Carrie "wine snob" S.'s Profile

I love this place! To me, it has the best Mexican food I've ever tasted.  They make a killer Sangria, and I've learned that I can't have one at lunch and then expect to be able to drive back home (45 minutes away by freeway).

I've only been at lunchtime, and always plan to get there early enough so I don't have to wait. The atmosphere is wonderful - old brick, exposed beams, antique bar, unique hanging lanterns and candles - it's quite the place.

The food is amazing as well. This visit I had the lunch special fish Taco's, which was grilled Albacore, served on fresh tortillas, cabbage & their special Yucatan sauce. Spectacular. My husband had the Taco's Dorado, which were beef tacos, perfectly seasoned and fried. I know he was impressed.

I've also had the Empenadas Tres Marias; three empenadas, one each of plantains, chicken & chorizo, with a special sauce for each.

Fantastic fare...highly recommended.

What a shame, this store is closing. And it was one of those places I drove by all the time thinking, "I've got to go in there one day."

Upon hearing that it was closing, I finally made my way down there - everything is 70% off and she is also selling the fixtures. The apparel that was left is very pricey, but better at 70% off. Still, I could not have afforded to shop here, most unfortunately.

I did score 3 of her mannequins for $35 each - I know I'll put them to good use at one of my shows.

If you go on a weekend, make sure you go early, that's all I'm sayin'. Personally, I don't think there are enough really good breakfast places in the South Bay, but I'll go here before Coco's or IHOP anyday.

On a Friday (today), we arrived at about 9:20 and were seated immediately. As said earlier, on a weekend, that late and you'd be cooling your heels for about an hour, no joke.

They actually have a pretty good menu, there's a ton of different things to choose from. They are famous for the Dutch Baby, but I've never tried it. I usually go for the bacon, eggs & pancake deal, which is good.

Today, however, I had the French Crepes, which were fantastic and very filling. Thin crepes, filled with strawberries, topped with more strawberries and a dusting of powder sugar, and served with (wanna guess?) strawberry syrup. One serving is three large crepes, of which I finished 1-1/2. You can also purchase just one crepe, which in retrospect, I should have done.

My husband got the bacon pancakes. At first, when he ordered, I thought it was going to be regular pancakes with a side of bacon. But no. They were, really, pancakes with bacon mixed in. Looked kinda gross; sounds kinda gross, right?

Oh, man. They were delicious! Full plate of them also! At least 6 GIANT BACON PANCAKES! The heart attack special! You might want to give them a try.

Unless you're too scared.

I usually love this place, have never had a bad meal, until yesterday. I went with my mother, who also loves the place, and it's usually packed for lunch, but there were only 3 other tables with customers. Very strange. Our waiter was completely indifferent and ignored my mothers request to hold the sauce and topping on her filet mignon. It came with the butter on top, and stood there as she scraped it off. Duh. I had to ask for ice tea refills and we never really saw the waiter after he delivered the food.

I'm hoping it was just an off day - I'd hate to see this place take a dive.

This restaurant is situated in the California Market Center in Downtown Los Angeles. I was attending the Los Angeles Textile Show, and my friend & I had to grab a quick bite to eat, and then continue sourcing fabric.

We had been here about 6 months before, and while the sushi was good, the place was dark and drab. It was convenient, so we decided to return today.

Well, in the last few months, they have changed owners and completely revamped the place - it's spectacular now! Light and bright and modern, it totally fits the aesthetic of the LA Mart and the fashion forward vibe.

While we were standing outside trying to remember if it was the same place as last time, one of the waiters brought out some samples on a beautiful platter - dragon rolls; they were delicious, and our minds were made!

We sat in a little booth and perused a well laid out menu. I got a sushi sampler platter that included 8 different pieces (tuna, salmon, albacore, shrimp, whitefish, a california roll, and one other piece I can't remember). The presentation was beautiful and served quickly. My friend got the same thing, and her mother ordered the Rock n' Roll, which was a cucumber roll with several kinds of fish - it was stunning.

Moderately priced - the sushi combos were about $16. Will definitely return - by the time we left, the place was packed.

I sort of jump around a lot as far as dry cleaners goes. Basically, I go where the 99 cent offer is for laundering shirts. Starbrite was the last place to offer 98 cents for incoming shirt orders on Thursday & Friday, and I got used to the convienence.

They are located in the main Peninsula Center, a couple of doors down from Mayer's Bakery, and they had the long standing shirt special. They recently raised the price to $1.12 for shirts incoming on Thursday & Friday, and from what I can tell, it's still a bargain (why are shirts so expensive to laundry? Do the dry cleaners not want to wash shirts either? If so, why continue in the business? I digress.)

I don't know what the regular price is if you bring in shirts any other day of the week, but I do know that if you bring in your dry cleaning on Sunday, it's 25% off.

They are very friendly, and I've had rush orders with no problem. The facility is clean and modern, and not dry cleaner stinky at all. I don't know if they do the work on site, or send it out. I believe alterations are available as well, and they do clean larger sized items, such as comforters & sleeping bags.

So, remember, shirts go in on Thursday or Friday at $1.12 each, and then you can go back on Sunday and drop off your dry cleaning for 25% off.

Or, you can probably trudge down the hill and find it all cheaper.

It's the convienence factor - you choose.

Oh gosh. I was here about two years ago, and I remember it being okay. Not bad, but okay. My parents were taking our family to dinner there tonight, so I checked the reviews and was surprised. I thought for sure I was going to be raving about the place based on our last experience. I wanted it to be a good experience!

The place is cavernous. And it was crowded, which was good for a Saturday night at 6 p.m. But the crowd noise level was high, and if that wasn't bad enough, there was a small two piece band playing even LOUDER then the crowd. We were seated at a round table in the front (right behind the hostess station), and we literally had to SHOUT across the table to be heard. My parents aren't terribly old, but they couldn't hear a thing we were saying from the other side, and I had to speak very loudly to my father next to me for him to hear.

We requested that they lower the volume several times - nothing. The owner also likes to join the duo and sing - his voice isn't bad, but like I said, the volume is obnoxious, and nobody needs to hear Volare that loud.

Our server was sweet, but kept forgetting to bring things to the table - like everyone's drink at one time.

I ordered the Fettucine with Porcini Mushrooms, and was told they were out of Porcini Mushrooms and had to substitute regular mushrooms. What Italian restaurant runs out of Porcini mushrooms at 6 p.m. on a Saturday night?

I changed my order to linguine with chicken (spelled checken on the menu), pesto & sun dried tomatoes. I have to give them credit for allowing my 13 year old to special order a shrimp cocktail and fettucine alfredo. One of my other sons ordered the Filet, which was good, and the other son the lobster tail, which he said was rubbery and tough.

Me, however: this was the very first time I have ever sent a dish back. It was awful. As far as I could tell, the sauce wasn't pesto and there were no sun dried tomatoes. The server said it was all combined, but I could not taste either.

By the time we were served, we had waited almost an hour and I decided not to reorder because I did not want to wait any longer. There was NOTHING I could find on the menu at that point to suit me. I assure you, I am not a high maintenance diner, but by this time, I was so annoyed, displeased with the service, the food and my ears were ringing.

It took forever to get out of there. It's a shame, because it's a great location and a nice place.

The McBride Trail is a short local hike off Crest Road & Highridge Road in Rolling Hills Estates. The actual entrance is on Crest, down a dirt path behind an iron fence. However, I usually do the hike backwards by walking down Highridge to the end, making a right on Ocean Terrance and walking along the street until the cul-d-sac at the end. On the right of the cul-d-sac is a dirt path with a rattlesnake warning (don't worry).

If you start from here, the path descends about 50 yards before going back uphill and around a bend. Once you climb to the top, you are walking a path along the rim of the canyon, behind the homes that are situated there. It is a pretty easy hike with a breathtaking view!

There are several places to cut the hike short if you wish, but it's not necessary. Continue to the end and you'll end up on Crest Road again, coming out of the path to the south of Highridge Road.

I have seen rattlesnakes, but they've scurried away before I approached, and always see cottontails. I frequently do this hike with my dog (she loves it!), but due to the wildlife around, I always keep her on the leash. I've calculated the mileage in the past, but cannot remember it now - I think it's around 1-1/2 miles.

As Joan S. mentioned, on Sundays, during the PV Farmer's Market, they wheel a cart out and cook Paella on the sidewalk. Once a month, when the Farmer's Market allows the crafters to show, I usually have a booth for my handcrafted product line, and I am always next to the cart. They start sauteeing the garlic at 9 a.m., and while that might sound gross, since I've been up since 5 a.m., it's actually pretty delicious. By 10:30 a.m., I can't take it anymore and order a Paella! It's so delicious (with a little hot sauce!).

As for the restaurant for regular dining, there's not a lot of options for dining on the hill, but this is a decent one. It's easy and inexpensive.  I've been many times for lunch and dinner, and the menu is eclectic and pretty expansive. You can go fancy, or keep it simple. We sometimes forget about this place because it's in a strip mall area and a little tucked away, but it's a good option.

You can bring your own wine - corkage is $10.

It's basic and pretty mediocre. I've had way better Chinese food elsewhere, but this is the only local Chinese restaurant (unless Panda Express at the market counts, and it doesn't). The food isn't really consistent in the quality - I've had really good meals, and really bad. We haven't ordered from here in a long time because the last time wasn't good. But we/I had a craving for Hot & Sour Soup tonight, so we gave it another shot. Today was a good day for Fu Yuan Low!