Justin "justex07" S.'s Profile

Don't let the garish, boring interior fool you. This is the real deal!

If someone told me that there was great New Orleans style food in Marble Falls, I'd laugh at them. But that's just what you get here. Great New Orleans style food in Marble Falls!

If you could say something good came from Katrina (in horribly bad taste al' la a Groupon commercial) this would be it.

The employees are super nice, the food is delicious and the prices are spot on.

While Marble Falls is definitely lacking in the great dining options, this place is a gem.  The shrimp and oyster Po'boy is the definition of perfection, especially when paired with their perfectly fried onion rings.

I've gotta say. Lucky Creation was a bit of a disappointment.

We were wandering in China Town one night and thought, hey, Yelp seems to love this place, let's give it a go!

We love this vegetarian Chinese place in Philadelphia so we were especially excited to try this place out.

First off, cash only. There is Bank of America ATM around the corner so not a deal breaker just a little annoying.

Secondly, you walk in an are immediately hit with the fear that this place is one health code violation from being shut down. The front of house is just gross looking and if the front of house looks like that, what does the back look like?!

Third. When we went, it was freezing cold. Somehow colder inside than outside.

We ordered the "fish" dish everyone raves about, a couple of appetizers and another dish, I think it was a tofu, broccoli and dark sauce thing.

Nothing tasted great. It was all mediocre at best and it was all also cold just minutes after making it to our table.

The prices are too high considering what you're getting, meh food and meh customer service.

Perhaps we went on a bad night. If I feel compelled to give them a second chance and I get the same experience, this will be updated to a 2 star review. By giving them three stars, I'm giving them the benefit of the doubt.

Wine bars are my favorite types of bars and Barrique is my favorite wine bar in the City.

I'm in love with the concept. If you haven't been to Barrique, it will immediately come to your attention the 18 barrels on the back wall. As of my last visit there only nine were used but the sommelier said the other nine will be active soon.

These barrels represent nine different wines but instead of saying something like "2006 Jordan Cabernet Sauvignon" the barrel will say "2006 Alexander Valley Cabernet + Merlot".

Why?

These wines are handpicked by the people at Barrique who work with wineries to provide stellar wines at a discount to the consumer, by leaving off the branding aspect. It also helps open people's mind to wines they might otherwise look over because of a prejudice (not sure if this was their intention but I know it works!).

The pours are generous and the prices are great. A wonderful interior with ambient lighting, wine lockers towards the back and a sweet patio all the way in the rear of the shop (not sure if this is really open yet).

There isn't much to say about their food offerings, mostly just small tapas like good cheese and bread but that's all you really need in a wine bar to me. Focus on the great wine.

If you're looking to buy a bottle, they have those too. Their bottle list is pretty impressive and competitively priced though I still think the best deal is pours from the barrel.

One of my favorite things is their descriptions of the wines from the barrel. Sometimes they are really weird but I swear, if they said it tastes like smoked bacon and chocolate, that wine will sure as hell taste like smoked bacon and chocolate! They seem to have this amazing ability to pull out these great nuances in the wines they select.

Great place to hit up after work in the Financial District, to meet up with friends (they have some great big tables) or a romantic capper to a great date night.

It might be three neighborhoods away from where I live but when I want a wine bar experience, I always make the trek to Barrique and I am never disappointed.

Great wine, great prices and great service. What more could you ask for?

First things first. I love coffee and have an incredibly open mind to what "good" coffee is.

Peet's Coffee is just that. It's good coffee. In fact, as I write this, I am enjoying one of the best tasting cappuccinos I've had in quite some time. I have nothing against Peet's coffee. He makes a great espresso drink and a decent cup of brewed coffee.

My beef is with this particular location's customer service.

Here is what I experienced the last three times I have visited this Peet's over last few months.

Walk to the bar to place my order. No baristas are at either of the particular ordering stations. I hover between the two, receiving no attempts at service. All three times I have had to call out to get their attention, the baristas are too deep into their personal conversation to pay attention to the bar. And for whatever reason, each of these times, they have made a deal out of the fact that I am not at the "right" ordering station. There are two registers with no one at them, how is someone supposed to know which one to go to? Stay at your station and it will make things easier.

One thing I am particular about is my cappuccino. I want it to be a free-poured, light cup of foam with two shots of espresso at the bottom. Too many coffee shops either scoop foam into a cup (this closer to a macchiato than a cappuccino) or they put in the two shots, pour in some steamed milk and then scoop foam on top of that (this is a crappy latte, not a cappuccino).

A proper cappuccino has shots on the bottom topped with fresh steamed milk, made for that particular drink, not leftovers. The foam should be rich and thick, not too wet, not too dry.

So my first time I asked how they made their cappuccino. They said exactly what I wanted to hear. Yay! I began to remark at how happy I was to hear that and that so many shops don't care enough to make cappuccino the right way.

Then they make my drink by pouring pre-steamed milk into my cup and then scooping foam from another pail of milk. My cappuccino is heavy and the foam on top is cold while the rest of the drink is hot. Gross. But not as bad as the customer service was.

The second and third time I went, my cappuccino was quite perfect but the customer service was the same or worse. No eye contact, no personalization of service. It reminds me of the kind of service you get at a post office during the Christmas rush.

I feel like the baristas there see themselves as superior to their customers. It's not a good experience. I worked at a coffee shop for six years and prided myself in providing happy, friendly and quick service every time, doing my best to match even the most bizarre orders to spec.

I live a block from this Peet's and yet I still find myself walking all the way to the Mission every morning to Four Barrel Coffee where the service is as great as their coffee.

It won't win any awards for best sushi in the city but it has great hours, super friendly staff and a wide selection of sushi.

If the prices were just a tad lower, I'd feel perfectly fine giving Osaka Sushi a 4 star rating. But for what you get, they might be a tad over priced. But what else would you expect in San Francisco, on Castro Street just a block from Market!

Go for the buffet and you won't regret it. What better way to try out dozens of Thai foods without either eating yourself to oblivion or completely emptying your wallet.

At first glance the Thai Classic Restaurant wasn't so promising but as soon as I had my first taste of their peanut saute, I was sold.

Next time I go to Chicago, this will certainly be on my list of restaurants to visit.

Not sure how I never went here before, just a few blocks from my house and serves one of my favorite cuisines... Breakfast.

It's an old fashioned, bit queeny but not over the top, diner breakfast restaurant. Seems like it is always full of people but I had no trouble getting a spot at the bar.

Ordered the hot cakes, eggs and veggie sausage. The waiter was fantastic, incredibly busy but he managed to make my breakfast pleasant with coffee refills before I even needed to ask and food that arrived just a few minutes after ordering.

The pancakes are huge, nearly 1/2 thick and probably 8-10 inches around. The eggs were cooked as ordered (over medium) and the veggie sausage, surprisingly, did not appear to be the frozen variety and if so, a much higher end than many restaurants serve. It was delicious.

In the future I think I would order one pancake, not the standard two but other than that, it was the perfect little breakfast.

I find it difficult to give any restaurant a five star review after only going a few times, much less once as in this case but if I did, it would be because of continued quality food and service as well as some experimentation with their menu. It's pretty standard and that's just fine but part of me wanted to see something unique for such a unique establishment.

Super fast, even friendlier. Way too much food for a single person which makes this an incredible bargain if a couple splits the meal!

Seriously, split a meal. I ordered the "Mmm-Mushroom Spinach Skillet". The cheese wasn't high quality and probably a little over the top but it was still deliciously. This Skillet, and I imagine the others as well, could easily feed two, maybe even three people.

The salmon is heavily salted, way more than any salmon I've ever had so take that into consideration if you're looking at ordering the Lox Bennie, Lox Scrambler or any of their other Lox dishes. It was tasty all the same but right on the verge of being too salty to consume. Perhaps we got there on a saltier day.

Dramatically wrong pizza orders, twice, wrong beer and we still paid full price after illuminating the waiter, Marc, of the situation.

More specifically, a pizza was ordered that typically had bell peppers. We ordered it without. It came without onion but with bell peppers. In fact, it was mostly bell peppers.

We asked if they could replace it with just a basic cheese pizza. The waiter suggested we try their peperoni pizza because he knew they had an extra one coming out soon. No bell peppers, just plain peperoni.

Instead we got a sausage pizza. Not peperoni sausage thin-sliced, thick, chunky pieces of full on sausage. Oh also, bell peppers.

Previous visits have been stellar, this time left a wicked sour after-taste. Typically this is my first stop every try to Chicago and times before I would rate 4 stars pretty easily. However, after this trip, I'm not sure if I'll ever go back to Pizzeria Due. Especially when there are so many other fantastic Chicago style pizza shops in the city.

I've only been to Warakubune Sushi a few times, and still can't pronounce it properly, but every time has been as good or better than the time before.

The boat style of receiving sushi is fantastic for those who want to try different sushi rolls without having to invest an entire dinner in an expensive piece of fish. Instead, try three pieces at a time.

One of the best parts of Warakubune is the layout. You sit in a large oval, boats carrying sushi rolls travel counter clockwise in front of you. Two sushi chefs stand in the middle making their selection of rolls or just about any roll a customer requests.

What I love about the layout is the community it builds. I love sushi but I am by no means an expert at what is what, but at Warakubune, it is inevitable that someone on my left or right is. Every time I have visited I have been given tips on the best rolls to pick up and even had a few customers make orders for me. You won't get that at a regular sushi restaurant.

I challenge you to go to Warakubune and not see a regular. The fact that regulars even exist showcase the restaurants quality fish, talents and customer service.

So far I haven't had anything but wonderful experiences at Warakubune. The sushi is delicious, the chefs friendly, the staff is quick to refill a glass or pick up an order of miso soup or vegetable tempura. They know their regulars and sell the biggest bottles of Sapporo I've ever seen.

Sounds like an all around winner to me!