Jeannie "is that a half-price martini?!" J.'s Profile

I just had a great evening bottling at the distillery. We had a cocktail, tour, and a chance to bottle some of the vodka. They're wonderful, informative hosts.

On weekends they have the tasting room open. Try the new cello's that they're making modeled after lemoncello. The blueberry was my personal favorite, it would pair very well with dark chocolate. The other unusual flavors such as ginger, lemongrass, and lavender were very good, as well as a more traditional tangerine.

They're working on a bourbon line which I'm sure will be as good as their vodka. I look forward to sampling it as soon as it's available.

Thanks again New Deal for a fun time!

I went to 23Hoyt tonight. It was very good, plenty of food. Our server didn't seem very happy when we asked for the Yelp Eats! menu, but he warmed up later. They gladly left out the bacon on our items, which was very nice and accommodating. The food was tasty, for sure.

What we ordered off of the regular menu would have been only $4 more al la carte, so it's hard to justify as a restaurant week only splurge. The happy hour menu looked very good, as did the onion rings. I would go back specifically for them.

Oh, BTW, the butterscotch pots de creme is to die for!

I was soaked to the tune of $105 before tip for a facial and brow wax that I had yesterday. I rarely do facials because they aren't in my budget. However, $85 is on the expensive side for anyplace, especially since it was a regular and not a treatment facial.

Now I will explain how this came to be. I won a $45 gift certificate for Avenue at a First Thursday party at Forkfly, which I was very excited about. I looked on their website to see what services they offered. The gift certificate was written for $45, and down below in the corner it said "bonus, free eye treatment with facial service". That sounded good to me. I tried to book my service on the website, but it wasn't working. I called, the woman I spoke with was very difficult to understand, because of a heavy accent. I told her I would like to book their facial special ($49) that I had seen online. I told her that I had a $45 gift certificate, and that it also had the offer of a free eye treatment. She said in order to get the $45 off and the free eye treatment I would need to book the $85 facial. I though, well, OK. That would put me at $40. Fine. I was hoping we understood each other fine, because of the language barrier. I had looked over the certificate no less than 5 times to be sure I was reading it correctly.

I showed up, filled out my paperwork, and gave them my certificate. They have an excellent selection of Aveda products because they're an Aveda salon. My esthetician Holly was very nice, and did a good job on the facial. After the facial, she tried to get the eye treatment machine to work. They had been having problems with it, and it took a good 5-10 minutes to get it running. She ran the metal probe over the eye area for MAYBE one minute total. I didn't really feel like it did anything. After this, the service was done. I also opted for a $20 brow wax as it was time for one, and my usually place was booked.

I went out to the front of the salon with Holly so she could show me the products we used. I didn't buy product, because I'm set in that department thanks to Sephora. Anyway, the manager rang me up. When he gave me the $105 total, I told him that $45 still needed to be subtracted from that. He told me the $45 was for the eye treatment. Since they already had my certificate, and didn't take it out to show me where it said that the $45 WAS for the eye treatment I just paid. He could tell I was flabbergasted, and very unhappy with this transaction. I wish I had made a copy before I handed it over. This was a very expensive mistake, and one I WILL NOT be making again.

If you choose to go to this salon, and you have a gift certificate clarify exactly what it is for before your service, or you might have a very costly surprise awaiting you at the check out.

Thanks again Don for a job well done!  Really good cocktails with out a line, an assortment of tasty appetizers, fresh air and fun on the deck with the Yeeps.

My VERY favorite new thing is the new lunch box.  Words can't describe my immense love for it, especially the thermos.  The coolest thing EVAH!

I think we need to make a trek out for the champagne brunch.  Just leave some crab legs for me please!

I'm gonna go with A-OK.  I don't love it, but I don't dislike it at all.  It kinda reminds me of a bar in the burbs, but a little different.  The food isn't bad, and the drinks are OK.  Their deck is fairly good when it's open.  The space is very pub like, without the colorful patrons.  

That might be part of what's missing.  I like to people watch, and it's fairly generic in that department.  Mostly 30 somethings from all over, but especially the burbs.  I prefer more variety, personally.  

The selection in libations is pretty good, and happy hour all night on Mondays is a bonus.  This is a beer lovers paradise as they have many selections to choose from both import and domestic.  The food is decent, and the portions are substantial for the price.  

Because I live in the neighborhood, I go on a somewhat frequent basis, but I don't see myself making a trip if I lived further away.

The servers have been pretty darn good, even when they're slammed.

Swank restaurant with a lovely view along the river Thames. It has a good selection of English seafood and meat specialties with classic sides like mushy peas and Yorkshire pudding. The service was some of the best we had in London, which overall wasn't up to US standards. Expansive view of the Tower Bridge.  This would be a good special occasion restaurant, or for business meetings.

A little on the expensive side for everyday.

I was craving a cucumber sandwich while walking around this area of town. For under $2 USD I got cucumber, cream cheese, and sprinkle of salt. Perfect, delicious, and affordable. It's a walk up counter, with booths available if you care to dine in.

Free internet, cool welcoming staff, tasty coffee,  tea, and pastries.  

Afternoon tea costs half what the other guys charge.  The scone, tea, cucumber, and salmon sandwiches hit the spot.  Libre Cafe saved my day more than once during my visit to London.  It was located next door to my hotel, and close to the Oxford and Regent Street shopping areas.

Each item is under $3, cleaned and pressed.  Of course leather costs more, but this place is a steal!  I've had nary a broken button, or other mishap.  It's well worth the drive.  Most things are ready by the next afternoon.  Nice staff.

I still favor the Waffle Window, but these hit the spot when I want homemade tasting waffles rather than Belgian. Although, you can get your gourmet on here if you're feeling it. They have a decent number of savory, meat (or fake meat) varieties, to go along with classic sweet flavors. I usually get the sweet cream & jam, but the maple pecan that I've had was really good also. I want to try the turkey and Havarti sometime when it's close to lunch time. Gotta run, the lemon pie with whipped cream and lemon curd is calling. Tootles!