sarah "it's a juggling injury, shut up" l.'s Profile

Tuesdays they have live music and the 5 or 10 times I have been, it's always been a great band.

My absolute FAVOURITE part is when they pass the Star Wars hat after the second set plays and everyone is supposed to throw in a couple bucks for the band. The bartender even says "just a loonie or a toonie guys, come on" - then - if someone doesn't pitch they are appropriately shamed.

"Hey you, yeah... guy averting my gaze... what's amatta, you don't want to throw in a buck?? Seriously!"

I love it. I love it when good people shame dickheads in public.

Also the bands are always amazing, and keep an eye on their website for Nintendo tournaments and preserve swaps.

Best. Bar.

Last week I ordered a pizza using their online ordering (which is TERRIBLE in itself) and it came, and it was wrong.  I kept it anyways (because it takes 1+h for delivery) but I emailed them and told them it was wrong.  No one ever wrote me back.

The driver also took my $20 and didn't even offer me the $3 change.  He was back in his car before I even shut the door.  I was definitely going to give him a tip, but him just taking it and running really left a bad taste in my mouth.

I'm not going to order delivery again.  The in store experience is good and I don't mind stopping for a slice on occasion.

The food here was really good but the service was somewhere between not-great and bad.

The good:
- Pulled pork is excellent
- Cameron's in bottles for $4
- GREAT fries; Some of the best I've ever had
- Really excellent BBQ sauce, hot and spicy or regular
- Inexpensive (other than the unbelievable $6 sharing surcharge)

The bad:
- Took forever to get the food (30m for fries and a sandwich)
- I was standing at the cash register wanting to pay and the owner actually made someone else's bill [manually! with a pen and paper and a calculator and looked up the prices on the menu...] and delivered it while I was standing there waiting instead of processing my transaction
- Waitress not friendly, owner not friendly - no one smiled at me, asked how the meal was, said thanks for coming, acknowledged my presence in any way whatsoever other than the bare minimum of taking my order and delivering my food

I'll probably come back here because the food was SO GOOD but I don't expect to be tipping next time if the experience is the same. I hate the social more of gratuities. I was happy to pay for the food I consumed here (it was amazing) but I resent being expected to tip for service like this.

A note to the family that owns this place... if you are gong to continue to expect a gratuity from me, I am going to require that you provide service that is at least as good as a TTC collector or a Tim Horton's drive-thru. Really, I am going to need you to UP your game to this very, very minimum standard.

Tacos; I love them... and I have eaten a lot of them.

These were okay but not amazing... 2.5 to 3 out of 5.

I had the catfish and the pulled chicken tacos - the catfish was significantly better. If I had had 2 catfish and 0 chicken I would definitely rate this 3/5. The meat portion in the tacos was small for the price, but I thought it was an okay value when you add in the salad and other items for the platter.  $11 lunch with no drink. Meh... a bit too expensive, but not too obscene considering the neighbourhood.

There is a $9 chorizo taco on the menu that I did not get, because you know what... that is just way too expensive. I would go to Burger's Priest with my $9 over that taco, every single time.

Details:
- semi-hard shell tacos ($5-$9[!] each)
- "platter" option comes with 2 tacos, rice, beans, cold salad and is about the same price as two tacos purchased separately
- interesting and good vegetable fillings, very fresh
- mexican beers @ $6 each
- large selection of tequila and other liquors
- not a very young/cool ambiance - I wouldn't be excited to actually eat here vs getting takeout
- good containers for takeout & well prepared for takeout orders
- good service

I'll definitely get takeout again [and try other things]. Even though it's just good and not outstanding, it's still a welcome addition to this strip.

I found this place on craigslist - here is the original ad:

title: LETZ JAM NIGHT 2NIGHT (836 DANFORTH E.)

body: CALLING ALL MUSICIANS,SINGERS,DANCERS ETC.WERE JAMMING TONITE AT THE WHITE SWAN 836 DANFORTH EAST OF PAPE SUBWAY 8;00 TO 12;00 LETZ GET DOWN!

So of course I *had* to check it out.

Tuesday open mic (or 'jam' as the ad lists - and the host calls everyone 'jammers') was very busy. There is a full house band to play with if you want and when I left at around 1030 it looked like the list had over ten people on it.

Everyone here was a lot older than me.  Like... a lot... older.  The guy who wrote this ad looked NOTHING like I thought he would (especially after the Danforth Bowl incident). Imagine this guy writing this CL post: http://imgur.com/n5bFr

You really don't need to go here - but - it's nicer than you would think it is from the weird name and dumpy old-man-smoking-in-the-stairwell entrance.

-1 for each of the following:
- online reservations that are not open table
- poor beer selection
- "club like" atmosphere
- people smoking in the front door
- in a basement that feels like it's in a basement

...but +1 for having an open mic night.  Also, they serve chinese food (?).  So +1 for that too even though I didn't try it.

I am about to tell you how an avid bowler can save $154 per month and get a free Hyundai. It all hinges on the premise that you never go to Danforth Bowl.

The pros:
- This place is amazing for 5 pin bowling.
- The staff are nice and helpful.
- Everything is clean.
- Rock & Roll bowling was SO. FUN.
- The music was amazing.
- The other reviews of the staff being amazing, the bowling being incredibly fun, the environment being clean and cared for are all completely accurate.
- I really liked keeping score manually with the paper!
- Resetting the pins between turns was fun too.

The okay:
- $6 for a bottle of steamwhistle
- $1.5 for a can of gingerale

The terrible:
If this was so amazing and I had such a great time why would I only give it 1 star?

Because for one hour of bowling (with shoes) for 4 people we were charged over $120, and when I emailed them to ask about it the next day, the owner said that the total was $44, we had we paid $46 and that we had probably spent our money in a bar after we left.

(Actually the verbatim email said [all carriage returns and case choices theirs]:
"Sorry Sarah I am sure you would not have paid 3 times more than you should have nor would norm charge anyone three times more than
They are to pay    ONE OF YOU NORM OR YOU OR ONE OF YOUR FIENDS WOULD HAVE COTE THE MISTAKE
EVEN IF A MISTAKE FOR A COUPLE OF DOLLARS was made THAT WOULD JUST BE A MISTAKE  $76.00 More three times as much no sorry that is not
Correct. I THINK YOU SHOULD TALK TO YOUR FRIENDS AGAIN MAYBE WHEN YOU LEFT DANFORTH BOWL YOU SPEND IT IN A BAR")

So in summary:
- I had a good time here
- I paid 300% more than I should have
- The owner told me I didn't pay the bill that I did pay and there was no way we could have been charged that much
- The owner told me I went to a bar after and spent the extra money they collected
- They only have shitty beers
- the music is very good

Danforth Bowl seems to bank on people coming here because it's on the subway, but it's so expensive that if you came here every week you could use the savings incurred by using a bowling lane in the suburbs to buy a Hyundai to drive you there. And then you would still have the Hyundai. And one hundred and fifty four dollars. Per month. Because these people are crooks.

[Free Hyundai math:
To bowl here once a week for 1 hour with their affronting rates would cost you $480.
A 2012 Hyundai can be yours for $0 down at 0% for only $96 per month!
Even after insurance and gas to drive you to a different bowling alley ($50/mo) and paying that [better] bowling alley for shoe rental and one hour of bowling ($45/wk) the monthly cost is only $326 which is a savings of $154 per month for a bowling hobbyist!]

------------------
* note: the owner offered to give me one hour of free bowling to because of the price "mixup" (?) and continued to blame my rampant alcoholism. I did not accept the voucher.

The only reason I can give this place 2 stars is that there is an IHOP in the parking lot, and since we don't have IHOP in Canada, I like to eat there when I can... because I forget how shitty it is. I should really write that down - "you don't actually like IHOP."

This hotel... is terrible & you should not stay here (if you can avoid it), regardless of the price.

Specifically:
- The shower is just a pipe that randomly comes out of the wall. It's like TV shows about prison/what I imagine prison showers are like. The water pressure is good though.
- The linnens are gross - they are always clean; they're just old and gross. It's a thin waxy comforter. No duvet. It's a lot like sleeping in my Dad's guest room... a collection of random, thin, old, used, weathered and worn blankets that get used twice a year so there is really no reason to upgrade them.
- All the rooms have CRT TVs from 1995 with an actual external DVD player hooked up! (there is a small selection of DVDs in the lobby you can borrow - I have never looked at them but I think I have seen Bruce Almighty on the top of the heap).
- There is always a mini fridge but it's on a shelf above your head (seriously - see photos).
- There are always weird noises.  All over, all the time.  (It's haunted.)
- There is no express checkout - you actually have to bring your card down and hand it in to get your bill. It's brutal.
- I have never seen another guest here, even at breakfast.

Can you tell I stay here a lot?  I do.

The reason? Santa Clara/San Jose NEVER has hotel availability.  The only reason this dump can exist is because there aren't enough hotels in this region.

Summary: the driver who takes me to work from the airport asks me if I'm staying at the "dirty hotel" - I hang my head in shame as I enter this building and hope no one from work sees me.

This place is a huge dump and I like it.  It's cleaner than it looks, but there is always someone smoking in the doorway.

The good:
- $1.50 drafts of 50 - it's a mystery small serving size... I *think* it's less than a half pint but... more than a third of a pint? It's a weird size... and it's definitely not in poor taste to be double fisting.

...I think that's my entire review.

I echo Brian K's 3.5 stars.

I had the cold turkey sandwich, with onions and cranberry jam and it was really good. I found it slightly too expensive; the combo option lets you add a side and a drink for $3.5 extra (the sides are $3 individually). If I had made it a combo it would have been over $10 which I guess is okay, but... I want it to be under $10.

I also didn't really like the bun. If they had amazing bread here, they could put their amazing toppings in it and I would love this place.

I will definitely eat here again.

I just... wanted it to be amazing, and it was only good.

Why are Apple stores so busy all the time?  They only sell 5 things and you can see them all online.

The service at this Apple store is great. I have been here twice for iMac repairs (with an appointment) and both times they have fixed the computer with no hassel, and within 24 hours.

I really enjoy browsing their accessories section too but it can get expensive. Today I randomly bought an iPad holder that attaches to a mic stand. Seriously, I probably don't need this.

I also can't believe how popular their 1:1 training is. Today, at 1000 on a Wednesday, there were 10 different training sessions happening in the store. And every person was over 50.