle of that goodness to keep you warm and happy on a cold night!

The owner explained that all the wine is made in-house in a little brewery in the back. Some grapes are from Oklahoma but a majority used come from California. They are currently expanding and hope to start distributing their wines more broadly which I whole-heartedly support and encourage!

Definitely stop by for 5 free 1-ounce tastings of wines of your choosing and then bring home a bottle or case of your favorite! Lovely experience and one of the best-managed, run, and maintained independent businesses in the area that I've come across yet.

Bangkok Restaurant is located in a shady-looking strip mall, almost next door to a Christy's Toy Box. So you can go pick up a dildo and some porn before or after your meal!

Went here for lunch today with the boy since we were both craving Thai food.

Immediately upon entry, we were blasted by music and dialogue from a super loud television in the corner tuned into BET. To my knowledge, they don't have BET in Bangkok, but hey, who I am to judge?

We ordered Pad Thai, Spicy Chicken, a side of fried rice, a cup of egg drop soup, a cup of hot and sour soup, and some Jasmine tea.

Red Flag #1: The tea was brought out and served lukewarm, nearly cold. Um, hot tea is supposed to be HOT. Basic Tea Fail. We sent it back and it didn't come back out for 10 minutes because the waitress was "heating it up." Good grief.

Red Flag #2: The soups arrived and were unnatural colors, bright yellow eggdrop and a strange greasy orange for the hot and sour soup. Basic Soup Fail.

Red Flag #3: When the side of fried rice came out, it was... Plain. Like, plain white rice pan-fried with a little bit of soy sauce. In EVERY OTHER Thai/Asian restaurant I've EVER eaten in, "fried rice" means "fried rice... with egg, peas, carrots, etc." Not just... plain fried rice. So much for the $1.25 additional charge. I could've taken my own rice home and tossed it around in a pan for free.

The actual entrees were dismal failures. Inauthentic taste, low ingredient quality, and just... plain... bad. Total was $30 before tip. Service was slow and awkward and the waitress spent more time watching her shows on the ultra-loud television than she did paying any attention to the customers.

Is there ANY decent Thai food in the Oklahoma City area? Because Bankgok Restaurant is a miserable failure in that department. I haven't been having much luck eating around the OKC area to date and it's beginning to concern me because I'm a MAJOR foodie. :(

Jazmo's was a disappointing bust.

I had high hopes going here and was prepared to endure crappy service (based on Yelp reviews) for potentially awesome crab cakes (which were raved about in other reviews).

Service - 4 stars! Our server was named Marco and he was cheerful and friendly. We waited a little bit for our silverware and refills but nothing that I'd cry into my crab cake about.

Lobster bisque - 0 stars. Bland and just plain AWFUL. Chunks of lobster meat? ZERO. Even Red Lobster throws in a scrap or two for you! You know the lobster bisque is BAD when I'd take a cup of RL's lobster bisque over it... DO NOT GET THIS. Unless you like thin, soupy, weird, bland slop that a wild pig would probably turn its snout up at.

Crab cakes - 1 star. I've probably eaten over a hundred crab cakes in my lifetime (I'm a crab cake addict!) and these SUCKED. I couldn't even taste any crab flavor... Maybe to disguise the lack of freshness? The "crab cakes" were drenched in a sauce that tasted good, but might as well have been poured over styrofoam pieces and I wouldn't have noticed a difference.

Oysters - 4 stars! Thankfully the dozen oysters we ordered were fresh and tasty. You can't really mess up oysters, though. You kinda just have to open and serve them.

Blackened salmon - 2 stars. My salmon dish was sadly disappointing. The fish was cooked well but it was tasteless... Maybe because it had been frozen for too long in transport on the way to Oklahoma. The mushroom risotto that it came with was tough, chewy, and way too salty. I love risotto so I was pretty bummed. :(

Mixed Grill - 2 stars. The boy got the mixed grill which included a lobster tail (which was great, but then again it was just a little bit of tail meat dipped in butter... and ANYTHING dipped in butter = delicious), steak (we asked for it medium rare and it came out medium well... WTH?), and stuffed shrimp (two sad, overly breaded pieces of shrimp stuffed with a strange and tasteless seafood mixture).

White chocolate creme brulee - 0 stars. How dare you mess up a basic creme brulee, Jazmo's??!! SHAME ON YOU. The crunchy, caramelized topping MAKES a creme brulee and the dessert we got had a sad, soggy brown layer of sugary film on top. GROSS. It was WAY too sweet and had a strange, milky, goopy consistency (not rich and custardy as it should have been).

WAH.

Total cost including 2 glasses of wine = $110.

Total cost after a $40 groupon = $70 + tip.

Amount I would've paid for this meal = $20 or less, it definitely wasn't worth a penny over that.

The bathrooms were absolutely FILTHY. The cover of the toilet paper in my stall had been ripped off and there appeared to be poo splatterings everywhere. Appetizing. I don't know if Jazmo's was attempting to go for an "Authentic bathroom experience - Just like New Orleans during Mardi Gras!", but that crap was just plain unsanitary.

I will NEVER eat here again and will be sadly looking to spend my hard-earned money at dining establishments with better quality food.