Jaime "ain't no such thing as leftover curry" M.'s Profile

Most intimidating beauty-shopping experience ever: Sephora Times Square.

Friendliest beauty-shopping experience ever: Sephora Barton Creek.

Me: "How many varieties of lip gloss are out there, again? And can you match my skin tone exactly with allergy-free, oil-free, inexpensive foundation? And make me look 17 again?"

After being overwhelmed and frightened by the high-security rush that was Sephora Times Square (a huge store with every single thing you could possibly want, makeup-wise, but also three employees -- one a security guard -- to every customer, and there were a ton of customers), I was afraid to enter another Sephora ever again.  Barton Creek calmed my nerves.

I'm currently on a quest to find a new fragrance, and I'm one picky sniffer. The Sephora clerk didn't exactly seem like an expert (many of her suggestions were way off the mark), but she was happy to sample out five different fragrances for me, which I've tried over the last week to varying levels of success.

Unfortunately, I don't think any one of them was quite the smell I was looking for, so I won't be heading back to buy them just yet, but next  time I have a beauty dilemma that even girlfriends can't solve, you can bet I'll be back here looking for assistance.

The prices aren't great compared to the other makeup megastore in town, Ulta, and the layout doesn't make comparing brands very easy, so I'll drop 'em a star.

Go for the no-sugar-added, nonfat tart and skip the flavored varieties of yogurt, trust me. They taste like 'artificially flavored, chemically simulated fill-in-the-blank.'

The cookies and cream was especially disappointing, as that's generally my favorite basic ice cream flavor -- this one was just bad, and didn't bring to mind Oreos suspended in cream even if I closed my eyes and wished. Even the vanilla tasted chemical.

The fruit toppings, which are my go-to add-ons when it comes to tart frozen yogurt, were good, though not many in variety and not especially piquant as fruit goes (the mango somehow managed to be exceptionally bland).

There were plenty of non-'healthy' options -- show me the eater who adds honey to their already sweet yogurt! The kids who walked in after us were happy to heap on the Skittles, and my guy dug the cookie bits.

The 'atmosphere'? There isn't any, really. It's not cute like some other
frozen yogurt places I've visited, and there's not a single thing to be consumed other than yogurt and toppings (no beverages available, which I found somewhat odd). Don't forget to recycle your huge yogurt tub on the way out!

The clerk seemed really bored, and I can't say I blame her. There's not a whole lot for her to do at this self-serve joint. At 7:30-8 p.m. on a Tuesday, there were up to eight people there at any given time, but more often three or four.

A couple bonus points for decent tunes on the speakers and a couple taken away for the stupid name, and this place is probably a 3.3 star choice. Nothing bad, per se, but nothing that stood out.

Given the absurd proliferation of frozen yogurt joints in this town of late, I'd skip this unless you live in the neighborhood or are eating in this strip mall already ... or if, like us, you drove out here to go to Trianon only to find it closed at 7!

What's to love about Thunderbird?
It brings a little character to an uninspiring stretch of 2222/Koenig/whatchamacalit.
The drinks are spot-on 19 times out of 20.
The Grover sandwich is delicious.
It's cute.
People are friendly.
Wifi is reliable.
The art on display is usually great.

What's not to love:
Most of the chairs are uncomfortable.
The music can get too loud.

I miss living a block away, I really do.

Five things that made 2009 great:
1. I found love. It had been a while, and then some.

2. I went to Costa Rica. I've never had such an ugly and beautiful week all in one. I fulfilled a lifelong dream of visiting a rain forest. First time to leave the country for more than a day, too.

3. I moved out of a place that had been bringing me down for years. My new house is so much calmer and more beautiful and actually structurally sound.

4. I walked down a runway in front of about a thousand smiling people. I've hated my appearance for as long as I can remember, and for just one day, Yelp helped me feel like a pretty lady.

5. I ran my first 5K. After neglecting to exercise for most of my life, finishing even 13th in my age division and meeting my timing goal was something to be proud of.

There was plenty that wasn't so awesome, but we'll call it 4 stars and be done with it. Onward to 2010!

Wonderful food, spot-on wine list, and in my favorite area of town.

We've been here before, but New Year's Eve really knocked it out of the park and then some. Here's what I had off the five-course prix-fixe menu for my vegetarian Italian feast:

White Asparagus Soup
Parmesan & White Truffle Crema

Red & Yellow Beet Carpaccio
Fennel, Black Olives & Orange Vinaigrette
Ricotta Bruschetta

Asparagus Risotto
Prosecco, Meyer Lemon Oil & Scallions

Wild Mushroom & Cipolline Onion Ragu
Anson Mills Polenta & Black Truffle Mascarpone

Chocolate Truffle Tart
Vanilla Balsamic Gelato & Brandied Cherries

I don't even think I need to explain why this was so good. Every dish  was seasoned to perfection and served in just the right portions. It was a bit rich for me (I generally avoid dairy), but I couldn't have asked for a better series of dishes. My date enjoyed his meal from start to finish as well.

Lunch here is a great option and significantly less expensive.

It can get a bit noisy because of the open kitchen, but not so much that it feels intrusive.

No, thank you.

Waaaay too smoky. I'll admit I'm used to bars in cities where smoking indoors is illegal, so any smoke is too much for me, but in this case I was hacking and coughing within five minutes.

No atmosphere whatsoever. No one was even feeding the jukebox.

Poor lone bartender had four wells to work and a lot of area to cover, which translated to poor service, but I'll blame the management for that one over the girl herself.

$4 weak well drink (g&t), which wasn't terrible but considering it probably didn't even have a shot worth of liquor in it, I wasn't impressed. Plastic cups.

Uninteresting crowd that felt pretty sparse in such a huge space. No one was playing any of the games and only one pool table was in use.

If you like to smoke and are tired of the other two or so bars in town, it's probably worth a stop, but I can't see any reason for me to bother again.

I'm pretty sure every dish at every Cheddar's everywhere tastes exactly the same. You could order any item and expect a vaguely sweet, vaguely fatty, mildly appetizing pile of generic food.

That is, seasoning, creativity and health are not priorities here. Stuffing your face is, though. My veggie plate (generic iceberg salad, steamed broccoli, sweet carrots, milky coleslaw and OK fries) and merlot were filling and serviceable but nothing I'll crave. This entree was the only remotely vegetarian one on the menu. Not that I'm faulting them for that, but just let it be a warning if you have anyone who prioritizes health in your party.

Service was similarly milquetoast. Half our sides were forgotten, though brought eventually, and our server was minimally present and only vaguely engaged.

We were there for a birthday, and I really can't imagine a less festive atmosphere for such an occasion. Luckily one member of our party took the initiative to leap into the aisle and break into a "Happy Birthday" song and dance routine that energized our lethargic, food-shoveling party a bit.

Sweeeeeet!

The summer soda was sweet in the sense of 'perfectly sweetened cocktail.' I'm on a grapefruit kick lately and it really hit the spot.

The decor/vibe of the place was sweet in the sense of 'home sweet funky home.' Comfortable and cool.

The service was sweet in the sense of 'sweet but not too sweet.' Nice guy, really willing to help us out, but not in-your-face sugar-syrupy.

The veggie chili cheese dog and veggie chili cheese fries were sweet in the sense of 'too sweet.' Unfortunately, I think someone sprinkled a handful of sugar in the veggie chili. If they upped the chili powder and/or paprika and lowered the sweetener, I'd have loved my meal -- the waffle fries were great and the veggie dog was big and tender.

Will my sweet date (who had a sour-ish margarita and a heaped-up sausage with slaw, both of which he liked well enough) and I be back? You can count on it.

My mental list of places where it would be extraordinarily difficult to keep up my vegetarian ways has always included Louisiana. Not because I'd be tempted by the mud bugs, possum kabobs and gator steaks, or whatever it is they eat there, but because I just don't see there being many vegetarian options available.

Well, I've heard that Evangeline might not be tops for authenticity, but I'm no expert, and frankly that sort of thing doesn't matter much to me if it means there's something I can eat!

My avocado po' boy was deliciously indulgent, especially with a side of excellent fries. I don't know what comes on a typical po' boy, but this one was loaded down with vegetables (including that crazy fried avocado), cheese and their trademark Evangeline sauce.

Lunch prices (I believe it's $6.50 for a po' boy combo) aren't half-bad, either, for an enormous meal.

I could do without the Louisiana homage-kitsch, but if that's your thing, they've got it in spades. And I'll admit, it does give it a memorably unusual atmosphere for an Austin strip-mall joint.

Ain't no party like a doughnut party, trust me.
And I now can truly say there is nothing like a Yelp doughnut party to wake a woman up on a Saturday morning!

We are an ambitious bunch, and thus we could not go gently into this grand adventure. Doughnuts galore, doughnuts aplenty, doughnuts for everybody. If you like fried dough, this place is for you -- and our celebration would have been for you, if you'd shown up (you couldn't ask for a better group to enjoy doughnuts with!).

My report card for the doughnuts our sizable group shared:

Mama's Cake (chocolate and cake batter): sweet, great texture, a classic to share five ways -- the cake batter is RICH; Stars: 4

Dirty Berry (chocolate and strawberries): Good, a bit cloying, would make a terrific dessert or a terrible breakfast; I could see it on the dessert menu at one of those upscale comfort food joints; Stars: 3 1/2 (hey, it's my review and in my reviews, we give 1/2 stars)

Slow Burn (cream cheese frosting and habanero jelly): Great mix of sweet and spicy for a clever Austiny treat; I'd probably pick regular cream cheese over the cream cheese frosting if this were my creation and/or I weren't sampling a bevy of treats at once, but it definitely doesn't detract from the experience much; Stars: 4 1/2

Naughty & Nice (cinnamon-sugar with honey butter): This is a NICE doughnut for classic doughnut lovers, reminds me of those rare childhood doughnut Sundays when we'd get a dozen from the nearest shop and the cinnamon ones were the best -- but this is better; the honey butter makes me feel a little excessively decadent, though; Stars: 5

Peach pie (I believe that's the name -- it seems to be a limited time offering -- has peaches and crumbly topping): Impressive take on the common peach pie/cobbler concept -- better than the common cobbler, even; a bit too heavy overall, but might make a great treat for a day when you're skipping dinner; Stars: 4

Margaritaville: (key lime goo with green sprinkles): the most artificial-tasting doughnut to me -- while they're all decadent, the green sprinkles and the gooiness were just too much -- though it gets props for not being overwhelmingly sweet; Stars: 2 1/2

Pecan cinnamon roll (cream cheese frosting, brown sugar cinnamon glaze and pecan bits): This creation was made up by Yelper Carl F. and Total Woman in association with the Gourdough's chef, and I truly think it ought to be on the regular menu, despite its super-sweetness -- the flavors just work so well together; Stars: 4 1/2

The meat eaters had the Mother Clucker (fried chicken and honey butter); Flying Pig (bacon-maple) and Gobble Gobble (a Thanksgiving thing with turkey, cranberries, mashed potatoes and gravy). Meat on a doughnut? Seriously? Too much for me, but everyone who partook enjoyed themselves.

Oh, AND we had Champagne, which in my opinion went especially well with the chocolatey creations. It's not exactly on the Gourdough's menu, but an ingenious Yelper definitely put the icing on the proverbial doughnut with that contribution!

Will I be back? I do not want to say yes, but I have a feeling I'll find myself drifting this way sooner than my expanding belly would like!