Young R.'s Profile

I really loved the decor and ambiance of this place. It's a big, open restaurant with high ceilings and lots of sunlight. There was a live string quartet out in the front playing lovely music. You actually do feel like you're in the Caribbean which is a refreshing difference from the generic hotel restaurants.

As for the food, I came here for lunch on a Sunday. The regular menu looked delicious with lots of local flavor, but there was also $12 all-you-can-eat buffet. Most of the buffet dishes were merely okay although the rice and turkey were good enough to go back for seconds on. It was a nice way of trying a lot of dishes for an amazing price.

My friends and I go here mainly because of the bread. For some reason, it's delicious! We also always order the garlic bread with mozzarella which is even more delicious!

Decor is lovely -- lots of warm and rich colors. There is an upstairs and a downstairs. Service is fine. Food is pretty good. People are usually happy and satisfied. I've had a very good penne alla vodka here. Gnocchi and linguine pescatore were unmemorable. The pappardelle con carne was too salty.

We always have trouble deciding whether or not to come here or go to nearby Pasticcio (3rd Ave and 30th St) for Italian in the neighborhood. After several experiences at both, I think the pastas at Pasticcio are a bit better, but they don't have the bread! In the end, the heart (and the garlic bread with mozzarella) wins out.

I'm still looking for the right hair salon in New York City and was amazed at the unanimous 5-star reviews that Yelpers gave this place, so I was really excited to give it a try.

So I'll be the first in a while to put up a non 5-star review post: I didn't feel completely 5-star satisfied with my outcome. Everyone who works there was indeed very nice. My stylist made very good conversation which made it an enjoyable experience. The cut and blowout looked great the day it was done.

I've waited a while to post my review to see how the hair grew out and such. In the end, I think my haircut was satisfactory but pretty unremarkable. There are definitely more expensive places than Whistle, but it's not that cheap either. I'm somewhat price conscious -- willing to pay a lot for something great and inspired, but the actual haircut outcome was pretty much the same as other cheaper places I've been to in NYC. I'm not sure whether or not it's good enough to go back to on the merits of just having a nice stylist alone or if I'll continue shopping around.

I really loved this place. The interior was very posh and modern with innovative decor that really worked well. There's a roomy bar in front and a well-sized restaurant in the back. We had a pretty normal table with chairs, but some of the seating was a big comfy couch loaded with pillows and a table in front. Our server was funny, nice, and professional. We didn't talk to him, but the chef, Peter Schintler, was wandering around talking to tables.

It was a very late dinner, so we ended up ordering 4 appetizers and dessert. Portions were indeed small, but so delicious. We had paella bites and duck wrapped in apple and brie. The ceviche was the best (much better than at Aguaviva, the nearby much touted seafood restaurant) and I actually thought the tostones that they came with were the best I had in San Juan. The white bean soup was immensely flavorful. The tiny pancetta "dust" gave it some texture and even crunch. For dessert, we had the "coffee and donuts" which actually doesn't involve coffee at all... They are, however, delicious chocolate and raspberry beignets.

This has got to be the best of the expensive restaurants on Calle Fortaleza. The experience is definitely top notch and, as a visitor, I really liked that there was some Puerto Rican flavor to the food that differentiates it from what I can get in New York City.

This place was jam packed for lunch. We waited like 45 minutes for a table. With just two small mostly broken benches outside the door, people were spilling out into the street. It had a chaotic, authentic feel inside with cheap, well-worn tables and chairs.

Looking around at everyone else, we got a bottle of the local Medalla Light beer. It's nothing special, but I guess you get to feel cool and local. =) I was pretty skeptical about the ubiquity of plantains because the few times I've had them, they have been tasteless. But their mofongo cooked with garlic and butter (side dish on the back of the menu) got me hooked. I then proceeded to eat mofongo and other plantain dishes with every opportunity I got, but in the end, El Jibarito's was still the best.

For main dishes, we tried the pork and pasteles (like tamales). Both were very good. The rice was also the best we had in San Juan. It had all sorts of things cooked into it that gave it color and flavor. Service was pretty fast and attentive. Two groups of random musicians came strolling in while we were there. It was great for livening up the atmosphere. Most of the restaurant was clapping along to the music. They're kind of like street performers though and will go around the tables holding out the tip hat.

I definitely recommend this place for a reasonably priced, more authentic experience. It's a nice contrast to the expensive (although still good) places on Calle Fortaleza. Later on, the local tour guide to the El Yunque rainforest also named El Jibarito as his recommendation for Old San Juan.

Don't compare it to anything fancy, but this is actually a great place in its category. I'm no beer expert, so I can only say that they have a good selection of beers and kept the appetizers coming.

There was room for a group of 10-12 with a long set of tables in the back. I really liked that it was not too crowded and decently quiet, so it was more of a relaxed atmosphere.

They're currently decked out very nicely with lots of festive holiday decorations. At some point, they turned the lights down low so it was nothing but the glow of the sports TV screens and glittering Christmas lights. =)

Pretty good for a Mexican place in NYC. It had somewhat of an authentic feel with bright decorations and Mexican music playing. The staff was friendly and helpful. We came here for dinner after drinks and they didn't bat an eye when one of our goofy party came walking in wearing a Snuggie. =)

Guacamole was great. Margaritas mediocre. I got the enchiladas del mar and they were yummy. (I've also ordered from them off of Seamlessweb and think they are one of the better delivery options in Midtown.)

Break of Dawn is a sunny, approachable place which is nice for brunch. Most of the decor seemed to consist of framed newspaper clippings about themselves...

I came here for brunch and had the white corn blueberry pancakes and eggs tempura. The pancakes were just right -- light and fluffy. The eggs tempura are a side dish, but don't overlook them. They were amazing. WHAT A GENIUS IDEA. Tempura anything is great and eggs are no exception. It was poached eggs with tempura batter on the outside on top of a few greens and some slightly sweet sauce/dressing.

My boyfriend got a prix fixe meal that included a delicious squash soup, a choice of entree (chicken stew), and chocolate creme brulee. I didn't think the chocolate custard and caramel top really added anything to each other...

I think the fusion aspect was well done. It really seems like they've thought seriously about what's good about American food. Not afraid to leave some dishes mostly untouched (like the pancakes) and make others more interesting.

The place is in some sort of ridiculously hippie (in this New Yorker's eyes) complex that has stores that sell t-shirts about vegetarian pride and statues of peace signs. The parking spaces each have some optimistic motto on them. We parked in a space that read, "Take all your vacation days." The decor of the restaurant was nice. I liked the fresh flower pieces on each table. The service was good.

I ordered a ham and cheese omelet and was not a fan of the omelet at all. It's part personal preference, so I wish I'd gotten some sort of warning. The egg vs. stuffing ratio was the most extreme I've ever seen. I basically got 5 slices of ham wrapped in the thinnest layer of egg. I assume there was also cheese in it, but everything was dwarfed by the ham. As a result, it was just way too salty to eat much of. The fresh baked cinnamon bun was a little dry and generic-tasting. I will say that the home fries were excellent though. Show owner comment »

The boyfriend and I were looking for a place to get good fish tacos around Long Beach Airport and found Hole Mole on Yelp... And it was great!

Order #120 (6:47pm):
We weren't very hungry, but wanted to try the tacos so we split an order of combo #6: one shrimp taco and one fish taco with a drink and chips. The chips came in a small sad-looking paper tray. They were nothing remarkable. The shrimp taco and fish tacos came on one plate indistinguishable from each other. I picked up what turned out to be the fish taco with the intent to eat half of it, but when the time came to switch, I couldn't let go! The fish was amazing -- soft, tender, and juicy while still crispy.

Order #123 (6:58pm)
I felt bad for robbing the bf of his half of the fish taco. He didn't feel terribly strongly about the shrimp taco, so we ordered another fish taco for him and tried the flanquitos. After one bite of the fish taco, he understood why I had been unable to share. =) The flanquitos seemed like an interesting idea, but were merely okay. They were nice and crispy, but the "flan" filling inside was cold when I guess I was expecting hot. The boyfriend liked them though and devoured two of them.

Order #129 (7:13pm)
After watching him eat his fish taco, I was feeling a bit jealous, so I started hinting for yet another order of fish taco. After a small scuffle about who would go order because at this point he was embarrassed to go up and order for the third time, we went in for round 3. Another fish taco for me and mahi mahi taco for him. Both were delicious and well worth the snickering the boyfriend thought he heard from the cooks when they saw him picking up the order.

Their motto is "One bite & you're hooked" and we're hooked! 5 stars on the merits of the fish taco alone!