Wayne "Devastating" K.'s Profile

Bellano has quickly become one of my favorite coffee places, though mostly for the ambiance.

THE GOOD
- I love the couches.  Together with the sun coming in the windows, this is a great place to bring a book or a laptop and spend a lazy weekend afternoon.  And there's always enough couch space.
- It feels comfortable, like I'm at home.  People are talking but it's never that loud.  It's never empty so you don't feel awkward being the only person there.  It's totally cool to spend hours here on one drink.
- The baristas are consistently the most friendly I've encountered at any coffee shop.  They greet you right when you come in but don't pester you when you're doing stuff.  After you order you sit down and they remember who you are and bring you your drink to wherever you're seated.  I'm not really a heavy tipper but I can't help but tip...
- They have books, magazines, board games, plenty of tables.
- Free wifi and outlets.
- The drinks are huge so you can slowly sip without interrupting yourself.
- Photo-worthy latte art.  You can post it to Facebook and your friends will comment. ;)
- Everything I mentioned is consistent.  I've been a bunch of times and haven't had a bad experience yet.
- Plenty of parking.

THE BAD
- The coffee/espresso and food is consistent and meets the bar, but that alone isn't worth a special trip if you live a ways out, particularly with Barefoot just a few minutes away.  They do use legit beans with Verve/Sightglass and Clover milk and it's a noticeable step up from Starbucks.
- It's strangely located in a strip mall in the middle of nowhere.

Yeah, I'll definitely be back.

Achievement unlocked: I've had every non-decaf Philz Coffee. Here're my star ratings (*, **, or ***) and brief notes:

Dark Roast:
- Aromatic Arabic **: Tastes like coffee.
- Ether **: Complex and interesting. Very slightly bitter.
- It'z the Best **: Slightly sweeter but tastes like coffee.
- Jacobs Wonderbar ***: My favorite for a while.
- Julies Ultimate **: Slightly weird, kinda boring.
- Mocha Tesora ***: Chocolately, way better than the plain Tesora, which is apparently a different blend.
- Tantalizing Turkish **: I like cardamom.

Medium Roast:
- Ambrosia Coffee of God **: Slightly bitter, complex, smooth
- Anesthesia to the Upside *: Tastes like bitter water.
- Philharmonic ***: A weaker version of the Turkish. I love cardamom.
- Philtered Soul *: Rich.
- Silken Splendor **: Tastes like water/nothing with a slight bitterness.
- Tesora *: Bitter and not complex at all.

Light Roast:
- Canopy of Heaven ***: Light.
- Dancing Water ***: Slightly more bitter, still clean-tasting.
- Greater Alarm **: Tastes great, I can feel the caffeine already. I had no problems staying up during an all-night hackathon.
- New Manhattan ***: Very unique, complex flavors.
- Sooo Good *: A bit bitter/biting.

Decaf:
- Decaf Organic Swiss Water ***: Quite good for decaf, much more flavorful than regular decaf.
- Decaf Sumatra **: Tastes like water.

Random:
- Mint Mojito ***: Best coffeehouse cold drink, with real mint.
- Gingerbread Iced Coffee **: Good if you're sick of the mojito and want something different that's iced, but the mojito's clearly better.
- Yin Yang **: Half tea, half coffee, with chai spices.  It's a very unique taste but not sure I love it.

If you can't tell, I don't like bitterness or things that taste like coffee. I drank most of these with medium cream/medium sugar ("medium medium").  BTW, since people always ask, my overall favorite is Philharmonic. It's very soothing.

While I'm here might as well throw in some notes about what's unique about this Philz:
- It's only for Facebook employees and guests so find a friend who works at Facebook to bring you, or interview there.
- They don't take Philz gift cards but use Square so it's super easy to pay with the Square app on your iPhone or Android phone, or a credit card.
- Everything is slightly cheaper than normal Philz (this is how I justified to myself that it was ok to drink every drink).
- Pastries are free.
- There's a photo booth in the back so if you have an employee friend, it's easy to get your picture taken here and posted to Facebook.
- Lines are usually pretty short.
- It's Facebook so of course there's a Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.c...

SUMMARY: A unique high-end hotel.  You'll certainly have a memorable visit.

I had very mixed feelings staying at the Roosevelt, with some great experiences and some bad experiences.  Come expecting a unique adventure.

THE WEIRD:
- The art was... unique.  I remember finding the picture in the bathroom to be really strange and out-of-place.  A few photos in key intersections in the hallway were of sparsely-clad women who happened to have key body parts obstructed by the camera angle.
- The room doesn't have a standard alarm clock, but has this black rectangular thing.  A friend finally showed me that if you push the right button you can dock your iPod/iPhone with it, but I never would have figured that out on my own.
- Maybe this is the norm for Hollywood, but everyone who works here is unusually attractive, both the men and women.  They're not unusually friendly - not to say they're UNfriendly - but their attractiveness definitely does stand out.
- Instead of standard on/off light switches, there were multiple switches around the room with settings like "Bye" (3 choices per switch).  It was impossible to figure out how to, for example, turn off all the lights to go to bed, or turn on one particular set of lights.  Plus the thermostat had a LCD control panel.  I was expecting something cool to happen as a result of this, but really they were just lights and temperature that were hard to control.

THE FRUSTRATING:
- After a long flight, I had a crazy hard time finding the front desk so I could check-in.  It was unclear which entrance was the main entrance, the lobby was dominated by a party, and signs and doors led to various bars and restaurants.  I spent 10 minutes aimlessly wandering around carrying my luggage and no one offered to help.  I never would have found the desk if I hadn't just asked randomly asked someone who looked like she might work there.
- The room they put me in was in the boonies.  It was literally a 10-15 minute walk from my room to the lobby, and I walk pretty fast (glad I didn't forget anything).
- They use magnetic room keys, which I demagnetized by putting in the same pocket as my cell phone.  This required a lobby visit to fix up.  This is even more annoying because various doors around the hotel only open if you have a working room key.
- There's no reasonably-priced parking, let alone free parking.  All they offered was valet service that cost $33+/day and it took a while for them to retrieve your car.  I parked across the street in the lot and the guy at the Roosevelt front desk was really honest, telling me I'd save money by just leaving my car there.
- Wifi isn't free.  Not even wired Internet.  Really?
- I looked at my credit card bill after my visit and noticed an extra charge.  I called and they claimed I had taken something from the minibar, I insisted I hadn't, and they reversed the charge.  Still, I travel a reasonable amount and this hasn't happened anywhere else to me.

THE GREAT:
- The hotel is incredibly well-designed and themed, everything from the lobby to your room and your bathroom.  You want to feel like you've living in Hollywood?  This is a great place to get that feel.
- Amazing location, literally right next to the Hollywood Walk of Fame and across the street from Mann's Chinese Theater.  It's within walking distance to many great restaurants.  There's even a Starbucks and McDonald's within walking distance.  ;)
- The entire hotel had energy, like one big classy party that never ends.  Lots of kids and limos partying after prom, people lighting up, celebrities...  very trendy.
- The bar in the lobby is legit and makes some great cocktails... this is true mixology.
- Similarly, the minibar was tricked more than most hotel minibars, loaded with high end unique liquors and snacks (though I swear I didn't drink any!)
- The pool bar is astounding.  It's beautiful, surrounded by trees, my room had a patio overlooking it (wow!), and though I didn't have time to, I could tell it would be a fun place to hang out.
- The soap smelled nice.  :)

I'm getting older and I'm not sure I want this much variance when visiting a high-end hotel.  But, if you're looking for a good time and willing to put up with some adventure, the Roosevelt might be a great place for you to stay.

SUMMARY: I'd come again if I was in the area, but Kitsho never quite meets my high expectations so it's hard to justify a special trip.

THE GOOD:
- Easy to make last minute reservations.
- It's #10 on the peninsula sushi list in the Top Tier (http://www.emeraldlake...).  This is in the same league as the top sushi restaurants in the Bay Area.
- A cute appetizer is included, and you get a hot towel to clean your hands before the meal.
- Plentiful tea.

THE BAD:
- As the sushi list above alludes to, this is a step above most sushi places, but it's not hard to find better sushi at several Bay Area restaurants (e.g. Akane, Sushi Sam's, Jin Sho, among others).  It was good fish, but it wasn't awesome fish, the presentation wasn't particularly amazing, and there were hard-to-chew chunks embedded in parts of my fish.  Between the people at our table we had nigiri, chirashi, and sashimi, and none of the three particularly stood out.
- The location's hard-to-find (people have gotten lost trying to find it every time I've been here), the lot's always full, and the neighborhood isn't great.
- Sushi orders have to all go in at once so make sure everyone in your party is present.
- It's pretty pricy.  For some reason I always end up getting the omakase and spending about 50% more here than I do at most sushi places.  Unfortunately I don't leave 50% happier.

I've only been here a few times, and my visits were all years apart.  Maybe they break out the good stuff for the sushi bar regulars.

There's nothing particularly noteworthy about this In-N-Out compared to the many others, aside from one thing:

A month ago I went through the drive-through to get a shake and fries to go with my Bon Chon chicken (yum, Bon Chon...). Surprisingly when it was time to pay, the cashier informed me that the person in front of me had covered me. Kind of random, though I guess that's nice.

I have friends and family who adore SGD, though I'm personally much more mixed.  This is really the place to go for Korean food unless you're willing to drive down to Santa Clara, so really I need to learn to lower my standards or be willing to go further out.

THE GOOD:
- The tofu's good and hits the spot on a cold day.
- Very reasonably priced so you can come often with no guilt.
- They leave the water pitcher.
- The banchan appetizer side dishes include several of my favorites including marinated cucumber, kim chi, bean sprouts, and sweetened potatoes.
- Parking's never that fun but not terrible if you're ok with walking a little.
- I like the pack of melon gum that comes with the check.

THE BAD:
- They don't invest in top notch ingredients, which bothers me as a foodie:  The shrimp in the combo and seafood tofu is always tiny and never jumbo shrimp, the seafood pancake's seafood is fine but not the best stuff, the raw eggs for the tofu resemble the cheapest non-jumbo eggs you'll find at Safeway, and the beef the low-end beef you'd find from the supermarket.  It's more than edible, but I wish they'd spend a tiny bit more and take it to the next level.
- The non-tofu dishes are hit-or-miss.  I've enjoyed a bunch of their appetizers, I like the galbi, but found the bulgolgi (sometimes greasy and hard to chew) and bibimbap (sometimes bland or stingy) hit-or-miss.
- It's always packed when I go for dinner.  We usually have to wait at least 20 minutes and order before getting seated.  The waiting area can be cold, especially since cold days are the days best for visiting SGD.
- There are fewer banchan dishes than most Korean restaurants.  The banchan is also inconsistent where pretty often you end up with over-marinated kim chi or undercooked potatoes.
- The ambiance is a bit dumpy so this isn't a place for a first date.
- There's no cell reception in here for some reason.

TIPS FOR SUCCESS:
- Don't go too spicy on your tofu the first time you come.  It's pretty spicy.
- Request white rice if you're not too adventurous and don't want purple rice.
- Request a (free) banchan refill if there are any you particularly like.
- For Korean food n00bs: Break/add the raw egg right when the tofu comes so it cooks.  If you get bibimbap, pay the extra money for the stone pot since it causes the rice at the bottom to get nice and crispy.

This chain is the best place for hot pot in the Bay Area and I have several friends who crave coming here.

THE GOOD:
- Flavorful broths.  You could drink this by itself and walk away happy.  They do a good job with the Chinese herbs.  Get a half-and-half if you're not sure how spicy you want to go.
- Many unique ingredients like hand-made dumplings (even lamb, which they do really well, and shrimp), a mushroom platter with much variety (enoki, shiitake, oyster), seafood (oysters, shrimp, scallops), pigs blood sausage, and various types of noodles (include hand-made).  It'd be challenging to hit this kind of variety with hot pot you do at home.
- For a Chinese place, they have consistently great service with frequent water and broth refills.  This is especially cool cause you can take any extra broth home.
- The vegetarian broth isn't nearly as good as the regular broth, but this restaurant is very vegetarian-friendly so you can bring your vegetarian friends and have them eat out of their own half-pot while you pig out on meat.
- Great for large groups with reasonable privacy.
- Though you'll definitely walk out with a new smell (don't wear clothes you care a lot about), they keep the place relatively well-ventilated so it's not as bad as it could be.
- Dessert Republic and Tpumps are within walking distance if you want an Asian dessert afterward.
- Takes credit cards.

THE BAD:
- Paying per plate adds up so it gets pricy.  I usually leave having spent $30-40, which is more than I've ever paid for hot pot anywhere since most other places are all-you-can-eat.
- Rice costs money.  Dipping sauces cost money.
- Parking in this area is never easy and can take up to half an hour if you're unlucky.
- Though some like the meat pies, I found most of the non-hot pot items not too noteworthy.

TIPS FOR SUCCESS:
- Order the combo platters like the meat plate, mushroom plate, seafood, tofu plate, etc.  Looking at the menu you'll be tempted to order individual items that jump out at you but unless you've been here a bunch, it's hard to predict what'll taste the best.  Variety is key so you don't get sick of eating 10 pieces of a meat you don't like that much.
- Don't just dump everything in there right away.  Some of the hardier veggies take a while to cook but meats and noodles usually require minimal cooking and you don't want to end up with overcooked meat and disintegrating noodles.  Try to go one item type at a time for as long as you can.
- Don't eat the garlic cloves or drink too much broth until the end.  They both taste awesome after they've had time to absorb flavors from everything else you dump in.
- Go in a party of at least 3 or 4.  If you go with just one person you won't be able to order much variety.  Usually I go in a group of at least 6.
- For larger parties make a reservation or you'll be waiting a while.  It's usually not too hard if you remember a few hours beforehand.
- They sell the broth mixes at Chinese supermarkets if you want to give this a shot yourself.

I've never gone for the running gear, but ZombieRunner makes some of the best coffeeshop drinks and is worth a special trip.

THE AWESOME:
- The latte art is hands-down the best I've seen in the Bay Area.  Take a look at some of the Yelp pictures.
- The drinks are just outstanding across the board.  I've had the espresso-based drinks, chai, hot chocolate, and seasonal specials, and loved all of them.  Every drink is made-to-order, has perfect foam, and there's a wide variety of sugars to add if that's your thing.
- The line is very rarely more than 1-2 people.
- They sell stroopwafels, these Dutch waffle-like cookies that many people love (google it).
- Friendly knowledgeable barista, but not so friendly that you feel uncomfortable or the need to make awkward smalltalk.
- Pricing is reasonable and they take credit cards.

THE BAD:
- As you can probably tell, this is a running store, not a coffeeshop, so it really isn't a place to sit and linger.  The running merchandise dominates most of the floorspace.  There's some nice seating (with some pretty funny reading material actually, including books about zombies), but it's not the kind of place where you'd linger for a few hours.
- The hours are very limited compared to most coffee places in the area.

Come at least once.

GOOD:
- If you haven't been, definitely come and try Piroshky Piroshky at least once.  This place is a Seattle classic that everyone who's come downtown has tried, and it's different enough to make for a memorable experience.
- When it's good, it's amazing: It melts in your mouth.  I thought it was weird to have savory ground beef in a flaky pastry for breakfast - I usually prefer eggs and fruit - but now I understand.
- Great location in Pike Place Market, with many places within a block to grab a drink to wash down your piroshky.
- Reasonably priced at under $5.
- Hand-held so you can nom while you walk.
- It's a popular place but the line moves fast.

BAD:
- When it's bad, it's bad: When they're fresh out of the oven, they're amazing, but they drop sharply in awesomeness as they get less fresh.  It's wildly inconsistent too.  I've visited quite a few times... 1-2 times it blew me away, the next time it was very mediocre.
- I wasn't too taken by anything other than the standard beef and cheese piroshky.  The others I've tried aren't terrible, but they aren't what make this place special.  The standard one is just so much better.

Not sure why I'm reviewing a Starbucks...

GOOD:
- Friendly Starbucks folk.  The standard experience... nice ambiance, they take credit cards, they have their spiffy rewards program, the line moves fast, and they have the great holiday drinks like peppermint hot chocolate and gingerbread latte.
- I've never had issues finding street parking on this end of Castro.
- Open til 10 or 11, which is reasonably late.

BAD:
- There's rarely ever seating inside -- I fail 9 times out of 10 -- and it's usually a bit chilly outside.  This is more a grab-and-go kind of place.
- You're in Downtown Mountain View within walking distance of Red Rock, Cafe Romanza, and Dana Street Roasting Company, which are all great independent coffee shops... seems lame to go to Starbucks.  There's also a Peet's nearby.
- It's Google WiFi, which is free but isn't too reliable.
- The bathroom's not great.