Shannon "what da" F.'s Profile

Simply put: One of the best, if not THE BEST Brazilian Jiu Jitsu dojos in the Bay Area.

Sensei Darlynson Lira is a 5th degree Black Belt and brings all of his knowledge and experience to every class. He's also very personable with his students, which creates a very close knit team. We're not just team mates, we consider each other and brothers & sisters. Sensei stresses the belief that Jiu Jitsu is not just a Self Defense system, it's a way of life. Since my son has been training here, he has developed skills to defend himself as well as a higher level of self confidence, without straying from keeping humble.

Call me biased but we have been training here since October of 2008 and have never thought of leaving to another gym, academy etc...

There are several choices of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu schools in the Bay Area but for us, there will always be just one...

DARCIO LIRA JIU JITSU PARA SEMPRE!!! OSS!!!

Hairbears & Minitrucks.

That's the era of Mobile DJ'ing...

 I was born & raised in Hawai'i but I moved to San Jose, CA in 1987... Primetime for the SF Bay Area to put what is now known as "Turntabilism" on the map. The Mid 80's thru the Mid 90's were easily the glory days of mixing and scratching and playing the jams for all the party people. 3-Style Attractions were one of the pioneers of the whole DJ movement, culture and Hip Hop as we know it.

 Call me biased but Dave "Dynamix" is a good friend of mine, so my review may be partial to him and his crew... But I guarantee that if you ever hear them spin, you'll agree with me 100% that they're one of the best DJ crews around... Like I said, they've been in the game since ever since... and they keep going...and expanding. When I first started hanging out with them, they had branches in San Jose, San Francisco & San Diego. They now have a few DJ's in Hawai'i as well. What guarantees their success is their professionalism, innovative sound & lighting and of course their mixing skills as well as their vast knowledge of todays hits and yesterday's jams.

I've seen them do Weddings, School Dances, Frat/Sorority  parties, Private parties, Showcases, Talent shows, Fashion shows, etc... You name the gig, they've done it. The mobile DJ game has evolved since the mid 80's and so have they.

So, to sum it up:  If you ask me, I'm gonna recommend 3 Style Attractions for your next party, dance, wedding, whatever... I know them personally as well as professionally. They're one of the best crews around. If you decide to sleep on them and hear about them rockin' the club or someone's party later...don't say I didn't tell you so...

"Just some G's throwin' up some m*thaf*ckin' 3's in the air"

Just skimming through some of the reviews I saw that:

-All people went for dinner
-A lot of people like the decor
-Most people liked the crab legs/seafood
-Some people were not impressed with the decor or the crab legs/seafood
-No one went here for breakfast.

Well, guess what? I did. So did they have the run-of-the-mill Hashbrowns, breakfast sausage, bacon, ham and all you can drink orange juice? Of course. Did they have the tell'em to make whatever you want Omelette station? Yup. What about a variety of coffee and pancakes & French toast? C'mon, isn't that expected? So, you're probably thinking: WTF, Shannon? What's with the 5 stars???

Smoked Bacon. Yeah, I know.

No, it's not "Thick sliced Applewood, peppered, pan fried in it's own grease bacon". Just a big slab of pork belly, SMOKED. And waiting for you under the heat lamp at the carving station. I don't know about you but I've NEVER seen that. Big deal, right? Smoked bacon...so what? Well, next time you go to Vegas and aren't hungover enough to wake up right before dinner, roll out of bed early and go to Studio B Buffet at the M Resort. Go pay your $16 or whatever it is and go straight to that carving station. We'll see how unimpressed you are then. Smoked f*cking Bacon.

Oh and when you go, tell 'em Shannon sent you...

No, they won't know who the hell I am but just do it anyways. For laughs...

Sai's T. Vietnamese Cafe get's my vote for the best Asian resturant in the Tri-Valley...Hands down.

From the Shrimp Toast, to the Spring rolls, to the Orange Chicken, to the Grilled pork chop rice plate, Basil chicken rice plate, Beef noodle soups, Shrimp fried rice and finally their only dessert: Fried Banana w/Ice Cream...all the while watching the French press slowly brew your Cafe sua Da... The place serves good food, no other way to put it. Try going here around lunch time and the sole empty chair, maybe 2 if you're lucky, speaks for itself. What do you do if you can't get a seat? Don't worry, they deliver...no pun intended.

Vietnamese sandwiches in Pleasanton.

Serious.

I won't go out on a limb and say that it's THE BEST place for pho in the Tri-Valley. Because it's not. But it's definitely a plus when you can get a good sized Banh Mi (see my pic) for $3.50 and not have to order 2 to satisfy your crave for grilled meat, pickled carrots & jicama, jalapenos, cilantro on a fresh French roll... What really sets this place apart from other Vietnamese restaurants is their service.  So again, decent pho, pretty good rice plates, great banh mi and great people. Can't go wrong with that.

Well, let me start off by saying it's in a prime location...as far as Downtown Livermore goes. The food looked more promising on the menu than it did on the plate but all in all, not a bad place to eat. See, Livermore isn't necessarily the culinary capitol of the East Bay...let alone the Tri-Valley. So, Eddie Papas should make it through the 'Lazy Susan' of restaurants that have came & went in Livermore...

Ok, now to the food. I ordered Eddie Papas take on the "Primanti Pastrami Sandwich", which I had just been familiarized with via "Diners, Drive-ins & Dives". To say the least, The Primanti Bros. would have been highly offended...and so would their lifelong faithful patrons. Now, it didn't taste bad but it was nowhere near the size I expected. I thought I took a picture of it but I didn't. But I challenge you to order the EP Primanti and then google image "Primanti bros. sandwich". You'll see what I mean. Then show it to the waiter. : ) My son's French Dip was decent but seriously, how can you mess up a French Dip? My wife wasn't too impressed with her Fried Chicken either...And my wife LOVES Fried Chicken. Put it this way, the only thing she loves more than Fried Chicken is me. Well, I guess that's not saying much but you get the point.

Dessert was a different story. The kids ordered the Indoor s'mores, which were slightly gimmicky, yet awesome! I opted for the "New Orleans Pear Bread Pudding"...need I really say more? If I just went here for dessert, I would've easily given them 5 stars...

Overall, like I said, the food isn't bad. Just not OMG. Dessert overshadows the entrees and the decor...well, who cares? I came here to eat, not get ideas for new wallpaper...

"Brah... what you like eat?"... "I donno"... "We go Ken's!"...SHOOOTS!" Ken's has got to have the widest selection of food in the state of Hawaii. Breakfast, Lunch, dinner, Local food, Haole food, you name it, Ken's probly has it... It's open 24 hrs. and then there's the specials... They give huge portions, so you know you're getting you're monies worth and the service there is nearly untouchable. Literally, I mean I think one of the waitresses there has gotten recognized by time magazine or something for best waitress 12 yrs. in a row...Our waiter on the last day we ate there was a local guy named Chris. Was good fun talking story with him about the old Hilo days fishing and going down to Suisan fish market in the morning to see get first dibs on the fresh catch... But really folks, it's about the food right? Let the parking lot speak for itself, as it's packed 24/7. But no worry, the wait is usually no longer than 5 minutes...
We first ate here for lunch and I had the "Smoky Mountian Chicken Plate". which was said to be a "staff favorite". Guess what? ONO...  On our last day in Hilo, we ate here again and I had "Da Braddah", a 3 egg omelette with Portuguese sausage, ham, bacon, green onions& cheese...If that doesn't sound good , Eff-U! You're pupule. (crazy) Out of the numerous choices of pancakes, I ordered the Coconut pancakes and drizzled them with their Guava, mango, coconut & passion fruit syrups... MMMMMMMmmmmmm....... I wanna go back... =(

Well, as far as I remember the last time I ate here was probably the same result: ONO. (delicious) I must have been about 10 or so... But there's those places that you just don't forget and Shiro's is definitely one of them. Their noodles are fresh, broth is just soaked with flavor and if you eat here, you will disown yourself for ever eating 'Top Ramen'. My kids thought the sign read: "Saimin Heaven". Let me tell you, they're right.

So, what's better than a crowded Leonard's bakery in Honolulu? Nothing. But what's second best to that is Leonard Jr's in Pearl City. It's ridiculously cramped in there, seriously. I mean the workers even look like they need more room in there. But I really don't give a sh*t how sqiushed I feel when I'm ordering...all that really matters is how my full my stomach will be once I polish off a half dozen Malasadas in 4 minutes... This time around I got "adventerous" and ordered them filled with custard, haupia, chocolate & the flavor of the month(s) - Mango custard. WHOA!!!!!!!! Buss Yo Mowt!!!!!!!! As long as I've been eating Malasadas (33 years) I have yet to find a place that makes them better than Leaonard's...and now Leonard Jr's. What makes the "Jr's spot" so appealing is that it's only a couple doors down from... SHIRO's!

Honestly, I'm ashamed that this past Hawaii trip we only ate here once. How dare I deny my taste buds the taste of Dong Yang until the second to the last day we were in Oahu? We indirectly had like a "Korean Food playoffs" between 'Yummy's', 'Kim Chee II' (Kaimuki) & Dong Yang... guess who won. Yup, that's what I did : Saved the Best for LAST! Oh yeah, and just for the record : LOCAL KOREAN FOOD IS BETTER THAN MAINLAND KOREAN FOOD.