Alison "Watch your herd" S.'s Profile

I recently had my daughter at the Labor and Delivery Dept at Beth Israel Deaconess.  I was there for 4 days with my newborn after a C-section birth.

I've been to other hospitals in the past and received luke-warm to non-existent service.  The nursing staff at BI is extremely knowledgeable and seemed genuinely interested in the well-being of me, their patient.  They made me feel right at home.  Their response time to requests--even for non-pressing things like ice water refills--was very speedy.

As a first-time parent, I had questions and lots of them!  I never once felt like I was asking a stupid question.  The nurses and doctors that attended to me seemed very willing to give me tips/pointers/advice whenever I needed it.  I made it a point to pepper each of them with questions and got very real responses--many of the nurses had been through the labor/delivery process themselves and gave very candid advice.  I give them mad props!

Going home on the 4th day was bittersweet.  The nursing staff became like a mini-surrogate family of moms to me.  Coming in, I knew nothing of caring for a newborn.  (Heck, I had never actually held a baby before until I had my own!)  I left feeling extremely prepared and supported.  I'm convinced that this level of service is not possible unless you have a staff on board that is truly dedicated to the cause.

Maureen, my favorite nurse of all, bid farewell to my husband and I, saying, "I'll see you when you have your next baby!"  Oh yes.  You definitely will.  5 stars for a most excellent experience in an industry that I had previously lost hope in.

Tip: Order food and lots of it.  Don't be shy.  In addition to your breakfast entree, throw in things like yogurt, cereal, fruit, etc to have handy for snacking throughout the rest of the day.

Like the majority of Disney restaurants, you don't go for the quality of the food--you go for the uniqueness (and in this case, the tackiness) of the ambiance.  Coming inside, our expectations were low.  Though honestly, we didn't care.  We only wanted refuge from the 90 degree temps and humidity outside.

From an unsuspecting and downright industrial-looking waiting area, you pass through a doorway into a world that smacks of 1950s drive-in.  The booths are a bit snug and made to look like classic cars.  There's a giant movie screen, which plays a continuous feed of old commercials and snippets of 50s B movies.  The walls are lit up with a faux suburban skyline--a nice touch, which only adds to the illusion that you're sitting at an outdoor 50s-style drive-in.
 
The movies themselves are deliciously campy and feature shabby alien costumes covered in foil, a beastman-type creature covered in heavy brown fur, a plate suspended from a piece of fishing wire made to look like a hovering UFO, and many other fabulous things from the sci-fi world of yesteryear.  My husband and I could not stop laughing at how tacky the footage was.  It was tacky to the point of being cute.  (We loved it!)

              /
              \
              /              
              \
      ___/___
__/_______\__    .......cheesy UFO on a string
   \O_O_O_O/

Food is standard diner fare; nothing stellar.  Don't go for the food.  Go for the jive talking robots and cheesy swamp creatures that jump out, attempting to eat damsels in distress.

Several weeks prior to our Disney trip, I tried to secure reservations at a few restaurants on the Disney property that looked interesting.  Coral Reef was one of them.  However, after calling the reservation line, an attendant informed me that the restaurant was booked solid and that we would have needed to call up several months in advance.  (Seriously?)

So, we arrive at our resort the first day and ask the concierge if they can book a reservation for us.  Again, no dice.  The hubby and I finally decided to head over to the restaurant for an early dinner to see if they would take us as walk-ins.  Finally, they said they would make room for us.  We waited in the lobby for quite some time, as the regular dinner crowd started to filter in.  The waiting area quickly became packed.  There was very limited seating, so most guests (and their bedraggled families) were sitting on the floor.

The ambiance (read: sitting next to a gigantic aquarium with a shark and other ocean critters circling) made up for the poor service and mediocre food.

At one point, a group of tourist divers descended into the tank and swam up to the window to wave to the diners on the other side of the glass.  That was definitely a highlight.

Tip: If you can't get into a restaurant by using a Disney resort concierge or reservation line, try going for an early dinner.  We arrived between 4:30 and 4:45pm.

Bravo Bravo takes "dive bar" to a whole new level.  Each time I attended the monthly happy hour for a local networking organization, the service was poor to non-existent.  We used to bring in a good 100 people or so at a time.  They truly seemed ill-equipped when dealing with large groups:

* Happy hour specials that were originally quoted to our group would magically end at undetermined times.  When peeps would inquire as to why, the bartenders would come up with some b.s. excuse or claim that it only applied to certain drinks.

* The bar was usually understaffed.

* Music was an issue.  On occasion, they would have a decent DJ in the booth.  Other times, it was really bad 1990s hip hop.  -shiver-

The kicker--our HH was slated to end at 10pm.  Around 9:30pm, they'd start blasting obnoxiously loud mariachi music.  (The CRAP?!)  At this point, our group would get the message that we weren't welcome there and would move onto a nearby dance club or watering hole.

NWK Penn Station gets *two* stars, since I was never mugged, accosted, or bumped off while waiting for my train.  I think that's pretty generous.

Step inside and gaze at the neoclassical architecture up above.  It's historical and quite impressive.  Don't stare too long, though.  The place is crawling with panhandlers, drug dealers, and other miscreants.  They appear to have a security force that is very visible during the afternoon rush hour window -- not sure about other times.  

Despite this, it still doesn't feel very safe.  There's also an entire section of the terminal where they let the homeless population hang out.  I genuinely feel bad.  These folks don't seem to have anywhere else to go--particularly during the colder months.

Aside from the typical clientele found roaming inside the station, there's one thing that *really* gets on my nerves.  Zaro's Bakery has a popcorn machine that runs non-stop.  Ordinarily, this wouldn't be a problem.  I'm a big popcorn fan.

This species of poppin' corn is not your run-of-the-mill movie corn, however.  It's some sort of death corn.  The heavy smell of preservatives and other salty chemicals permeates the entire length of the corridor when they pop it.  

The first time I ever set foot in Penn Station, I picked up a bag of said corn and almost hurled after one bite.  I promptly pitched it in the trash.

  \  \  \  \  \
  /  /  /  /  /    -----stink lines
  \  \  \  \  \
o_o_o_o_o
\                  /
 |     icky     |
 | popcorn |  
 |_______ |
         
Disdainful popcorn aside, be on your toes.  Watch your wallet.  Monitor your surroundings at all times.  You're most certainly not in Kansas anymore, Dorothy.

One year after my initial review and I'm still a huge fan.  I'm givin' them one additional star for being consistently awesome each time I go in.

Their service is speedy and their Snickerdoodle cookies are heaven on earth.  On the outside, they're perfectly encrusted with crunchy sugar crystals.  On the inside, they're devilishly chewy.  I'd be a total heifer if I went there every day.
     _____    
(  [  X   X  ]  )   MoooOOOooo...
     \_oo_/   ____/
       |__|  

Consequently, I make the drive to Perfectos about once a week.  It's so worth it.

I always encounter good people whenever I go.  One morning, when it was about 10 degrees outside, two elderly ladies scooted in after me with their walkers looking for some hot brew.  The barista laughed, and pretended to scold them for venturing out in such frigid weather.  "The cold is good for ya," one of them jovially hollered back, "And it's good for pregnant ladies, too," she added, motioning towards me.  Love it!

I always enjoyed their spin classes.  If you can make it through one, god bless ya!  At the end, your quads will be screaming, your buns will be begging for mercy, and you'll be drenched in sweat.. but man.  One of the best cardio workouts available there.  Get there early to get your name on the list -- especially on weekends, when the class fills up very quickly.

Fitness machines are average, nothing stellar.  The weights section can get crowded depending on when you go.  I once had a bitter, elderly man in too-tight sweatpants approach me, asking how soon I would be off one of the weight machines.  The crap?  I was half-way through my second set and wasn't dawdling.  When I brought it up to one of the desk attendants, he fluffed it off, "Oh.  We get a lot of older folks in here that tend to be pretty impatient".  -shudder-

Good luck getting out of your contract once you either move onto another gym or move out of the area.  I paid my membership in full at the time of signing up.  Yet, two years after moving, Bally's was sending me paperwork in the mail that looked like billing statements, saying I would only owe "this much" if I rejoined.  After numerous calls to the drones at the front desk, I was finally put in touch with the manager of that location.  It took a great deal of cajoling / threatening to get them to remove me from the system altogether.  Their member services are horrific.  Good luck with that if you choose to join.

My advice? Unless you don't have a car and are stuck living in the River House (snicker) or the Archstone upstairs, look elsewhere.

This place was a hoot!  I always found an excuse to lure friends in here prior to starting our romp through the rest of Adams Morgan.  If you dig, you can uncover some truly nifty stuff.  Check it out:

* Vintage pin of Michael Jackson from his Off The Wall days
* Tiny beads shaped like skulls that appeared to be made from some sort of bone
* Large, funky earrings
* Outdated bumper stickers
* Colorful leather change purses

The list just goes on from there.  They also carry larger decorative items -- vases, wooden masks, statues, wall hangings, etc.  You've gotta check it out!

Eating Peruvian chicken is a lot like hunting.  Once you've cleaned it of most meat, you carefully prod the sacrificial fowl with your knife, hoping to coax some additional morsels of rotisserie goodness out of it.  Check around the ribs--ooh, there's one!  Examine the leg a bit more closely--score!

Despite having Christmas decorations up on the wall year-round, their bird packs a mean punch for a very reasonable price.  I'm beginning to salivate just thinking about this place.

Go.  Go now!  -points-

Small interior
Arms flailing, elbows jabbing
but I could care less

Steaming falafel
I dunk you in some relish
and take a big bite

Slither through the crowd
on the way to find a seat
What a perfect meal