Kimberly "Delilah" K.'s Profile

the ultimate win:  free video games and drinks?  oh man.  set me free for two hours and i'm a happy nerd.

it was great to revolutionarily dance dance in each others' faces.  and shoot borgs.  and take place in a skeeball battle to the death.  and who knew i was such a bad race car driver?  i sure didn't.  and i sure didn't care.

awesome event.  fun people, fun games, good food.  

now if players would have had one of those rooms with the balls you jump in, i would have thought i had died and gone to heaven.

...though that may be dangerous territory...a bunch of yelpers in a ball room?  yeah!!!

i've never seen people win as many tickets in *any* game place as i did last night at the yelp event.  wow. mad skills, you guys.  

great event, yelpland.  can't wait for the next one.

YES.

enthusiastic YES from all sides.  YES like meg ryan in when harry met sally.  this is the best effin coffee.

i mean, i've had a *lot* of crappy coffee since moving back to sf.  capricorn has reinstated my faith in the microcosmic world of java.

capricorn, you were my obi wan.

affordable. delicious.  nice staff.  YES.

yes.Yes. YEEEES.

remember that time you went on an escapade through alcohol with your friends and realized all too late you hadn't eaten anything for hours?  the cabs are getting harder to find and you're realizing quickly food must occupy your belly space before mr. jack daniels does his dance of anger.

did you hop around hayes valley?  and you're hungrier than an ogre with  craving a drumstick of meat? is it way past the time most places serve food?

well, you're not screwed.  and you're actually in for a good meal, too.

sauce is your answer.  no, you don't have to have drunken night taco bell or jack in the box.  you can drop all the rest of your alcohol cash on a decent meal here.

daily mini sliders.  mini meatloaf wrapped in bacon.  delicious entrees.  satiable desserts.  pb&j?  yes.  cinnamon sugar donuts?  try 'em.

comfort food taken to the most elegant extreme, and done damn well.

this isn't the typical place you'd think of to crash for food if you've been drinking, but with food served so late it can be if you're in that predicament.

it's also a great place for a normal dinner, too.  but hey- a girl's got needs.

well well well fancy pants, how you doin?

crowded.  hip.  big strong drinks with big strong prices.

don't ask the dj for miley cyrus, no matter how ironic you're trying to be.

ok. truth.  my friends have this ongoing joke about miley, and so they keep wanting to hear her stuff.  one friend asked.  dj stared.  then said politely "i'll get it for next time".

wow.  that's dedication to the job.

atmosphere is definitely more chic.  i felt like some people were meeting people from the office there for friday night drinks.  we were just trying to be random crazy women out to new places.  but if it's not happy hour, i don't think i'll be that random and crazy at the sugar lounge.

i did like it, don't get me wrong.  i think i'd give them a solid 3.5, but since we all know yelp lives in an all or nothin' type view (oh no, yelp is bipolar?) i'm gonna vote 4 since the place is pretty swank.

girls' night out started by two of my friends apartments, and the chosen place (unlike the chosen one) was the hot spot.

my brain was thinking "what? really??? we're going to meet up at some random place on market? um....." but here's why it was a win

a)  it wasn't packed so we had the place pretty much to ourselves and a few other groups of people.

b)  nice bartender

c)  random stories from other groups, including group shots?  ok.

d)  not pricey.  so you can start here, and then bounce to hayes valley or the mission.

e)  good selection on tap.  

would i come here all the time?  no, but it's clean enough, not packed with chaches, scary people, or anything else bad news bears.

so in other words, i'lllll be baaaack.

so as a first time visitor, i didn't realize how lotus house worked.  there's a small dining area in the front of the restaurant you can choose to sit to eat, and apparently there's a larger back room too.

why am i telling you this?

well, gather 'round, kids.  it's story time.

i ventured into lotus house hungry and saw the line at the counter.  Ok, cool, i thought.  i'll just put in my order, find a seat and wait for my noms and then chow before heading out to study.  so following the crowd, i squeezed into the tiny area to order, grabbed a menu to quickly decide on something as i approached the counter, and ordered a combination plate to get some sweet sugary breaded chicken concoction with rice and surprise! a tea too.  really?  you get tea, too?  and an egg roll?  that seriously has to be the best combination deal on chinese food in the bay area.

well, as i squeezed into the tiny, overcrowded front room to order and wait for a table, i lugged my bookbag over my shoulder and reached into it to find my wallet to pay.  while i did this, the chach in line next was advancing in the line and seriously in need of some education on personal space.   sure, this is small and you want to put your order in, but man, keep your jock strap on.

i pay, put the wallet away, and sling the bag over my shoulder in confusion feeling pushed aside and unsure of what to do next.  the woman hands me the surprise tea (i'm sure it wouldn't have been a surprise had i just *read* the menu, but chachy mcchacherson wasn't really allowing me time to peruse) and i turn to find a decent table in what i thought was the only room to eat.

chachy mcchacherson has already paid for his food, and between "dude" 's and "totally" 's i turn to find a table.

...right as mr. rushy chachy mc chacherson steps forward invading my personal space AGAIN thinking i was apparently going to the back room to sit down.

remember that big ol' book bag i had slung over my shoulder?  that big ol' book bag punched mr. chach right in the nads.

and mr. chach actually looked at me like i did it on purpose, all the while he had been pushing me along the line and not allowing me to get past.

booo.

that part made me laugh.  my mind literally said "let that be a lesson in personal space to you" to the jock, and i found a table in the front window while i waited for my food.

all this babble of a story is for this purpose:  lotus house has a huge menu.  but not a huge space.  take a look at the menu before you go wait in line, since during the dinner rush you won't really have the space or the time to get everything in order.  and if you're confused about where to go, there's a bunch of seating *everywhere* that i apparently missed.

the food was good- a sizable portion and as i mentioned earlier, actual combinations without paying extra for all the little details.  the tea that came with it?  perfect.  

i think i vote three stars, only because without being a seasoned regular and understanding the flow of the restaurant, one can easily hit someone in the nads.

and that's just not a good time for anyone.

but darn good combos. and decent tasting food.

if i ever feel i'm missing that midwestern vibe after moving back to sf, all i need to do is head over to sneakers.  

i bet you never thought you'd hear me say this:  but i missed the sporty chachy type place a bit.  this place hit the spot for dinner last night.  it's a sports bar type restaurant, and despite how they have a huge menu of burgers, meat, greasy goodness and sport bar type stuff, we went for the wings.

like kelly h. said, it's definitely not a dive bar.  think sports bar mixed with a bit of sophistication.  steps higher than those run-of-the-mill chains, sneakers doesn't disappoint.   yet don't go expecting cavier wishes and fancy pants dreams.  snooty old british caricatures would somewhat approve, but not completely.

there's a million televisions around the place, and if you happen to score the big booth in the front window you have a big screen all to yourself.  games galore to choose from and a menu big enough to sit and ponder for quite a bit, we settled on what were supposedly one of the best wings in the area.  and we weren't disappointed.

you can split up your order of a dozen between the different types of wings they offer.  I went for the lemon pepper and the bbq.  it was a score on both sides, but the lemon pepper were really unique.  the hot and spicy wings weren't too bad, but if you're looking for true hot wings, these will leave you craving more oomph.  

really nice staff, great presentation of food.  i mean, they're wings, for goodness sake.  i thought they'd come in a bucket or something, cuz that's the kind of classy broad i am.  but thankfully, it's like pub grub for the enlightened.  they have these elongated plates just to spread out the wings with a garnish of veggies on each side and ranch dressing to dip.  wings with elegance? are you kidding me?  awesome.  i just got a bit classier.

well, maybe if i didn't pick my teeth like a hillbilly i'd be able to say that with a straight face.

great place to grab a bite to eat, watch a game, and drink some draft beers (they have a lot on tap), and enjoy your friends.  i vote yes. all of the above.

what is it about seasonal stores, and why do we get sucked into them?

spirit halloween is one of those flash in the pan hey look that was a meryvn's...or a comp usa...or a gm dealership before and now it's a halloween store.  they're all over the country.  

i had about 4 different ideas for halloween costumes.  i'm also a broke ass grad student, so most of these ideas were pushed to the wayside because you have to be creative and find cheap ways to make them.

but to do that, you need time to do it.

i pieced together a costume for halloween, and one of my stops was this spirit halloween store.  

sketchy.

i mean, i wouldn't want to drop anything in the dressing room on the ground.  i'm sure in past lives that floor was clean, but in the current reincarnation as a makeshift halloween superstore of junk you spend way too much on for cheap ass made crap, the floor was not so pretty.  forget swine flu, it was so icky i wonder if it mutated and created platypus flu.

yeah, that was bad.  but you get the idea.

that aside, i was here a few weeks before halloween and then again about a week before halloween.  you know how most retail stores will clean up after a shift, putting costumes or products back that may have been thrown out of place?  i don't think they did that here.  it seemed it only got messier and harder to find things the closer it got to halloween.

i did score some pieces for my costume, and it's definitely a quick place to stop if you just need a costume stat before rushing off to a party.  but if you're planning ahead, save your dough and buy something that won't be made of products flammable if by light bulbs and made by small children in taiwan.

never trust my judgement again.

some days, panda express just hits the spot.

sorry.  i know there's so many millions of better places to get authentic anything, better quality, what not.  but shit.  i mean, that's like 3 meals in one, and it's cheap.  

...like your date last saturday night.

wait.  i'm not sure what i just said.

if i yelp a bk or something next and say it's high quality food, revoke my yelping status.  at that point i'm no longer fit to yelp.

...that orange chicken will getcha every time.

the premise, though slightly questionable:  rental bikes.  ride through napa to all the different wineries for tastings.  buy anything?  the bike company picks it up for you so you don't have to lug it around with you.  they also will bring you lunch for a picnic somewhere along your route.  miles and miles of biking in the sun, one water bottle per person, heat, and alcohol.  what can go wrong?

well, gee.  you put it that way...

i loved this.  yeah, it sounds questionable, and about 9 miles in (and still a little over 7 to go) i was wondering why i didn't bring extra water, but it was such a great experience.  napa is gorgeous, and gorgeous places deserve the time to explore it.  biking?  perfect.

there's different routes to choose, and you can make your decision based on different options:  terrain, skill level, which wineries are a must-see, and or length.  ours was about 16 miles.  not too bad, though we picked a day that was about 100 degrees, so heading up the steep hill to picnic at rutherford hill winery and picnic area was a bit brutal.  but the rest was just breezy somewhat level terrain for the route we chose.  gorgeous, winery filled, and beautiful.  though i could have done with more of those off-the-beaten-track side streets lined with wineries, fields, farms, and shade providing trees than the busy two lane roads that seemed to dominate much of our route.

my review is actually for the self-guided tours, though you can also get the guided tours, or even add on a hot air balloon ride with napa valley balloons.  had i known that, i would have saved extra cash for that, too.

the experience with the company was nothing but great.  the staff was extremely helpful, providing cushy-ier bike seats for us with a quick call into the office half way through the trip, as well as replacing a flat that popped up without us even knowing.  great recommendations for specific wineries based on the types of wines we suggested.  when we finally arrived at the haven of all that was good at the top of rutherford hill, there was a cooler with our names on it with gourmet sandwiches we had picked before we had left, and even little bon bons for dessert.  they really left nothing out.  it was an awesome experience.

bring your camera, since you'll want to grab some of the images you see forever.  also pack some sunscreen, because there isn't much shade to spare you that skin scarring sun.  dress comfy, too.  there's nothing worse than taking a long bike ride in that pair of pants you should have thrown out two years ago because you had too many donuts.

the bike tour folks will give you a helmet, water, map, bike, an awesome lunch, friendly customer service, fix your bike if something goes wrong, pick you up when you feel too tired, and bring back anything you buy from any winery.  that's a good deal to me, i think.  yep.

it's a full and tiring day, but a great day.  if you want to experience the sights in a unique way, this is the way to do it.  

just space out your tastings throughout the day, since you don't want the heat and wine to combine to a game of frogger of you on a bike.  

i think this would be AMAZING in the fall.  regardless, if you're thinking of the bike tour, do it.  you won't be disappointed.