Charles "Chips" R.'s Profile

The Blackboard Eats coupon brought me in, the food will bring me back.

On my recent visit to NYC, I checked this place out thanks to a 30% off coupon. We ate there on New Years Eve day....early afternoon. The place was eerily empty, only one other table had diners and they left shortly after we sat. I'm guessing the place was packed later that night, especially given their hype of what fun festivities were coming in the evening in the restaurant and surrounding area. But for lunch, we pretty much had the place to ourselves.

Armed with a big, fat coupon, my girlfriend and I (sort of) went to town on the food.

Ponty salad: Loved it. Mixed baby greens, apples, carrots, grape tomatoes with a shallot vinaigrette? More please.

Lobster ravioli: Loved it. The cream sauce was so good. More please.

Side of grilled asparagus: Tough to screw that one up, but still...loved it. More please.

White wine sangria: Loved it. More please.

The service was friendly and attentive, and the place itself looks nice -- clean and well decorated. The prices are a bit high and may make me think twice about returning, but if I'm  hungry enough for a meal I know I'll love, I'll be back.

If you're familiar with San Francisco's North Beach neighborhood, this place feels like a  restaurant you might find there: caters to tourists with decent food, but nothing special.

We arrived on a Wednesday night during the busy holiday season and waited in line about 15 minutes before we got a table. The salad was pretty blah -- a bunch of iceberg lettuce, a few other things, and a whole lotta italian dressing.

Now the lobster ravioli, that's good stuff. The helping was nicely sized and it was delicious. I'm  not a big wine-person, but I liked the glass or the Merlot I had.

The service was nice enough, and the ambiance is nice. The experience wasn't remarkable enough to draw me back anytime soon, but it as an "a-ok" meal.

I had never really even hung out around this area, but when called up by my niece in a nearby neighborhood to grab dinner, Yelp led us to this gem.

It feels very much like a San Francisco Mission District taqueria in here, and the menu offers a decent selection.  I ordered a basic meal because I believe in testing new places on the basics first before I venture off into their food roads less traveled.

Chicken burrito: pretty good.  4-star quality here.  Nice mix of salsa, rice, cuts of chicken. Decent size.
Cheese quesadilla: solid, and what I expected.  
Horchata: pretty good.

I'm gonna be a bit harsh, and maybe even hippie here, and knock this place for still using the environmentally-unfriendly packaging of styrofoam to-go boxes and plastic bags.  But a nice restaurant, friendly service, and good value.

The thing that got me into this buffet was the 24 hour deal: all-you-can-eat for 24 hours for about $45.  Three meals in Vegas at $15/meal? Don't mind if I do!

Friday lunch: Food bonanza! Where do I start? It's tough to pace myself at this point, but I put together a nice meal involving some staples like mashed potatoes, fish, broccoli...and, well, I don't remember but there was a lot going on.  For dessert, I liked the station making custom crepes.  

Friday dinner: Oh....okay, same food.  That's alright, there's still many options and a few I didn't even notice the first time around.

Saturday breakfast: Helloooo breakfast foods.  I liked the french toast and eggy options.  The orange juice is tasted like something along the lines of Sunny Delight, so that could have been better.  And yes, there were even a few of the same dishes from the previous day.  I guess that broccoli is a real favorite among Paris guests.

So the food is decent, but the best part of this place was the deal. Service was nice enough and it's pretty clean all around.

I ate here on a Saturday night in October. After arriving to the restaurant at around 9pm, it was roughly an hour wait to be seated.  Note to self: consider reservations next time.

The weather was nice that night and we lucked out with a table right along the sidewalk, in front of the Bellagio water show across the street.

I had the Trout Amandine (toasted almonds, haricot vert, tomato, brown butter) and it was great.  Nicely arranged, good flavor, ample portion.

I almost forgot to mention another favorite part of the meal -the butternut squash soup. Loved it.

The frites/fries? Not so great.  They're thin and crispy, but didn't do much for me.

Service was friendly and quick.

I was impressed with this hotel start to finish.

The lady checking us in at the front desk was very friendly and helpful.  She alerted us to the convention coming in on our checkout day and suggested measures to avoid long waits. She gave us a corner room (which I learned can be identified with a P following the room number) and I'm pretty sure those corner rooms are significantly bigger than (or at least have more windows) than standard rooms.

The casino isn't bad, and if you're looking for more variety, it's short walk to the connected Bally's hotel and casino.

Le Village Buffet, part of Paris, is a nice buffet option, and offers the good deal of unlimited food/visits for 24 hours for about 45 bucks. The Mon Ami Gabi, at the front of Paris, is a great place for a nicer meal.

Everything seemed clean and tidy in the room. I hardly even took advantage of all the amenities this hotel has to offer, but I look forward to a return visit.

Yelp describes the ambiance here as "hipster, trendy, casual"...yep, that sounds about right.  Last time I was around this place was during a nearby music festival and the line was out the door.  But on a Wednesday evening right before a Dodger game, the place wasn't crowded.

I'm a meat-eater, but not a big time meat-eater, so that may influence my review.  I'll gladly enjoy a quality burger, but I don't think I've once ordered any sort of "meat lover's" pizza.  But the menu here sure does pique some interest when it has choices ranging from a simple bratwurst to rattlesnake & rabbit with jalapeno peppers.

The ordering process is simple --you choose your meat, choose your two toppings, maybe some sides, and a drink.  The long hallway leads to a dining room in the back, so don't think the handful of stools in the entryway are your only seating areas.

I had the Chicken Apple & Spices with caramelized onions and sweet peppers with a side of white truffle oil glazed fries and an Oktoberfest beer.  

The main dish: not bad.  I thought the meat had a tough texture to it and it wasn't particularly tasty.  It wasn't bad, it was just..."oh, that's interesting".  I'm thinking I should have gone with something else, next time something more basic sounds good. The rest of it, however, was pretty good.

The side dish: Oh, those were some good fries.  Spend the extra two bucks to get the fries with the white truffle oil.  Sure the ones without are alright and maybe even healthier, but if you're gonna get fries here, do it right. I had the Chipotle Ketchup dipping sauce, but liked the Sweet and Sassy BBQ sauce more.

The beer: Oktoberfest? Good call.

Service here was nice and pretty quick.  The water jugs here unexpectedly dispensed cucumber-infused water.  I liked it. I'm down to try this place again, I'll just have to remember to try another menu choice.

I like the name of this place, it's just silly.  It's already off to a good start.

The club itself isn't bad.  It's not super small, but feels fairly cozy.  The table arrangement seems decent to give everyone a good view...and for some, the tables are practically on the stage.

I wasn't feeling any booze/drinks the night I went so I can't comment on that or even the food.  I saw the menu and can't recommend going here for any unusual club food or even anything seemingly healthy, but that's not unexpected.

It's right next to a tire shop so that made me think "this is such a random place for a comedy club", but parking is easy so there's a plus.  I wasn't super impressed with the comedy lineup I saw, but I'm down for another visit.

This is my favorite Whole Foods market...and that's after living in San Francisco and suburban Los Angeles.  

I've had several they-even-have-this! moments across this store, after seeing such things as a large tea section and an area for individual eggs of several varieties. And the hot food area...I want to eat everything there.  They really make selection difficult when there's something delicious at every corner.

I'll take this paragraph to commend their little in-store taqueria. I've been satisfied with every burrito I've ordered here. They know what they're doing.

The staff is helpful, the store is impressive, and the prices...well, I don't mind paying a bit more for quality.  I want all Whole Foods to model after this location.

I'm happy to try a local-flavor place over the Denny's and Carrows of the world, so here I went for breakfast one morning.

I had the oatmeal. It was, hmm....nothing special.  It wasn't bad, but then again it's not gonna win the Oatmeal of the Year award.  The meal presentation seemed suited to a lonely bachelor take-out meal: the brown sugar and raisings each were capped in their own little plastic container. Three are worse things, it just didn't feel personal or becoming of the sit-down restaurant morning breakfast experience. Those toppings, plus the bananas, made the oatmeal a decent breakfast.

I was surprised by the generous size of the small orange juice --and the glass it was served in as it made me wonder "Isn't this glass shape usually reserved for bar drinks?".

Service was pretty quick and friendly enough. This place is better than some surrounding options I'm sure, but I question of it's charming or impressive enough to draw me for a return visit.