Adam "Beyond The Zoo" M.'s Profile

Hilariously horrible sales people.

I got about 4 steps out of my car before being greeted by "Jenny." I explained to her exactly what I was looking for, a used minivan. I told her I was fine walking the lot by myself and would flag her down if I found something interesting.

Of course not. Like an unfed puppy, she walked side-by-side and fished for information.

"I have something for you."

She proceeded to show me some POS Chevy I'd never heard of. It was clearly an SUV. She said, "No, it's a minivan."

No, a minivan has sliding doors and seats 7-8 people. This is an ugly mini SUV. Do you have any minivans on the lot that I can look at? I want something that is a van, you know... a sliding door, built for families... DVD player... not an SUV.

"Sure, I have something else you might like." She then proceeds to walk me across the lot to ANOTHER FREAKING SUV! This one was a used car priced at $53k. Trust me-- there isn't a used SUV on the planet worth $53, much less one that ISN'T a minivan.

As soon as she opened the doors to this $53k POS I was behind her closing them. No, I asked you to show me a minivan. If you don't have them I'm OK leaving.

Her reply, I sh*T you not. "Um, no one sells minivans anymore. None of the major manufacturers make them or carry them on their lots."

Yeah... so Chevy doesn't have a minivan anymore. Got it. But VW, Toyota, Honda, Ford,  Dodge, Chrysler, Nissan... everyone else has minivans in their line-up. I could SEE minivans in the lot next door. Who is she kidding?

Worst sales person ever. Hilariously bold in lies.

For a small dealer they have a nice selection.

But their prices? Sheesh... about 30% higher than the same cars in the same zip code.

After reading the horror stories I'm glad I walked when I did.

I had a great experience on their used car lot today. Their offerings were great, just not exactly what I needed.

Ask for Paul, super nice guy.

Total waste of time. They have a massive banner stating that they have a lot of used cars, like "megastore" or something BIG.

Well, they had about 9 cars which weren't Mercedes.

Keep driving... there are better used car lots in Kearny Mesa.

I like the concept they try to pull off. But it's really just a used car tent sale in a permanent location. They want all sorts of information about you before they walk you around the lot. And their prices are a little bit below full retail so you think you might be getting a deal.

But the reality is that if you're willing to do some research and haggle a little you'll find a much better deal at several other dealers within 2 miles for the same car.

Tip: If you want to know where they keep the minivans and SUVs... they are in the parking garage, unmarked.

They didn't have the used car I was looking for... or really that great of a selection of used cars. But their staff was nice and courteous. Props for not having d-bags selling cars.

Wandered in looking for a bite this evening, not entirely sure what to expect.

What I found was a foodie paradise! And not some snobby over the top foodie place, a place where you would want to pull up a bar stool and watch them make your dish while devouring little plate after delicious little plate.

Forgive me for not remembering the names of things, but here's what I had.

- Damn good beer. (a local porter)
- Seared lamb skewers
- Some sort of flash fried eggplant/honey thing which literally metled in my mouth.
- Finely shaved Spanish ham
- Noodles/prawn deliciousness
- A chocolatey dessert with about 10 different unique flavors tucked inside

My only description for each dish was "explosion of flavor." I also liked that they respected your palette enough to allow each dish to be unique.

Reasonably priced. Hey, local beers for $3.50... you can't beat that.

I work a half a block from this place. I guess you'd call me a semi-regular. That's the joy of self-employment... you can have beer at like 11:45 every day and claim it some kind of working lunch.

Big fan of their style. Love that the bar staff aren't really fantastic bartenders but are instead really interested in their craft at making beer.

We love to pop in, order a couple beers and a nice salad, and play a couple games of shuffle board over a long lunch. Just don't tell our wives. We're working, dangit!

Upsides? Free street parking for the first 2 hours. And if you drink too much (it happens to the best of us) you can hop on the trolley right next to Petco.

I've been here a few times for take-out lunch. There is nothing else like it in East Village. It's tasty, fast, and a decent price.

You can't go wrong with the kebab. It's about 75% of the size you'd get for a kebab and fries in the UK... and you don't have to be drunk to enjoy it.

Definitely worth checking out. This might be the one place in the neighborhood that I'd label as my "go to place."

There really isn't much by way of take-out lunch food downtown. Let's face it... downtown lunch time SUCKS.

But this is one place I'll walk a few blocks to pick up. They have great salads, hence the name. On top of that they are fast and friendly.

I had the ahi tuna salad by recommendation of the guy running the take out orders. He was right, it was great, and I've been back a couple of times to get it again. No idea what else their menu is like... I found something I like and I'm going to keep riding that wave!