Cathy "cathybrooks" B.'s Profile

Let's start with the fact that when you go to a "collision center" the chances are likely you're there for a pretty crappy reason. Thus was the start of my day on October 26 as I headed out to hit the road in my 2006 Mustang convertible for a conference in LA.

Until I had an accident on Divisadero. I'll save the waxing effusive about the wonderful people at Progressive insurance AND Enterprise Rent-A-Car (for whom I'll be writing equally glowing reviews here), and focus in this entry on the amazing, compassionate, diligent, responsive and ROCK star folks at J. Lofrano & Son!

From the moment I spoke with Desiree on the phone from the crash site telling her I was on the way, to the way they interacted with me when I arrived, through the entire process of my car going through repairs until today when I picked my car up (looking like it just came off the lot!!!) the experience was, put simply, superb.

I'll admit it, I was a bit of a wreck when I got to their office. I'd been crying. A lot. The ladies in the office could *not* have been nicer!
They walked me through the basics, got me calmed down and no sooner had we finished than the guy from Enterprise showed up.

Through the entire repair process, Desiree from Lofrano touched base with me, making sure she informed me of all the damage that had been done, the steps they were taking to do the repairs and even the contingency plans they had prepared in case any of the steps went awry!

Next came my interaction with Tay (sp?) from the shop at Lofrano. He called to let me know the final status on the car and that while they were repairing the accident damage (which was to the entire front right side of the car - including bumper, headlight, turn signal and tire well on driver's side), they also went ahead and fixed some other damage to the driver door! This other work, which I was going to get fixed separately as it wasn't part of the accident and I didn't want to deal with insurance on it since a friend had been driving when it happened, would have cost me close to if not more than $2,000!!! Lofrano went ahead and did it ...

From start to finish - this was a great experience ... if you have a crash - which I hope you don't - and you need a great autobody shop that not only fixes the car, but takes care of YOU ... look no further than this great group on Divisadero!

Okay so it gets foggy.

Okay, so the wind whipping across the northern end of the park by Jackson Street sometimes feels like it's the Arctic Express barreling in off the ocean.

So what?!

The views from Alta Plaza are among the most wonderful in the City (other favorites include Alamo Square and Dolores, of course), it's nearby Fillmore Street so you can grab a quick bite before frolicking with the kids and dogs or snare a meatball sandwich at Dino's (corner of California and Fillmore) and hunker down on a bench or one of the logs at the very top of the park looking south.

Want to play tennis? If it's a nice day, get there early because the courts fill as soon as the sun cuts across the skyline when it's sunny!

Have a dog? Technically the "legal" off-leash areas are only on the south side of the park, but those who frequent the park frequently (a group of which I am one) there's a gentle person's agreement. The dog people keep their canine kids in line, and the two-footed pups don't dig holes either - unless they're in the S-WEET sandbox in the playground. And yes, that's me, an adult effusively commenting ... on a sandbox.  I mean, who doesn't like building sand castles right? Especially in this park where they have a built-in crane/digger thing.

Admittedly I don't spent much time on the playground as my kid has four feet and a penchant for running in circles and chasing a ball, but it looks swell.

So come on by ... and if see a rather large, silvery shaggy dog named Truman racing around, I'm not far away.

This spot has been a SOMA staple around the South Park/Ball Park area for me for a while. When I worked in the area several years ago, Paragon was a regular "business lunch" location and as they also have a nice semi-private dining area in the back did a few small events/dinners there as well.

You may ask why I've not reviewed Paragon before if it's such a regular spot. Frankly hadn't really thought of it until having gone there last night with a posse of social-media-saturated pals ... and of course as a result realized I"d never spoken up ... so...

As you can see by my star rating, I'm a fan of the place. It's not necessarily due to superlative food or service, but more that other factors - such as great location and nice atmosphere - play in heavily.

Also, I cannot recall a time I did not enjoy the company in which I spent my time at Paragon - which may not be a function of the place, per se, but it certainly gives the spot a warm corner booth in my heart.

With that, I'll break down my overall rating in more detail:

Service: 2/3
As a rule, it's rather spotty service here. Took forever to get our drinks and the server didn't pass by often enough to even catch her eye as folks arrived for our medium-sized (about 8 folks in all) group. We had the foresight to bulk order food & drinks as she passed us.

To be fair, the bar area was pretty packed and she seemed to be the only server handing a sizable number of tables, which certainly impacts ability to deliver stuff to tables and the like. And when she was at our table she was lovely, friendly and had some good menu recommendations.

Also when it came to sorting out the bill, she handled it quickly (of course one of our posse had done an incredible job of sorting it out and all!)

Food: 3/3.5
The food's nothing to write home about, but it's not bad. I'd call the fare at Paragon a good solid choice where you know you'll get a reliably good meal with some regular items on the menu that are great. I started with the heirloom tomato salad, which included arugula (yum!), goat chese (yum) and watermelon. Now normally all would be good with this, but it's a bit late in tomato season, really, and certainly long past crisp watermelon days. The result was a mediocre (saved by arugula) salad for me.  Then I went to my old stand-by. The burger. Medium rare (on the rare side) with swiss. Comes with garlic fries.

Need I say more? :)

Atmosphere: 4
I like a boisterous spot, and Paragon generally delivers on this. On this particular night there was a large, private group filling the inside bar area.  My particular posse sat at the long bench table just inside the roll up door to the patio. It was a bit chilly and could make do with a bit more heat lampage ... but overall quite nice.

The company in which I was there:
This was, of course, the best of the entire evening. This was a group of women - almost all of whom I know almost exclusively on-line. And of those, some of them are very very new friends. So this was a gathering of that very wonderful social media sort where people who know each other digitally get a chance to augment the virtual reality with some good, old-fashioned, in person pal time.

It was lovely.

UPDATE:
It's funny, I often see people update reviews and blog posts.  Generally the update is at the very bottom, which I don't think is particularly fair. Kind of like how no one reads newspaper retractions (well no one reads newspapers, but that's a different story) ... in the same way if a review is bad, someone might not read all the way to the bottom and so would miss any updates ...

With that, I'm amending my review right off the bat ...

Monday 9/14/09:
Still hadn't heard from Rachel Beauregard, so rang back again. Lovely woman answered (not the inept woman with total lack of customer service skills) ... she told me Rachel was out but that she'd pass the message on. She then also suggested that I contact Rachel by email.

So I did.

About 20 minutes later my doorbell rang. It was Fed Ex - with the two shipments of wine that I had SPECIFICALLY TOLD THE IDIOT not to send. Because once the wine is shipped - they cannot take it back. Which meant there was no recourse.

Two words came to my mind - Stupid b--tch.

A couple of hours later my phone rang and it was Rachel.

If there is any small silver lining in this utterly shitty experience, it's that the owner/operator of the vineyard has a brain and a heart. Though same can't be said for at least one of her employees. Legally she cannot take the wine back - once alcohol is shipped that's it. This is PRECISELY why when I spoke with the inept one on Friday morning - I SPECIFICALLY told her **NOT** to ship the wine until the issue had been addressed.

Putting that enfuriation aside, I will say that while Rachel cannot take bak the wine she did offer to grant me a discount against what I had bought. I'll get $38 back. Oh boy. Be still my heart.

I realize it's more the nature of the gesture and the fact that she stepped up on which I should focus. And like I said, that is to her credit.

But this is a situation that could have been resolved with far greater satisfaction  ... had it not been for the moron with whom I first dealt.

Will I drink the wine? No fucking way. I can't even look at the cases.

I have a thought of lining up the bottles and using them for target practice with a firearm or at least a BB gun ... or perhaps capturing video of me tossing the bottles out a window or heaving them into a dumpster.

Any of those would be far better use. The sour taste in my mouth pretty much guarantees the wine will taste like crap to me anyway.

Friday morning (9/11/09) a voice mail registered on my cell phone. I say it registered because I think it was actually left on Thursday afternoon... but thanks to AT&T I didn't hear it until Friday morning. In any case, the call was from the winery owner. She said she had seen the email thread and wanted to talk with me. I didn't have a chance to ring back until Saturday. The phone rang. A woman answered. It wasn't the owner but was the woman with whom I'd been interacting there thus far.  

I left the message that I'd love to chat with her and left my number. I anticipate I'll hear from her on Monday.

Now back to the original review:
I don't know what to say other than I'm appalled at the horrific customer service and utter lack of sensitivity to a customer's needs.

To be honest, the situation is a bit personal and so I won't post the full details here but if you're interested you can message me privately and I'll give the story off-line.

The crux is this ... my world changed dramatically from the time I signed up for their wine club and today ... I explained to them that I had to cancel my membership. Instead, they ignored and then charged my card  and are sending me wine I don't want.

I realize that in signing the original wine club agreement that I got a decent discount on my first purchase there ... and I realize that the agreement did call for taking at least two shipments of wine.

But in today's abysmal economic climate, I find the poor business practice and truly insensitive tone of the woman at the vineyard (whose name I shall refrain from posting) utterly appalling.

The fact that she failed to even proffer a compromise (how about charging for *one* shipment rather than two?) proves to me that  this establishment needs a serious education in how to support customers.

Sorry guys but the fact you throw some nice barbecues doesn't cut it.

Your wine is decent but this lousy business experience puts a sour taste in my mouth.

Shame on you Beauregard Vineyards ... shame on you.

On an unreasonably rainy June night I found myself at Garage grabbing a bite while I waited for a friend with whom I'd planned to hit some later night gatherings.

As you can see by my overall rating, I like this place ... the menu has some issues in my mind- or at least the preparations that night did.

I started with the baby arugula and radicchio salad with mozzarella and white balsamic vinaigrette. I made the error of not asking for it to be lightly dressed or not dressed at all. When it arrived at the table, the salad was saturated with dressing.  I sent it back asking them to take it easy on the dressing and the next one that came to the table was perfect!

From there I moved into the scallop ceviche which, based on its $14.95 price tag, I thought might be a decent sized portion and so with the salad would be a good dinner.  To say the ceviche came in a thimble would be an exaggeration - but not by much. I will say that regardless of paltry serving the ceviche was superb. The red onion, orange and cucumber, matched by just the right touch of jalapeno were the perfect complement to the juicy scallops. The plantain chips were a nice extra touch.

Now for the cocktails. I had one ... well I had two, but of the same flavor. That was the basil mandarin martini. Orange infused vodka muddled with just the right amount of sweet basil and oranges served over ice. The first glass came with a sugared rim, which felt like overkill since the drink itself was already pretty sweet naturally. I asked for no sugar on the rim of the second one and it was perfect.

Slight snafus on the food aside, the service at Garage was SUPERB and the fact that my entire experience had the soundtrack of a fantastic live jazz band with a singer whose voice brought to mind Peggy Lee and Dinah Washington - well ... I'll definitely go back.

I've never been so sad to write a review before.

And for the record, as a rule if I have something negative to say, I keep it to myself. But as this was until very recently, among my favorite restaurants in San Francisco I feel compelled.

Also for the record, I'm about as decent a restaurant patron as you'll find. When I experience something bad in a restaurant (as I did on this evening) my first step is ALWAYS talking directly with the server (and management if need be) in as polite and constructive a way as possible.

I eat out a lot. I've also worked in many a restaurant. As such I know that the restaurant business is ridiculously hard work.

That said, the bad meal and worse service on this particular evening were not fixed by any usual proactive measure ... and so I write this.

Sadly my eating out this spring cut back as it did with so many others due to the recession and so I found myself at Home in late July after quite a long hiatus.

It was lousy.

For starters, I'm not entirely sure who the fool is who decided that taking the pork chop off the menu was a good idea, but if that's the new chef's way of making a mark - removing a staple - then they should perhaps be reminded of an old adage - if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

The pot roast was still there, and my dining companion ate it. She said it was fair. I tasted it myself. I agreed with her. The dish was lukewarm upon hitting the table, which may have been a function of the poor service (which I'll get to momentarily), but overall it was oversalted, the flavors poorly balanced and more fatty than it should have been.

My dining pal said the dish was saved by the mashed potatoes, which thankfully the new kitchen management hasn't destroyed.

As far as my own meal, I forget what I ordered for a main course, mostly because i didn't touch it after the inedible salad.

Again, in a brilliant (note tone of oozing sarcasm) move by the kitchen, they decided that using sugary sweet canned cranberries saturated in corn syrup for a salad was a good idea. Lucky thing I had asked for the salad to be undressed, because as it was the oozing goo from the cranberries rendered the already wilted greens utterly inedible.

Putting aside my sheer distaste for the entire meal, I have to say that the service was just about the worst I've experienced in San Francisco in years. It's possible that the young woman was avoiding the table because she was afraid that I'd ask her another question for which she didn't have an answer, but in my opinion there is ZERO excuse for avoiding your table.

If you are uncomfortable dealing with a patron, that's when you go to the manager immediately and ask them to step in.

She didn't.

I didn't touch the salad, and she never even mentioned that. Usually a server will come by the table and ask how the meal is. She never did.  

The busboy came to take the plate and I asked him to send the server over. She never came.

Finally the main dishes arrived and as noted, it was inedible. I seem to recall something with pasta that was overcooked ... but again, I've blocked it out.

Again, no server visit to see how the meal was.

Finally she came and never even asked if there was a problem with the meal  - which is remarkable considering both of my plates were full with food. She did, however, ask if I wanted to take it home - to which I replied that as I hadn't eaten it to due to the meal being utterly unsatisfactory, she just took the plates and walked away.

She attempted to assuage us by offering a free dessert. We declined.

And then the bill came - with all items we'd ordered on it ... she didn't even offer to take the salad off - a pretty standard step for appeasing customers who've had lousy meals.

At that point I was just ready to leave and didn't feel like making a scene, so we paid the bill, and I stopped to talk with the manager on the way out.

He seems very nice but frankly with the lousy service and even worse food, I won't be going back to Home. Ever.

It was 1998 and I was in dire straights. My back had gone out and I needed help. That help came in the form of someone with a deep understanding of the body and how it works, innate sensitivity to people's energy and a true gift for healing. That person was Alison.

At the time she was just beginning her more serious pursuit in the area of somatics and now, 11 years later, she has developed an incredible repertoire of techniques with which to nurture, guide and support her clients.

Alison was an invaluable therapeutic resource for me, and as someone who has known her for many years and been witness to the amazing growth and attention she has paid to expanding her skills, I can say that if you are seeking a therapist whose empathy is matched by comprehensive therapeutic expertise, then you are looking in the right place by reading this review.

UPDATE: If it were possible to increase the number of stars on this, I would ... I recently found myself heading for a trip to visit my mother - a trip on which I was going to have what I knew would be a very difficult conversation. Thanks to Alison, I went on that trip feeling confident and prepared, the conversation went well and the result, steps towards a stronger relationship with my mother. Without Alison's counsel and support, I don't know that would have been the case.

Okay, so let me first state that at one time, not too long ago, I thought chiropractics were just a load of hogwash ... as evidenced by one of my favorite light bulb jokes being on this very topic:

Q: How many chiropractors does it take to screw in a light bulb?

A: Simple. Only one. But it takes about 67 tries.

(insert rim shot here)

But seriously ... After some wrenching back issues over the years that have included chiropractics as part of the recuperation regime, I have became a firm believer due wholly to having experienced both the best of class and the worst of stereotypes.

And because of having seen a fairly decent range of chiropractic expertise, I feel pretty safe in saying that as far as San Francisco-based chiropractors are concerned, Dr. Raymond Cheung is among the best.

I'll leave out the tedious details of what happened, but suffice to say the last leg of a journey comprised by three ... very ... long ... flights, didn't do me so well. Upon arriving home, I knew I'd done some harm, so unpacked quickly before things seized up too badly ... which on Wednesday they did.

Or so I'd thought.

I managed to make my way through Wednesday and thought I was in the clear,  but upon awakening on Thursday found myself faced with the kind of searing, white hot knives of pain slashing through me reserved, I'd imagine, for being hit by a truck or dragged behind wild horses ... over shards of gravel.

I'd scheduled an appointment with Dr. Cheung for that day, but in light of the fact I couldn't move a finger without screaming, leaving my house - even if brought by someone - just wasn't a good idea. I called Dr. Cheung to cancel, and he told me to take it easy and he'd check in later.

A couple of hours and gulps of Ibuprofen later, my phone rang. It was Dr. Cheung - calling from near my house.  To be clear, house calls aren't a part of Dr. Cheung's usual service offering. He happened to have ample time in his schedule and his office is quite nearby, and since he felt that my being wholly immobile constituted an emergency, he graciously came by.

Another thing so superb about Dr. Cheung is his truly holistic approach to his work. Oftentimes the very last thing he'll do in an appointment - that is if he does it at all - is physical adjustments. It's his belief that in many cases manipulation of the muscles, tendons and other soft tissue can resolve the issue. There may be skeletal adjustment necessary at some point, but not as the first measure.

Upon getting to my house, the first thing Dr. Cheung did was to have me walk a little so he could see where to start. He zeroed in immediately (as always) to the precise spot and, having me lay down, did some deep pressure point work in the immediate area. Within minutes the muscle spasms began to release and the pain dissipate. After 20 minutes or so, I was able to get up on my own with only mild pain, and able to move around.

He even called to check in the next day to see how I was doing, proffered some advice on how to help speed recuperation over the next several days, and said to touch base after the weekend to give him an update.

Whether you're a believer in Eastern medicine and the related practices or not, I would say most Western medicine practitioners would be well served by adhering to the same mindfulness to the qualitative need that patients have from their physicians - a human touch.

Oh, and should you be in the tech industry - especially in anything related to Apple or consumer electronics - be prepared for a gleeful conversation with Dr. Cheung during your appointment ... he loves gadgets!

There are few things more wonderful than a neighborhood place. You know, where everybody knows your name? (Those who actually know that last phrase, yes, you're dating yourself as am I by using it...) That's kind of what Tataki has become to me. There's the simple part  - like it's a block from my house. And then there's the warmer part - like when I walk in I feel truly welcome. Even before they actually *did* know my name, the greeting upon walking through the door of this cozy little joint was always a warm one.

The other night I stopped by to order some take out. Two of my pals were ensconced at the bar. This evening I wandered in again, and figured it if wasn't crowded I'd hunker down and get some work done ... there was a spot at the end of the bar and so I did.

And when you get welcoming grins from the entire staff that say "we're glad you stayed," well ... now *that* feels good.

The fact that the food is superb and I'm also sipping on one of their signature cocktails (it's called Kin-San-gria, described as "sake meets the fresh fruits of sangria in this refreshing blend of Riesling, strawberry and lychee ... not sure about the refreshing part, but it is tasty and boy is it potent!) is almost icing on the cake.

When you get to Tataki (which you should if you haven't), I may well be perched at the bar ... make sure and say hi. It's that kind of place.

While their menu isn't the most creative of the Southland sushi spots I've checked out, and the prices are a bit high, Niko Niko delivers a consistently solid dining experience.

The portions are decent - the sashimi slices could be a touch larger, but on my most recent trip there they ponied up an extra four slices for my sashimi combo - a lovely surprise.

Their rolls are epic, and by that I mean the size. One of my favorites is the one that has spicy tuna and avocado on the inside and then seared tuna wrapped around it. It's served with a rather unique ponzo-like sauce (I say ponzu-like because it has a slightly more oily consistency than traditional ponzu), that is oh-so-yummy.

I have to say I'm also a big fan of the dressing they use on their salad. It's a slightly sweet, tangy ginger dressing that I'd buy by the bottle if I could.