Amanda "smitten with the Bay Area" G.'s Profile

I can't believe I haven't written a review for this place yet!!!
We've been shopping here since the first week they opened.

We used to shop at Petsmart, but after shopping here, we'll never go to Petsmart again.

The people working here actually seem to like animals, and be interested in them. They're always friendly and helpful, (even the teenagers.)

I also like that the store is always immaculately clean, and as another reviewer mentioned, very well stocked. They have never been out of an item I came in for.

I have used their self service dog wash, and appreciate that the area is very clean and neat as well.

They aren't cheap, but they are competitively priced.

The premium brand of dog food our pooch eats is priced about the same as at other stores.

If you buy something that doesn't work out, (i.e. a toy that your animal doesn't like) they are great about returns.

I will continue to shop here, and urge others to check it out as well.

A friend and I had dinner here on Tues. night. When we arrived happy hour was still going on, so we indulged in the reasonably priced margaritas.
We did notice it took the bartender so long to make mine, we started to think she had forgotten all about it. This was odd, since my friend had arrived a few minutes earlier and gotten her drink very quickly.

I had made a reservation via opentable, and there was some confusion with that. When I gave the hostess the name the reservation was under, she looked confused. I said it had been through opentable, and she looked at me like I was kind of dumb.
Ok....
Well, part way through dinner my hubby texted me to tell me the restaurant had called and said I was a no-show for my reservation. I talked to the hostess again, and we got it straightened out. She told me I had given her another name, (i gave her the last name it was under, she claims it was under a first name. ) I don't really know how that would be possible, but whatever.

Between the two of us we had: butter chicken, chicken tikka naan, malari sea bass, ( luckily I noticed the server had written down the other sea bass dish on the menu,which I didn't want because I can't eat the asparagus that came with it. ) I 'm not sure how he made the mistake, since I actually pointed to it on the menu.
We also shared an order of rice.

Our food was brought out pretty quickly. There was definitely enough rice to share as the sever had told us.
I actually enjoyed the chick peas and the spinach in my dish more than the fish. For some reason the fish was VERY fishy. It didn't make me sick or anything, but it was way too fishy.
The chicken tikka naan was good, and something different, but I still like plain naan the best.

We decided to pass on dessert, and asked for the remainder of our dishes to be packed to go.
We requested the leftover rice be split between our two dishes. The server seemed like he understood, and assured us that it would be no problem.
Good thing we checked the boxes, because all the rice was in my container. I would have felt bad if my friend had gotten home and had no rice with her butter chicken.

I do appreciate the chef only uses sustainable fish. I REALLY wish more places would do this.

I liked my food, and the decor is lovely, but I probably wouldn't go out of my way to return.

I must admit though, they're doing something right since by the time we left every table was full.

While out and about on Sat. we passed by here.
I was planning on cooking dinner that night, but was totally out of veggies, and my regular Farmer's Market was still a day away.

Stopping here seemed like a good idea, and as I've passed it several times and wondered about it, in we went.

I was pleasantly surprised by the variety and prices of their produce. They also carried some other interesting items: dried fruit, lots of Middle Eastern products, and few Mexican products as well.

Although it wasn't clearly labelled, I've read that most of their produce is locally grown, which makes me very happy.

Have I mentioned I was really pleased with their prices? For about $10 we got lots of Italian zucchini, white squash, and yellow and  orange sweet potatoes.

This market is a little out of my way, but I would definitely come back.

As we were heading into Joanie's for breakfast, I saw this place, and knew we had to check it out afterwards.

They carry a lot of interesting products. There's a good variety of organic produce, natural foods, (canned, bagged, boxed, and frozen)
cleaning supplies, vitamins, hygiene products, and homeopathic treatments.
They even carry some locally made crafts.
This place is a good model of what a neighborhood, locally owned health food store/market should be.

There's plethora of natural skin, hair, and make up products. A surprising amount of them locally made. They are pricey, but sometimes you actually do get what you pay for. They even had bulk dispensers to refill many of them. (Thus saving on packaging!)

I was also impressed by their spice and herb selection. They had quite a few hard to find items.

While some of the products are a bit expensive, it's pretty obvious why they have to be priced that way.

This is a neighborhood jewel, and I would definitely stop back next time I'm in the neighborhood.

I've been considering buying Dansko or Sanita clogs, and a friend of mine highly recommended this place.
Since my guy and I happened to be in the neighborhood on Sat., I decided to check it out.

As it turned out, they aren't carrying many Dansko clogs these days, but plenty of Sanitas.

The first person whom I asked for assistance from, wasn't very helpful.
Although, another woman offered her help later on, and she was really nice and gave her input on a few pairs of shoes.
She also offered to order a pair they didn't have in stock.

I didn't end up buying anything, but I might in the future.

Since we were going to be in the neighborhood on Sat., we decided we'd try this place for brunch.

We had been here a few years ago for dinner, (before I was a Yelper) and remembered liking it.

It seemed to get the best reviews for breakfast places in the area, so we were hoping it would be as good as it sounded!

Although, we got there a little later than we'd normally go for breakfast, they were still very busy.
Luckily, we only waited for a bout 5 minutes.

It took us a bit to decide what we wanted, and the waiter was very nice about giving us a few minutes, but returning in a timely manner to take our orders. I've noticed sometimes when you aren't ready right away, the server ends up forgetting to come back.

We settled on: scramble with ham, cheese, and avocado, with home fries, and pancakes with eggs and bacon.
Whenever we try a new breakfast place we try to order in such a way that allows us to try different items.

The food came pretty quickly, and our drinks were kept refilled, (this is always appreciated!!!)

I was surprised by how much I liked the home fries, since I'm generally not a huge fan breakfast potatoes. They were crisped perfectly, and flavored well too.

I liked my scramble, it had a good ratio of ham to avocado, and I really liked that the whole wheat toast came dry. I don't like when I get toast that's already buttered, since when eating it with eggs, I don't use butter.

I shared a bit of my hubby's pancakes, and they were good, but not great. The flavor was lacking a bit, but they were cooked properly.

If I lived closer, this would probably be a regular breakfast spot for me.

Although, as always....nobody's breakfast beats Lou's in Los Gatos!

After reading some good things about this store, I wanted to check it out at some point.

We happened to pass by on Sun. afternoon, and decided to stop in.

The owner informed us she had just reopened, and would be starting to carry furniture. She was very pleasant, and friendly without being too in your face.

I didn't find very many pieces that worked for me. This is truly a vintage store, not just a thrift store. A lot of the women's clothes had a little bit of a costumey feel, but I did try on a few cool jackets.

My guy actually found a great sport coat, and it was priced well too.

The clothing here is a bit pricier than what you find at some resale shops, but it is in good condition, and like I mentioned, truly vintage.

Since I did like a few jackets, I'll definitely be back. I'm also interested to see the furniture that will be sold here.

I have little to no experience with Vietnamese food, but have been wanting to try more of it.

Last Fri. evening we were in the neighborhood after an event for our wine club, and decided we'd check this place out. Since there were so many great reviews, I figured this was a good place to delve further into Vietnamese cuisine.

We shared two dishes, (no idea what they were called though.)
One had sliced pork and veggies and broken rice, the other had shredded pork, flor noodles, bean sprouts, coconut milk, lettuce and cilantro.

Individually the dishes were nothing special, but when combined, (as intended) the flavors were interesting and enjoyable.
I liked that the dish with the coconut milk was compartmentalized, as the coconut milk was a bit heavy, I was glad to able to add as much or as little as I wanted.
There was also a chili type sauce that came with both dishes. Mixed with the sweetness of the coconut milk gave the dish a good flavor.

I liked the dishes we had, and really liked that they were pretty light.
It is possible to eat healthy here, which is always a great bonus.

My only complaint was that all the chicken dishes were dark meat, so I'll be eating pork or fish here.

I lenjoyed both dishes, but want to come back and try some other things.

I had wanted to check this place out at some point, and since we were in the neighborhood on Sun. we decided to stop in.

I found a number of cute items,and as my pile was getting a little too big to continue to carry, a lovely girl that worked there offered to start a room for me.
That made my shopping easier, and was much appreciated.

My only major complaint of this place is the lighting in the dressing rooms. It's was too dark! I had to come out and find a large mirror in the store to check out my possible purchases more closely.

Not everything here is reasonably priced, although it seemed the higher priced items were in good condition.

I ended up buying: jeans, 3 tops, a pair of boots, and a pair of shoes for my guy.

I felt all the items I bought were priced very well. I left feeling I got some great deals, and awesome additions to my wardrobe!

My hubby had heard about his place, and suggested we check it out on Sunday afternoon.

I was looking for artichokes, since they ran out at the Farmer's Market.
They didn't have any, but they had tons of other VERY reasonably priced fruits and veggies!

Since I had already bought all my other produce at the Farmer's Market, I didn't end up buying anything.

Although, I wish I had been here first. I couldn't believe how much cheaper their sweet potatoes, squash, and pears were.
They were all California grown, which is important to me.
We eat seasonably, and only buy California produce.

I will absolutely come back here in the very near future.

I also noticed that a certain mustard that I buy regularly was much cheaper here than at my regular market.

I don't know how they keep their prices so low, maybe their overhead is super cheap?

What an awesome find!!!!