Eric "Cubicle Ninja" M.'s Profile

It would be an understatement to call JAROblue good, great, or even amazing.  The number of unique, mouth-blowing dishes on the menu is a refreshing change from the standard Calgarian fine-dining fare.  And while JB does the standards (and does them well), their chef also seeks out new frontiers in food.  And that journey is not simply about deviation; it is about innovation.  It's about exploring the local flavors and ingredients and turning them into something...other.  Something elevated.

My 2 favorites:
#1  Smoked Swordfish Ceviche -- this dish is my favorite dish in Calgary.  The complexity, umami, and deliciousness of the smoky, tangy fish sitting atop a crunchy crostini amid a dab of chipotle aioli simply cannot be beat.  I love it so much I once ordered THREE plates in one sitting.

#2  Frosted Petit Tenders -- A nod to Asian flavors, this dish is essentially what your local Chinese takeout Ginger Beef would be if it was doused in ambrosia.  Served with a bit of candied ginger, these bite-size morsels will leave you sniffing and licking the plate.

In addition to the food, the bartender, Travis, is a first-class cocktail artist.  His martini and Negroni are among the best in town.  And while you can't really go wrong with the written cocktail list, I highly recommend trying the Bullflower, particularly if you are a fan of lemonade.

All that said, I will admit that the portion to price ratio is a bit on the steep side.  I can't go more than once in a JAROblue moon, but when I do, I make sure to eat first to help save my wallet from a beating.  It is, however, a tapas bar, so smaller portions should not be unexpected.  Just expect to fight your friends over the last bite of every dish.

My dad used to tell me a tall tale about how poor people in the Philippines would share a meager portion of fish among a large family.  They would hang the fish from the ceiling on a string, and then everyone would take turns sniffing it while eating their rice.

That's how the sushi portions felt like at Oishii.  The slices of fish were very tasty and fresh, but they were very thin, and the balls of rice underneath were pretty hefty.  The good news is, they charge appropriately, with many pieces only being $1 each.  If you are looking to get full on the cheap, this is not a bad option.

Strangely, on the flip side, their portions for the grilled salmon are ENORMOUS.  For ~$8, you get 3 decently sized cross section cuts of grilled salmon with a side salad.  If I go back to Oishii, I'll definitely be exploring that section of the menu a bit more.

Also, I enjoyed the gyoza, despite them looking fried stiff instead of moist and plump.  I liken them to Jack in the Box tacos -- they look mildly unappetizing but taste suprisingly good.

Overall I enjoyed the casual feel of the restaurant.  The lighting is warm and welcoming, and the staff is friendly.

When it comes to Greek food, I usually opt for restaurants that are a little less chain restauranty that YYM's.  Occasionally, however, Fate and Hunger will collude to push me into Yia's fat, salty arms.  

On my most recent trip, my food buddy and I started with the eggplant and garlic dip.  Lemme tell you, they are NOT kidding around with the garlic.  If you have pest control problems, just eat a pita scoop of this stuff and then just walk around your house while breathing through your mouth.  The rats and roaches that don't manage to flee will most certainly die a horrific death.

Being Filipino, I love garlic.  We eat garlic the way normal people at oranges -- by the slice.  So of course, I loved the dip.  It's delicious, particularly with lemon squeezed over the top.  Just...deadly.  If you plan on being around people for the next week or so, I'd go easy on this one.

I also ordered the mixed grill plate, which consisted of succulent, well-seasoned, perfectly-cooked lamb chops, a skewer of very tender, but relatively unremarkable beef soulvaki, and a corpulent sausage whose primary component must have been all the salt in the freaking world.  Well, 3/4 of the salt in the world.  The rest went into and onto the grilled onion sitting beneath the soulvaki skewer.

In all, about a third of the plate was inedible, due to being made of pure salt.  Perhaps if you like the salt levels of places like PF Changs, you would find it tolerable.  So there's that.  On the other hand, the lamb chops kicked ass like Bruce Lee.  If I were to go back (and I would, probably), I would just go for the lamb chops and skip the rest of the stuff.

Though small, Top Sushi is definitely cozy and -- perhaps because ours was one of the two parties there -- did not feel overcrowded.  The decor tends toward the trendy, though the 2 giant TV's showing sports confuse the vibe a bit.

Our waitress was sweet and accommodating.  Because the party was going to be large (10 loud people), I asked that she split the check in advance to make it easier at the end (more on this later).  She gladly agreed and we happily began ordering.

The menu is a mix of blah and interesting.  Their rolls are definitely on the blah side, as it seemed that most of them contained either spicy salmon, spicy tuna, cream cheese, or some combination of all three.  At best, that smacks of lazy construction.  At worst, it seems like they are trying to get the most upcharge out of their cheapest parts.

The specialty sushi pieces ("Top Sushi") are a different story.  These use more interesting pieces of fish and are quite attractive in presentation.  I especially liked the Bleeding Escolar, which was basically a generous piece of escolar wrapped around a quail egg yolk, topped with some assorted goodness.  Delicious.  The Funky Flounder was also quite good, though I would not recommend the (raw) Beefy Good.

Other things I would not recommend:  The Ahi Tuna Salad, though cheap for that dish (~$8) was basically poorly seared tuna on top of loosely chopped iceberg lettuce.  The best part was the couple of avocado slices on top.  My friend did not like her Miso soup, which she had to send back to the kitchen for being cold and tasting like feet.

In all, the meal was filling to the point of being heavy (not something you'd normally say about Japanese food).  I blame both  the excess of cream cheese in the rolls and myself for ordering a roll with cream cheese, despite knowing better.

At the end we asked for our check, which we received, split, in short order.  So far, so good.  Then, the snag.  The first person did not receive their credit card back until 25 minutes later.  I don't know what kind of trouble they were having ringing up the cards, but our playful joking became disgruntled muttering as the process dragged on.  To top it off, there were mischarges on a couple of the cards.  It was a rather sour ending to what had been a decent night.

I probably would not return here on my own accord, but I might be convinced to come back by friends.  If I did, I'd stick to the Top Sushi list and steer clear of the rolls, salads, and soups.

Look, they don't call me "Cubicle Ninja" because I run around the forest flipping off trees and generally being athletic.  No, they call me "Cubicle Ninja" because I sit in my cubicle all day trying to be invisible.  Which, let me tell you, does wonders for your waist line.

Anyway, between the sedentary lifestyle and all the --ahem-- "research" I have to do to bring you all these Yelp reviews, I'd put on a teensy bit of weight.  Or, as my gf put it as I lay on the sofa watching TV,  "You look like a beached whale....A fat one."  

Cue CrossFit Strom.  This place is like a hidden training ground for modern day ninjas.  Everyone here can out run, out lift, and out have-an-awesomer-ass than you.  In true ninja fashion, it is hidden away, housed in a little warehouse on a couple of back streets.  

Unlike your normal rat race gyms, which are filled with hamster wheels (treadmills) and fake bicycles, at CFS you'll find only dumbells, kettle weights, barbells, jump ropes, medicine balls, and assorted other heavy objects -- like giant boulders.  Seriously.  Concrete boulders.  But these are just the accessories.  The real machine of torture is your fat, weak body.  And if you don't think you're weak now, you will once you see a girl half your size blow past you wearing a vest weighted with 50lbs of iron bars, then dead lift your max with one hand.

My first day, one of the trainers said to me, "Hey, just try it out.  If you don't like it, cool.  CrossFit is not for everyone."  At the time I thought what he was REALLY saying was "CrossFit is not for the weak."  But after 3 weeks now, I must admit I was wrong.  CrossFit is perfect for the weak.  It will break you down and make you strong of body and mind.  It will challenge all your limits and make you realize how low a bar you've always set for yourself physically and mentally.

Come try it out.  The first week is FREE.  Everyone at the gym is amazingly nice and encouraging.  The trainers are knowledgeable, accessible, and take the time to know everyone personally.  My only advice is this:  leave your ego at the door and buy a crap ton of Icy Hot, because the first week is a brutal initiation into the world of the strong.

When my friend told our group at dinner that she was going to get a massage in Chinatown, it was only natural that we made about 10,000 "happy ending" jokes.  But my jokes turned to curiousity when I saw her again later that evening.  She had that dreamy, half asleep look that people get when they are super relaxed.  And when she told me the price -- $20 for 60 minutes! -- my curiousity turned into determination to give it a shot.

I walked into A+ after work without an appointment.  The peacefulness of the ambiance began soothing my work-frayed nerves immediately.  The guy at the desk informed me in a low voice that there would be about a 40 minute wait, so I plopped down on the couch and half dozed.

40 minutes later, I was led to the back where I was told to remove my shoes and socks, have a seat, and put my feet in the hot tea bath.  A word of advice, wear shorts or something other than slacks to a foot massage parlour.  I was forced to roll my pants up to my knees like it was flooding outside.

As noted in other reviews, the massage is actually a full body, with a focus on the feet.  My masseuse started with my face and temples and worked his way up my scalp down to my neck and upper shoulders.  Then he worked each arm and hand before moving down to work on the feet.  I'd say this took about 15 minutes or so.

Normally I don't like people touching my feet because I giggle like an Elmo doll and then instinctively try to kick them in the face.  But this guy had magical feet-loving hands that tamed my five-toed beasts of fury.  Around this point I think I fell into a semi nap.

After about 35 minutes or so of feet and lower calf massage, he moved me to a massage table, where I laid myself face down.  He massaged upper back down to my glutes and thighs for about 10 minutes before informing me that the session was over.  

If I hadn't had dinner plans, I would have got back in line and gone again.  That was the best $20 I think I've ever spent, including the time I paid my buddy to eat a wad of wassabi the size of a golf ball (which, incidently, I don't recommend).  Give this place a shot and you won't regret it.

Tejas is one of those places that is a 3 star in my mind, but a 5 star in my heart.

A hole-in-the-wall wedged between a shoe repair shop and an antiques store, this little gem oozes with personality, as you might gather from the eclectic decor.

I grew up eating here, so the beef fajitas are my baseline against which all fajitas are measured.  They are tender and tasty, and they have never dissapointed me.  The dish comes with beans, rice, guac, pico, and cheese.  I usually add (for a small uptick) or sub sourcream.

I think their most unique item (in terms of taste and rarity of offering at other restaurants) is their grilled quail.  The dish comes with two delicious birds, which though small, can fill you up.  

The owner is a super into fishing, as you can tell from his multiple trophies and pictures on the wall. As such, there is a higher number of seafood dishes on the menu than you'd normaly find at a TexMex restaurant.  The red snapper is pretty darn good if you are looking for one to try.

Some of the other typical tex mex dishes are not too impressive.  I'm not a fan of the enchilladas for instance.  In fact, I often regret any attempts to stray from the fajitas or quail (those two I rate 4.5 of 5).

The staff is super friendly and attentive, and they've all worked there since the beginning of time.  If you are in the area, I'd definitely recommend giving this place a try.

Quick Hits:  when the place is full, you can park in the dirt "lot" across the street. but I definitely do not recommend this when it has been raining.

Lisa and Damon D'Amico's studio in Westchase has been a wonderful place to take lessons so far.  Their studio is beautiful -- well lit, with large, open spaces, a high ceiling, and nice floors.  The open concept studio is partioned by movable curtains, which do a surprisingly good job of zoning the sound into each space, considering how loudly each different class plays their music at times.

The staff at the registration desk is super friendly and super helpful in getting you set up with your class of choice.  I really liked that they let me pay the 1-class walk-in price to try out a new class, then come back and pay the balance on the monthly price (which saves you money) when I knew I liked the course.  Without that option, I probably would not have ended up taking the full month's course for the classes I chose.

D'Amico's West Coast Swing program seems like their strongest offering, as it is offered in the most levels and has the biggest classes.  That being said, every class I've observed has been taught by seemingly very compentent teachers.

For my first class, I took Beginner West Coast Swing from Lisa D'Amico.  She is, without a doubt, a wonderful instructor.  She is at knowledgable, patient, and engaging.  She can move the class along through the lesson without rushing the beginners or boring the veterans.  Another key thing that sets her apart is her clear understanding of both the follow's and lead's parts.  I am generally a technical learner.  I like to ask specific questions about things like hand positioning or amount of tension in a lead.  Lisa was able to answer every question succintly.

My second class was the Dominican Style Bachata with Jorget Alcocer.  Though a beginner class, I love that she challenges everyone to advance by starting from the very basic steps and then scaling up to some more advanced footwork patterns by the end of the class.  Dominican Style Bachata is elegant and fun.  I only wish there was a more advanced offering for this style of dance.

In all, I've thoroughly enjoyed my experience thus far at D'Amico, and wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone looking to pick up social dancing.

I've eaten here many times, so I'll admit that the food is good.  The pan fried pork dumplings and the beef noodle soup can really hit the spot when you are in the mood for something that is quintessentially umami.

That being said, I will never return.  

The service is just not worth the food, and that's saying a lot.  I don't know if she's the owner or what, but the lady that works the register during the day either has horrible people skills, or is so sure of her product that she just doesnt give a crap how she treats others.

Everytime I've been in, she has been at best indifferent and often outright rude.  She speaks to you as if you are a dullard wasting her time, even when there is no one in line behind you (though I've seen her put on a fake, smarmy smile for certain customers).  I used to just take it in stride, thinking of her as the real life version of Seinfield's Soup Nazi.  

The last straw, however, was when she made my girlfriend cry.  There was a mix up when we ordered, when my gf thought she ordered one thing and received another.  The lady treated her with such contempt and derision, spoke to her so condescendingly, that by the time we reached the car, my gf was literally shaking with tears of rage.

Good food is good food, but there are plenty of places in Houston where I'd rather take my money.   If I wanted to put up with judging looks and verbal abuse, I could just stay home and get that for free from my gf.  JK, but seriously, I'm never going back.

I admit I was a bit dubious after reading the wide mix of reviews about Mumbai Spice.  Would I be worshipped or ignored by the waitstaff?  Would I be treated to an explosion of flavor or an explosion of....well, you get the idea.

The answer to the first question is a little of both.  As to the second, I'm happy to say that the answer was flavor.  Though perhaps "explosion" is the wrong word.  Massage.  A massage of flavor.

My friend and I were elected to sit outside, as it was a beautiful night.  The patio, though covered, is not really shielded from the wind.  So if you are annoyed by your napkin jumping off your lap and slapping you in the face, sit inside.   I don't know if it was because we were outside, but our waiter occasionally left without checking on us for long streches of time.  However, when he was around, he was very patient and helpful.

We ordered 3 things:  the Keema Samosas, the Chicken Biryani, and the Lamb Pasanda.

I thought the Samosas were excellent --  flaky, well spiced without being overpowering, and texturally pleasing.  My friend liked them, but thought they needed sauce.  You get 2 for $7, and they are kind of on the small side.  

The chicken biryani was flavorful and well complimented by the yogurt sauce.  Nothing special, but I'd eat it again if you sat it in front of me.

Now, the LAMB PASANDA.  Super tender cubes of lamb served with a creamy (yogurty?), spiced sauce.  SO GOOD.   The subtle, tongue-pleasing flavors shine through almost effortlessly.  Paired with fresh, warm nan, the dish made my evening.   I would highly recommend the lamb pasanda to anyone eating at MS.

Prices here border on value killing (if not outright being so), but I enjoyed the meal so much that I immediately forgave them.  

Quick Hits:  the complimentary nan-chips and sauce are a bit oversalty.  Try eating them with both the spicy and sweeter sauce together for best results.