Jonathan "*pats belly*" K.'s Profile

UPDATE: hmm i don't know what happened, but i got the braised sparerib noodle soup thinking my, i probably should have something bland after getting the double down for lunch and wow, it's actually packed with flavor! maybe not exactly what i need, since i'm sure there's a hella lot of salt in here, but wow. i'm impressed.

keep it up QQ and you might have won a customer back.

long story short, i came in to get my nipples repierced after having taken out the jewelry for an operation five years ago. i was all ready to go down to san jose or up to oakland/berkeley, but discovered this highly-rated new addition to the scene literally down the street from me.

sin (the piercer) is a super chill, super nice guy and he did all the right things in terms of cleanliness and aftercare instructing. not going to go over all that since it's what i would have expected (and they met expectations), but i didn't expect the studio to be so nice.

the piercing room is ginormous and has a big window so you can see out and people can see in (he gives you the option to close it; i decided to live dangerously and let the people getting their tattoos watch on (not sure if they even cared, but i'd like to think they watched and were impressed with sin and with my non-screaming [it's been years since i had something pierced and was scared i turned into a wuss in the meantime].).

welp, the endorphins are wearing off so i'mma wrap this puppy up. anyways, yay indeed for a tattoo and piercing studio in centerville!

p.s. not sharing to facebook since uhh, mom likes to read facebook.

p.p.s. extra bonus star (so really a 6-star review) because i saw their stash of samoas (aka caramel delites) behind the counter and i asked if they were selling them. they weren't (and i wouldn't either ;) ), but let me buy a box. hooray! piercings + a box of girl scout cookies? how can you go wrong!

and now to nom on my cookies.

the bf and i got delivery from fortune cookie because a menu magically appeared in the mail slot and well, we had no better plans for dinner.

definitely a meh. i'd give the sweet and sour chicken and sweet and sour pork (w/ white rice and fried rice) four stars, but what brings it down are the other things we got. the pot stickers were pretty big, but a bit overly salty. the wonton soup, on the other hand, seemed a bit too peppery and the wontons themselves seemed like they were sitting in soup forever -- all mushy and bleh. (yes, such technical terms i use!)

so yeah, not the worse we've had, but not the best fake chinese, either. prolly won't be reordering from them.

delivery charge was $2 but we got it in a reasonable amount of time.

first off, thank you so much to connie and the rest of the yelp team for pulling off a great event with minimal hassles. by having people go through the (short!) elite line before they let people in really helped speed entry along.

the venue was great with all the little toys for tots that we adults were able to tinker with.  the food was delicious, too. lines for the food moved quickly and i had a taste of everything i wanted.

it was also great to see all my SBC friends again -- y'all know how to show a man a good time :) *wink wink nudge nudge*

my only complaint was that the museum was a bit too hot, but i don't think that could have been helped?

the upstairs hall totally reminds me of the fillmore in SF. came here for the nouvelle vague concert on january 23, 2010. (it turns into a dance club at night; seemed average when i peeked in after the concert.)

the staff is new york rude and the coat check is a rip ($4 for coats, but $8 for "larger items", the latter of which is left up to the discretion of the person doing the checking; a medium-sized backpack was deemed to be large). the acoustics leave something to be desired, although i'm not too sure if that's necessarily the fault of the hall or if it's just because i was standing right at the stage.

for this concert, it was no re-entry privileges and doors were at 6:30 even though the concert didn't start until 7:45. they don't tell you that until it's almost too late, so if you're coming for a concert, you may wish to call ahead just to make sure you're not sitting around waiting forever.

wow! coming from the land of in 'n out and the habit, i was very pleasantly surprised to find a really tasty burger in the middle of nowhere (well, i felt like i was in the middle of nowhere -- had no idea where i was; was just following a friend around after a concert at webster hall).

fries were meh but the burger was really quite good. i'd even go so far as to say it's maybe almost perhaps sorta quite as good as in 'n out. (blasphemy!)

only knocked a star because even the double was small :\

smallish seating area. ketchup in squeeze bottles that seem to float around the restaurant; napkins in a stack in front of the cash register. they also seem to sell smoothies and cakes/pies?

wow. total hole in the wall, but great breakfast food! i was visiting a friend who works nearby and neither of us had been here but we needed a place to eat lunch and with the weather like it was this morning (=stormy as heck) we just ducked into the first place we both agreed on.

i had the rueben omelet -- i love onions so you totally couldn't go wrong. a large omelet served with buttery bread and potatoes (ok, so the potatoes were meh, but i don't like them anyways) filled to the hilt with onions and well, i'm not sure what else (i'm assuming cheese and corned beef, but i didn't really see any meat in there). yum yum.

my friend had the french toast -- also wonderful! thick and sweet and full of buttery syrupy goodness.

the only thing is that it's a tiny place. it wasn't crowded, but there's a chance it could be uncomfortably full.

slightly surly service, but none worse than expected.

i was craving a knish (well, truth be told, craving trying a knish for the first time) and the closest place to where i was was 2nd ave. deli. i had just been to katz's earlier in the day so that's what i was expecting -- a crazy divey place -- but no, it's a full-on restaurant.

service was very friendly -- much friendlier than i have come to expect for a new york joint. the matzo ball soup was yummy and total comfort food, and the meat and potato knish was great. i really had no idea what to expect but it wasn't dry at all and it was full of flavor.

along with the meal you get some pickled veggies (pickles, onions[?], and cabbage -- the latter is especially nom) and a shot of chocolate soda for dessert (like cream soda with bit of hot chocolate powder mixed in).

given the choice between 2nd ave deli and katz's, i'd totally choose katz's because it's not as harried and soup nazi-ish. lol

btw, is it run by chinese people? i heard more cantonese there that i hear at home!

so really, you're paying for the privilege of eating at katz's. $14.95 for a pastrami sandwich? really, anywhere else it'd be like $9 at MOST. that said, this is the craziest, most delicious pastrami sandwich i've ever had, HOT, JUICY MEAT, full of flavor. i was warned on twitter to be sure to tip the carver to get extra meat, but unfortunately i didn't find out until too late and the smallest bill i had was a 5. in any case, there was way too much meat as it is (and, those who know me know i can handle meat ;) ). deli mustard bottles are at the table.

the lines are CRAZY. there are 5 lines (but really one big horde) to the left for anything that needs carving (pastrami, salami, whatever mis); the short line on the right is for things like philly cheesesteaks and sausage sandwiches. they will yell at you to keep moving in to go to the shortest line, but the way it's set up, like a funnel split lengthwise, well, it just doesn't work like that. be sure to have your ticket handy!

there is waiter service at marked tables, but there is ample seating in the back of the restaurant (at least at 2 PM on a sunday, with the front of the restaurant being really full).

ok, so definitely worth the wait and the money, at least once. it'd be 5* if they lowered the prices by a third :P

disclaimer: i got this on priceline for $65+tax per night. i would give it 5* if that were really the going rate, but i don't think it is, so i will write what i expect for a hotel that charges at least double that. (note, that for $65/night, it's a STEAL for midtown manhattan).

the good:
the hotel is conveniently located near the 51st Street (6) and Lex/53rd (E,V) stops; there is a starbucks about a block away (50th and Lex) and a bank of america another block away (between 50th and 51st on 3rd). rooms are quite large, especially for manhattan standards, and they use aveda products so the hotel smells like rosemary and mint (not a bad thing). the bed is crazy comfy with a soft pillow-top mattress, and you get to choose from 6 types pillows (you have to call to get anything other than the standard pillow delivered, though).

hint: if you are on floors 3-5, use the small (but mind-numbingly slow) "express" elevator to the left of the main elevator bank if the main elevators are really crowded or on the higher floors.

another hint: the knobs in the shower can be a bit confusing. bottom knob: controls the water for the tub. top knob: controls the water for the shower. middle knob: controls temperature. poor design: the top shower flow control knob overlaps with the middle temperature knob, making it hard to work either one when the shower is on. -.-

the bad:
i was in room 306, and the rooms that are facing 3rd ave. get a LOT of street noise at all times of the night. it's not TOO bad, but there's enough traffic out there to keep you awake if you go to bed before midnight.

also, some general maintenance issues that i would not expect from a hotel of this caliber: there was a big stain in the room, like someone spilled a cup of coffee, but it seems to never have been cleaned and now i think it's just set. two bulbs were burnt out (one in the bathroom, one in the floor lamp in a corner of the room). i guess it's my duty as a guest to report it, but i'm sure it's obvious to housekeeping that there is a burnt-out bulb, especially in the bathroom.

nit-picky: i think one of the bathroom lights is on a timer? so the one that illuminates the shower/tub turns off after a while, so while it's not really that dark, it's quite a shock the first time it happens.

would have been nice if the tv were a flat screen. internet is $13.95 for 24 hours. yuck.

i'd totally stay here again if i get a great another deal in priceline, but imho it's not worth over $120, manahttan or not.