Tara P.'s Profile

This Dunkin' Donuts is a HOT MESS.  It makes me want to break out in hives.  Especially during the morning or afternoon coffee rush.  The lines are long (and I mean LONG).  They have about 47 employees behind the counter; alas, only three cashiers.  Mayhem.  Oh, and NO ONE speaks English.  Not even a little bit.  More mayhem.

Every single morning I ask for a coffee with cream and no sugar.  Every single morning I am handed some variation of what I ordered, and every single morning I hand it back.  

Just this morning, the woman in line ahead of me was reaching for her iced coffee when the employee dropped it on the counter.  The cup opened and the customer was bathed in iced coffee.  The employee who dropped the coffee pointed to the napkins and turned to the next customer in line.

I am genuinely surprised by all of the negative reviews.  I consider Olive to be one of the better takeout gems in East Cambridge.

The staff is very, very friendly and eager to please, and delivery tends to be pretty quick (25-45 minutes, depending on your location and the time of day).  If you go in for takeout, you'll wait about 10-15 minutes, as they cook everything fresh.

Their wraps are good, and pretty big.  Their salads are fresh.  Their French fries are awesome, and their chicken fingers are cooked with herbs and spices and are the best takeout chicken fingers I've ever tasted (excellent portions, too).  

Try their panini grilled sandwiches.  Awesome.

I would at least give them a chance; don't judge by some of these harsh reviews.  Compared to some of the other local offerings (i.e., Arams #2), Olive Cafe is awesome.  I hope they'll stick around for a long time.

Licensed veterinarians and technicians offering affordable pet vaccination services and quick check-ups at your local Petco; perfect when you just need a quick shot and don't feel like hiking your poor animal to the vet for a long wait and a pricey check-up.  They're very nice, so good with the animals, and made a scary vaccination process for our puppy as comfortable and quick as possible.  I'm sold!

Malkin & Sons offers the installation of doors on a sub-contractor basis for The Home Depot.

We recently remodeled our home and needed two new interior doors.  Home Depot sent a representative from Malkin & Sons to our house to take measurements and give us an estimate.  The quote was more than reasonable, and we were assured that the new doors would be ordered and installed within 10 business days.  We happily signed the paperwork and handed over our credit card.

Well, just as payment cleared, we received a phone call from Malkin & Sons informing us that installation would be delayed by an additional 2-3 weeks.  This was a dismay, as part of the reason we had opted to use Malkin & Sons was their assurance on a fast turnaround.  I particularly did not like that the delay was only announced when our payment cleared.

About three weeks after our initial order, Malkin & Sons showed up with our doors.  However, it was raining outside, and as they needed to make adjustments to the doors which involved drills, saws, etc., they left the doors leaning in our front hall and told us they would be back in a week, weather permitting.  They insisted they were not able to return any sooner.

On the (new) date of installation, when they were over an hour late, we called the company.  We were informed that the installation team had been waiting outside of our house for well over an hour.  It turns out they had gone to the wrong address.

When they finally showed up, they discovered that they were missing some necessary hardware.  Their solution?  They told us to go to Home Depot and pick it up, and that they would return (AGAIN) when we had all of the supplies.  We finally, finally said "enough is enough" and demanded that THEY go to Home Depot for their supplies, as we had already covered all of this in our price quote.  

They left for Home Depot, begrudgingly, but then phoned to let us know they would once again (surprise, surprise) need to reschedule due to time constraints.

When they finally managed to install the doors (only two interior doors, how hard could this POSSIBLY have been for PEOPLE WHO PROFESSIONALLY INSTALL DOORS?), they managed to completely crack one of the doors when drilling the hole for the doorknob.  We painted over the cracks, and I hung a purse over the knob to hide what you can see of the cracks, but it's pretty bad.  

What a disaster.  AVOID this cluster***k at all costs.

I worship at the altar of Sephora.

But not this one.

The CambridgeSide Sephora is always crowded, the lines are long, and the employees are, for the most part, either too unwilling or too busy to help.  Those that do help you often have no idea what they're talking about; I had one literally give me a "deer in headlights" blank stare and then shrug.  If you know what you're looking for, great; if you have a question, you're probably out of luck when it comes to a helpful or informed answer.

Some of the most popular products by Laura Mercier, Benefit, Dior, etc., are often out of stock (though if you ask, they will sometimes find them in the back room, instead of on the shelves, where they should be).

More than once, I have left in complete frustration, and empty-handed.

Stick to the one in the Prudential.

One of my favorite restaurants of all time, but especially in Cambridge.  The atmosphere, food, drinks, and service are all excellent.

Famous for the steak tips, but one of its best-kept secrets is the pesto, which is easily the best I've ever had.  They have great appetizers; try the fried shrimp, bruschetta, or the quahogs, which are enormous and always fresh.  You can't go wrong with any of the pasta dishes, and the pizza is good, too.

One of the best highlights on the menu: Chocolate Loving Spoon Cake.  I don't know a single person who has turned it down (I've tried, trust me, but it's too good to miss).

They also have a pretty good wine and cocktail selection; if you aren't sure what's best, the bartender or owner will always have a great suggestion.

Recommended for lunch, dinner, or just drinks.  If there's a game on, you can always catch it on the flat-screens; if not, you can relax to some Frankie and Dean, or find good conversation with other patrons, the bartenders, or the owner, Chris.

Good food, good drinks, good company, good atmosphere.

Try the Irish breakfast on weekends, or the Irish music during the week.  If you want a good time that NEVER fails, go to Open Mic on Tuesday nights, hosted by Hugh McGowan.

This has been the only florist I have used for about six years now.  They were an accidental discovery when I needed roses at the last minute and worked nearby.  I have been a loyal customer ever since.  Their roses are consistently gorgeous, absolutely to die for, and arranged beautifully.

Don't go to CS Florist for the gift or full-size greeting card selection; it's a little strange, and really not worth it.  Bottom line:  This is a florist, so use them for flowers.

Their website also leaves a bit to be desired, but if you have a general idea of what you want, you can just call and they are always willing to help.

I called on a very, very busy Mother's Day weekend and asked if they could put together a basket of roses for me.  As busy as they were, the woman who answered the phone took the time to explain to me why roses would not survive very long in a basket, and they gave me other options for various flowers/containers.

Mother's Day, Valentine's Day, birthdays, funerals, I have used CS Florist religiously for every occasion and not only have I never been disappointed, but I have always been very, very happy.

Some people complain that they are too expensive, but I don't find them any more expensive than other local florists or web sites.  

Highly recommended, always.

My husband and I lived at Highpoint for one year, and moved out as soon as our lease expired.

Some of the main issues we had included:

Management is terrible -- apathetic and detached to the point of listless.  They are generally completely useless. The office is open from 9-5, and most people who have jobs are not able to stop by during those inconvenient hours. This is especially a headache when you have a package delivered, as it is delivered to the office. I leave for work before 8:00 AM and arrive home around 7:00 PM. This is frustrating, not being able to access the office after 5:00 PM, especially if you have a notice from UPS or Fed Ex in your mailbox.  The office will hold your package for ransom until you are able to find the time to stop by, which for me was only on the weekends, unfortunately.  

Beware getting locked out after 5:00 PM; there is no one available to help, so you'll be shelling out a couple of hundred dollars for a locksmith -- after which Highpoint management will then give you a hard time for hiring your own locksmith to "tamper" with their property, even though they do not have service available after hours.

Vandalism in the parking lot was a very big problem. Our neighbor had all four wheels stolen from his car while it was parked in the garage overnight. (Yes, all four WHEELS.) Two other cars had their doors stolen. Other cars had been scratched, keyed, windows broken, etc.

My husband and I returned home during a city-wide power outage, and discovered that a) we could not enter the building with our key cards, as it is electronic, and b) we could not get our car out of the garage, as that too is dependent on the power.  Good thing the building wasn't on fire; we wouldn't be driving out of there.

The residents were, on the whole, filthy and lazy.  Highpoint advertises itself as upscale living that targets young professionals; however, we found that the majority of our neighbors were either elderly and very, very cranky, or young college kids using Highpoint as an alternative to dorm life.  Many of the units at Highpoint are leased by college kids whose parents pay their rent.

Just about every night, I would get home to find that the front lobby reeked of garbage, usually because someone has abandoned their garbage there. On several occasions, I had to avoid piles of dog feces to reach my mailbox.  When I would walk to the trash chute, the room was always either a revolting mess (broken trash bags discarded on the floor, trash everywhere) or the chute was backed up and overflowing.  Many times I walked in and nearly stepped in a pool of rotting, liquid trash. Some of my neighbors were simply too busy or lazy to walk to the chute, so instead they leave their trash in the hall by their doors.  Management would not respond to any of those issues for days, even weeks at a time.

NONE of our favorite restaurants would deliver because the second the driver got out of his car, they were harassed by security.  One time, a delivery driver actually came into the building, and his car was promptly towed.

The pool was staffed by a young lifeguard who was either sleeping (yes, fast asleep) or too busy flirting with teenage girls to notice any trouble in the pool.  

The gym is incredibly convenient, but so small that it's almost always at capacity.

The computer room is always filled with college kids or young children playing Webkinz, and the common room is always in use by children and Disney movies.

When people say the walls are thin, they're not exaggerating. You can literally hear your neighbors get up, walk to the bathroom, do what they need to do, and walk back.

The construction is beyond shoddy and cheap. I accidentally knocked my vacuum over, one week after moving into the building. It hit my bedroom door and WENT STRAIGHT THROUGH IT. For nearly $2,000 a month, I expect more than that. Everything is incredibly cheap, and it doesn't take long to notice.

The day we moved in, our garbage disposal was not working, and one of the toilets was backed up.  It should have been a warning.  It took FOUR trips from maintenance for everything to work correctly, and within a month, they were back again for the disposal.  This became a regular occurrence, calling maintenance.  Things were constantly breaking down, from the thermostat to the plumbing.

When we originally toured the complex, the model unit we saw featured a very nice bar/counter top over the sink.  We asked if we would have the same, were told yes, and purchased breakfast bar stools for it.  When we moved in, we did NOT have that counter top. We had nothing.  We complained, and then had to wait 6 months for installation.

The whole place is just terrible and overpriced.  Avoid at all costs.

This is our favorite place in Braintree for subs and sandwiches; the pizza is good, too.  They use very fresh ingredients, which is a bonus when ordering a salad or sandwich.

They offer fast service, quick delivery, and they are friendly.  The only downside is that they're closed on Sundays!