Nate M.'s Profile

Caves have fascinated me since I was a kid. I've always wanted to explore them, which I never got to do growing up in Connecticut. These caves lived up to everything I always imagined as a kid. It's almost a shame I never got to see them back then but I'm proud that I'm giving my son so many unforgettable experiences I never had.

Note: if you come here after it has rained, wear water proof hiking boots or non slip shoes and watch your step. You might also want to wear a jacket that's water resistant, or at least not susceptible to water damage. It didn't bother me but some people are whiney about water and less than warm temperatures.

The Caverns:
These caves are the stuff of legends, cartoons and adventure movies. Water dripping everywhere, echoing through the chambers. Big rooms with high ceilings, smooth stone eroded into random shapes, hallways and pathways and stalactites and stalagmites (though not many and they were small).

It was a cool, comfortable, constant 58 degrees in every room. There were thermometers set up on the information signs to confirm this. The air was as clean and pure and exhilarating to breathe as any mountain fresh air I've ever experienced. The purity of the air is fascinating considering you're in a gigantic hole in the ground. There is a crack in the ceiling through which air is exchanged with the outside world every 30 minutes or so. Nature's climate control works better than any man made mechanical air conditioner anywhere.

What was most fascinating was the history of this place. Native Americans have lived in there, hid from enemies, worked and presumably performed sacred rituals for hundreds or maybe thousands of years. The Hopewell and Wyandot civilizations are known to have lived there. As I walked through there, the past resonated around me, filling me with a kind of reverence for long forgotten souls like you would feel walking through a cemetery or an old battlefield. I could see them in my mind, sitting on all the flat surfaces, sleeping in the hollowed out spaces, talking, planning, meeting, crafting tools, frightened as they hid from warring tribes. To be in such a place, in the same space they were, touching the surfaces they did (but try not to), to be so intimate with the past is a haunting experience.

There were informational signs with recordings but they were confusing because, as another reviewer pointed out, you couldn't tell what they were talking about. One referred to a red light that was in a completely different part of the cave nowhere near the recording that talked about it.

The gift shop:
The gift shop here was phenomenal. There were all kinds of beautiful and affordable pocket knives, gem stones and rocks galore, Native American artwork and crafts and figurines, books and videos, toys, jewelry, candy; more than I can even remember. It's worth coming here for the gift shop alone.

The museum:
The cave entrance is under an old brick building. It looks like you're going into the basement of the building. This kind of confused me and made me wonder if I was going the right way. This brick building is a museum and could have been the 2nd most interesting part but it was closed. There was no explanation for its closure. This was a major downer.

The other attractions:
There was also a miniature golf course that looked about as old and as the caverns and seemed to have been untouched by human hands since the last cavern dwellers moved out. There was Frontier Town, which is a kids' play town made to look like the old west. It was so pitifully lame it's hardly worth talking about. You couldn't go in the buildings and from looking in the windows, you wouldn't want to. So what's the point of it?

There is a hiking trail but we didn't hike it so I can't comment until next time. I didn't see any petting zoo. You can buy bags of dirt and go to a flowing trough of water to pan for stones and fossils. A lot of people were doing it and my son almost wanted to do it, but I don't get the point of it. If you know the stuff is there, what's the fun in finding it?

I give the caves and gift shop five stars. Everything else I'll give two. Average it out and that's 3.5 stars but I rounded it up to 4 because I had a great time I'll never forget.

The rest of my pictures are here: https://picasaweb.goog...

It's a fun place to go and kill time with your video game and electronics obsessed kid. But you'll pay the highest prices possible. You can find any of that stuff online or at Microcenter for a hell of a lot cheaper.

God forbid you don't want the goddamn Best Buy credit card. What the F do I need a Best Buy credit card for? Is that gonna get me gas or food when I'm broke? Pay the rent? No, it's gonna get me some big piece of electronics I don't need and can't afford. I can waste my tax refund on that without risking my already bad credit or paying interest. When I was there, a guy who was very friendly and pleasant to talk to but way too pushy a salesman climbed on my freakin back and rode me like a jockey to get a credit application out of me. He was unrelenting and would not let it go. I was nice about it and he finally left me alone just as I was about to say, "dude leave me alone, I don't need a freakin Best Buy credit card!" I understand they are harassed by management into harassing customers about it, and probably get commission or prizes for how many they sell. But this is exactly the reason I have a problem with the whole culture of suggestive selling that retail places are obsessed with and the reason I don't like to do it when I work with the public. I do have to do it at my job but I find ways to work it into the conversation, I only suggest things that are useful to the person, and I mention it once then let it go. This guy's approach is like humping a woman's leg to try to get into her pants.

On the other hand there was a guy who was very helpful and pleasant to talk to. He told me a lot about blu ray and movies and DVD and stuff that I didn't know and helped me to understand it a lot better. He also helped me figure out what I needed to buy to connect my Xbox to my new HDTV and was honest with me about what I DIDN'T need.

In general everybody here was knowledgeable and helpful. Almost too helpful because they're right there the minute you walk in and every two minutes after that.

I would say this place is the heaven of barbecue but it's not quite there. It's more like the waiting room outside the gates.

The barbecue sauce certainly is about the best tasting and with the best aroma I've had. They serve it hot too, which makes a big difference. Though I don't like sweet or spicy barbecue sauce so I can only really comment fairly on the original. I did try the sweet and didn't like it but like I said I don't like sweet barbecue sauce so it's not fair to rate that.

They have a good variety of southern style sides. I don't know of any other place that serves southern cooking so that's a plus. This is the first time I've ever been able to try that kind of cuisine. But the mixed greens were spicy. Why would you make greens spicy? Why would you make any vegetable spicy?

The fries were fresh cut and perfectly delicious. They rank up there with the fries at Penn Station and 5 Guys.

The meats were very good but not excellent. They were a little on the dry side and they didn't have that smoked, charred tasted that barbecue is supposed to have. It just tastes like it was cooked in the oven. For it to truly be barbecue, and to have that taste that we love so much, it's really got to be cooked on a barbecue. This place calls itself barbecue but there's no fire involved at all as far as I can tell. Isn't that a bit like a place calling itself an ice cream shop and then only serving popsicles?

Another thing I don't like about this place is the way they serve the food. They put your sides on the tray and leave it sitting there on the counter while they take 10-15 minutes to get your "barbecued" meat out of the oven and cut it fresh. So by the time you get your food, the sides have gone cold. Then you have two choices: eat the meat first and let the sides get even more cold, or eat the cold sides first and let the meat get equally as cold.

When I was ordering, the server gave me samples of the different kinds of meat. They were delicious, though still not really barbecued. But when I got my food, it was nothing like the samples. The meat was dry and lukewarm. The samples were fresh and juicy. Is that just a coincidence?

I went to a Yelp Elite event at another City Barbecue location last year. I had pulled pork and some ribs. The meats were delicious, smokey and charred the way they should be. Why is this one not serving the same quality food?

I will go back to this place, but I am disappointed and underwhelmed. If it was as good as I had expected it to be, I'd probably be a regular. Now I just might stop in when I leave the zoo.

There are tons of little cheap toys here for your kids that make good little prizes for good behavior. There's lots of science experiments for them to do, models to build of cars and planes including some easier snap together ones, model rockets, little trinkets and miscellaneous stuff. This is a heaven for affordable stuff for your kids that aren't video games. Video games sucked the life out of my kid so I look for alternatives now.

After my favorite sushi bar Mikado went downhill, my son and I needed a new favorite place to go every weekend like we used to do and this place has filled that void.

The decor can't even compare to that of Mikado. Mikado crushes Haruki in that department. But forget the ambiance, which is perfectly fine here, the service and the food are great. The sushi was mouthwatering and addictive like my old favorite once was. They don't have the variety of fried sushi rolls that Mikado has, which are my favorite, but they do have some. They have plenty of variety of sushi types and the other Asian cuisine you expect from a sushi bar.

My son is weird and orders plain sushi with nothing in it, just rice and nori. The new guy at Mikado never really quite got that right and had a hard time wrapping his head around the concept the first time and kept badgering my stubborn drama queen of a son into eating like normal people. There's nothing normal about my son and you'll never be able to get him to act normal. The more you try, the more psycho he'll act. This place asked no questions, just made the little weirdo his pointless sushi. That greatly improved the quality of my evening. He's like the Incredible Hulk. Give him his way and he's a nice mild mannered average guy. But trust me, you won't like him when he's angry.

For dessert I tried Japanese ice cream. It was chocolate ice cream balls with a thick, gummy, chewy, bread-like rice skin. The coating had a weird texture. It was like little pods filled with ice cream, and the ice cream had more the texture of sherbert or frozen yogurt. It was strangely delicious. It was like eating alien food.

The green tea though, was toxic. Stay away from it. I could taste the foul tap water they used to make it and that chlorinated toilet water taste we all avoid overpowers the tea leaves. I could be really harsh here about how terrible it was but I'm just going to quit while I'm ahead. Is filtered water really that expensive? They couldn't just go next door to Kroger and get a jug of the clean drinking water?

This was shorter than a lot of the reviews I write but there isn't much to say. Delicious sushi, good service, decent decor, terrible green tea. Go there. The end.

This is a small train museum that's worth a visit but not repeat visits. You definitely get a sense for history here but you don't learn a whole lot. My kid had fun and that's what counts but there really isn't a lot here.

There is a tiny museum here in an old train station. There are several ancient train cars and engines outside to look at and walk through. We took a ride on an old commuter train car from the 50's. My son had fun and went through the passenger cars a few times.

I'm guessing the passenger cars and the steam engine are probably close to 100 years old. They have not been restored and everything in it is original. Ancient seats, light fixtures, electrical outlets and switches, plumbing. Everything looks so strange and different from what we expect to see. You can feel the history as you walk through.

When you ride the commuter train, the conductor gives you a few facts about it and it's in better shape than the cars.

None of the cars have been restored as far as I can tell and look like they were salvaged from a junkyard where they've sat for decades. This is both a good and a bad thing. Mostly bad though. It would have been nice if everything was restored to at least half its former glory.

There are no signs or an audio recording or a brochure or anything telling you anything about any of the cars. So you feel the history but you don't learn a damn thing. You're left to guess at how old they are and what they were used for.

The museum is just one little room with mostly trinkets that look like they were salvaged from the junkyard as well. Though there were some old telegraph machines, a telephone and typewriter. The building is old too and in that old style architecture from the early 1900's, like the open windows above the interior doors that I never could understand.

I was a little disappointed with how little there was in the museum and how few trains there were, and with the condition they were in. I understand they probably don't have the means to restore them but they could at least tell you something about them. I think they could do a better job with this place. But it was fun and worth a day trip once.

I have an album of pictures on Facebook here: https://www.facebook.c...

This place is the Italian version of Chipotle or Hot Head Burritos. You choose a wrap, a bowl or a salad, then choose from a vast array of fillings and toppings and sauces and any combination thereof. It's impossible to even rate the sandwiches, bowls, etc. because everyone builds theirs a different way. But I can say that the variety is great and you can build an epic pasta or salad here. I would suggest choosing that over a wrap because the wrap will disintegrate as soon as you touch it and you'll end up eating it with a fork anyway.

The pepperoni and artichoke sticks were good but underwhelming. They were flat with hardly anything in them. They come with a delicious dipping sauce though.

Other than that, the food was delicious. It was savory and flavorful and fantastic. I had a lobster bisque here that was the best I've had since I left Connecticut (except there was no actual lobster in it). And the bisque along with everything else on that board including other soups, an artichoke dip and other appetizers are all only a dollar and change during happy hour every day. They had great Italian sodas in here too that you mix yourself.

The decor in here is beautiful, ultra modern (I think) and inviting. The chef, who I assume was the manager, was extremely nice and helpful and gave me a lot of my food free (probably because it was closing time and it was all going to be thrown out anyway). He was the highlight of the experience.

The low point of the experience was the guy taking my order before the chef showed up. He barely spoke a word of English. Before you jump down my throat, I'm all for hiring immigrants who want to work but should they really be in a customer facing position if they can't communicate? They couldn't find any Americans to take that job?

Bottom line: the food is delicious and the place is beautiful and I plan to go here as often as I'm in the area.

Exhorbitantly overpriced, crappy coffee that is far too strong and bitter. Tastes like swill, priced like champagne. It's ridiculous. There are better places out there.

The frappucinos and specialty concoctions are good, I'll give them credit for that. But if all you want is just plain coffee, go somewhere that isn't so self important. You can get crap in a cup anywhere for a lot less money.

The mecca of sweet breakfast foods (obviously), but only average as a lunch and dinner restaurant. The prices are high, the portions are small, and the line to get in at any time other than middle of the night is like waiting for a roller coaster ride in the summer: you stand in line for an eternity, then realize you're still only halfway there, then you get to the point where you've waited so long you're determined to finish waiting, then just when you decide to give up you're finally there but then the ride you waited all that time for is over in a flash and you wonder if it was worth it. I refuse to wait in line at restaurants so I haven't had this experience at IHOP but I've seen it and heard about it.

The breakfast foods are delicious and there are pancakes here you never dreamed of, with flavored syrups to match. Their flavored coffees with the whipped cream like the maple one are huge and delicious. They are open 24 hours and have wifi, which all restaurants should be in my opinion and gives them a huge advantage over most of the other restaurants around. The dinner meals are good too and there's a huge variety, though the dinners are not spectacular and barely worth the high price.

I like this place and I would go here a lot more often if it was more reasonably priced and there weren't so many people clamoring to get in. But when it's the middle of the night, or I have a pancake or waffle craving, this is the go to place.

Food delivery is a staple of American culture we take for granted, with the exception of those of us who grew up in the sticks so far from civilization that we couldn't get delivery. It's more common here than in many other cultures. With some exceptions, the places that deliver are mostly pizza and Chinese food. But I just found Middle Eastern food that delivers!

Indian food, Middle Eastern, and certain types of sushi are the most orgasmically delicious foods on Earth. Indian food is also the most intoxicating, aromatic cooking. So I try all the restaurants of these types of cuisine whenever I can and they are my favorite foods. They are foods that not everyone is brave enough to try. They are considered exotic foods by many of the people I meet. Finally being able to have it delivered adds a whole other dimension to it. It brings these foods mainstream and means I can have it more often.

The food here is among the best Middle Eastern food I've had. I had the chicken shawarma sandwich, baba ghanoush, falafel, kafka or kifta (I get them confused), tabouleh and a dessert. The meat in the shawarma was smokey and tender like it was cooked over an open fire. The eggplant in the baba ghanoush had the same smoked flavor too. There was a white sauce on the shawarma that tasted like it was made with lemon and dill perhaps, and it added a really nice finish to the entire sandwich. They topped it with Jerusalem salad, which is sort of a seasoned step up from the traditional lettuce and tomato topping we put on everything. It was all stuffed into a pita bread that can be hard to keep together sometimes so get a fork. I do wish they had beef shawarma on a hummus plate though.

The baba ghanoush was unlike the only other one I've had: the kind you buy in the deli at Kroger on Sawmill Road. I can't decide which I like better. The kroger one I remember being more garlicy but this one has that nice smokey taste and it's a tiny bit more tangy. Either way this one was delicious and I can see a lot of uses for it, more than just dipping pita in it.

They make good falafel here too and that's hard to find. It's not burnt, crunchy, or overly spicy like it was at all but two of the other places I've eaten falafel (Midnight Hooka and a place in Connecticut called Mamoun's were the only other good ones I've had). Midnight Hookah was the only other place I've had good falafel since I moved to Ohio. I think it needed more tahini sauce though. The Kifta (kafka?) sandwhich was also good but not as good as the other two. It didn't have the sauce on it or quite as much flavor. It was supposed to be beef but it was chicken. Unless I got two different things confused? My tip on all of these is to get it on a sandwich. On the combination plate, it just wasn't as good without the sauce and everything mixed together.

The baklava was decent and the hummus was pretty good. Again, not the best I've ever had but up there with the best. Midnight Hookah had the best baklava and Big Fat Greek Kazuna has the best hummus. But still the food here is very good and I'm a regular already.

There are also some American foods you can order here like a hamburger, chicken wings, or philly cheesesteak. Training wheels for the people too boring and too afraid to try something different. You should be ashamed of yourself if you come here with all this great Middle Eastern food and just order the same boring American food you always eat. If you do have someone who comes here and refuses to order the good food, just be sure to make fun of them the whole time.

The restaurant itself is nothing fancy, although it is decent and they do have wifi. I think this is primarily aimed at being a take out and delivery place. There are pictures from West Bank where the owner and his family are from.

All things considered, this is my new favorite place to get lunch and delivery and I highly recommend it.