Ethan P.'s Profile

I wanted to love this place, since the peninsula is short on good steak places, especially in San Mateo/Burlingame.

But no. Not a good showing. Thursday night, maybe 1/3 of the place filled when my companion and I arrived around 8:00pm. Hostess first tried to seat us next to kitchen, but saw my look at the many empty tables elsewhere, asked if I would rather sit elsewhere (yes).

We were seated for at least fifteen minutes before we were approached by a (clearly young and inexperienced) waiter - another ten minutes until we got water.

The first wine we ordered from the list (mid-price for them - about $90) was not available (more than ten minutes until the waiter returned with the news). So we chose another. Ten more minutes - also not available. So we picked a third - came right out. Oxidized. Had to send it back (waiter agreed - we saw the manager trying it, too, but he did not come over).

So we picked a *fourth* wine - no walkover by the manager, no offer for a nicer wine at the price point at which we had been ordering. The fourth was drinking fine.

One of us got ribeye (medium rare), the other New York (medium). Ribeye was a thin cut, like something you would get at Safeway, but came out as requested. New York came out a genuine rare. Had to send it back to be cooked more.

Still no contact from the manager (who was walking around in suit and tie but not checking in with us) - just the nice but out-of-his-depth waiter.

So we finished up - nothing from waiter or manager acknowledging the poor experience, e.g., comped dessert or even an apology.

The ambiance inside is fine, but getting to the place is weird - you walk through a long hallway lit by fluorescent bulbs, with travel agencies and other semi-seedy businesses. And there's no internal restroom - you have to leave the restaurant and go to a public facility out in that fluorescent hallway.

So thanks but no thanks. No more Porterhouse for me.

I removed my Thule rack and lugged it into Rack Solid because I had broken a release lever. Basic part, just needed a replacement.

The guy at Rack Solid was decently friendly, but said that I would need to call Thule - that Rack Solid doesn't stock spare parts. No parts on hand for basic racks that Rack Solid stocks? (He did say he would install the part if I got it from Thule and brought the rack back in.)

I asked him if he knew a particular number, assuming that he must call it frequently. He seemed surprised, but did write one down for me on a card. No "let me order it and install it" or anything similar.

Very difficult to give a positive review to a retail rack store that doesn't stock spare parts for their own racks. Show owner comment »

A charming, always crowded bar/restaurant on Main Street in Breck.

A good, not great, beer destination - Breck is a disappointing town for beer - but better than the Breckenridge Brewery & Pub on my trip. And they do seem to make an effort with their food, which is classic American bar style (including pizza).

Nice little video arcade in the downstairs entryway. Charming vibe overall, though it's noisy. I had lunch at the bar - the baked chicken wings (a house specialty) were good. Great, friendly service from the bartenders, who gave me the 10% locals discount even though I was clearly a tourist.

About fourteen taps. Basic macros, Harp, Bass, Guinness, Fat Tire. Craft beers included seasonals from Sam Adams and New Belgium, one or two from Breckenridge Brewing, and maybe two other Colorado beers. Many dozens of bottles available, though most are pretty typical imports - not a Colorado craft beer bonanza (though there were several cans from Oskar Blues).

Not a craft beer destination by any stretch, but a decent first stop if you're already in Breck and want to find a good beer or two. I also saw lots of kids around (Saturday lunch time), so family-friendly, at least during the day.

An average brewpub - about as typical as can be. Given Colorado's (deserved) reputation for craft beer, Breckenridge Brewery is disappointing.

Visited for lunch 2/26/10. Eight beers on tap - four regulars, four seasonals. No guest beers. All drinkable, but average quality at best - with that dispiriting bland sameness across even different styles that you get at some brewpubs. Maybe it's the yeast?

Best beer on my visit was a Pale Ale - nice hop character, but nothing you would make a special trip for (no IPA on tap on my day). An Imperial Brown also pretty good. Everything else, especially the "light" beer and flagship vanilla porter, quite forgettable.

Typical pub-type menu. Again, average quality food at best. I had buffalo wings (not good) and a burger (fine). Spartan decor, reasonable service at the table and bar both.

Breckenridge is not a good beer town. But if you can go to only one place, then Downstairs at Eric's is preferable. They're sure to have at least a few Breckenridge Brewery beers on tap, along with a few from other Colorado breweries. And Eric's food and atmosphere are better than at the Breckenridge Brewpub.

I wasn't after a vacuum cleaner or sewing machine, but rather a Big Green Egg smoker/grill. Jose and his guys are huge BGE fans and know their stuff. Super helpful - genuinely passionate about the Egg! *Great* place to get a BGE if you're local.

They've got a great selection of BGE grills and accessories. Also recommended packages of accessories for various needs. And even though my car was large enough to take home the assembled Egg, Jose offered to stop over and wheel it into my back yard (I took him up on it).

The only possible knock was the unwillingness to discount off list. Seems like with a package purchase of grill and accessories at $1K+, there would be some room in the margin to share with the customer. But I think the Big Green Egg company polices retail pricing pretty severely, and given that Jose and crew assemble and deliver whatever you want, no biggie.

Brick Oven Pizza does nothing to counteract Kauai's much-deserved reputation as a food wasteland.

I came looking for buffalo wings, apparently a relatively recent addition to their menu. At Brick Oven Pizza the wings are *baked*, not fried - an egregious affront to the wing community. They end up tasting like the frozen wings you buy from Costco and heat on a cookie sheet.

Also tried the Pupu (appetizer) pizza with bacon (crust and cheese cooked, cold tomato sauce comes on the side for dipping). Blah - average at best.

Service was serviceable, prices not low but reasonable for Kauai.

If you must have pizza and its related foods on the south side of the island, I suggest Pizzetta down the road in Koloa.

The peninsula is a barren wasteland for buffalo chicken wings. I had high hopes for WingStop, having enjoyed locations in Washington in the past. Watched eagerly through its buildout, went on Day 2 of opening, have been back three times since.

Unfortunately this one's a pass. The wings are small, some with almost no meat at all. The only good sauce is the regular "Hot" (which is, to be fair, excellent), but none of the others is good ("Atomic" is an atrocity). On one visit my wings came out only partially covered in sauce.

The ordering line moves quickly, but actual service is *slow*, largely because they don't seem to be handle the crush of people. To add insult to injury, they charge extra for a dollop of ranch or blue cheese. At a place specializing in wings?

Just not very good wings. What more needs to be said about a wing place?