Eve "good food and wine make me happy" K.'s Profile

Unique hidden Chinese food spot with good food and an amazingly friendly staff. 4.5 stars

Food: 4.5, Atmosphere: 3, Service: 3.5
Cost to worth it rating: 5 (somehow fed 6 people for ~$11/person excluding tip)
Return worthiness: YES
Eve award: best potsticker presentation

Highlights:
-  Potstickers: crispy top layer that looks like a huge disc when it arrives and under that are a set of the longest, largest meat-filled potstickers ever (which tasted delicious too). Note they take a long while so order them when you first sit down and they'll come halfway through your meal
- Staff: for a bare bones Chinese spot, I was happily surprised by the friendly, welcoming staff. We were seated and immediately greeted with a huge bowl of hot and sour soup. When we left the lady was all smiles and thanked us for coming (even offered my lunch bud hot and sour soup to go since she noticed how much his face lit up when he saw it at our table).
- 3 cup chicken: had no idea what it was but since I trust my fellow yelpers, I gave it a try. Big chunks of tender chicken in a soy glaze with wilted basil leaves on top
- Kung pao chicken: old standby done well here. Great flavor and nice real kick with the dried chile bits
- Interesting twists: one beef dish we had came with a bed of shredded vegetables and basil, giving it a bit of a Thai flair
- Lunch specials: 2 pages worth with Americanized items like sweet and sour to ones that are more unique like the mentioned 3 cup chicken

Lowlights:
- Schezusn shrimp: too tomatoey of a sauce for my liking but shrimp were cooked well
- Never got our hand made noodles we ordered, but they took it off the bill

The 6 of us co-workers were so happy to find this spot and it definitely made it as a part of our regular lunch rotation.

Nice festive fine dining spot in downtown Hartford.3.75 stars

Food: 4, Atmosphere: 4, Service: 3
Cost to worth it rating: 4 (entrees in the $20s)
Return worthiness: maybe

Highlights:
- Shrimp and scallops: beautiful plate with 2 large perfectly cooked spot prawns and a set of small scallop bites
- Potato soup: blended with fried leeks and pork belly strips as the solid items inside
- Cheese plate: usually I only like a few but I really enjoyed 3 out of the 4 choices. Presented nicely on a black chalkboardish-like plate and several thick slightly sweet crackers
- Chocolate desert: a long rectangle covered in white. Extremely light and airy
- Staff: from the hostess to waitress to sommelier everyone was nice, friendly, and welcoming. Was worried it might be stiff/stuffy with some sources saying jacket required, but it wasn't at all.
- Atmosphere: nice large space with art on the walls. Especially enjoyed the holiday decor: loved the lit up trees in a few spots in the dining room

Midlights:
- Steak: was a bit tough even at medium rare and the hub would've preferred bit more sauce

Lowlights:
- Service: I was left with an empty wine glass for a while and not asked if I wanted anything else. I also found it odd that when the dishes were delivered they weren't explained and when I asked about elements of them, they had to ask and come back with the answers.
- Service fee: automatically added 20% even for just 2 people. I like being in control of how much I tip dependent on service level.

Lovely spot for an evening we enjoyed but not quite a destination meal I'd ensure to be back for.

Delicious pepperoni pizza comic book themed spot.

Food: 4, Atmosphere: 4, Service: 4
Cost to worth it rating: 4 ($13 for our pizza)
Return worthiness: yes
Eve award: best pepperoni

Highlights:
- Pepperoni: billed as hand cut, came out so thin and delightfully crispy. Loved it so much!
- Tomato sauce: got the cheesy bruschetta and loved the bowl of fresh tomato sauce it came with
- Comic book theme: fun decor and gives you something to read on the table while you wait
- Interesting specialty pizzas: Cajun with andouille sausage and shrimp, mashed potato, and even roasted veggie looked great but the hub always likes to stick to traditional so didn't get to try them
- Fun bottled sodas: wasn't gonna go evil beverage fountain product so tried a birch beer which was great. Bonus was natural with sugar cane and fun use of yucca.

Lowlights:
- Sizes: only 2 with the small being 8 pieces so we had more food than we needed (though leftovers are fun)

Happy with this lunch find while in town for a friend's wedding.

Small spot across from Caltrain with good eats and drinks. 4.4 stars

Food: 4 Atmosphere: 4 Service 4
Cost to worth it rating: 3 (entrees in the 20s)
Eve award: best use of green vegetable as a snack

Highlights:
- Brussels sprout chips: bowl of thin flaky goodness complimented by salt and lemon. I think I let the hub snag just a few as I gobbled them all down
- Pork chop: tender well-seasoned dual cuts of pork with parmesan cream sauce and bunches of prosciutto
- Chocolate cream pie: perfect portion in a mini-jar. Balanced not too rich chocolate with a cookie crust and crunchy bits in top
- Champagne cocktail: drink special of the night with pomegranate and blackberry. Light and not too sweet
- Wine list: unique offerings like a German langrien and African options
- Quotes on the window: loved all of the fun food quotes like never trust a girl who doesn't eat her meal, etc
- Location: super easy to get to via train

Midlights:
- Steak: nice medium rare but lacked seasoning to enhance the flavor of the cut of meat

Lowlights:
- Only beer and wine

Liked our experience here and I'd come back.

Close to home hidden Michelin starred spot that lived up to the hype. Main courses sang and staff was wonderful. 4.5 stars

Food: 4.5, Service: 4.5, Atmosphere: 4.5
Return worthiness: yes
Cost to worth it rating: 3 ($168 12 course tasting, $288 with standard wine pairing)

Eve award: best use of foam, best egg nog

Highlights:
- Lobster: heaven on a plate. Delicate chunks of lobster covered by lemon foam and sitting beside the most delightful thick vanilla sauce sprinkled with coffee beans. So many flavors that worked together
- Halibut: loved the light orange foam cloud of subtle curry it was lying in. The medallions of pumpkin used to mimic scales was fun.
- Suckling pig: tender square topped with crispy skin seasoned just right so not too salty
- Beet celery root drink: naturally a bit sweet and refreshing
- Egg nog: cutest presentation within an egg shell and perfect flavoring forgoing the turn off of overspiced nog
- Green apple palate cleanser: intense apple flavor with adorable green apple "sand"
- Lychee coconut water float: creative pairing with dessert
Ricky road
- Staff: I always worry about pretentious condescending staff at these types of places and the servers here were none of that. They were delightful and chatted with us and laughed with us when we were excited and silly about certain plates.
- Little touches: love that they gave each girl a purse hook for the table and when I asked for the menu didn't just give me the ingredient list that we saw but the entire menu signed! :-)
- Atmosphere: small room segmented into halves. Simplistic but elegant decor with a dark orange wall next to a dark chocolate one

Lowlights:
- 2 vegetable salad plates: like the intention featuring veggies but having 2 seemed a bit redundant
- Filled foccacia: bit overpowering fig filling so couldn't taste the bread or pistachio much

Enjoyed the menu, staff, environment, and overall experience and I'd come back.

Unexpected excellence in food and wine tucked away in downtown Palo Alto. Lovely date spot to meet up with great friends.

Cost to worth it rating: 4.5 (entrees under $20)
Food: 4.2 Atmosphere: 4 Service: 4
Return worthiness: yes

Highlights:
- Red wine flight: I love wine, but I can be picky about them and this flight was delicious. It was not just run of the mill boring and had one of out favorite small producers from Santa Barbara (Whitcraft) and a heavenly fruity primitivo.
- Duck: perfectly done in the traditional form with a crispy skin and tender dark meat.
-Burger: hub thoroughly enjoyed this incredibly juicy burger topped with white cheddar

Midlights:
- Burrata: think I'm spoiled by previous versions that turned me onto this cheese, so this version was just ok for me

Lowlights:
- Lemon shortcake: too extra dry so didn't care for it though the marinated strawberries were nice

Didn't know what to expect from this place whose location used to be more of a bar scene/club, but I liked it a lot and will be back.

Cute little brunch spot in an unassuming strip mall where eggs are on the name, but the creative hash browns are the star.

Food: 4, Service: 4, Atmosphere: 3
Cost to worth it rating: 3
Return worthiness: yes

Highlights :
- Hash browns: perfectly done crispy on top and thoroughly cooked through soft inside. One of the best I've had. I got em with sharp cheddar cause I was in Wisconsin which was amazing but  could've used even more
- Eggs Benedict: I got the pastrami version but kept the traditional biscuity muffin and hollandaise. I'm a frequent benedict ordererer and this sauce was the right level of thickness, butter, and acidity.
- Mimosas: great versions favoring the bubbly with a bit of fresh orange juice. They were like Lays and my sis and I couldn't stop at just one
- Nice touches: grapes to snack on to start and leaving a water carafe for us to fill our own

Lowlights:
- Super salty spinach: bordering on inedible :-/

Perfect low key but delicious brunch spot I'd come back to next time I'm with my sis (could even bring the non-egg eating hub for the loaded hash browns).

Rounding out my heavenly Yountville experience was dinner here. I had a bit of a negative impression of Chiarello in Top Chef Masters and wasn't expecting to be blown away, but I was. Comfortable and fun dining experience with utterly delicious, flavorful, upscale but still grounded, approachable dishes. 4.8 stars

Food: 4.7, Atmosphere: 4.5, Service: 4.5 (yes realizes doesn't add up but sum is greater than the parts)
Cost to worth it rating: 4
Return worthiness: Yes
Eve award: best fries EVER

Highlights:
- Fries: I'm not a big truffle person, as it's so easy to have it overpowering and overdone, but in these it was subtly used to perfection. The hub and I are big french fry eaters and we have deemed these to take the top spot. The potatoes were crispy but still soft potatoey inside and the piles of shaved parmesan were insanely delectable. To add color and a bit more fun flavor, fried green sage crowns the top of this heaping pile.
- Deep fried soft boiled egg: why I came to this restaurant (think I saw it on a food network show and since then wanted to try). It was expertly executed: soft and runny inside, firm whites, and an oh so delicate deep fried breading surrounding it. Have no idea how they pulled it off. Paired with bacon in the radicchio it added a bit of richness and cut through the creaminess all at the same time.    
- Prosciutto and melon with pasta fritta: the hub's favorite traditional Italian appetizer but beefed up with these puffy fried pasta pieces. He was beside himself giddy with this invention.
- Bolognese pasta: al dente mountain of string pasta filled with a deep flavored meat sauce you could tell had some good amount of loving time on the stove. Hub thumbs up this as well as a picky bolognese connoisseur.
- Short ribs: this is one of my go-to orders and I'm about 50/50 on the satisfaction level after I take a bite. These were on the positive end for sure: oh so tender and super packed with flavor.
- Atmosphere: rustic, homey, and cozy yet with a bit of humble sophistication.  

Lowlights:
- Affogato: the hub's standard again and it was fine but didn't care for the cookies that came with it.

Was happily surprised at the stellar quality of this meal. We left fully happy--giddy even at the recount of the meal--which makes for a top notch, memorable dining experience.  We definitely recommend it and be back.

Immediately fell in love with this hotel: nice, quaint, beautiful property, spacious rooms, close to everything, 24 hour pool, and delicious included breakfast.  

Eve award: one of my top hotel experiences
Cost to worth it rating: 4
Return worthiness: yes

Highlights:
- Grounds: gorgeous plants, flowers, and fountains all around. Rooms are in a set of small 2 story buildings
- Pool hours: open 24 hours which I love, as I enjoy a late night swim and hot tubbing session
- Rooms: large with a fireplace, jacuzzi tub (another big bonus for me), seating area, extra sink, high ceilings, and balcony. Could just hang out here for a while (if there wasn't so much wine tasting and great eats to be had)
- Full breakfast: not just a few rolls but fantastic variety including my fave omelet man as well as serve yourself bubbly
- Location: right on the main street of Yountville, so can easily walk to the tasting rooms and eateries which was so convenient
- Villagio perks: since the properties are both owned by the same company, you can use their pool, spa, etc. (though it's a walk down he street on the other side of the shopping complex)

Lowlights:
- Spendy: quite a bit more than we typically pay for a hotel room ($300-400) , but it was a one night special occasion for us. However in this area you can get just a motel for a good amount of dough as well.

A new favorite lodging spot that I'd like to come back to as often as I can.

On our wine tasting stroll of Yountville, our first stop here was our favorite spot. It represents several local wineries, features some unique art, and is a relaxing experience. BTW I thought it would be appropriate for my 1st review back post-kidlet to start off with a wine one. ;-) 4.5 stars

Eve award: best Yountville tasting experience, one of the best in the Napa area
Cost to worth it rating: 4
Return worthiness: yes

Highlights:
- Atmosphere: beautiful outside sitting areas--we chose one with umbrellas and fire pit--filled with fun art all around like an Einstein head or jumbo jacks)
- Service: instead of being cooped up standing at a tasting counter, you can relax, take a taste and look around, and they come to you with the wine kind of like a waiter in a restaurant but one who will sit and chat with you about their wines.
- Selection: not just a list of a handful of wines, but a whole book of flights you can chose from from small local wineries that aren't big enough to manage their own tasting room
- Club: includes free tastings and no shipping. I hate paying for shipping and at $25+ a tasting, the first shipment almost paid for itself. Yes, that's how we got sucked in...

Lowlights:
- Intimidation factor: even though I drink a good amount of wine, felt like should know more about wine to have better conversations with the guy who was helping us

Loved this find thanks to my yelper friend Carlos A. and will be back with a few friends soon.