Ennis O.'s Profile

Looks can be deceiving. Cafe Viena looks like any other tourist trap along Las Ramblas. And I'll admit I only stopped here based on Mark Bittman's 'best sandwich in the world' claim to fame. Glad I did - I only had a flautí (a mini flauta) to tie me over until dinner. It was far tastier than the flauta I had the previous night and a great deal too - flautí and coke: 5.45€. I think best sandwich in the world is going a bit too far, but I do think it's worth the stop if you need a little something to tie you over while walking around!

Totally tasty and so glad I came here for dinner! After three weeks of travel it was great to have vegetables and leafy greens aplenty with miso soup and all the other Asian flavors I love. Add to that some tasty 'calm sea' tea and it was a great way to relax and spend my last night away from home. Plus I got a new cookbook and travel book!

One funny thing to note: the avocado salad is nearly identical to the green salad on the dinner menu and is less than half the price. The only difference I could make out was the dressing and no tomato.

Parrots is a cheap and cheerful hotel in the heart of Sitges gay life.

The rooms are small, but clean and decent with safe boxes, air conditioning, tv, and phone. My room had a balcony even
The guy at the front desk was very inviting and accommodating - helping with train and bus schedule
Comes with buffet breakfast in the mornings
The location is great - next to most of the gay bars and 2 minutes to the beach
Being next to many of the gay bars I can imagine its noisy during high season mid-June to September, but I was here in May (a week after the bear festival) and it was completely quiet
It also has its own sauna during high season

I've read some not so fantastic reviews on other sites, but I truly found it pleasant and affordable. It could use some decent bath amenities, but the stay was pleasant enough.

First of all the staff was very friendly - my waitress was absolutely delightful and the rest of the wait staff were on top of everything.

I really wanted to like this place and even waited a day to post my review thinking I was being too critical at first, but the reality is it just wasn't what I would have expected for the price and the reviews it's already received.

One thing I really should have realized beforehand is that it attracts tourists primarily because it's in Antoni Gaudi building with much of the original furniture and all the design details intact. As such, every table was filled with tourists - not a bad thing, just sets the tone that this isn't going to be the most inventive of Catalan cuisine. Again - I should have assumed this from the start.

The food was good, but not great. Everything seemed a little on the lukewarm side despite some of my plates actually being too hot to touch - didn't make sense. Plus, I only had three courses and the dinner was still a two hour process which was far too long for what I was having. The starter was a salad that had a tasty yogurt dressing, but wasn't anything to write home about. Next I had stuffed potatoes with shrimp: 3 potato halves! hollowed out stuffed with eggplant and a tiny shrimp on top of each...eh...I will say the apple tart tatin I had for dessert was quite tasty.

Also, its definitely more a romantic dinner for two or even double date kind of place. I was dining alone and sat in the middle table in the middle of the room. I was basically every tables third wheel. It was slightly awkward, but had the food been up to par I could have had a spotlight on me and tuned them all out.

If you really can't complete a trip to Barcelona without seeing every Gaudi building open to the public then I wouldn't stop you from going to Casa Calvet. Just keep in mind that this is his most conservative work (nothing like Casa Battló) and while enjoyable enough, with perfectly wonderful staff, you'll be paying for the experience of dining in a Gaudi room more than the food you'll be dining on.

This place was meant for nighttime dining al fresco. The rocky outcropping forms part of the outdoor space and is warmly lit at night; the atmosphere romantic, but not exclusively so. I dined alone and didn't feel like every table's third wheel (see review on Casa Calvet...).

To start: Sea bass carpaccio
Thinly sliced sea bass in lime juice with finely diced white onion and chives drizzled in olive oil. It was a little heavy on the onion and I could have enjoyed a thicker slice of sea bass, but still a nice refreshing start to the meal.

Main course: Tuna Tataki with arugula salad
A generous portion of tuna - more than twice the amount I expected. Light sauce of ginger and soy - not overpowering or too much. Small arugula salad with diced red and green peppers was the right complement to the tuna.

Postre: Carmelized apple tart
Served with what I can only describe as cheesecake ice cream. I've noticed that desserts in Barcelona often come with an ice cream labeled as cheese ice cream - meant to ask and forgot, but it's good is all you need to know!

In summary: one of the best meals I had in Spain! Great atmosphere, great food, pleasant attentive wait staff. Definitely be back next time I'm in Sitges!

Two words...AWE...SOME!!!

Ok one word, but Kristin is too amazing to be summed up that easily!

Kristin's knowledge and skill is matched only by her warmth, understanding, and genuine excitement in seeing her clients succeed. Working with Kristin has expanded my awareness not only in the food choices I make, but also helped me change my relationship to food. I always look forward to meeting with Kristin and know that she will create a safe space to talk about the choices I make, the choices I want to make, and help chart a path to help me acheive my goals.

Recently Kristin supported me through her cleanse which was the BEST fit for me and my lifestyle. I've had some success with food based cleanses before, but Kristin's approach truly fit my lifestyle so well that I finally created some PERMANENT SHIFTS in my realtionship to food that just haven't been possible before and couldn't have been without her support!

Kristin is incredible to work with and I'm so grateful to have her support, knoweldge, and individual attention (not to mention awesome recipes!)

Helping out P with some projects around the house and stopped by to look at receivers for the built in surround sound at home. While the service was kind of non-existent, when we did track someone down he was completely helpful and even talked us out of a purchase that wouldn't have been right for us. Some decent help, even when it's hard to find, can go a long way.

It's got all the things one needs from a sports store, but there is something kind of generic and unappealing about this place. It just feels oversized and kind of cold. I don't really need much from a sports store, but there were tons of empty shelves, virtually no one on the floor to help, definitely some way overpriced items ($50 for a foam roller are you f-ing kidding me?), and not a very good mix of sizes and styles. It got the job done, but just barely.

No rocket science here, but then it doesn't need to be. It has all the charm you need for some great conversation, a few drinks, and a little food before heading off to a play.

We stopped in before a Sunday night play and had an all round great time. Of course, the great friend and conversation made it, but the charm, decent menu and straight-forward drinks made it possible and what more do you need?

I've heard the hype, I know name drops , but I never truly expected what a great experience this place would be. So great in fact I had to go twice in one weekend!

The 20 for $20 deal is definitely the way to go for some last minute deals; give 'em a call when the box office opens at 1pm. We called Saturday afternoon while at brunch and got some last minute tickets for Sex With Strangers which was great. So great in fact we decided to try for Who's Afraid of Virginia Wolff on Sunday given all it's rave reviews. And they were all worth it. We even scored 2nd row aisle seats for $20 which was of course even more brilliant!

The thing that surprised me the most about this place wasn't even the performances - I expected and got greatness. What surprised me was the down to earth, relaxed, and completely enjoyable atmosphere. I'm not the most avid theater goer, but I'm no stranger. With every place I've been in various cities there is always a certain level of proper-ness about the whole thing that has always struck me as a little ridiculous. None of that here, Steppenwolf focuses on the performances plain and simple with a warm, sound atmosphere that gets you comfortable then draws you in.