shawn g.'s Profile

Remington Mulch is behind the Virginia Outdoor Power Company.  you pull up in your truck, pay at the tiny office inside, and then get a receipt for your materials.  I bought a cubic yard of unscreened fill dirt here to take care of a sinkhole in my backyard.  That was about as much as my F-150 could handle.  I was by far the smallest truck in there.  It's pretty impressive to see the chaos back there loading all the different soils and mulch in to the trucks if you haven't been exposed to much construction or landscaping.  Great price, good advice from the staff, and nobody gave me a hard time despite being totally out of my element.

It's like Denny's but slower and more outdated.  It looks closed and boarded up from the road, but it was open and we needed to eat.  The gyro was uninspired and the onion rings were straight from a freezer bag.  I usually recalibrate my standards for this area, but even then, this place is pretty mediocre.  I feel bad for the staff, who seem overworked.  They do have a changing table in both restrooms though!

I stopped in here looking for an ingredient for the Lady's Oscar party cocktail.  They had not heard of it and didn't stock it.  That tells me that you can't get it anywhere in VA.  They were helpful in looking it up in their catalog and suggested an alternative when we couldn't find it listed.  I left without purchasing, but was thankful for the helpful staff.

Whichwich is definitely better than subway.  That was my fear when I heard our party of six plus three kids were going to get sandwiches here.  That and a vague recollection of a one star yelp review.  I ordered a 14" Club with a bunch of fixings.  There tends to be a crowd that gathers at the door because of the menu and ordering system.  The paper bag thing is interesting, but I think the menu and ordering system could be made a bit simpler.  There are a LOT of choices, and that makes things difficult for most of us.  The bags are stamped with different categories, and they are all grouped together with a number.  In the confusion, one of our group tried to order a vegetarian sandwich, but ended up with a 'Wicked' bag, which means he got a veggie sandwich, but it had three meats and two cheeses on it.  I was full nearly to the point of pain after the 14" sandwich with avocado, three meats and a lot of spicy toppings.  I'd go back, but there are also a few other places in the area I'll have to check out before making this the go-to sandwich joint.

I can't really argue with a $35hour long Swedish massage.  It's not a private massage room, but a curtained off space in a larger room.  plenty of privacy, but you can hear other people talking.  It does discourage the 'talkers' though, which I like.  There are six pages of paperwork for your first visit, and a one page questionnaire to fill out afterwards.  If you can handle the paperwork, it's completely worth it, and I expect to have much less to fill out next time.  I like helping people learn if it helps me relax.  The website for booking is a little kludgy, but I'll try calling next time to see if appointments over the phone are any different.

I hosted a small get together for the Lady's milestone birthday here in the Presidential Suite.  The reservation and catering staff were very helpful on the phone in helping me select the proper room size for about 25 people.  The room can comfortably seat at least 12 on the couches and chairs.  It was a bit cold, so we didn't make much use of the balcony, but the views of old town would be nice in warmer weather.  Throughout the evening, reception was quick in fulfilling any requests, and everything went over quite well.  The valets were very helpful in our arrival and departure, and the complimentary coffee in the reception lounge was just what we needed the next morning.
 I do love the Kimpton InTouch program.  I always get the NYT, firm pillows, it gets you free wireless, and on this visit, a $10 credit to the minibar.  Excellent service and I would definitely recommend the Lorien to anyone looking for a clean and classy place to stay in Old Town.  A bonus is the proximity to the Brabo Tasting Room, which, if you ask nicely, the hotel staff can get you a table without having to wait with the other folks in line.

Advice from the Lady's Mom:
Don't order the roast pork here, it's not that good
Get the shrimp stuffed tofu, not the tofu stuffed shrimp
Order the half chickens
You need some greens

I love not needing to even look at the menu.  It's a 70/30 split of her knowing what is best at the restaurant, and my willingness to eat anything.  Service was fast and friendly and they didn't ask me if I needed a fork.  I appreciate that.  If you go on a slow night, you can probably get some rudimentary Mandarin lessons out of the waitress.

We were that table.  The one that laughs really loud and is always ordering more drinks and food.  Possibly irritating the quiet couples that were next to our foursome.  It was awesome.

I had my first taste of izakaya over in Japan a few years back, and thought it was unlike anything here in the states.  You're either in a bar that happens to have food, or a restaurant that serves beer.  At an izakaya it's half about the food, and half about the beer.  This place does both quite well.  You can get sushi here, but I'd focus on the grilled foods, they're really what stand out.  The menu here changes pretty often, but we were all really happy with the Kamonegi duck breast & scallion, Duck sausage, and Pork belly.  We ordered the squid legs and squid body, but it wasn't as great as the meats.  I'd also pass on the chili-lime asparagus.  My last gripe is that they don't offer the large glass bottles of Japanese beer.  The largest they have is a 20oz sapporo can.  It's only 2 oz less, but the difference is palpable, and its no fun to share a pint glass either.

Make a reservation if you're planning to go on a Friday or Saturday night, the place was pretty packed when we arrived at 8pm.  If you can't find street parking, you can always get an hour of parking in the safeway lot with a $5 purchase.

Great for the history buffs and just a few short miles from Charlottesville.  Guided tours vary depending on the docent, but ours was very informative and helped us accommodate the stroller.  After taking the shuttle up we found the hike back down the hill quite refreshing with lovely views and it only took 15 min.

you can find some decent discounts here, and if you want to check out some of the floor models, you won't find pushy sales people like some of the other big baby  stores.  Most stuff is about the price you can find on Amazon, so it's nice if you don't want to wait for your two day Amazon Mom shipping, but it is in the basement of a Burlington Coat Factory, so keep that in mind, adjust your expectations accordingly, and you just might find some cheap baby clothes or gear here.