nicey b.'s Profile

I'll have to say, with so little competition out here for dim sum, I was a little worried about the quality of food. After reading mixed reviews here on yelp, I went for Sunday brunch with my fingers crossed hoping for a good experience. Hooray! We got it! After a long wait in a stuffy, crowded restaurant, my husband and I had dim sum again for the first time in almost a year and half since we were in Cerritos, Cali. VERY IMPRESSIVE dim sum, to say the least.

VERY OVER PRICED, too. But hey, like I said, with so little competition, the big man can do such a thing and get away with it. The two of us ended up eating up a bill of $50. Yes, we had left overs, but dim sum is all about variety...and after being deprived for soooo long, we thought--what the hell, lets get what we normally do. Yikes, 50 bucks sure is a hell of a lot though. Back home in Cali, you can feed a table of 4 MOUTH WATERING dim sum (much of it better than Mark's Duck House) for only $30. We're not in Cali though, so I guess we'll have to deal.

I was a little worried about the "freshness" of the food when we arrived fashionably late around noon. We didn't sit down until 1:15pm. Fortunately, the food was still piping hot and still coming out fresh out of the kitchen, constantly! A few dishes were a little cold when we got them, like the duck, but its understandable since the Peking duck takes such effort to make. Their red-roasted-bbq pork is outstandingly flavorful, and their pork spare ribs were delicious too! I'd pass on their flat noodles with beef though. They looked a lot better than they tasted.

Thank goodness the staff also spoke Mandarin. They were really helpful when I asked for a few dishes. One of the ladies actually remembered everything I asked for that she didn't have, and gave me one straight from the kitchen as soon as they were ready! I really appreciated the service. They were busy as hell, but they kept their game on top of it! Very impressive. Mark's Duck House really needs a bigger restaurant to accommodate their popularity. As a matter of fact, they should branch out and open more locations. Particularly one closer to us. :) That would be nice.

All in all, I'm not sure of how dim sum is priced out here. Its our first time having dim sum here on the East Coast. In our opinion, almost all food here is more expensive than Cali, so we're not surprised. Parking, on the other hand was fairly easy to find--despite the jam-packed restaurant. The quality of food was fantastic, and the service was superb. I was very pleased. :)

Yay! I'm a fan of Mark's Duck House! We'll be eating there again soon!

Oh yeah, the other table diagonally behind us ordered the duck with the wrap and sauce and all that. I forget what it's called. I was very surprised to see the great service the man delivered. He made their first wraps table-side for them. Even though dim sum hour was roaring rapidly around him, he was able to still deliver a top-class quality service that you rarely find in Chinese restaurants now-days. I'm glad there are still people that value tradition and quality service. :)

Have I eaten here? Nope, but hear me out.

I always passed this place in awe of the decor of the facility. I always told myself my husband and I would give it a try on a "special occasion." I mean, who wouldn't want to? The decor is phenomenal. They've really put effort in to make it pleasing to the eye. So, I'm an ABC, yes, American-born-Chinese, and though I speak Mandarin, I don't know how to read or write it.

And a few weeks ago, my mother came to visit. I decided to show her this ridiculously beautiful place called Graces Mandarin,--just to look, of course; because a true Chinese would chuckle at the thought of paying the prices that Graces Mandarin charges their customers.

Anyhow...I was talking to my mom while we were walking up to it, and I told her, I just don't get where the hell they got this name from. "Graces Mandarin," was it because it shows the gracefulness of the Chinese culture? Was it because the owner's name was Grace? Why the name, Grace's Mandarin? Her response? A big laugh. Why? because that beautiful Chinese character written at the top is translated as "gwei," which in Mandarin, means "expensive." And add a little "gwei-su-luh" phrase (that coincidentally sounds like Grace being said with a heavy Chinese accent) literally translates in Mandarin: "expensive as hell."

Now I'm NOT positive that Grace's Mandarin and their Chinese character "expensive" is what they're trying to portray, hell, they might just be trying to find a character that sounds like the name Grace, but in my perspective, I find it very unattractive. I just think it was an unwise choice to name a restaurant a word that is so unpleasant or unappealing.. I mean really, maybe they just labeled it "expensive" because it probably cost them a fortune to build and design it. Equally ridiculous, it all trickles down to the undeniable fact that the foods are overly priced. And if the own restaurant itself happily claims it is "expensive," that tells me they're warning me that it isn't worth it. Its like stamping "RIP OFF" or "NOT WORTH YOUR MONEY" right onto their foreheads. It makes me sad because I REALLY wanted to eat here too...

Thought you guys deserve to know what their name is, literally. You can't say they didn't warn you. Ha.

I've always been curious about this To Be Thai place. We drive past it every time we're doing our shopping on Richmond Hwy. Last night, we decided to give it a try. We were starving, but haven't had great luck with Thai food places here in the DMV area, mostly because the portion sizes and prices are ridiculously overpriced, and the food is inadequate.

We step in, and it was an empty restaurant. Beautifully decorated, but had a very eerie feeling. A man walked up to us, and I'm assuming this is the manager. Sat us down near the window, but we asked for a booth. He didn't seem happy to grant us the table we wanted,--no wonder the restaurant is empty. Not a good start. We open the menu, and I notice that most of the appetizers are served with Sweet & Sour sauce. This is usually a big red flag for us. This means it's usually going to be Americanized.. This lead me to assume that the portions would be small, and prices are way over priced, and that they would probably hold back on the fish sauce fearing it would scare their American customers away with the foul, yet scrumptious sauce.

We order two Thai iced teas, one Beef Salad, one bowl of rice, and one Drunken Noodles. We thought we'd order more if we enjoyed it.

The Thai iced teas were alright. Again, way too expensive in our taste. Portion was so small too. While waiting for our food, I did notice the great effort they put into the decor of the restaurant. This restaurant is BEAUTIFULLY designed, with custom-made panels at the windows, extravagant art work, beautiful yet practical table mats, and detail oriented architecture. I also noticed their little "gadgets" they were selling. That threw me off a little, and again, made me feel like they're just ripping off the American people that don't know much about Thailand. We also noticed the "No MSG added" note in the menu, and the constant reminder of "Healthy Thai food." While I appreciate the no MSG, I just don't understand the healthy Thai food motto. Thai food is incredibly healthy to begin with. Have you seen Southeast Asians?! They're built strong, lean, and healthy. Go ahead, pick up one of the books they're selling that has pictures of Thailand, Thai people, and all that. I dare you to find a fat Thai person from Thailand. I dare you. Ha, we could only imagine what more they would take away from the Thai food as it already was.

Our food arrived. Unfortunately, I was right. The portions were ridiculously tiny, and the Drunken noodles looked very unappetizing. :/ That's the first time I've seen white colored drunken noodles. They were bland, flavorless, and bombarded with chili peppers. I get it. That's why these noodles are healthy. Smothering the noodles with chili peppers was to help you detox your body through you anus. Yay. The chicken had no flavor either. :( The beef salad was alright. Like I said, I think they were holding back on the fish sauce because the lime juice over powered everything. The lettuce on both plates was pale as white paper. When you're talking healthy, you know that vibrant colors=more vitamins and nutrients. Pale veggies=a waste of money. Disappointing, yes, but not completely inedible.

Two stars because I wasn't puking, but I will be staying far, far away from To Be Thai. "Healthy Thai food" just means less flavor, less ingredients, and therefore, I guess "healthier." It makes sense, doesn't it? You give someone less food, less ingredients which means less calories. But if I wanted to pay someone more to feed me less, I'd sit in the corner and order water. Thanks. But in my opinion, as long as you're not getting anything fried, Thai food, just like any other Southeast Asian food is some of the most healthy food you can get. And like a wise one once said, "If it aint broke, don't fix it."

My advice: If you're a health conscious fool, who will pay someone more money to give you less food because you have portion-control issues, this is your spot. If you want to pay more to have someone give you less ingredients, bland food, and tell you that it's "healthier," this is your spot. If you have a date with someone who holds these qualities, this is your spot--because it is undoubtedly a BEAUTIFUL restaurant.

If you want real great Thai food I'd look elsewhere. To Be Thai is a rip off and disappointment.

My husband and I were trying to decide which restaurant to try for restaurant week. We thought we'd try something new, --German food. And to our delight, we found Cafe Berlin had tons of great reviews. But since I cook a lot, I'm a pretty tough critic to come across...so  you've been forewarned.

We both ordered from the RW menu. For starters, I ordered the potato pancakes, he ordered the mussels. The potato pancakes were such a disappointment. They reminded me of Denny's or Ihop's hashbrowns in smaller forms, and pan fried almost to a burnt in this strong odored oil. I'm from Cali, and Denny's is on every block. The mere thought of greasier hashbrowns than Denny's makes me vomit. In addition, it was served with apple sauce and sour cream. "Wow, this will be interesting," I thought. Wrong. I tried every combination trying to figure out what the big hit about this dish was, and it was disgusting. I ended up eating the applesauce by itself too because the portion was so small. (I guess thats because its from RW menu). I thought it was a pure waste of money to get this at a restaurant, let alone an over priced restaurant where dishes average about $18 an entree. Nothing special about it, in fact it had no flavor but the strong oil odor. :/ GOOD NEWS! My husband's mussels were INCREDIBLE. That's about the best thing we had all night. I'm not a seafood girl, but that sauce that it was cooked with was absolutely delightful. Cheesy, tomato-ey, somewhat of a reminder of the five cheese marinara sauce at Olive Garden during their never-ending-pasta bowl special.

For entree, My husband ordered something with the word "schnitzel" in it. It came with house fries, vegetables, and the meat was stuffed with mushrooms, onions, and all that. I got the wild boar, bread pudding, and substituted the red cabbage for the au gratin potatoes. We were warned the wild boar had a strong beefy taste to it, and our waitress was right. It was too peculiar for me, and the gravy it sat in was way too sweet. I traded with my husband, since he's a sweetheart like that. :) He didn't mind, but he did say it reminded him of a holiday meal all over again. The "bread pudding" was basically stuffing formed in two balls. The sauce they had was similar to a cranberry sauce, and the au gratin potatoes were mediocre. The schnitzel was great at first. It had lots of flavor, and was crispy on the outside, and moist on the inside. The stuffing inside of it gave a great texture difference. It wasn't until 5 bites in, where I couldn't help but notice how greasy everything was. I realized my schnitzel thing was sitting in a puddle of oil, and hip-hip-hooray, the same oil that I loved so much from the potato pancakes. -_- yuck. The house fries seemed to be cooked in the same oil as the potato pancakes too! So everything started to taste like that strong odored oil! The vegetables should have been labeled "butter cooked with vegetables," not "vegetables cooked with butter." The vegetables were delicious, but were literally like cooked veggie coleslaw. There was so much butter, it was like a coleslaw texture. I love butter, but when I could hardly taste the veggies, I was a little sad.

The service was mediocre. Our waitress was taking care of a lot of tables, so we had to wait a long *ss time every time we needed something. She was pretty much there only to deliver the food, but anything in between we didn't really get (such as refills) until the end of the meal.

The dessert plate was presented to us and looked very impressive. Everything looked so good! I ended up getting the Frangelico cake, and my husband got the Raspberry Tart. Again, I made a poopy decision. The Frangelico cake was alright, very light and fluffy, but it really lacked flavor. :( My husband's raspberry tart, on the other hand, was mouth-watering delicious. Incredibly tart, strong raspberry flavors, and just the right amount of crust.

The beer! I almost forgot about the beer! My husband got one of the German beers, the wheat one. Neither of us could tell you what it was called, but it was very unique and delicious. The flavor is hard to describe. It started of with a briney type taste...kind of like pickle juice, but then bloomed into a fruity aromatic experience, with a fantastic after taste that had you wanting more. I was the D.D. so I stuck with a soft drink.

So overall, why the 1 star? Simply because I would never step foot in there again because it's just not worth the price they ask for. Our tab ended up being over $80, and thats two restaurant week 3 course meals, and 1 beer, 1 soft drink. Excluding the mussels and beer, nothing was worth the money. Cafe Berlin just reminded me of putting Denny's food on a silver platter, lighting a few candles, and then telling me bon apetite! yeah right. never again.

My family and I took a road trip from DC to Hershey, PA. Unfortunately, we didn't make it.. Our car broke down on the side of the road smack dab in the middle of winter. It was windy, and freezing cold.. We were stuck in York, PA.

While we waited 2 and a half hours for the tow truck man to come, we made use of our cold selves, and called over 20 mechanics around the area... Searching for someone to be able to fix the car. We found out we needed the alternator fixed, and thought we'd drive out to Hershey, PA to get it fixed so we can still sight-see while we waited.

Big no-no. ALL of Hershey's automotive services were booked! No one would even consider it! Not even Meineke! So we looked on our GPS, and called our Goog-411, as 4 of us frantically called every mechanic known to goog411 and our GPS, comparing prices as we went along.

After one rejection after another, we finally got a hold of a mechanic named Doug. He said he'd take us in immediately! when we got an estimate, it was actually a lot cheaper than all the other guys who couldn't even take us! We headed straight there!

It was a little difficult to find the location, but as soon as we called him back to ask him, he had no problem helping us find our way there. When we walked in, he welcomed us with a big smile and asked what we needed done today. :) Wow, after talking to him for a while, we asked how long it would be until it was ready to be picked up. We were literally stranded, on a bitter cold, windy day. He said an hour and half max. Wow! We were expecting to be stuck for at least 4 hours!!

We then asked him where was a good place to eat in the area, and he was so excited to tell us about Jumbo buffet. Walking distance? "Why of course!" he said. He began to tell us that its a ridiculously great amount of food, offered for a fantastic price. Told us directions, and we left to eat.

Normally, I always feel very anxious when I leave my car with a mechanic. Finding a great mechanic is so difficult these days. You never feel like you can trust the bastards, without being over charged when you get back.

Doug, I tell you, was the friendliest mechanic any of my family has EVER MET. He exudes this type of comfort and trust, that we knew our baby would be okay.. I don't even know how to put it into context, I guess its one of those things where you really got to be there to witness what I mean by GREAT SERVICE. He's such a down to earth guy, he had no problem explaining anything and everything to us--one thing thats hard to find in mechanics. I always fear to hear the b*llsh*t speeches that mechanics try to tell me, that this, this, and this are all wrong and need to be fixed. and the "BTW, I already replaced this and this, so now your bill is not $130 like I told you, its now $840" crap. Not with Doug. He was happy to do his job, and didn't feel the need to screw anyone over.

After eating, we got a phone call when it was ready. Just a little over an hour and it was finished!! When we went back, he charged us exactly as he said he would, no more, no less. :)

If you need service for your car, I'd say stop by this Tires Plus and ask for Doug.

I will NEVER forget what great service we received at this location. I just wish there were more mechanics like Doug out there. He deserves the recognition. Visit this location, ask for Doug, and you'll be taken care of--with a smile! :)

Fuegos is totally underappreciated! I'm guilty for neglecting you for years now too, but I have an excuse.. I moved far far away...

I would have never known about this place, and never been tempted to even try it if they didn't make their slick, smart move on handing out FREE BURGER coupons at my high school one year. My boyfriend at the time went with me and we fell in LOVE with it. Soooo refreshing compared to In-N-Out. Cooked over a flame, from what I remember, truly sets them apart from the rest. Plus they have chile peppers we love to eat it with, and ranch.. yummyy!!!

Their fries are fantastic too... similar to the Imperial Burger ones I wrote about in a previous review.. Great prices, if I remember correctly.. I always walked out stunned about the deal we got. I literally kept going back for more. :)

If you ever recognize this place, or have been wondering about whether its good or not, take my word and give it a try... You just might fall in love with it like I did :)

Oh, how I miss my Imperial Burger. Its too bad you're like the ugly, anti-social kid in the corner wearing a hoodie with bangs swept covering your face, as unappealing and uninviting as it gets. Your location is terrible, no body notices you, and if they do, they shun away from you because you really don't look that appetizing. :(

Visiting Imperial burgers is always like a guilty feast. I KNOW its terribly bad for my health, but it tastes so good!

Ok I'm not going to lie, I've tried less than a handful of things here.. But the few that I did try, I really liked! I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE their fries. Omgoodness, its crispy on the outside, and soft and fluffy on the inside. Complimented with my addition of ranch! YUMM.... They do charge you for the ranch though, unless you buy chicken tenders.

Why not get the chicken tenders then? They're the type of chicken tenders you can't find everywhere anymore. They make it right then and there, and I know this because my starving *ss sits there and waits forever in the drive through waiting for them. And after the drive home, they're still piping hot. Crispy and flavorful on the outside, and juicy white meat on the inside. Effing delicious!  

Their pastrami sandwich is pretty good too. :) Very fatty though, :( so I don't get it anymore.

Oh, and heads up, if you order a chef's salad... just be ware that they don't really chop the veggies small enough. I was eating lettuce pieces the size of my palm. yeah, MESSYness :( The tomato slices are HUGE, cucumber..all that. Not a great salad. I'd pass if I were you.

And why get soda when you can get Orange Bang! :)

I miss you, Imperial Burgers. I'll make a date to see you as soon as I'm home. :)

I'll never forget the first time my husband and I ate here. When we first moved here from the west coast, we would drive by shopping at Lowes and Target, and couldn't figure out where those phenomenal aromas were coming from! We could smell it from Lowe's!! Finally one day, we drove passed it with the windows down and I told him, "I think its that place right there!" We looked at one another, and decided to give it a shot.

When we stepped in, we had this extremely friendly waiter who was more than happy to introduce us to the menu, offer a few suggestions and answer any questions we had. We ordered the Feast for Two, and were incredibly impressed with the portion offered! OMG, this Feast for Two will stuff us, plus have left overs to take home that will cover another dinner for the two of us! When our food arrived, he brought out a plate, and began to tell us a story, YES, a story that used each sauce as a event or character, all the while drawing us a very entertaining "pig" image on the plate with the different sauces. BRILLIANT and CREATIVE!! His amazing service has made a lasting first impression on us.

Recently, I had a bad experience while visiting to pick up a gift card. To make a long and irritating story short, they tried to sell me a compensation gift card when I was trying to pick one up to gift to someone. I had to deal with really lazy, insensitive workers, and beg for them to find me a gift card.

I wrote to Famous Daves about the situation, and cannot begin to tell you how pleased I was with their response. I was contacted immediately by the manager, and had a nice long talk with him. He apologized, and took great care of us the next time we came in. Why am I telling you all this? Because I'm proud to say that Famous Dave's has very professional feedback and takes great care of loyal customers. They really do care. :) Famous Dave's has earned our loyalty back, no doubt about it.

Other than that, the food has NEVER failed us. The sauces are a unique addition to the experience of eating your BBQ on the ever-so-adorable garbage lid. You're bound to have EVERYONE happy at this restaurant, as long as they like meat. :)

Oh, and for the record? Their Hot Fudge Kahlua Brownie is exquisite. HUGE portion, and melt-in-your-mouth chocolate goodness. *Fun fact that I learned: Unlike other restaurants that have frozen desserts that are delivered to them, Famous Dave's makes all of their desserts on site. Fresh, and delectable to tantalize your taste buds.

If you haven't tried Famous Dave's yet, boy are you missing out. Only one suggestion to Famous Dave's--OPEN MORE LOCATIONS IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA!! :) There's so many here, but so little there.

I'm gonna drop the 1 star bomb on this place too for the spamming text msgs claiming to be from Sandbox. I just contacted the website and let them know the three numbers I'm receiving these texts from. Whether they respond to me or not, I have yet to find out.... We'll see. Hopefully they understand that these spamming texts are only hurting them, and whether or not they know who these people are, hopefully all these negative reviews on this page will encourage them to find out and get to the bottom of it.

Here are the douchebag's numbers. Feel free to go and bug the shit out of them if you want.

(310)694-7674
(310)562-9522
(310)562-9515

Ass munches... Don't they get it? The more texts I get from them, the less likely I'm going to ever go and visit this damn place.

I DON'T understand the hype everyone's got about this place. I've seriously heard about this from SOOO many people...

I'm from California, and this food is border-line "alright."

Upon arriving, I noticed that the restaurant is pretty decently decorated... It wasn't fancy, but it wasn't necessarily like a roach-joint like we'd find in California.. I noticed lots of families, and a steady build of customers that looked like they were enjoying their food. I cannot tell you how hyped I was to get some good MEXICAN FOOD!! Oh my goodness..

We sat down, and the man who sat us down didn't seem very friendly. He assumed we were regulars and was ready to take our order before we even sat down. We asked for two min. Literally, 120 seconds later he was back.. Haha. I was hungry, and if I had been there before I'd appreciate it, but I haven't so I just ordered one of my faves from Cali Mexican food, two cheese enchiladas with rice and beans; wait--FOR $8.25!? holy crap! That's expensive... So I'm thinking, this better big a big hefty portion!

Husband ordered the chicken and shrimp fajitas. $12.95 I believe? That's not too bad at all... You usually get a good value for fajitas.

The chips and salsa were served immediately. I do love their chips and salsa. Their salsa reminds me of the salsa from El Toritos in CA...but wayy better. Love the kick of heat.. I was so in love with it, it was hard to stop eating it before my food came.

Hubby also ordered the strawberry margarita. I stole a sip, and MAN! that was good!!! He totally enjoyed it. It was served in a frozen mug. Genius idea, because his margarita maintained consistency throughout our dinner.

We did wait a while for our food, but I didn't mind...because on their menu they do ask you to give them time and order as soon as you know, so that they can make/deliver your food asap. I thought that meant it was going to be sensational because I took it as a way of saying it would be fresh, and piping hot, and delicious... My husband's fajitas arrived and were sizzling hot. It came with the rice, beans, sour cream, lettuce, guacamole, and 4 tortillas. They were alright....they weren't as flavorful as fajitas should be, but they were piping hot and fresh.

As for my enchiladas, I don't get what the deal is with these East Coast ideas of Mexican food...I don't get what kind of cheese is put in it but it makes me want to throw up. Its a white cheese that's creamy, and not gooey, if that makes any sense... It's like putting provolone in my enchiladas or something. I HATED IT... The enchilada sauce had a strong aroma of cinnamon to it... I understand that maybe they wanted to make it "unique" but the cinnamon was definitely not going well with the nasty cheese..... Mexican food is known to be heavy, cheesy, beany, scrumptious heaven!! Not here....And I know that here on yelp under $10 is cheap, but Mexican food USUALLY scores a GREAT value.... I mean even "cheaper" than the prices at Mexico Restaurant. BIG PORTIONS for small prices. Mexico restaurant has it backwards. I know that my meal was not worth $8.25 especially for the portion size. The same meal would have gone for $4.25 at Albertacos. Oh how I miss my Albertacos...... :(

Now pardon my sh*t talking, but maybe this is good Mexican food to east coasters.....but seriously though, you want some good Mexican food, visit So-Cal! you can choose any joint off the side of the road that even looks remotely good, and probably score a fantastic meal.

I think I need to officially give up my quest to look for a good Mexican food place here on the East Coast. You're just tooooo far from Mexico to even get it partially right. :(

I keep forgetting I'm not in California anymore...