Barnaby D.'s Profile

Went with a friend who needed an adjustment and I asked Dr. Edelburg to check out my spine too. I've been to Chiropractors before when I was in pain, but never when I was feeling OK...or thought I was OK... :-)  He adjusted me and I discovered I suddenly had several extra degrees of motion in my neck and overall felt a lot less tension in my back. The Center has a great environment and is not pushy at all, which I've experienced elsewhere. I live in Seattle, but will definitely go back next time I'm in town.

Happy Hour Question....

I have had had a number of big, expensive, and very memorable meals at El Gaucho. The food, atmosphere, and generally the service are excellent.

Tonight, however, I had an experience that left me questioning what is the proper protocol when it comes to happy hour?

We arrived about 10 minutes to 7:00pm, which is when HH ends. We sat for a bit and after longer than usual, a waiter came to take our order.

We ordered items off of the bar menu that we've had as part of happy hour in the past. Service was a bit off, slow and much less attentive than usual. When we got the bill, it did not reflect happy hour prices, though it did have a time stamp of 6:58.

Given how elegant the place is, I felt uncomfortable contesting the bill and was unsure of what's appropriate. So, my question...does happy our apply to when you order your food? When you get it? When you pay for it?

The food is OK, but the service is really poor. I've eaten there twice and gotten take out once, all three experiences left me frustrated.

Today was the final straw. We waited 45 minutes to get our food and the restaurant wasn't full. The staff was indifferent and rushed around when near tables, but then went and stood by the door ignoring customers much of the time we were there.

This place has fantastic food! The decor is a little bit nicer than the other ID Vietnamese joints, but it's still very inexpensive. I've tried the 7 course beef meal for two in several places and there's is the best so far. They also serve beer and wine.

Elizabethan Fare does a great job, not just with the food, but really on planning/executing the whole event.  Located in the small town of Putney, Vermont, Elizabeth has traveled the world and brings together flavors and styles from all over.  If you need someone to put together a unique and memorable experience, you can't go wrong with these folks.

Wow, this is a tough one!  Let me start with...

THE GOOD:  I cannot give the hotel higher praise for the physical plant, design, decoration, theme, cleanliness...all were tops and among the best I've seen anywhere in the world.  I loved the classic film theme and the way that it was woven into our experience throughout the hotel.

THE BAD: This really was limited to issues with service, mainly focused in three events, but generally, I sensed a discontented staff...

* Strike 1-After a delayed flight we arrived at about 11:30 on a Friday night.  We were greeted warmly and given our card keys.  When we got to the room, we noticed a "Quiet on the Set" sign on the door...cute but strange.  Upon opening the door, we quickly realized the room was inhabited...there were possessions all over and a laptop right by the door. We quickly closed door and returned to front desk.  They were apologetic, but then gave us a long story about how someone had wanted to change room, then didn't, etc. etc. and they blamed earlier shift for not changing in system...TMI.  Scary from a security perspective and we felt lucky we didn't interrupt anyone in the throes of passion!  We ultimately got another room (and a $10 coupon for the bar), went up and settled in a bit after midnight, looking forward to sleeping in the next morning.

* Strike 2- 8:00am the next morning, we awoke to hear light knock and  key in the door.  We had dead-bolted it, so what we assume were the maids didn't get in...whoever it was left quickly and we went back to sleep.  At 9:00am, another knock woke us and we heard "maid service," I shouted "please comeback later!"  All of this despite the fact that we had the "quiet on the set" aka do not disturb sign on the door.  My guess is that the maid staff hadn't been notified of the room changes either.

* Strike 3- Sunday morning we headed to the dining room for breakfast at 10:00am.  The hostess informed us that there was a 15-20 minute wait for a table.  We gave our name and said we'd wait in the very nice lobby.  While waiting, we heard the front desk informing guests that their chef and line cook had failed to show up for work.  We also sat and listened as another guest complained they had waited for an hour for their food.  40 minutes later, we got a table.  After waiting 20 minutes to order, we sat for another 40 minutes waiting for food.  When it arrived, it was clear that one of our meals had been sitting out for half an hour and was cold.  All told, breakfast took 2 hours and when we finally tried to return to our room at a few minutes after noon, our card keys stopped working because it was after checkout time!

I really liked the Hotel deLuxe and think it could be a world class hotel with better management.  Normally, I wouldn't bother to write up such a review and complain, but after spending over $500 for a couple of nights and 2 breakfasts, I felt a need to share.

The Best!

Beltramo's is the best wine and spirits store I know of...anywhere.  If you are somewhat of a novice or simply want to learn more about some type grape, brew, or distillate...simply go to Beltramo's and ask for help.  The staff is incredibly knowledgeable, friendly, and not at all snobbish.  Also, they do not steer you toward the more expensive bottles....unless that's what you are looking for.  I went there with my father and he asked one of their wine merchants to reccommend some inexpensive, but great white wines  (especially some made from gewurztraminer and reisling grapes).  The "wineguy," as my dad called him, walked around the large store with us for about 30 minutes like a museum docent describing numerous regions, wineries, and winemakers with great detail.  We walked out with about 2 cases of wine from 10-15 wineries priced $8 to $20 a bottle.

If you know what you are looking for, you won't find a better selection and the prices are very reasonable from the best French burgundies to rare single malts.  

Check out their wine tastings on weekends.

Picanha Churrascaria is similar to other Brazilian steakhouses I've been to, like Fogo de Chao.  They grill the meats on long, sword-like, skewers and then bring them around to cut you off a hunk at the table.  It's all you can eat and you have a little sign on the table to indicate whether or not you want them to bring more.  The variety of meats is wonderful, including:
- Petite Filet Mignon
- Top Sirloin
- Filet Mignon
- Pork Loin
- Picanha Steak
- Sausage
- Leg of Lamb
- Pork Ribs
- Chicken Breast wrapped in Bacon
- Chicken Drumstick
- Garlic Chicken
- Lemon Steak
- Tri Tip Steak
Beyond meat, there's a great buffet of salads and other Brazilian dishes.

I love this place!  It's like taking a visit to Korea...they have great prices and an amazing selection. If you love kim chi, you'll be kooky for Han Kook.

It's been about a decade since I went to Joe Allen's, but it stuck with me.  I was there for business and as we flew in to Abilene, the flight attendant advised us to go to JA's.  The next day, the company I was meeting with brought it in for lunch...great BBQ.  That night, we asked at the hotel where we should eat, they told us to go to Joe Allen's, so we did.

As I remember it, it's a funky combo of buildings of slightly different shapes and sizes connected to make a single restaurant.  Also memorable were the huge rattlesnake skins on the walls. Now I'm from New York City (think Pace Picante sauce), but I have had my fair share of BBQ around the country and this right up there.

Although I think we wound up eating their BBQ at least 5 times in 3 days, nobody in my group dared to order their "Bowl of Meat."