6/4/2010

5/5 stars

"Do you know where this is?" "No, we just need to keep our eyes…" (pull around semi) "Oh."

Greeted with honest handshakes while still in the parking lot. Everyone was happy. Decorations aplenty for the birthday boy, people he didn't know buying him shots, and a song just for him.

And the band is *tight*. Exhaustion had set in, but I wish we would have pushed a bit harder to end up on the dance floor. And yes, they played Skynyrd. Gimme three steps, gimme three steps mister, but I ain't headin' for the door. Gimme three steps, gimme three steps mister, and I'll be out on the floor.

The only downside is the lack of local-ish brews. But they won't be able to serve Sweetwater, Terrapin, etc. for their prices, so I understand it. I can imagine Jerry Reed kickin' back here and giving the waitresses a hard time. Good place.

Yelp tags: Dive Bars American (Traditional)

6/7/2010

5/5 stars

Oh, yeah, this is more my pace. Kathleen's doing a great job mixing fast-paced parties with slower get-togethers. I'm sure the piñata disagrees with the pacing, but hey, candy rings and smarties! Plenty of opportunity to try to catch up with people I rarely see. Difficult for my non-social side, but folks are good about drawing me in. Particularly when they see that Nathan's here… *She* has cool stories. And made short work of the parking situation by squeezing our car in where others feared to tread; a Civic's easier to maneuver than an ambulance.

Sushi always is appreciated, and the salt rock added a nice touch to the Kobe-ish beef and tuna. Looking forward to trying Park Tavern's salt rock at the table schtick someday. Yeah, the drinks were weak, but it kinda works when it's this hot and we're downing them like ice water. (And they're free, so no complaints.) The mojito's flavor was just right for the sun and breeze, and conveniently color-coordinated with Pam's outfit. Live music's a definite bonus. Thanks for the great event!

Yelp tags: Local Flavor

Spawned off of Dana's wonderful, fantastic American sentence:

Everything else can be new while the self spins in still epicycles.

Epicycles: illusory motions keep ideas fixed in their spheres.

Spheres are the dreams of circles, circles of lines, lines of mere points like eyes.

Two points define a line, horizontal, a horizon of yearning.

Horizons tease but never come, keeping ahead like a true idea.

Kinda feel like these want more form to connect them and lead them forward.

6/19/2010

3/5 stars

What to write? They have strong air conditioning. Major bonus on a day like today. The dollar draft is what you expect. Actually, the whole place is pretty much what you expect. Subway/Moe's/etc. for pizza. The ingredients are, well, about what you expect, too. They're fresh… from the plastic wrap. But for the price, what else can you expect? Having a whole wheat crust helped make the small size filling for me.

They do actually cook the pizza, which is shockingly uncommon in inexpensive places. The crust is a little charred, and the cheese is a little browned. The tastes were good but muted. That much basil on that size of pizza (a 9" individual) should have knocked me over, and the garlic should have been enough to clear the place. The sausage on my wife's was strong, though.

I can't really say I'm a *fan*, but I definitely appreciate their supporting various dietary restrictions and choices. If in the area and wanting pizza, Maddio's definitely would be high on my list.

Yelp tags: Italian Pizza Sandwiches

6/20/2010

5/5 stars

Left without words. Speechless before splendor. The East Point Villagers have the correct reaction: repeated genuflection.

Honestly, the five stars are for more than the Possums' performance. Given the annual fundraiser's execution, their organizational skills are unmatched. Their inspirational skills netted a substantial sum for two worthy causes. Their staging skills provided action and respite in good measure.

And they're damned good performers. Some of their songs had already been used this night (and many others at clubs), but their enthusiasm and choreography had the audience on their feet in dance.

Tonight's event, the annual East Point Possums show, drew a wonderfully wide and diverse audience. It's difficult to explain how happy that made us. There were little kids. There were things many would declare "unfit" for little kids. No one was declaring anything unfit. Wonderful. There were different races, creeds, ages, religious backgrounds…

If you can draw that many different groups to one event and leave them all thrilled, you deserve far more than just a good review on a web site. And tonight the Possums provided far more to other groups.

"Largest drag show in the Southeast" is measured by heart beyond size.

Yelp tags: Performing Arts

6/27/2010

2/5 stars

Yellowfin nigiri on rice (yeah, yeah, but that's how I like it). Picked it up, and the rice crumbled.

*blink*

Um. Ok… The yellowfin itself was fine, but if yellowfin ever doesn't taste at least fine, call the health department and prepare for food poisoning. But not packing the rice firmly? What? This place had passed the who-is-eating-here test. Maybe it's the only option nearby.

The shrimp and vegetable tempura, however, had *no* flavor. None. Well, ok, the one piece of broccoli is what convinced me my mouth wasn't broken. The shrimp, sweet potato, and even the onion were utterly devoid of flavor. I could feel something in my mouth. It went crunch. But nothing more. Even with the sauce. Nada. The batter clearly is straight from the box, and the sauce likewise and also watered down.

Now the kicker. The layout places the sushi prep area against the back wall. There's no seating against it, and you walk past it to reach the restrooms. Heading back there makes it clear why there's no seating: the smell. That fishy smell sushi should *NOT* have greets you, says hi, and talks you out of having any more. Wow.

Why two stars and not one? The folks working there were great. I didn't feel at all ignored as a lone diner, and they were nice and quick with everything but without pressure. And the atmosphere is ok. It's a kind of sports bar / sushi place that's more common on the West coast.

The sushi chefs looked rather dour. I suspect they know what's going on (except the rice… seriously?). Whoever is buying the ingredients and setting temperatures needs to think hard about what they're trying to accomplish. The prices are far too high for the quality, or the quality is absurd for the price. Pick one, and fix it. It'd be a shame to keep wasting the great location and good people (definitely giving the benefit of the doubt about the rice: utterly amateur mistake).

Yelp tags: Sushi Bars

6/29/2010

3/5 stars

My back left tire blew out about 2-3 blocks south of this garage. The AAA tower thought one of the places up the street might still be open at 6.30pm, and A&G was. They also were relatively cheap *and* had a tire for my Civic. In my experience, the downside to having such a common car is many places run out of parts. The upside is that the parts tend to be cheap and rarely needed…

They replaced my tire quickly even while working on another car's rims. My groceries made it home unspoiled by the summer heat. And they were fun, even though one fellow didn't know how to drive stick (much to the tower's amusement). These folks seem to do general tune-ups and other mechanic work, too. My frugal side's interested in checking those out.

(BTW, the receipt says A&G Tire, but the banner says A&G Tires. Whichever…)

Yelp tags: Tires