Jeffrey "PB&J" C.'s Profile

The girlfriend and I went out on a Borders run last night at 8-ish so I could use my 50% off coupon (expires: 11/19!) to pick up the Bill Simmons Book of Basketball (yes, I'm a sports nerd). Not wanting the chain store dreck that has pemeated Meyerland Plaza, I put my the Yelp lobe of my brain to work and tried to recall the "Hot on Yelp" list nearby (yeah, I need that iPhone). The only thing I could think of close was Tiny Boxwood's.

When we FINALLY got there, I finally remembered all those Yelp reviews that I'd read.
(A) Finding the place is a toughie. Here's a hint: turn north on Saint St. More importantly,
(B) This is definitely a lunch place. Finally,
(C) Bring the girlfriend. Luckily, I remembered to do this one.

This is a definite date spot winner or, as mentioned in the reviews, for "ladies who lunch." It's a boxed restaurant that faces a nursery, so it was a lovely garden view. This is wasted at night, hence the lunch suggestion. The ambiance also reminds me of the ever-sprouting wine bar + trendy food places, which is so not the case as their wine menu is minute, to say the least.

Enough blabbering; onto the food! The girlfriend and I shared a glass of Riesling (morning test for her + morning 2-hour meeting for me = no alcohol partying), which was fine, except the portion size was ridiculously small. I suggest going bottle here. For the food, we shared the crimini mushroom pizza and the shrimp risotto. Despite my affinity to red sauce, the white-based dishes were surprisingly tasty. I will say that the chef does not have an aversion to salt or pepper, so be prepared for plentiful helpings of both. That said, the dishes had a nice blend of flavors. The risotto had a surprisingly tangy/sour taste, which was like heaven for my tastebuds. It's also one of their best sellers (and apparently we snagged the last one for the night, much to the chagrin of the table who ordered right after us).

To summarize, I strongly suggest coming here during the day, with nice weather, and outside seating. At that point, the food is almost a secondary concern.

So I've been in lovely Chatham, Ontario for work the better part of these past two weeks. It's a small town (population: 40,000) between Detroit and Toronto which really gets no pub, but hey, whaddaya know, there's a Yelp Canada, and Chatham's actually part of it! So I figure here's a good chance to snag some FTRs.

The preferred (read: only nice) hotel in this town is the Retro Suites, which is located on King Street, the "best" part of Chatham. I was, however, more than impressed. The hotel rate per night is $150-$200 CAD, and if Manny Pacquiao is "pound for pound" the greatest boxer alive, then Retro Suites may be "dollar for dollar" (or is that "loony for loony"?) the greatest hotel alive. You know, if hotels could breathe and stuff.

I'm not kidding though; this is a pretty sweet hotel. Each of the rooms are themed, and they all really look like no expense was spared. The attention to detail (for example, the one hundred and twenty seven--give or take--light switches you'll find in each room) is impeccable. The level of service is extremely friendly. And, like I said, the value for the price is on the spot. The two rooms I stayed in were the Sky and the Royale Plantation. Check out their website (http://www.retrosuites...) to see pictures of each room--they're even bigger in person than they look in the picture.

They have a nice-looking restaurant (which I never ate at), and though they don't have a gym, they provide access to the gym at the next door mall. On the downside, that means you have to walk outside to get there (not fun in November Canadian weather), but on the plus side, there's a full complement of choices rather than your standard 4 cardio machines and a set of weights.

If this were anywhere close to a natural wonder or touristy hotspot, I'd be inclined to stay here every chance I got. Unfortunately, it's not, so I'll just have to settle for looking forward to the next time business calls.

On the basis of some YRIT (Yelp reviewers I trust), I went to Kata Robata with high expectations. First things first, I really need a better rush hour route to get from the medical center to Upper Kirby. Note to future self: taking Kirby or Greenbriar up is NOT THE ANSWER.

Kata Robata is located where Hue used to be, and besides the cuisine shift from Vietnamese to Japanese, it doesn't look like much else has changed. The ambiance is similar, the menu is expensive, and the staff is still friendly and all smiles. The menu, while not quite as ambitious as Uchi, had quite a few dishes that caught my eye. Unfortunately, we came during happy hour, and my wallet is price-conscious. I considered waiting until I actually had a proper meal here, but who knows when that will be. So this review will be for their HAPPY HOUR ONLY.

We went on a Friday afternoon around 6:00, and I was honestly expecting a lot more people. Weekends plus sushi happy hours usually mean big business, but maybe people just haven't caught on. Their weekday happy hours are 5-7 and feature $4-$6(-ish) appetizers, $4-$8 sushi rolls, $3 drafts, and $5-ish drinks. I'd give you more specific prices but their website isn't functional yet. We ordered a LOT of food and left with only $40 in damages, so it was a pretty successful trip. On the appetizers, I suggest passing on the skewers--there are other restaurants that do it better. For $6, their salmon burgers are a little costly, but they taste absolutely delicious and earn my appetizer rec. They feature 8 or so of their regular rolls. My favorite was the Tiger Roll (I think? Again, no menu to jog my memory), which actually had guacamole in the roll and not just avocado. Inspired, particularly for Texas.

I can't grant this place a fifth star without properly trying their regular menu, so you'll just have to wait with bated breath until that day comes. In the meantime, Kata Robata is a decent happy hour option. It's pricier than your average sushi HH menu, but the quality of the food and quickness of service is worth the premium.

Spent our Halloween adventure here. After last year's wall-to-wall madness on East Sixth, our now "grown-up" host (25 instead of 24; hooray for lowered insurance!) voted for spending the night in the Warehouse District. So we went to "Sixth" after all...it just happened to be on 4th St.

Like a Kenny Powers mullet (spotted right outside the bar!), Six was business in the front, party in the back. There was a long line waiting at the front entrance, where admittance was free. A friend and I saw a group paying the bouncer to get in the back exit, so we casually slipped behind them (my friends grand idea, not mine).

Me: Let's just give him a $20.
Friend: Put that away!
Bouncer: Are you with them?
Me: Uhh...yes.
Bouncer: Ok, go on.
Friend: Sweet!
Me: Super sweet!

We spent the night on the rooftop bar, which is still cool. There's an awesome shot of Frost Tower if you tilt your head high enough. Bartenders were friendly and quick to serve. The music was decent, and their best selection of the night lead to everyone hollering out "Livin' on a Prayer" in their best drunk warbling. All in all, another successful Halloween in Austin.

I believe this place is called "China Ocean," but the name is apt. China Ocean is indeed a fusion of Cajun Grill (an old favorite of mine in First Colony Mall) and random Asian restaurant name (Asian-sounding word such as Panda or Hunan + Something that sounds like quick but good food such as Kitchen or Chopsticks).

This is one of my absolute favorite places to eat downtown. The feature a 2-meat combo for $6 (including tax), which for the amount of food you get is a practically unbeatable deal. You have your choice of white rice, fried rice or stir-fry noodles; I always go with the fried rice. You then have your choice of veggies; I stick with the cajun potatoes, just like Cajun Grill used to make it. Finally, you pick two meats that are featured that day. They always have their staple bourbon chicken, General Tso's chicken, and orange chicken. The rest rotate. Finally, ask them to top of your rice with the bourbon chicken sauce. That's a must.

Did I mention this dish is only $6 bucks? Seriously, save your money from the Schlotzsky's next door and go to China Ocean for twice the food. This place is totally shooting to the top of my downtown dining list.

I'm not in the habit of reviewing Thai restaurants, as it's not one of my favorite cuisines. My girlfriend however absolutely adores Thai, so for one of her birthdays I took her to Nidda Thai. In case you're wondering, the fact that it's directly next to an Erotic Caberet in the Montrose area had absolutely nothing to do with my choice.

My big complaint about Thai food is that it tastes similar to Chinese or Vietnamese, only at a 50% markup. Nidda Thai, while still somewhat pricey (dishes start at $10), tastes good enough to overcome that cost barrier to entry in my mind. The food tastes really fresh, and the dishes are loaded with vegetables that cut and crunch like they came straight from a farmer's market. When they list the vegetables in the description, they really emphasize it on the dish.

The standard Thai dishes (for example: basil chicken or drunken noodles) are solid and plenty filling. Personally, I find that their fish dishes really shine. The girlfriend's favorite is the basil tilapia. And last time we went, we had a special rainbow fish dish that was awesome. They definitely don't shy away from the sweet and sour tangy taste, which is perfect for a sour-tooth like mine. This is in direct contrast to other Thai places, which tend to skew focus towards spice and more spice. As an FYI, Nidda Thai's specialty is the Chu Chee Eggplant (crispy battered eggplant), but I've yet to try it. Sounds delicious, but it seems like I'd eat only one or two rather than a full plate.

If you're into either (A) healthy, decently priced Thai food or (2) DVDs that start with the words Barely Legal, I think the strip mall that holds Nidda Thai is a perfect spot for you to visit.

Following on my trend of reviewing perfectly average burgers (see: Pappas, Lankford), I present you with Five Guys Burger and Fries. They must be doing something right, having sprouted chains all over the country. I'm here to tell you that what they do right is present one simple, crowd-pleasing menu.

Burgers come basic, with cheese, with bacon, or with cheese AND bacon. The little burger is one patty, the regular is two. FYI: two sounds great in theory, but is overkill in execution. The menu lists all possible toppings, and you just say all the ones you want. Sweet and simple--works for me.

Problem is, the food just isn't that great. The burger is ok, I guess. It and the bun are kind of tasteless. And while I love putting all the toppings and sauces you can eat (helloooo, Fuddrucker's!), the specialty toppings aren't so great. Grilled onions sounds delicious until you taste it and realize that you're nowhere close to In N Out quality. Grilled mushrooms really only works with swiss--sorry. Spice it up with jalapeno peppers? Sorry, no spice, too fresh (optimal taste when it's slightly vinegar-ed, guys!).

The cajun fries are supposed to be this place's saving grace, but they instead are so thoroughly greasy that they soak the paper bag your food comes in. This, after the meticulous care they take to wrap the burger in foil so it doesn't drip? Come on, now.

Sorry, Guys: there may be a five in your name, but you're only getting three stars from me.

If you look carefully, you'll notice my reviews tend to skew heavily towards the 4 and 5 stars. Maybe that's because I'm overly generous, but it's more likely because I just never bother to review the places I deem average--those pesky 3 stars that are filling but not satisfying. To me, Pappas Burger is the epitome of these non-written 3 stars.

It's not like there's anything wrong with Pappas Burger; it's just not much is right either. It's. Just. Average. And while I'm never against devouring a delicious burger, here's a brief list highlighting the averageness that is Pappas.

1. Their menu lists the burger and fries together. That's right, there's no option for just a burger when you're feeling like eating light. I suppose I could always try to ask, but I've never done so. I imagine a lot of people work this way, and just end up getting the fries they don't want to eat anyway.

2. The aforementioned burger + fries combo starts at $9 and goes up to $11 with select toppings. That's a pretty steep price to pay. My thinking is that if you're going to charge double digits for a burger combo, you better be doing something special.

3. Here's a note: they don't. Their patties are certainly flavorful but rely on a wicked overabundance of salt. Even the guacamole in the Guacamole Burger tasted like it had been bathed in saltwater.

4. The real thing that eats at my craw is the method of service here. When you go in, you're greeted by a bulletin board menu. You place the order yourself, then go through the line yourself to get your own drink. You then seat yourself wherever you want (or during lunch hour, wherever there's availability). A waiter then comes by to inspect your order and bring you your food (and a refill, if you desire). So naturally, Pappas gets to get by with paying these suckers $2.80 an hour (or whatever the going rate is), and you're forced to tip them for half a waiter's job. Now I'm not averse to tipping, but that's a shoddy system if I've ever seen one. On the plus side, the waiters here are very friendly.

I'm telling you now, I will more than likely eat here again. But there's really no great shakes about it, and that's all I'm going to say about that.

It's a regular Guy Fieri party on the Yelp Hot List...first Lankford, now Kenny & Ziggy's. Ah, but whereas I was disappointed with Lankford (http://www.yelp.com/bi...), Kenny & Ziggy's garners my 5 star review.

If you took the time to read every single review of my NY trip (http://www.yelp.com/li... --and I'm guessing the number of you is somewhere between zero and one, and that one is highly dependent on my girlfriend's Yelp to Facebook ratio), you'll notice one thing was sorely missing: the quintessential New York deli. I'm telling you it doesn't matter, because Kenny & Ziggy's does it as good or better than any of them (caveat: I've been to like 10 NY delis in my life, so you should probably not take my word on that). Kenny and Ziggy's makes big everything, including the gigantic menu. How the "big" sandwich started I have no idea. However, there's your word of warning: be prepared for big to-go boxes and big checks.

Still, for the price you pay, it's pretty worth it. You can split a sandwich for two or take half to go, thereby splitting your $15 sandwich cost into two meals. Their sandwich meat slices are delicious, overflowing from the breads, and pretty much putting Katz's puny-by-comparison sandwiches to shame.

On the advice of some awesome Yelpers, I picked up some chicken and matzo ball soup to go for an ailing girlfriend. She loved it. Thanks, Yelp!

I've never had the dessert there, but everytime I walk by the cheesecake I start drooling. One day, I tell ya...

This review is for their new car sales. But first, a little background.

So I've been driving a clunker that actually didn't qualify for cash for clunkers (still got too good of a gas mileage, you see), but still required $300 worth of repairs every few months. By the time this past August rolled around, my car was due for a state inspection, which it promptly failed. The verdict? Something, something, cost $300, yadda, yadda, yadda. That's it, I says. I'm putting my foot down and finally getting that new car.

Although I'd been eyeing the Acura TSX for a while, practicality won out, and I couldn't justify paying that kind of coin for an I4 engine. As such, I looked at cheaper alternatives--your Toyotas and Hondas of the world (my Asian-ness prevents me from taking that awesome $6,000 off to get a Chevy Malibu, sorry). Pretty soon I stumbled upon the Mazda 3, and after visiting its website ten or twelve times, I was hooked--line and sinker.

After visiting some pretty egregious dealerships, Jeff Haas Mazda really was the perfect fit. My first visit was a little past 8 on a Tuesday night. My dad and I walked around the new cars with nary a peep from a saleman; in fact, we had to actually go and find one. The salesman (still unnamed at this point) just asked which car we wanted to test drive, went in and got a key, then handed it over, no questions asked or comments offered. We actually test drove two of them that night (a custom loaded I and a top of the line S), and yes, my love was confirmed. I left and figured I should introduce myself, and in doing so, finally learned said saleperson's name (Stephen Brown, if you're wondering). I went away liking this Mr. Brown.

A few days passed and I made it back to the dealership. Once again, I met Stephen, and he drove me over to look at their backlot inventory. No questions, no BS. Pretty much the only two questions he asked were "are you considering the Mazdaspeed?" and "so do you wanna buy a car?" No, I didn't want the Mazdaspeed, and yes, I wanted to buy a car. Maybe not today, but I was willing to negotiate. Again, during the negotiating process, there was little BS. The wait times when he went to "talk to his manager" got unseasonably long at times, but other than that, the negotiations were perfectly amicable. While in retrospect I may have fell for a couple of the oldest tricks in the book, for the most part he was friendly and forthcoming. In the end, I think we both felt like we made a reasonable deal (a.k.a., a successful negotiation). The quirkiness of one Stephen Brown extended far beyond just him; in fact, it felt like the whole Mazda dealership was off-kilter.

Instead of a pretty young thing at reception, there's a homely lady with white hair. Instead of greased-back hair and a suit and tie, there were Hawaiian shirts everywhere. While we were negotiating the trade-in price, I asked for $150 off the front end; they countered with $250 off the back end (uhh, thanks!). When the sales manager came up to me after we negotiated the car price (and trade-in) price, he didn't introduce himself or shake my hand but instead said "nice tires." We then proceeded to have a four-and-a-half minute conversation about used cars before he wandered off. Never did get his name. The finance manager was equally unpushy. She offered the deals, all of them, straight up. I wasn't looking for any extended warranties or the such, and she didn't push them. "Thanks, but no thanks," I said. "Ok," she said. That's how I like it.

If you're looking for an alternative car buying experience (something akin to what Carmax pushes), I strongly recommend looking into Jeff Haas Mazda. I wouldn't say I went around the block looking for my new car, but I took a couple of test drives, and Jeff Haas was seriously the best when it came to customer service. While I still don't know how well the actual car will hold up and whether dealing with their car service will be just as breezy, the 5 star rating for new car sales is well-deserved.