Carla "urban_mermaid" B.'s Profile

The people who work here are great. I can't speak to the eye exam portion, just to the glasses buying side of things. The sales staff actually did things like measure the distance between my pupils, make recommendations based on facial shape. They also asked questions about how I'd be using the glasses to understand what my needs were.

Then as I looked about the store, other suggestions were brought out until I settled on an amazing pair.

I brought my daughter in a few weeks later and we had the same stellar experience, even though she was only 9 at the time. They really understood how a kid might be rough on glasses and what she might need to make certain they didn't break.

Great follow through and phone calls too!

Louise Hallberg is amazing and makes a side trek to Hallberg Butterfly Gardens worth it if you are in the area. Louise took a group of 10 ladies this past weekend meandering, telling us about the different types of butterflies that frequent her sanctuary and the impact of global warming. Louise older than 90 (according to the brochure and website), and despite her arthritic hands and slow pace, she's engaging and much more spry that you would think. She pointed to small monarch eggs (the size of a period) on the back of some milkweed.

That said, it's not the gardens you would imagine from a story book, with butterflies floating everywhere. The reality a lot of the plants that the various species of butterflies prefer are not so beautiful. It's not huge, but I can imagine in the spring it's much more full of life.

You can do a self-guided tour, but it was much more pleasurable to have Louise guide us. We did call in advance for our group of 10 and she was quite flexible with our ever changing schedule.

Be aware that because it's set up for butterflies other pollinators (such as bees) are plentiful. If you have allergies to either bees or pollen, you might want to be forewarned.

I imagine this would be great for kids, it was a nice place to sit and look around and Louise can tell stories of the wild turkeys that have come onto the property as well as the Anise butterfly that wouldn't nest in the fennel plants some professor planted.

A review of the website shows that there are no prices - as it is entirely up to you to make a donation. For our group, the suggested donation was $25. A bargain, considering this gem of a lady and a place.

Yelp to the rescue once again! Three of us landed in Memphis early one morning and needed a place to get some grub. We searched on Yelp and came here, only to find out from some locals later that this was also their favorite spot - a clear indication that the Internet doesn't always lie.

We were delighted to see an extensive menu and I was happy to see vegan and vegetarian options available as well. (Tofu scrambles, veggie sausages, yum!).

Food was solid, service was okay - about what was to be expected on a Tuesday morning.

Definitely would return to eat here again.

I've bought many prezzies for friends from Willotoons - baby gifts, t-shirts, jewelry and bags for friends. Her designs for babies are super cute and her t-shirts always make me laugh.

I purchased the "Words are so delicious" shirt for my daughter two years ago and it is still her favorite shirt. I like how Willo cut the necklines and finished that part off to make it nicer. My boyfriend purchased two of her shirts recently - now making the rounds in Austin, Tx.

Multiple friends have received Willo's baby one piece creations - my favorite so far, and the one that has initiated the best response has been her nerdling one.

As well, I really appreciate Willo's (the owner) commitment to to the environment. She has gone to an all natural line for her baby clothes and does what she can to provide re-usable packaging.

If you are looking for a present, or just a cool t-shirt for yourself, this is a good place to start.

Wonderfully diverse menu, great cocktails too.

We had a lovely evening eating outdoors and drinking bourbon cocktails here. Our server, Erin, was amazing. She was energetic, engaging and gave good advice.

I was thrilled to find both vegetarian and vegan items flagged on the menu and had a wonderful seitan parmigiana sandwich.

Price-wise, there items that weren't too expensive, but that's if you only ordered the one item.

Ambiance is relaxed and casual.

Yummers!

This place was great. I called the weekend before we were coming to town since we'd be a large group and was clearly told they didn't take reservations, but to call the night we were interested in coming down, and they'd put us down and tell us when to show up. They were dead on!

We were in town for Labor Day, called Saturday around 6:45 for a party of 5 and were told we could show up at 7:30. We did and walked in to be warmly greeted by the host and shown to a table within just a few minutes.

We had a fantastic waiter, Big Will. Big Will was friendly, helpful, able to provide recommendations, commentary and insight into the menu. He flagged things (the eggplant appetizer is cold, not warm) that made a difference in my enjoyment of the meal.

Food was wonderful - plentiful, but also gorgeous.

The ambiance is not the most exciting - this is a redone Shells, so the decor is far below the quality of the food. Still, it's perfect for a nice beach dinner with high quality food and service.

I was super excited to go here after reading the praise on Yelp and hearing great things about this place from friends in family. What an epic disappointment.

I called a week before I would coming to the beach for Labor Day since we had a large party. When the host answered the phone, he explained that they didn't take reservations unless it was a party of six or more. Since we were a party of six, he took the reservation, asking if we could come at 6:30 on the Saturday evening since it was going to be busy.

We showed up dutifully on time, only to be told by the hostess that they didn't take reservations, and on top of that rudely. Mind you, if they had said they didn't take them at all, we would have still come, but the man clearly told me that it was fine for a party of six and gave me a specific time.

The hostess being rude + poor communication about the actual status of how they don't take reservations = minus one star.

We were then forced to wait 45 minutes for a table being a large party. We finally got inside and were seated at a table. At this point we began to order drinks and to converse.

The music was then turned up.

We asked for it to be turned down. Now, mind you, I go to loud concerts all the time, have no problems going to loud bars, but we're at ostensibly a nice restaurant, which does not equate into having to scream across the table to be heard.

The music was turned down, only to be turned up a few minutes later. We asked multiple times for it to be turned down.

Loud music leading to crummy ambiance = minus one star.

Our server, a young woman whose name I didn't get, was quite obviously in the weeds and unable to support the number of tables that she was serving. Given that the restaurant knew it was going to be the busiest weekend of the year, you would have thought they would have been better prepared. Meals came out at different times, water glasses sat empty on the table until we were able to get the attention of the host, and largely, the service was rude.

Poor service = minus another star.

As for the food, the food was quite good, very tasty - when it finally arrived, a full hour after we'd ordered. It was fresh, well presented and in decent portions (not too huge, not too small).

Food = redeems a star.

I don't know if I'd go back here, rude, inattentive staff will prevent me going anywhere with good food, it's not worth it to have less than a delightful experience when you're paying the prices they charge.

Finally! A place I don't mind eating in Pacifica. We've tried quite a few of the pizza places in town, but most are sub-par.

It's nice to have a place using fresh and local ingredients.

It was a little confusing when we walked in and it took a moment to get the attention of the host and let him know we were interested in a table for three. Since tables were hard to come by and the fog hadn't rolled in,  we decided to take the table outdoors. We'd be sitting outside maybe 10 minutes when we were offered a table inside. We should have taken that offer, because it did get chilly - but still enjoyed our meal. I can only imagine how lovely this would be on a nice warm day, even if it is only a yucky view of the Manor Plaza shopping lot. (Note to the owners - putting a few plants outside could really make it feel a lot nicer.)

Food was fresh and tasty. We had salad and pizza, so have yet to sample the pasta dishes.

Service was as attentive as one would expect with only one table outdoors but definitely on target.

Vegetarian dishes are okay - as long as you are okay with dairy.

Delightful meal. Our server, Joseph, provided incredible detail on each of the dishes we ordered, answering questions about what would be appropriate for the taste buds of vegetarians, vegans and meat eaters. All of his recommendations were on target after determining how we felt about different spices and flavors.

Lovely ambiance and our party of five was able to eat without feeling rushed and to actually enjoy our meal.

Service was excellent, Joseph kept us in water and checked in on us throughout our meal.

As far as the food, I tasted the following from what we ordered Kashk-e Bademjan which was excellent. Aash-e Reshteh (a soup) was served lukewarm, which was the only drawback to the meal. We had a vegetable kabob and also Bademjan (veggie version).

Desserts were Baghlava, Choclava, and Bastani. All were delightful.

The place is small, so for groups 4 or more, I would definitely recommend calling ahead for a reservation on busy going-out nights.  That said, for larger groups up to 8, it would be a nice spot to enjoy the company of friends.

Thrilled that this branch has finally reopened. My first visit post opening was something out of a movie - children frolicking on the new playground, dogs running around outside, people riding up on their bikes and many folks reading outside.

It's still the same library in the sense that almost half my books have to be brought in from other branches, but the hold shelves are easily accessible, you can check yourself out, and it's a nice light-filled experience.

I really appreciate that they kept the old facade and brought in the new glass over that to make this new building beautiful and light-filled.

Bathrooms are a huge improvement, the young adult library downstairs is lovely, and there's independent study rooms that you can reserve throughout.

There's also a nice reading room upstairs.

Look forward to many visits - have been here about once a week already!