August 17, 2008
· Filed under Reviews · Tagged clyde's, DC, georgetown, Restaurant, review
My description of this restaurant would be a dressed up bar. The atmosphere is pleasant and relaxed. The menu does not reflect those qualities, it is much more upscale than barfood, but it is definitely a noteworthy place. The service again, I have to say, was slow. SLOW SLOW SLOW. I’m used to the hostess seating you, and the waiter coming in under 5 minutes to take your drink orders. First, the decor. It does look like a homey sort of bar type place. You wouldn’t connect the menu with the room you were in. The tables were small, and the room was cramped with 10 tables in a small room. Not exactly comfortable, but bearable. First, we ordered the crab and artichoke heart dip. Oh was it fantastic. The flavors melded well with the brie cheese that was also in the dip. For an entree I ordered Tagliarini Carbonara. When it arrived it was steaming hot and greasy. Grease doesn’t bother me as much as it does some people, but fat is flavor right? It had egg yolk pasta, bacon, a fried egg, and onions. It was a very nice dish all together. However, my uncle ordered the pork chops and halfway through the steak he realized it looked a bit pink. Really pink. We asked the waiter to send the food back and re-fire it. The watier patiently explained that when they brined the prok sometimes it turned pink, but he took it back anyways. It did seem that the pork WAS undercooked. Note to customers: watch your meat carefully!
Bottom Line: A nice family-friendly place to go if you’re in the area. The menu was definitely unique, and it had a bit of a flair to it. BTW, Godiva is having a 50% off sale next door to Clyde’s!
Location: 3236 M Street, NW, Washington, DC 20007
Phone (202) 333-9180
Website: www.clydes.com
August 17, 2008
· Filed under Reviews · Tagged Reviews, review, MD, McCormick & Schmick's, inner harbor, baltimore, seafood restaurant
Ah yes. McCormick & Schmicks the seafood restaurant. I dined there a few days ago, with my extended family. Where to start? Let’s start with the beginning. While waiting to be seated (there was 8 of us) 4 different people asked us what they could help us with. While that’s no problem within itself, it begs the question as to organization. Were they organized? Well, no. It took 5 minutes for our seating host to fetch 2 kid’s menus. We were then seated outside on the porch dining area. The menu was extensive and intricate. Apparently every day they recieve new fish from different parts of the world. Therefore, the menu is constantly changing. We all ordered different things, but I ordered the stuffed salmon. We also ordered the calamari appetizer. The drink orders were taken 10 minutes after seating and the calamari arrived about 10 minutes later as well. Absolutely EXCELLANT calamari. It was tender and it really did taste fresh. The entrees took a bit longer but they were acceptable as well. The salmon was cooked nicely, but it was also lukewarm upon arrival (:(). The stuffing was good, it was brie cheese with shrimp and crab imperial. The mashed potatoes were also excellant, and the asparagus was nice as well. At the end of the meal we all also ordered dessert. I ordered somesort of sundae contraption looking thing. It was good, but when I actually recieved it the icecream was melted!
Bottom Line: Expensive, good food. I wonder if the lunch menu or the weekday menu would be cheaper? The food was definitely fresh as well. The service was abysmally slow and it took us 2 1/2 hours to get out of there. However, the food was fantastic, and in my opinion it was worth the wait.
Location: Pier 5 Inner Harbor, 711 Eastern Avenue
Baltimore, Maryland 21202
Restaurant: (410) 234-1300
Website: www.mccormickandschmicks.com
August 1, 2008
· Filed under Reviews · Tagged frederick, Lotus Chinese, maryland, MD, Restaurant, review
Ah yes, you can see I like chinese food 
Lotus is a little bit of a dump if I do say so myself. I’m sure many people will disagree with me on this topic, but it’s my opinion 
First walking in, it was humid. Yes, humid. Like no AC running humid. It was also about 75 degrees. It was like walking into a sauna. Ew. Anyways, we were seated at a small table. I mean like 4×4ft. table. Okay, maybe not that small, but it was small! My father, being no short man, had to kinda scrunch up under there. Anyways, within minutes we were all sweating. Looking over the menu, it was clear that this was another of those ‘call-ourselves-chinese’ restaurants. I ordered some sort of fish dish with vegetables. It arrived lukewarm and woefully bland. I was disappointed, as was the rest of my family. The wonton soup there was a sad excuse for soup as well. (Wonton soup is my favorite, if you can’t make it right, you’re restaurant PHAILS. :P)
Bottom Line: Your average chinese restaurant. Notice how I say average. Prices are a little more than what I’d expect for what you’re getting. You could say family-friendly, but I’m not so sure.
Location: Rt 40 & Baughmans Ln Frederick, MD 21702
August 1, 2008
· Filed under Reviews · Tagged Bone Fish, Bonefish Grill, frederick, maryland, MD, Restaurant, review
Ah, yes. The Bonefish Grill. It is a chain, but that won’t stop me from doing a review on them. One of the main reasons I chose to do a review on this restaurant is because it has amazing food! Normally with chain restaurants you get blah, boring, and safe menus. However, this menu has a bit of a ‘bang’ to it. The food is always hot and has a nice flavor to it. I suggest the Bang Bang Shrimp as an appetizer. It’s absolutely delish. Anyways, the main courses are always interesting there. Whether or not you decide to sample something new is up to you, but I do recommend it. The waiters/waitresses are always kind and have a nice smile on their face. Apparently the martinis and alcohol there are good as well, but I’ve never had any. I would recommend the Chicken Portabella Pasta. It’s got some nice flavors going on in there, as well as a nice texture. I’m also a huge pasta person.
Bottom Line: Great place, great food, great atmosphere. The prices are reasonable for what you’re getting, and how much. (Usually.) It could be considered a family restaurant, but it definitely doesn’t have family-friendly prices.
Location: 1305 W. 7th ST Ste. 37, Frederick MD 21702
July 31, 2008
· Filed under Reviews · Tagged Reviews, chinese food, maryland, MD, Forbidden City, Westminster
Forbidden City is probably one of the best chinese restaurants I’ve ever been to. The prices are fantastic for the amount of food they give you. Plus I believe the food is some of the best I’ve had. The wonton soup is some of the best, and everything there is just delicious! Sure it’s greasy, but what chinese food isn’t? The plating isn’t spectacular, but chinese food generally isn’t. I love their food. I’ve been going there for my whole life and I pretty much grew up on that chinese food. It looks like a little hole in the wall, but it has fantastic food. I can’t really rave anymore about this place. The decor is interesting. They have chinese lamps hanging from the walls and chinese chandeliers. It’s a great place, and the food’s always good.
Bottom Line: Good food, good atmosphere, good prices. A family-friendly place as well.
Location: 12 Carroll St Westminster, MD 21157
July 28, 2008
· Filed under Reviews · Tagged review, The Whaling Company, VA, Virginia, Williamsburg
The Whaling Company is actually a restaurant Yesterday I ate there because I’m in Busch Gardens with my friend. So, to the review. Initially stepping in, I noticed the lighting was dim. That is a problem. A HUGE problem. The light was so dim that you could barely see your menu and your food in front of your face! Glancing over the menu, I notice that things are in the mid-range price and that they SOUND good. However, they did not taste good. I ordered the clam appetizer for dinner because I wasn’t all that hungry. Looked good on the menu, in the crockery pot they gave me, and when I pulled them out they looked good. I took the first clam out and I ate it. First thing I noticed was that something was crunching. Upon further inspection I realize it’s sand that I’m chomping on. UGH. Next I realize that the clams really didn’t have all that much taste…. Another bad. I tried my friend’s shrimp scampi and I noticed that it was pretty tasteless too. What a disappointment. This restaurant was a huge let-down for me because I expected a lot better from a seafood restaurant. (Mind you that’s what this place is.) I didn’t try any of their fresh fish because I’m on a budget, so maybe if I come back here again I will try it.
Bottom Line: In all senses of the word crappy, that’s what this place was. I wasn’t impressed with the menu or the decor and lighting. The menu was uninspired and the food was on the low side of mediocre.
Location: 494 McLaws Circle Williamsburg, VA 23185
July 26, 2008
· Filed under Reviews · Tagged review, South Carolina, Myrtle Beach, SC, Key West Grill, North
I was visiting Broadway on the Beach in SC when we stumbled upon this gem of a restaurant. Key West Grill is a very nice restaurant to visit. Food’s a bit on the pricey side, if I do say so myself. However, it was excellent. The pasta and vegetables were cooked to perfection and served hot. Everyone’s food was amazing and comments were made on the delicious food. I paid 19.99 for a plate of vegetarian pasta. When I saw that price my eyes bulged slightly out of my head. 20 dollars for veggies and pasta?! Oh, and get this, that was the cheapest thing on the menu besides the kid’s menu! As expensive as the food was, it was cooked very well and served piping hot. I actually burned my tongue. Mmmmm. I stuffed myself on the food 
Bottom Line: A great place to go for top notch food. Also kid-friendly. A man dressed up as a pirate walks around and entertains you.
Location: Broadway on the Beach, North Myrtle Beach, SC
Food: 10/10
Price: 8/10 (a bit pricey for the average family of 4. It was only my brothers and I dining and we ended up dropping 60$)
July 21, 2008
· Filed under Reviews · Tagged Beach, Latitude 22, Latitude 22 Bar, review, SC, South Carolina, Surfside, Surfside Beach
Located out on the waterfront of the Beach, is this cute bar perched at the top of a building. Latitude is on the top floor of the building. You have to go up two flights of stairs before you can get there. The first impression I got of the place was that it was a bar with the beach attached. The whole place can open up and let the sea breezes and air in. We were seated next to the ‘wall’ and we had a perfect view of the ocean. Very pretty. The menu there isn’t as extensive as I would have liked, and initially nothing jumped out at me. I then ordered the Salmon Reles. It was seared salmon with a dill cream sauce on top over a bed of cajun rice, with greenbeans and corn relish. It was really, really good salmon. It was nicely cooked, moist and the whole dish seemed to compliment each other. The plating was nice, but it was a little sloppy. If you’re not concerned with the plating of dishes, don’t worry about it All of our dinners were excellent and it was incredible how they seemed to get everything right. The waitress was a very sweet lady and she took our orders right away along with our drink orders. The food arrived in about 15 minutes flat. Not bad service, eh? We also had dessert. We ordered Kahlua Toffee Tart. it was EXCELLENT. I can’t stress enough how much I loved that dish. It was like a fudge pie with whipped cream and caramel and chocolate. It was delicious. The plating was also great on that dish as well. I was impressed.
Bottom Line: A great place to visit in all senses. I loved the view, the food, the staff, everything. The owner/manager even came around and asked if our food was satisfactory.
Location: 11 North Seaside Drive/ Oceanfront, Surfside Beach SC
July 21, 2008
· Filed under Reviews · Tagged Finn, Finn McCool's, McCool, Myrtle Beach, review, South Carolina
I am currently vacationing in Myrtle Beach SC and I have had some time to sample their wonderful cuisine in the south. Finn McCool’s fell a bit flat with my family and I. It is an Irish pub sort of theme and it has traditional Irish food, or what seem to be Irish The overall atmosphere is like a pub and I think it’s supposed to feel that way. We were seated outside in the warm, humid South Carolina air. Our waitress took our drink orders and left. 15 minutes elapsed and she returned with our drinks and took our orders. 15 minutes for drinks? Uhhhh, I don’t think so. The food arrived at a reasonable time, but the side salads we ordered arrived along with our main courses. Uhhhhhh…. Salads come first? My father tried to order a rueben, but we were told that they were out of corned beef. They’re out of corned beef at 7? They were also out of mushrooms too. Ugh. Anyways, my stepmother had ordered grilled tuna, rare. When it came it out it was cold. Argh, if there’s anything in this family that we hate the most, it’s cold food. It was sent back and when it came back it was warm. I ordered the fish and chips, and those were decent. The plating of the dish was awkward, and a little irritating. The fish was perched precariously on top of a pile of chips, which I was told were ‘fries’. You know in England fish and chips are fish and fries. Fries are called chips there. I wanted fries. >.< Oh well. The dishes were reasonably priced, and the unsweetened tea there tasted awkward to me.
Bottom Line: Okay food, not the best, it’s good for if you’re in a hurry. Service was slow and abysmal and the tea tasted weird.
Location: 501 Lake Arrowhead Rd, Myrtle Beach, SC 29572
July 18, 2008
· Filed under Reviews · Tagged frederick, maryland, MD, review, Reviews, spa, Thomas Scott, Thomas Scott Salon, Thomas Scott Salon & Spa
Today I went to get my haircut at the Thomas Scott Salon & Spa. I haven’t gotten my hair cut since November-ish so today was the opportune time to try this place. First impression walking in was that it was a very neat place, and everything had it’s place. The only thing that really threw me off was that there was a table that had a neon sign on it that said 25% off select hair styling tools! I looked at it because it was a loud offensive sign that was very close to unsightly. Anyways, I got checked in and I was called for my haircut a few minutes later. Note: they are very prompt. The shampoo girl was nice and friendly and cheerful. She did not do anything remotely massage-esque. She just shampooed and conditioned my hair and she was done. That kind-of peeved me. >.< I got my hair cut with the fabulous Kasey, who does a wonderful job cutting and styling my hair every time. (She’s been my stylist for about a year and a half now; she used to work at New York New York Hair Salon.) She’s a bit rough with me, I do get buffeted around a bit while she’s cutting and styling, but she’s really good at what she does and she’s a wonderful person to talk with. Note: book Kasey. She’s the best. Anyways, there seems to be no ‘dress code’ there. Also the tipping system is a bit weird, and you have to put your tip in a little envelope?! Wtf? They don’t allow you to add tip to your credit cards either, which is also a little weird.
Bottom Line: A great place to go for a cut and blow-out. Prices are also on the steeper side for me. They charge more for people with longer hair. My haircut was about 50$-ish, but can range anywhere from 34$-50$+.
Website: http://www.thomasscottsalon.com
Location: 101 Baughmen’s Lane Frederick MD, 21702; next to Lotus Chinese Restaurant.
