April "Let's Go!" C.'s Profile

Just a clarification: Someone misread my review as all of us "ordering the same thing." We all ordered different things, and all of us felt our individual orders sucked!

Kai forgot to mention that sometimes it's inappropriately (uncomfortably) humid... like with sweating windows. Gross.

On the upside, it's open late. And there's usually at least one cute cop hanging out.

This Golden Spoon is a stellar location! It's always clean and has a friendly, helpful staff. Unlike most of its sister stores, this one also comes up with its own creations for people who need help concocting a dessert. (In fact, on my last visit, a couple was so excited that they were reviewing their choices for a good seven minutes.)

AND... they're open until at least 10:00pm every night, which is about two hours later than seemingly every other Thousand Oaks business.

Also, I think it's cute that their tip jar is adorned with a list of where the employees are going to college (as well as the details of their tuitions).

Good job, Golden Spoon.

Over several visits, we have tried both hot and cold subs, and nearly everything has been great every time.

The hot subs are served HOT (hot enough to withstand the 15-minute drive home and still be proper temperature), a lovely combination of thin beef and lots of gooey cheese.

The cold subs are particularly impressive in their simplicity: One of the servers slices the meats before your eyes, then tops it with basics like shredded lettuce and tomato. (This is not Subway, so don't expect cucumber slices or green peppers.) Do yourself a favor and get it "Mike's Way" with lettuce, tomato, onion, and an oil-vinegar-spice mix.

The (white) bread is really good--a bit chewy the way you expect--and definitely fresh. It blows away the bland loaves at Subway and Quizno's. Sandwiches come in mini, regular, or giant size. Regular is generous; giant is ridiculous. (Seriously, unless you're appearing on Man v. Food or something... if you must get giant, skip any sides.)

Food prep is really quick, and it's easy and fast to add on chips and a drink. On most occasions, we've received free cookies, which seem homemade. Skip the tempting chocolate chip (which are just okay), and go with the outstanding peanut butter instead.

Prices are reasonable considering the quality of ingredients and portions.

Now THIS is a great mall.

First, the shopping: Anchor stores like Macy's, Neiman Marcus, Saks, and Nordstrom are supported by boutiques that run the budgetary gamut--everything from Old Navy to Louis Vuitton--so you won't feel like you're stuck with the selections of a richie-poo mall or a broke-ass mall. Some favorites that made me say, "Ooh! They have that?": Tory Burch, Betsey Johnson, Hermes, Rolex, Teavana. (P.S. The people at Sun Diego were great and even offered us a drink to cool off on our hot day.)

Next, the facility: Parking is plentiful, and getting in and out of the lot was a piece of cake. The walkways are wide, and there are ramps and escalators everywhere for invalids, fatties, and lazy people.

The food court is outdoor but in the shade, so you won't burn your skin while you burn your tongue on things like Boudin Sourdough or La Cucina di Pizzerie. Despite the presence of McDonald's and Muscle Beach Lemonade, this food court is way above average; outside the mall, you'll also find sit-down eateries like CPK and Bing Crosby's--so if you're a pig who must eat when you shop, there's sure to be something to stuff your piehole.

My one complaint about this mall is the lack of bathrooms: There is exactly one set of restrooms, located near the food court, but they're hard to find and down a dark, isolated hallway. My guess is that the management company thought all of the department stores provide plenty of rest stops for shoppers, but it's kind of uncomfortable (and possibly even rude) to go into a department store only to take a pee.

The food here was pretty good but not outstanding.

Instead of menus, offerings are listed on the wall. This was kind of fun, so someone could yell out their choice while the rest of the table scanned the long list to read more about it. I usually prefer to eat a combination of sashimi and sushi (and skip the rolls), but when this group of us goes to sushi, we stick with rolls. For the person facing away from the wall, though, watch your neck!

We started with edamame, which came cold and sprinkled with what seemed to be table salt. I prefer warm, with coarser salt, but it was decent.

In my opinion, too many of the rolls at Umi rely on spicy tuna. Stigmas of spicy tuna (it's usually the week's leftover fish disguised with a sharp sauce) aside, variety is the spice of life when it comes to sushi rolls. Here, it seemed difficult to find a wide variety of combinations... even the featured fishes of the rolls seemed to be limited to tuna and crab--no rainbow roll, one roll featuring salmon, a couple with scallop.

Since I had Yelped Umi before going, I made a point of assessing the fish before eating it. I feel like almost every sushi place reviewed here has a couple of people giving one star for "bad fish," and sometimes I think it's know-it-alls who are (subconsciously or not) comfortable with their favorite places and unable to give kudos elsewhere. I will say that in all of my years in California, the number of times I've been served bad fish at a sushi place can be counted on one hand. The fish on our visit was fine--flavorful, fresh, and what to be expected.

The four rolls we tried were solid, if a bit on the wet and loose side. (I like 'em tight and dry. Errr...) We first ordered a spider roll and two other rolls, then placed another order for a (different) fourth roll. Unfortunately, the last roll was so like one of our previous rolls that it left us kind of... disappointed isn't the word, but almost quizzical. It would've been nice if the waitress would have mentioned its similarity to the other roll and offered a suggestion for something else.

I appreciated the accompaniments here: In addition to standard wasabi and ginger, plates had generous, attractive arrangements of thinly sliced cucumber, shredded daikon, and furikake. It was nice to have those as palate-cleansers between rolls.

On the flip side, most of the rolls had generous applications of coarsely diced red onion, which was strong and too much for the delicate flavors. It was distracting enough for all of us to simultaneously specify "no onion!" when we ordered our last roll.

Two of the rolls had an interesting mustard seed-flecked drizzle that was a nice change of pace from the usual eel (or mayo-based) sauce.
The soft shell crab was well-prepared, making that roll an overall success.

Our service was fast, efficient, and cordial (but not overly friendly). Prices were reasonable, and parking was a breeze.

I definitely am up for trying Umi again, but I'd probably stick with pieces and maybe the jalapeno shrimp recommended by Robb B. BTW, local residents: The free Clipper Magazine often has substantial coupons for Umi; we used a 15% off and saved a bunch.

I have a little bit of bias against combo-cuisine restaurants (Thailand and Japan aren't even close to each other!), but the foods here are decent from both sides of the kitchen. Sushi is fresh and tasty, and the Thai is pretty good... though a little light on the spice. The service is adequate, but not great.

In-restaurant service has been more successful than take-out: On more than one occasion, we received a wrong item, and one time, we got someone else's order...

The atmosphere of this location is great (love those light fixtures), although parking in the adjacent lot can be a pain, and the street offers little remedy.

Although on the pricey side, the thinnish-crust pizzas here are very good. Service and quality of food are consistent, whether you're getting take-out or dine-in. All of our experiences were positive, and food was always hot!

Recommended:
- The Genovese (Potatoes on a pizza? Yes, please!)
- Bella Bambina (Gouda and pancetta!)

Plus, they have good beverage choices (China Mist and small-batch sodas) and a cool dining area.

This review concerns "master colorist" Michael Angelo Calabro, who works from this salon.

About four or so years ago, Michael Angelo DESTROYED my hair and scalp--I think because he alledgedly was doing my hair while perhaps on something (cocaine?). I guess I was naive at the time, but in retrospect, it makes sense.

(Yes, my experience was awhile ago, but it appears from his website -- http://web.me.com/mich... -- that he is still operating from this salon and still claiming to be a master colorist.)

After a few successful stylish and modern cuts, Michael Angelo talked me into adding some color. I'm about as fair as someone can be, and that includes my naturally platinum blond hair and its accompanying sensitive scalp. However, we discussed the option of adding a slightly darker blond on the underside of my hair (plus a couple of streaks) with gentle dye to make my natural color appear even lighter. I had done this a few times before with different stylists and looked forward to it.

His service wasn't exactly inexpensive; at the time, I think it was around $130 for a cut and color. On the evening of my appointment, we were the only ones in the salon. He spent a lot of time talking and flailing and leaving the room to do who-knows-what (sniff sniff) but eventually mixed the color. (At least he was entertaining!) After applying the dye, Michael Angelo immediately made an "uh oh" face and revealed that he must've mixed the color wrong.

Good job, master colorist! Rule 1: A colorist should know how to mix and test color. Duh, ya bastard.

He had been keeping me from the mirror, so I went to see, and there were dark raspberry blotches and stripes on my hair! While visibly agitated (from his screw up or his pharmaceuticals, who knows?), he superficially acted like it was no big deal and would be easy to fix, so after more mysterious visits to the back room and a lot of fidgety mixing, he decided to strip/bleach the color out. The result of that process was an irritated scalp and neon orange streaks in my hair instead of raspberry.

Still trusting that he was somehow the "master colorist" he insisted on calling himself, I relented when he said it would be easy to neutralize the orange streaks by adding -- I am not kidding -- blue dye.

After that step, I had blue, orange, and green streaks on my entire head of hair. He ended up stripping out what he could with more bleach, but that caused severe burns on my scalp and made my hair feel instantly like it was critically damaged.

I didn't even know what to do, I was so flabbergasted and in pain and weirded out. Michael Angelo literally begged me never to tell anyone what happened, and somehow ended up getting paid by me for his butchery.

The next day, I visited a friend's stylist to make an emergency assessment, and she actually shed tears when she looked at my scalp because it was so severely burned. She also gave me some products (at no cost) to speed the healing and told me not to touch my hair until it could have a chance to settle a bit. In addition, she took photos and suggested that I a) go to the hospital, and b) sue the pants off him for the insanity that was my head.

I did neither, but it took nearly two weeks for my scalp and hair to recover enough to apply an overall color to cover up his irresponsible embarrassment of a dyejob. It took another six months or so for my hair to become healthy again.

The fact that Michael Angelo Calabro did not refuse payment and did not offer to correct the situation in any way is practically immoral; at the very least, it's bad business.

Stay away from this joke of a man.

This is an amazing gallery for finding low-brow and other off-the-wall art at reasonable prices. Regional big-wig painters share walls with nobodies, so there's something for every budget. The curators have a keen eye to keep the offerings consistent, and they appear to be nurturing to the mostly local artists who show in the small space.

Parking is kind of a pain in this area, and you're likely to encounter at least a few crusty bums on your walk to the space.

Inside, the gallery is pleasant but pretty cramped, especially on openings, and the bathroom affords zero privacy.

If you  happen to buy something, Tanya and Patrick take great care in making the experience easy and personal. They'll let you know the process if you're new and email you when your purchase is ready for pick-up.

Newbies might experience a difficult (read: you're an outsider) reception. Take a second to say hi to one of the artists or owners, and you'll be fine. You'll appreciate that there's no hassle here: Patrons are welcome to loiter or make a quick walk-through without enduring a sales pitch.