Adam L.'s Profile

I ordered an enchilada platter today and was pretty darn pleased.

PORTION: Large, but not humongous.  That's fine :)
BEANS (whole): Cooked nicely, decent scoop, a bit watery, though (lady was too impatient to let it drain).
SALSA (mild): Don't really taste it in the mix.  To their credit, they have a selection of salsas.
GUAC: Really tasty!  Seems decently fresh.
MEAT (chicken mole):  Cooked perfectly (tender, not dry).  Nicely seasoned, but nothing amazing.
ENCHILADA:  Grilled with cheese on it, not microwaved!  This may seem like a no-duh idea, but I've been bummed at how many Mexican places just nuke their enchiladas!
CHIPS:  None offered.  Hey, that sucks :-(
COST:  Not too bad, but charging for everything extra is annoying.
DRINK:  Maybe I missed it, but no horchata and such?  WTH?
SERVICE:  Okay.  Woman wasn't particularly friendly.
PARKING:  Yeah, it generally sucks, but there were two open spaces on this Sunday afternoon.

People rave about La Bamba compared to this?!  You can see my review of that place, but in a nutshell, why?!?  La Bamba offered practically no customization (not even choices of salsa?!?), and their burrito tasted more like a quesadilla to me... way too much cheese.  Yuck.

Aye, carumba.  Que lastima :-(.  I had such high hopes for this place, given all the raves, and I was sorely disappointed... especially since I took my never-eaten-a-burrito-before Aussie friend here today!

I already knew that parking and seating was limited, so I won't count that against this place.  Rather, here are the things that bummed me out:
- No choice of sizes (e.g., mini/baby burrito).
- No choice of salsas (I wasn't asked "hot or mild?" like at most taquerias I've been to).
- No salsa bar!  How can you have a taqueria without any visible salsa options?!
- No chips.  I'm used to getting free chips with my burritos (or better yet, chips with pico de gallo!)
- Tacos were a bit too greasy.
- Burrito was more cheesy than salsa'y :(.
- No seafood options (e.g., prawn burrito)
- No frescas? (e.g., watermelon, strawberry...)

But there were a few good things:
- Service was pretty fast.
- Cashier was friendly.
- They take credit cards.
- The carnitas was tasty... cooked just right!  El pastor was pretty good, too.
- Tortillas are grilled, not steamed.  Big thumbs up!

*  *  *

Still, I really miss La Corneta from Glen Park :-(

Oh boy!  I ate here recently, and it sure made me happy!  I went to college near Chicago, so I know stuffed pizza... and Patxi's does it proud :)  Thick tomato sauce, gooey cheese, and a hefty, tasty crust (I recommend the whole wheat).  Service was decent for a pizza place and seating was reasonably comfortable.  But forget about that... mmm... stuffed pizza outside of Chicago... just divine! :-)

I've always thought of myself as a foodie.  But perhaps I need to rethink that; maybe I'm just a guy who loves delicious food AND loves enjoying lingering meals with good friends and good wine.

Given this, Manresa was indeed an enjoyable experience for me, but I would never pay full-price to eat here again.

Stepping back for a moment, let me help relay the context.  A group of about 8 of us won a prize that entitled us to a dinner anywhere in the Bay Area of our choice, with a $150 per person limit (with us having to pay any overages).  When we got to Manresa, we were all intrigued and tempted by the tasting menu ($159/person, if I remember correctly), and so went with that.

THUMBS UP:
- Service.  Our main server was friendly, knowledgeable, helpful, and just all 'round a pleasure to interact with.  Additionally, it was stunning and delightful just how attentive our servers were... filling water glasses, placing down plates practically in unison, etc., without being obnoxious or obtrusive.
- Creativity of the food.  We kept wondering, what will they think of next?  Presentation, texture, flavors... all quite quirky, interesting, different.
- Patience.  This should probably go under service, but I loved how we were not rushed... how we felt comfortable spending nearly 4 hours lingering and chatting and tasting.  More meals should be like that in America!

THUMBS DOWN:
- Some things seemed to be "different" just for the sake of being weird or different.  At times, I was craving something more familiar, comfortable, "normal."
- My lord, the prices!  Maybe I still need to expunge some more of my college-student-discount mentality, but... with just a glass or two of their (less expensive!) wine + tasting menu + tip + tax, it came to around $225 a person.  For one meal.  Holy cost insanity, Batman!

I think I'm also a bit spoiled, too, because I get a lot of outstandingly delicious food at Google for free.

Maybe if I were hugely wealthy, I'd enjoy going to Manresa occasionally... primarily for the attentive service and classy atmosphere.  But as it stands now, I'm glad I went once, but don't plan to be back again.  I'd rather spend $225 on a plane ticket to go see visit a friend :)

[NOTE: This shop has, I believe, moved to Sunnyvale, so also look at the reviews under that listing.  I'm writing here, since I had my car repaired at their former Mountain View facility]

In a nutshell:  Excellent service, outstanding quality.  I was in a fender bender, so I needed the back bumper replaced and a few other minor bits fixed, and Active Auto Body did the work perfectly... in the time promised and UNDER budget.

The folks there were super-nice... friendly, patient, easy-going, and professional.

I hope I never have to have my car repaired again, but if I do, I'm takin' it to these guys.

My parents were visiting me in Mountain View for the weekend and were craving Mexican food.  Since I was too lazy to drive them into SF and they're not into "too edgy" stuff anyway, I figured (based upon the reviews here) that Fiesta Del Mar would be a good bet.  Doesn't hurt that it's 5 minutes walking distance from where I live :)

Well, it was okay.  More specifically...

THUMBS UP:
- Even on a busy Saturday night, we were seated in under 5 minutes!
- All the folks who served us were friendly and helpful.
- They don't skimp on the alcohol in their margaritas!  Those things pack a punch (and are tasty, too).  Plus, *lots* of variety.
- Their mole sauce is absolutely delicious! (my dad had the mole burrito, I had the mole enchilada)
- They take American Express :)
- Chicken was pretty "safe" and non-fatty for a Mexican restaurant.  No bones, no gristle, etc.  

THUMBS DOWN:
- Their chips taste like something out of a bag.
- Their salsas range from medium to medium-hot.  No pico de gallo? WTH?!
- Chicken was bland.  In fact, aside from the mole sauce, BLAND was the word of the day.  Their special 100-year-old-sauce which I won't even try to spell?  Bland bland bland.  Rice?  Bland.  Beans?  Bland.

Even though I wasn't looking for really clever / edgy / OMG Mexican food, I have to say that (again, excepting the mole sauce), this food was booooooring.

Overall flavor: 2 stars
Service: 4 stars
Alcohol: 4 stars
Chips/salsa: 2 stars
Chicken: 2 stars
Parking: 4 stars (not covered, but free and plentiful)
Safety: 4 stars
Ambience: 3 stars (nothing special, nothing awful)

Went in to get an oil change and tire rotation for my Prius.  Pretty straightforward stuff.

They were running a promotion whereby you bring in a toy worth over $10 (new, I'd assume :), and then they give you an oil change for $9.95.

To my pleasant surprise, this is indeed what happened... without any sort of obnoxious upsell other than a tire rotation which I was interested in getting anyway.  No "How about our oil change premier supreme with special break checking and blah blah blah" like I've gotten from other places.

I brought the car in on a pretty busy holiday weekend and kinda late in the day, so I wasn't too upset when the guy said the job'd take about an hour and a quarter.  He agreed to call me, and I went for a walk.

At almost an hour and a quarter on the dot, he called, I came back, car was waiting for me.  Total price with taxes, $30something.

Only ding:  no free car wash.  They have a car wash there, so I was a bit surprised and bummed that my car wasn't given the nice wet treatment and brought back to me all clean and shiny.  Bummer. :(

As others have suggested, this is to Greek as Panda Express is to Chinese.

Unfortunately, it wasn't as tasty as Panda Express.  I ordered their standard Gyro, and it was just passable.

GOOD:
- Meat was pretty tender
- Pita was okay, not too tough.

BAD:
- Bland bland bland.
- Sauce came in a cup.  Why should I have to open up the pita, find a spoon, and scoop the sauce into the pita?  Can't they do this themselves?
- Did I mention bland bland bland?
- A little overpriced for fast food.

When oh when will I find gyros / doener kebabs as good here as I enjoyed in Europe?  So sad!!!

Selected Haikus from Adam's VentiExperience:

Ordered slice to go.
Sausage, mushroom, green pepper
Paid for one, got two!

But kindly freebie
Does not offset the pain of
Food quite sadly vile.

Cheese cheese cheese cheese cheese,
Not a drop of any sauce!
Tombstone for the win.

Why giving *two* stars?
Takeout service wasn't slow.
And I didn't die.

EDITED TO ADD:
Just got an ALL CAPS note from a "Sam H" (with no reviews) who -- seemingly triggered by my less-than-glowing review of Pizzeria Venti -- asserted less-than-kind things about me.  Anyone else find themselves in a similar spot?  Just curious :)

I've lived in an apartment managed by Mr. Rosenberg for nearly 8 years.  While he's responded well to crises, I haven't found him to be terribly supportive or warm overall.  We've had to bug him multiple times about important-but-not-urgent issues.

For instance, urgent plumbing problems?  Addressed right away, thankfully.  Backyard problems, shower-paint problems, etc...?  Typically not much luck getting his prompt attention.

And this most recent incident has me boiling mad:  he finally decided to fully repair the front steps, and we asked him to please send a repair-guy out during the two weeks I was away for work.  Instead, he sent someone the day I got back (and was jetlagged)... and considering I had planned to move out to a new apartment in a week, I'm screwed; I can't move my furniture out via the narrow back (through the garage) staircases!

One other negative incident:  We were late with rent once in four years, just missing the grace period by a day or two.  He charged us a $75 late fee.  Totally within his right, but that's still a mean thing to do to a pair of otherwise model residents.

So... in summary, I'd say Mr. Rosenberg is professional but not always very thoughtful.