Monrovia "Upstanding Member of Society" V.'s Profile

I am writing this review with a slight headache courtesy of Nomad right now.
Simply put, Nomad is my favorite of all the neighborhood bars I've had in my life.
To expound on that statement, here are some of the things I love about this bar:

*Karaoke Underground first Saturday of the month.

*Sunday brunch with a different international (get it? Nomad?) food theme every week with all you can drink mimosas!

*Bartenders who remember me and are very friendly when they're not frantically trying to get everybody served.
(And I'm tired of Yelpers hating on these hardworking if frazzled peeps!)

*A totally decent and reasonably priced selection of wines by the glass.

*Very good liquor selection, including a wide variety of mid-range tequilas, which you don't see very often.

*Large outdoor seating area with lots of plants & that's dog friendly.

*Big shiny hardwood bar that makes me feel sexy whenever I sit at it.

*Delicious empanadas!

It appears to be increasing in popularity by the week, so I kinda feel like I'm shooting myself in the foot by adding to the hype, but I cannot tell a lie. My only concern is that this bar is going to over-schedule itself with a different event every night, and that it's going to get over run and too packed to be fun on the weekends. But until then, I'll be there every chance I get...

I love the music selection! From TV on the Radio to Belle & Sebastian right into The Notorious B.I.G.! The only other place I've ever heard that is on my ipod.

Also love the iced Irish coffee with whipped cream on top - just one has me buzzed as I write this!

Lots of big open windows and free wifi. The clientele and staff are a nice break from the tourists.

Maybe I was just super hungry this morning, but I can't believe that no one has given this place five stars.

I'm seeing complaints about the coffee, and to be fair, we didn't have any, but my date and I loved our respective mimosa and bloody mary.

Our waitress was extremely nice, helpful, honest about her fave dishes, and funny.

The Breakschetta was mouthwatering! Full of flavorful (but not overpowering) goat cheese & topped with balsamic marinated tomato and basil on fresh, crusty bread.
The cheese grits were piping hot and delicious. You could taste the quality of the cheddar on top.
And I love the breakfast salad, which is a combo of fruit and baby greens, topped with a citrus vinaigrette.

The layout of the restaurant is simple and appealing, it's not too loud, there's lots of natural light, and seems to be full of locals.

Afterward, we were so full and happy that we wanted to go back to the guy who recommended the place and give him flowers. Never doubt the brunch recommendation of a friendly local gay man.

After having a very good experience at NOLA Urgent Care, I considered it my duty to Yelp about it for anyone else who may ever be in the unfortunate situation of getting sick while on vacation and not being sure where to go.

But I guess it should have come as no surprise that a place this good has already been heralded by others on Yelp!

I'll second all the good things that others have said about Urgent Care, and add that it was clean, friendly, time efficient, and accepted my out of state insurance. The staff were knowledgeable, understanding, and professional.

Thanks for fixing me up and saving my vacay, Urgent Care!

Also, props to the professional and friendly staff person at NOLA Planned Parenthood who gave me the good idea of checking this place out!

I really can't say enough good things about the guys at Dura Tune.
I'm the kind of lady who is always a little paranoid that she's being taken for a ride (no pun intended) when it comes to cars.
But I do not feel this way about Dura Tune!

They work fast. I've never had my car in there for more than two days.

When my car got too broken to fix, they let me keep it at their shop until I sold it. They even called me to let me know when a customer expressed interest in buying my car.

I agree with the last reviewer about Steve - he's good at explaining things and knows what he's talking about.

Philiip, Darren, and Stephen are also good. I haven't had any bad experiences with anyone who works there, those are just the guys I've talked to the most.

They gave me a piece of pizza last time I was there and Stephen said this funny thing to me, "So, what do you do for fun, other than hang out in garages?"

In my experience their prices are very reasonable.
I must mention that the guy who bought my car got a better price on fixing the car that I got at Dura Tune, but I think his mechanics might be friends of his or something.

But overall, they are awesome, I trust them, and they have a great location. Tell them I sent you!

I've been to the Nashville Airport a few times now and have found it unremarkable. (And I mean that in the clinical, neutral way. Not in a "I'm looking down my nose at you, BNA" kind of way.)
Often, unremarkable is a good thing at an airport. Right?

Anyways, I did have a pleasant experience at the Tennessee Tavern, which is right across from Gate B5.

I was there in the morning and it was pretty dead. I asked if they had anything "breakfasty," to which my server replied, "Like a bloody mary?" I'm glad she suggested that, because it turns out they make a delicious overpriced bloody mary!
And their breakfast sandwich (bacon, egg & cheese) was totally decent for airport food. My only complaint was that it was a little too salty.

The manager was really nice & we chatted for a long time. She told me all kinds of interesting stuff about the staffing & food supply processes at airports. For example, everyone who works anywhere on airport premises has to have a background check. Including all of the food service staff. It's very easy to get fired, apparently because of all the heightened security measures. Also, none of the businesses in  the airport are actually owned by the advertised company (Burger King, Subway, etc.) They're run by a separate management company to make sure that all of the security regulations are met.

Thanks Tennessee Tavern! I got on my flight full & tipsy & full of new insider info about airport businesses! Yay!

It was very nice to have a fine dining experience that's vegetarian friendly. As a former long-time vegetarian, I know how annoying it can be to go to a nice restaurant and feel like a second class citizen. That won't happen here.

They lose points for the cold temperature of the restaurant. But to be fair, I kept forgetting to say something about it, because they kept distracting me by bringing more delicious food!
Also, there was no music playing. And I'm pretty sure it wasn't intentional; I think someone just forgot to turn it on. For which I must also detract points, as music is one of the most important parts of ambiance to me!
Again, that being said, the rest of the ambiance was very nice. My dining partner particularly liked the lighting.

I, on the other hand, particularly liked how many wines I got to taste. Our waitress was very helpful and generous about that. I could tell she likes wine and really wanted me to have the exact wine that I wanted! Me too!

And speaking of which, the staff was friendly and unpretentious. I can't believe I'm saying this, but I would've been happy with a teensy bit more fine dining ceremony.

And yes it's true that the portions are small, but if you're going for the Chef's tasting menu, they kinda have to be so that you can fit it all in! I left very full, but not to the point of feeling totally disgusting.

Bottom line, they prioritize the food and wine more than the fine dining atmosphere. Me too!

I got this really fancy sounding fusion roll called "The Pink Lady."
It had everything I could imagine wanting on it: crunchy shrimp, spicy crab, asparagus, salmon & fish eggs of some kind.
It seemed like a pretty good deal - the roll was huge & I had to take half of it with me.
Sadly, even with all of those delicious sounding ingredients, it was totally bland and unremarkable. Perhaps I would've done better to stick with the standard rolls instead of going for one with so many things in it. (Although I had two pieces of unagi, and they were fine, but nothing to write home about.) The wasabi was also kinda weak. Honestly, I found myself eating a lot of pickled ginger because that was the most exciting tasting thing on my plate, and that's kind of sad.
The miso soup was tasty, but it's hard to mess that up.
My waitress was kind of inattentive at first: she forgot to bring me napkins & eating implements & I had to ask for them once my food arrived.
After that faux pas she was a lot nicer.
I sat at the bar in front of the sushi chefs & they were pleasant & unobtrusive.
I don't live in Nashville, but I have to imagine that there are better sushi places around. Sorry to be a hater, Sushiyobi, but you just didn't do it for me.

The location is great - in walking distance from food, bars, tourist attractions & other downtown related things.
About a ten to fifteen minute ride from the airport.
Obviously not a fancy hotel, but a really good deal for the location.
The couple who run the place are very nice & helpful.
My room was modest but spotless.
Free continental breakfast in the morning, free internet, microwave & fridge in room, and standard toiletries.
I have no complaints & would definitely stay there again.

They have a simple system that worked perfectly for me:
I got there right when the clinic opened.
(10am, not bad for a walk-in clinic situation.)
They give you a number based on the order in which you arrive.
They also give you an estimated time at which you will be seen.
Then you can leave and come back at the designated time.

They saw me & my cat right when we got back - at the designated time!
Can't say that about most doctor's offices.

The staff was friendly and informative.
And the services are so cheap!
They're not a full service vet, so it's only really for vaccinations and getting your pet spayed/neutered and maybe a few other little things.

My overall impression is that the people who work there care about animals & are obviously not in it for the money.
This is such a necessary service! Give them a donation if you can...
Thanks for existing ATA!