David S.'s Profile

Mon ami et moi, qui visitons Marseille tous les etes depuis les Etats-Unis, aimons venir au Cancan ou nous passons toujours de bons moments. Hier soir, apres n'être arrives que depuis 10 minutes, nous sommes descendus au sous-sol ou un groupe de jeunes (qui comprenait deux jeunes filles malgré le signe d'interdiction en haut des escaliers, ainsi que deux jeunes gens qui de toute évidence n'étaient pas gay et l'ont meme admis verbalement) a accoste mon ami qui ne parle pas français, l'ont bouscule et se sont servi de cette occasion pour voler son telephone portable qui était dans sa poche. Je suis immédiatement allé prévenir le personnel a l'entrée, ou une deuxième personne était deja la et s'était lui aussi fait voler son telephone. Ni le caissier ni l'agent de sécurité n'ont fait quoi que ce soit pour nous aider; personne n'est descendu pour voir qui était au sous-sol, ou les vols on probablement continue toute la soirée, personne ne nous a propose d'en parler au gérant; bref nous n'avons reçu aucune aide (ni meme sympathie) de la part du personnel, qui n'a meme pas propose de nous rendre les 30 euros que nous venions de payer 10 minutes plus tôt. Ce genre d'attitude, venant de la part du personnel d'un établissement gay, est très surprenant, mais aussi insultant, compte tenu que nous venons au Cancan chaque année pendant notre passage a Marseille, et que nous avions l'intention d'y passer la soirée, pendant laquelle nous aurions sans aucun doute achete un nombre non-negligeable de consommation. Comme de toute évidence nous n'allions recevoir aucune aide du personnel, nous sommes immédiatement allé porter plainte au commissariat de police sur la Canebiere, ou ils ont pris notre déposition. Nous conseillons les visiteurs gay de Marseille d'éviter le Cancan a tout prix, puisque de toute évidence le personnel laisse ces vols se dérouler sous leurs yeux dans meme tenter d'y remédier, et nous a donne l'impression que c'était nous, clientèle gay et legitime, qui leur posions problème.

My friend and I, who travel to Marseille every summer from the United States, like to visit the Cancan where we usually have a good time. Last time, after being there for no longer than 10 minutes, we walk down to the basement where a group of young people (including two girls in spite of the interdiction sign on top of the stairs, as well as two men who obviously weren't gay and even admitted to it) accosted my friend who does not speak French, bumped into him and used this opportunity to steal his cellphone out of his pocket. I immediately went back upstairs to alert the staff at the door, where a second patron was already there and complaining about his own phone getting stolen. Neither the cashier nor the security agent did anything to help us; no one went downstairs to investigate the situation in the basement, where such thefts had likely been going on all evening, and no one even offered to talk to the manager; in short, we received absolutely no help (or sympathy for that matter) from the club staff, who didn't offer either to refund the 30 euros we had paid in entrance fees just 10 minutes earlier. This sort of attitude, coming from the staff of a gay establishment, is very surprising, as well as insulting, given that we have been visiting the Cancan every year on our trips to Marseille, and that we were intending to spend the evening there and likely would have purchased a fair number of drinks. As we evidently were not going to get any help from the club staff, we immediately went to the nearest police station (two blocks away), where they took a statement. We would advise gay visitors to Marseille to avoid the Cancan if at all possible, as the staff obviously allows for these thefts to take place right under their eyes with no attempt to stop them, and even gave us the feeling that we, legitimate gay patrons, were causing trouble last night.

Sans aucun doute la meilleure pizza que j'ai jamais mangée... Commandez une grande « moitié moitié » (moitié fromage et moitié anchois, délicieux et incontournable...), une bouteille de Côtes de Provence rosé, et vous ne pouvez pas vous tromper. Le Carillon, c'est aussi une super expérience marseillaise, à ne manquer sous aucun prétexte !

$17 for one of the worst chicken pad thai's I've ever eaten??... Hmmm I don't think so. I'd much rather have ordered room service, and it would have been cheaper too.

Time for me to update my glorious five-star review of Sfoglia. I have been there several times over the last couple of years, and I have to say the quality has gone down a bit.

The food is still quite good, though the one-star I'm giving it is for the outstanding service and waitstaff who bust their asses off to make Sfoglia what it is (you could say I'm biased as I know several of them personally).

Then why no more than one star? Because a restaurant whose owner simply abuses and has no respect whatsoever for his staff (or clientele) and so much more does not deserve my business. I won't be giving my money to Sfoglia anymore.

By the way, the recent closure because of health violations was deserved (severe rodent infestation).

I must have been blazed when I went to Galanga... considering the whole dinner is blur and that was only a week ago. This said, I remember it being great, if a bit pricey.

The food is Thai, though probably not authentic Thai. The restaurant is quite nice, and conveniently located next to the gay bars (more on that later...). My boyfriend and I shared a few things:

- Appetizer sampler, which is pretty big and includes all kinds of dumplings and other bite-sized "things". I wish I could be more explicit, but remember... I was blazed.
- The tuna: that was my boyfriend's idea (I wanted the crispy duck), but I didn't resist too hard since I usually love tuna. This one was a bit too much for me... a giant slab of tuna cooked rare, with ponzu sauce. I wasn't a huge fan. Not sure if it was the tuna that wasn't the best or if it was lacking a better sauce, but I could only have a few bites. Then again, it might just have been because I was blazed.
- Some ridiculous chocolate cake for dessert, which was for two persons and was completely decadent... just amazing, which again isn't too surprising considering I was ahem blazed.

Good overall, even though I was a bit disappointed by the tuna. Great service (and VERY hot waitstaff). I'd definitely go again.

My boyfriend and I recently spent the weekend in Ft Lauderdale. As if that wasn't quite gay enough, we decided to stay at a gay resort... yeah...

After doing a little bit of internet research, we came to the conclusion that a lot of the resorts there cater to the "lemon party" crowd (and if you don't know what that is... just google it and you won't be disappointed), so we decided to be safe and go for a nice place.

We chose the Grand Resort after reading some good reviews, and I have to say that was a good choice. Apparently they require a three night stay during the high season (winter and spring), but we got lucky as they had a "suite" (no less) available for just two days the weekend we wanted to do. So we ended up booking the suite, which was a bit more pricey than I hoped but eh...

Fast forward a couple of months...

The Grand Resort is located just a couple of blocks from the beach. On our arrival we were greeted by one of the owners (or managers?) who was very friendly and checked us in quickly. The resort is pretty... very clean, and they're clearly making an effort with the gardens etc. There's one pool area, and another "tropical courtyard" which has a hot tub and is supposed to be clothing optional (though very few people actually were naked). Our suite was essentially a small apartment, with living room, bedroom, and separate kitchen: it was definitely nice, though I still think it was a tad bit pricey.

As for the crowd (since after all we went through all this trouble to go to a gay resort...), it was mostly guys in their 30s and early 40s... not too "lemony", thankfully.

Anyway... the verdict: we had a good time there, and this is definitely a nice place, and it looked quite a bit nicer than the other resorts around. I'd probably consider going back if I could get a cheaper room.

Miami South Beach, as one should expect, is ridiculously expensive, and staying there on a budget isn't exactly easy, unless you're willing to sleep in a dumpy hotel. After a bit of online research, I decided to book a room at the Crest Hotel, and I wasn't disappointed. The hotel is clean and cute, and just a few blocks from the beach. Our room wasn't particularly fancy, but it was very clean, had free wireless, and did the job. For the price we paid ($170 a night), I can't really complain, and nothing else I saw online seemed to compare. They have $20 valet parking with in-and-out priviledges (not bad at all), friendly staff, a small pool, and a small cafe next door with pretty good breakfast and lunch. I'd definitely stay there again.

This Hilton is kind of dumpy. I was there for a conference so I didn't get to choose where I stayed... and thankfully didn't pay for it either. The exterior of the building looks really cheap (as I understand it used to be a Radisson... no wonder), and the rooms really aren't that great either. Just very plain... nothing fancy at all, and my room had suspicious stains on the carpet. That would all be okay if the rates were cheap too, but they're charging completely outrageous amounts. I was lucky to have a special rate (~$170), but they regular rates are out this world considering how plain this hotel is (~$250 and up for the basic room, according to their website). Not to mention the ten bucks a day for the internet connection, which was completely sucky (very very very slow).

Seriously... I've stayed at nicer Best Western or La Quinta locations for almost half the price. I wouldn't recommend this place to anyone, and there are plenty of other options just a few blocks away.

Let me start by saying that I never ever ever eat beef. I don't usually care for it, so I just never have it. So needless to say I was less than pleased when my colleagues decided to go out to a Brazilian steakhouse for dinner... Nevertheless, I decided not to be a bitch and complain, but instead sucked it up and went with them.

The verdict: I actually liked it!

I'd never been to a Brazilian steakhouse before, so I really have no point of comparison. Fogo de Chao is a nice place. The meal started with a salad bar (which was pretty good I must say...), followed by... well... meat. All sorts of meat, unlimited. Many many types of beef, some pork and chicken. I tried a lot of things and remarkably I thought the beef was the best. The highlights: the garlic beef, the tenderloin, and another special kind of beef, the name of which I can't remember. In terms of sides, there really isn't much to say: meager plates of polenta, mashed potatoes, and fried bananas (all of which were good, but not that impressive). So overall: great food (by which I mean meat).

A few (minor) complaints:
- the price! I guess that was to be expected, but the flat price for the meal is $46... not included drinks, dessert, and tip. I ended up paying $80 total... a little more than I was hoping.
- the service was a bit oppressing...
- the waiters really tried a little bit too hard to sell us drinks (including bottled water and wine...).

Would I go again? Probably (which is a lot to say considering I usually avoid beef at all cost)...

My boyfriend and I stayed at the Crest Hotel on our visit to South Beach. Our bedroom actually overlooked the small patio outside Cafe de Crest... a fact we only realized one morning after having some loud bedroom activities that shall remain unnamed while our window was open and people were eating right outside. Oops!...

Oh... and in case you're wondering, we also ate there. We went for breakfast after checking out on our last day. They have a "make your own breakfast" formula for about $8: pick ingredients (veggies, meats...) and they make an omelette for you. It comes with either house potatoes or cornmeal or toast. Not the best breakfast I've had, but it was decent for the price and very convenient. Our waiter was very friendly, and even forgot to charge for our yogurt. Apparently you can also "make your own sandwich" for lunch: same idea, pick your ingredients and they make it for you.

I probably wouldn't go out of my way to come here, but it's definitely not a bad spot if you're staying at the hotel next door.