Gabriel N.'s Profile

Sometimes you just want a big juicy fast food burger.  Yes, you've been watching your carbs and exercising more often, but what's the point of being so good if you can't occasionally be very very bad? My thoughts exactly.

This lovely little fast food shack is literally--I am using the word correctly--next to my hotel.  Its siren call of hot fries and melted cheese over delicious beef is a constant whenever I'm at this particular client.  To keep myself from going mad I indulge in only one burger per week.  That may sound kooky to you, but personally I enjoy fitting into my pants.

Anyhow, this Wendy's is probably identical to every other Wendy's you've been to.  The reason I dig them (other than their ridiculously convenient location) is that they're very quick, professional, and the food always comes out fresh.  There's been other locations where it all tastes a week old and you get a side order of attitude with every meal, but none of that happens here.

It's right off of 280 and easy as hell to spot from the highway.  If you have a hankering for some meaty goodness swing by this joint.

Went here for lunch with a group of people because we were all in the mood for pizza and Mellow tends to make a good pie.

The service was slow (even though the place was empty), but the food was up to par with other Mellow Mushrooms I've been to.  The waitress even split the checks correctly in spite of one of my group screwing it up when he described it to her.  My only minor complaint is that they didn't have a lunch menu per se.

Overall this is a decent place.  Nothing popped, but nothing was horrible either.  I'd come back.

Not a bad little joint.  I came here with some coworkers for their lunch buffet.  When I say buffet you're probably thinking of large rows of food, but this buffet is on a much smaller scale an it would probably fit in an average sized work cube.  What it lacks in variety it makes up in flavor.

This is Southern style food: Fried chicken, collared greens, cornbread muffins, etc.  If tastes good and is probably gonna kill you then they'll have it on the menu.  The staff is friendly and VERY on top of things.  They're refilling cups before you even realize you need one and clearing out plates in the blink of an eye.  It's an efficient little team.

Side note: you pay the moment you enter the place which is interesting.  It seems they had some problems with people coming in to eat and leaving without paying.

If you're in the mood for some Soul Food and want a heaping handful of atmosphere then check this place out.

I'm going Meta for my 100th review:  For as long as I've been on the road I've used Yelp.  It has beat just about every single hotel recommendation I've ever received and made many of my business trips much better.  There's no way in hell I would have found a killer Lebanese place in Houston or the best delivery pizza in Pasadena if it weren't for Yelp.  It's been an indispensable tool in all my travels and I've tried my best to give back to the community that's helped me out so many times before.  

Is it perfect?  No.  Does it suffer from the same issues that most other social networks do?  Yes.  Do I love the hell out of it and want to keep using it forever?  YES.

Swung by this place for their lunch buffet and was far from impressed.  The quality of the ingredients was severely lacking across the board.  It felt like they bought it at the store around the corner and then tried to pass it off as Indian food.

The Naan tasted like cheap pita bread.  The Saag Paneer was like someone dropped Paneer cubes into Boston Market spinach dip.  The Vegetable Korma looked like (and tasted like) frozen vegetables from your supermarket aisle dumped into sauce.  The service was decent, but you don't eat service.

The palate for Indian food in Birmingham must not be very discerning because anyone with even a passing knowledge of the cuisine would have been disappointed.  I guess they're operating under the logic of "some kind of Indian is better than no Indian at all".

No matter what city or state I've visited their local Buffalo Wild Wings has always been a cool place to hang out.  Even though this place is a chain you can't help but love it.  The wings will beat other well known chains hands down *cough--hooters--cough* and the environment is guaranteed to be lively.  If you want to watch a game then swing on by.  They'll have all the games and I mean ALL the games.  I've seen NFL Football next to Women's 9 ball next to Soccer.  If it's a professional sport then they have a TV that's showing it.

The food is pretty good to boot.  For the fried food lover this is nirvana.  For those looking for healthier alternatives I recommend the Naked Chicken Tenders or one of their salads (86 the cheese, dressing, & liquid fat).  It's good for large groups or business travelers looking for a cozy bar.  Their lunch specials during the week make it them quite affordable as well.

It's definitely not on the high end of the culinary scale, but it's an enjoyable atmosphere with good food and good drinks.  When you've just got off an airplane and are dog tired what else are you really looking for?

I did not expect to have such a fantastic meal in Birmingham. Seriously, this was some amazing food. The first thing I noticed when walking into the restaurant was how relaxed it was. The staff was very friendly and the place felt comfortable. On top of that, this was one of those local hangouts where everyone knew everyone else. There are very few places with that kind of feel these days.

I dined at the bar which was manned by the very attentive Zak. Between the robust menu and the night's specials I had a lot to think about, so I started off with one of their signature Manhattan's. At first I was put off by the small snifter glass it came in. Zak explained that this maintained the aroma of the drink as opposed to when it's poured into a martini glass. In the different glass the Manhattan had a great nose and I ended up appreciating the flavors much more.

One of the specials caught my eye, a salad which contained shaved fennel, slices of red navel oranges, and ricotta salata among other things. The flavor was fresh from the oranges, but it was well balanced by the saltiness of the cheese and green olives. Then I had the Flat-Top Chicken. Holy SHIT was this dish good. The chicken was jammed with flavor while still being ridiculously moist. I ate every single morsel and I would have licked the plate if I could. Actually, every dish that came out of their kitchen smelled incredible. I almost gave myself whiplash trying to follow the plates as they floated by me.

Since everything had been so delicious I decided to indulge in a dessert. They're made in-house by their Pastry chef Wim Miree, who in my opinion is a very talented man. I had the Carrot Cake which was simply stunning. From the swirl of cream cheese going through the entire slice to the candied pecans sitting in dollops of caramel sauce, this dessert was perfect. Yet again, I devoured everything in sight.

I was very impressed by this restaurant and it is now on my list of "must eat" places whenever I'm in Birmingham. Do yourself a favor and give them a try.

Fast food meets "not quite" Greek.  That sums this place up perfectly.  The service is quick, the restaurant clean, and the location convenient if you're staying at the Hampton Inn next door (like I am).  Other than that, there's nothing to write about this place.  It's decent at best.

If you're looking for an easy bite and don't want to hit a greasy drive thru then check this place out.  If you're looking for authentic Greek food with a Mediterranean atmosphere then keep on driving.

I've had several bad experiences with UPS so it'll come as no surprise that I was at this location because of another UPS screw up.  Due to a substitute driver failing to find an address that all the other drivers easily found (all year long) I had to spend part of my Saturday at this customer center. My poor service started when I spoke to the center over the phone the day before.  Not only did they not want to speak with me, but they were unapologetic for the mistake their driver committed instead choosing to hoist all the blame on me.

When I drove to this location it appeared that everyone, from the employees to the customers, did NOT want to be there.  I made it through the line expecting a brusk reception from the sole UPS employee manning the station and got exactly that.  Even though I had my ID ready and the tracking number written down she still made me feel like I was interrupting her day.

When you order items online you can't always choose who delivers your packages.  While I wish I could always use FedEx or USPS I'll just have to prepare myself mentally when dealing with UPS.  I gotta say, Brown hasn't done crap for me lately other than piss me off.

My girl and I were at the Yoforia nearby and saw these really cool watches in their window, so we decided to pop in.  Mr. Carnes was extremely helpful and very nice.  One of the watches my girl wanted had a little scuff on the face which he offered to buff out for us free of charge.  We ended up snagging two watches.  

It's a cool little shop with a very laid back atmosphere.  There are several older pieces in his cases with great stories.  If you're in the area I recommend swinging by for a look.