Wilmar "not WILMER not OMAR" D.'s Profile

Top hits of tonight....

BoA - Eat You Up
Boyz II Men - On Bended Knee
Muse - Supermassive Black Hole
Pitbull - Hotel Room Service
Backstreet Boys - Drowning
Utada Hikaru - First Love
System of a Down - Chop Suey
Journey - Separate Ways
Rick Astley - Never Gonna Give You Up

I had a great time with my roommate, Sarah M., and Jowen W. in one of their small rooms.  At $26/hour if you eat food, it's not the cheapest pick on Convoy for a norebang good time, but among the ones I've been to, it's probably the nicest.  Nice new looking rooms with wall-attached microphones, two tambourines, and a nice flat screen for presentation of lyrics and random clips of K-movies, it's very aesthetically comforting.

In terms of fare, we had just eaten dinner so we just got a pitcher of Coke, a large carafe of peach yogurt soju, and a plate of fried chicken wings to make sure we got the $26/hour price of the room; otherwise, without ordering from their kitchen it would be $35/hour, which is not very good.

Their peach soju was delicious and surprisingly potent.  At least it still tasted like soju, as opposed to yogurt sojus I've had at other places where it just tasted like you were shooting Calpico or Yakkult.  And as for their chicken wings, they were delicious, albeit simple.  Lightly breaded wings fried crispy, and served with sauce on the side, rather than having the wings tossed in sauce, like they do at Min Sok Chon.

Good times.  Also, I am a norebang champ.  Also, that's it.

You're better off eating absolutely anywhere else.

Their split pea soup tasted and looked like split pea hummus.  It was even thicker than hummus.

The blackened prime rib was not prime at all.  Maybe not even choice.  It was more likely USDA select rib at best.

Mashed potatoes were what seemed to be 50/50 mixed with Philadelphia cream cheese, which might be a cool concept, but not this time.

At least the service saved our experience.

Just kidding.  Our waitress was a total grinch.

Yes to Portuguese sausage, eggs, and rice, with a side of Aloha Shoyu.  Yes to real plates and silverware instead of plasticware and styrofoam trays you'd get at a drive-in like L&L.  And yes to all the Hawaiian decor that makes you really feel like you're back on Oahu.

No to their breakfast prices.  We paid $5.75 for a breakfast plate, which is the same amount for the breakfast buffet downstairs, which also serves portuguese sausage, eggs, and rice.  However, if you don't want to wait in line for that buffet AND you're not that big of an eater, Aloha Specialties upstairs of the California is a fine option.

I've always liked Lee's Sandwiches.  The only one I've ever been to was the one at UC Irvine, so it was interesting to see the one here in San Jose, since it's one of the older locations.  I had this idea in my head that all Lee's Sandwiches would look alike, but this proved me wrong.  Not only did they have more items on their menu, including other hot food like soup, but they also sold produce and groceries.  It was kind of like K Sandwiches in San Diego.

On our drive up to Vallejo all the way from Ventura County, we decided to make a stop for some pho, but sadly the pho place we wanted to go to was closed.  Maybe it was because it was Christmas Eve, but still it was a let-down.  Or, maybe it was a blessing in disguise, because we ended up at Lee's and I got a great sandwich.  Various cold cuts, pate, pickled carrot and radish, cilantro, jalapeno, and mayo on a crusty baguette.  I would nick Lee's half a star for having fiercely sharp baguettes that consistently damage the roof of my mouth, but I have to admit it doesn't matter if the sandwich is that satisfying.  And it's that satisfying.

I think the taste at this Lee's is better than at UC Irvine.  The pickled vegetables taste more fresh (less ripe), which is how I like it, and the bread, while still being sharp-edged, is toned down compared to UC Irvine's.  Additionally, the clientele here is different.  UC Irvine is 99 percent (you guessed it) UCI students, while the Lee's on King here in San Jose is mostly Vietnamese families.  That's not to say they discriminate here.  Their customer service with any client, as far as I noticed while I dined in, was A-OK.

Well, before Kebab Shop, I had never eaten a doner before.  Now, I feel like I've deprived myself of something really special these past 24 years of my life before my doner epiphany.

I know that KS has had a downtown location, but I never went out of my way for it, so it was nice to see that with this Mira Mesa location, I could now put in the small 7-dollar investment to see what they are all about.

It's not much different from a gyros pita.  But between that and a doner from Kebab Shop, I'll take the latter.  It's bigger, it's more satisfying, and it's less commonplace among fast food repertoire, and therefore, it's more fresh (in a different sense of the word, but yes their food is fresh too).

I don't really know why they have a sign that says Kebab Shop DOWNTOWN inside their store though...

Yay! I'm a fan.  People on Yelp love them.

Fleming's is upper-scale dining, with an emphasis on their steaks and wines.  Considering I'm not a wine kind of person, I was only able to appreciate the steaks.

I ordered the bone-in ribeye with Cajun seasoning.   This is my go-to for a prime steakhouse, since I believe that the bone-in ribeye (also known as the cowboy ribeye) is the most flavorful and character-laden cut.  It has a great potential for showcasing the beefy-ness of the steak, as well as displaying the efforts of the steakhouse's seasoning, especially if Cajun seasoning is requested.

So how did the Flemings ribeye fare?  Pretty good.  

I ordered it medium, and it came out to what I would call medium.  The plating was simple - steak in the middle, light parsley dusting around, and presented on an oversized round white plate.  The steak was also padded with melted butter, which heightened the olfactory effect of the order as it meshed with the beefy and Cajun tones.  The 1600-degree oven in which the steak was cooked generated a dark crust, but upon cutting the meat, it was beautifully tender inside.

Upon first bite, I noticed that it was seasoned perfectly.  I am pretty unforgiving for bland food, so I was pleased that my ribeye was definitely not bland.  The meat had ample texture and Cajun flavors that it was enough to thoroughly enjoy.  The lip of the cut especially had explosive savory levels as the Cajun seasoning and the beef fat synergized into an unstoppable team of flavor.  My only gripe about this steak is that it essentially didn't have as much BEEF flavor as other prime steaks I've had in my time.  I've heard that they do not dry age their steaks, so this might be the case.  But whether or not that is true, I just feel that the strength in their steak offerings is their texture (which is expected since it is prime beef) and their seasoning.  If you want a beefy steak, try Morton's.

So in terms of prime steaks, Fleming's rates below Donovan's (my favorite), but it is still a great place.... especially if you consider their dessert.

The chocolate lava cake alone would warrant a dine-in at Fleming's.  Sure it seems kind of a novelty to have chocolate oozing out of a cake, but they execute it so well here.  The chocolate lava is decadent, the cake is delicious, the ice cream on the side works perfectly, and the Chantilly cream that accompanies the chocolate lava cake is so fluffy and amazingly delightful that you could eat it by itself.  On top of that, Fleming's presents it with pizazz, using raspberries and mint for garnish, hazelnuts and chocolate for effect, and the ice cream in a wafer basket for that "aw, that's cute" point.  Here's a picture: http://www.yelp.com/bi...

So that's my report for Fleming's.  It's not bad at all.  Sure there are better prime steaks, but it will be very hard to find a better chocolate lava cake.

I appreciated that Starbucks was open on Christmas day.  This specific location was fairly new, nice and snazzy (like all Starbuckses), and had both an efficient operation inside as well as their drive-thru.  Of course, it seemed like they were focusing a little more on the drive-thru, as is the usual case in fast food.

Extra props for getting our huge order down without a snag.  More props for not charging me for adding hazelnut syrup.

And to that cute Filipina barista who made our order, hi.   Merry Christmas.

It's a Yoshinoya.  It's a chain.  It's got decent beef bowls that provide your daily allowance of sodium.

This is the first Yoshinoya in Ventura county, so that's definitely an accomplishment.  Plus, it's a new facility, and while it kind of looks out of place in the very run-down Centerpoint Mall, it's a breath of fresh air and a little hope for commerce in south Oxnard.

Beef bows are satisfying.  Chicken bowls almost as satisfying.  Their sesame chicken wings are SOLID.  All other items are superfluous.  And yes, I mean the vegetables.

This Target pales in comparison to the one on Balboa and Genesee, but I have to give them some credit.  It's my neighborhood go-to department store (even with the brand new Kohl's that opened up nearby), and I find myself perusing the aisles at least twice a week.

Despite the small size, unkempt snack bar, and relatively disgruntled employees (and even clientele), this Target is the homey-est one.  And yeah, maybe the lines can take a while, but that's not the norm at least in my experience.

For those complaining about lack of parking, they have failed to acknowledge the ample parking spaces  past the road that runs down the middle of the plaza.  If you include this, there's more than enough parking for everyone, and it's not even that much of a difference of a walk.

And in terms of themed Yelp elite events, Target has helped me get themed attire.  Target is nice, efficient, and reliable.  It's my department store Volvo.

This is, by far, the cleanest, largest, and most functional 24 Hour Fitness ACTIVE I have been to.  They seem to make good use of their space, having all the resistance stuff upstairs and all the cardio and group X downstairs.  I'm surprised that this was given the Active rank, and for those local Oxnardians who just want a one-club membership, I think that the Channel Islands 24HF (this one) is probably your best bet.

I also decided one day to take the Boot Camp class taught by Diego.  This is a popular class on Tuesday nights that involves basic calisthenic movements, but to such a high volume that it will prove challenging for even the seasoned athlete.  It was ridiculously leg-heavy, as I found myself locked in a seated position even while walking for days (I may be slightly exaggerating, but it was a tough class!).  Even still, Diego for the most part was supportive and encouraging, even if at one time I felt a little embarassed he kicked the back of my knees to make me squat lower.

For cardio, there's a lot of ellipticals, treadmills, stairclimbers, and cycles.  There's also two Concept2 rowing machines to help you get warmed up real fast with a 100-second 500-meter sprint.

If I lived in Oxnard, I would probably make this my go-to 24 Hour Fitness.  But since I'm just an occasional visitor of Ventura County, I will probably only attend here a few times a year.  Great facility though.