Jason B.'s Profile

Just got back from dinner at Roko with my wife. Overall, it was good but not great.

I had their seaweed salad, a bowl of miso soup and the sashimi sampler platter. The seaweed salad was very good, with a light sesame dressing. The miso soup was also very good - not too salty - but could have used a bit more tofu. The sashimi was decent, but nothing stellar.

Young had their beef teryaki, which she thought was very good. However, there were quite a few overly fatty pieces of meat that were left uneaten.

The service was acceptable, but a bit slow at times.

Young and I ate here on our 10-year wedding anniversary trip to NYC. We just happened to arrive on the same day as a local church-sponsored street fair, which made the atmosphere a bit hectic.

We ordered a fresh fish salad for out appetizer. It included calamari and clams over greens in a light olive oil dressing. We both agreed that it was excellent.  

Young had the seafood special - lobster, scallops and shrimp in a tomato sauce. It included homemade raviolis stuffed with veal.  The lobster and scallops were cooked perfectly (they can be easily overcooked). The raviolis were delightful.

I very much enjoyed their salmon special, which was served in a white whine sauce with mixed vegetables. I also ordered a side dish of their broccoli rabe, sauteed in a light olive oil and garlic mixture. Both dishes were excellent.

The only negative was that the service was stretched a bit thin. It seemed as though there were understaffed for the Memorial Day crowds. However, the food was good enough to make up for it. Having a host who spoke with a thick NY Italian accent was a nice touch!

Young and I came across this one mostly by mistake, and were at first a bit unsure about entering. Fortunately, a patron had stepped outside for a smoke break and claimed the food was great so we went ahead inside.

They have both a bar as well as waitered tables, and it is very small and cozy inside. We were seated promptly - we were lucky to have stopped in just as the broadway shows were starting so traffic had died down a bit.

To get us started we ordered their edamame and I had a bowl of their miso soup. Both were very good. Young had their udon with shrimp tempura. The broth and noodles were very, very good. The description  said that it also included some vegetable tempura, but there was very little of that to be found.

I had their deluxe sashimi sampler and a side of steamed vegetables. I was thrilled to actually be able to order some basic steamed veggies, seeing as how hard it can be to eat healthy when dining out. They were very good. The sashimi was all very good - tuna, salmon, octopus, yellow tail and mackerel.

My wife and I stopped here on the last night of our NYC 10-year anniversary trip and we were not disappointed. The service was quick without being rushed and the food was wonderful. The restaurant itself is deceptively small, which gives it a nice cozy atmosphere. It has a very casual atmosphere and the staff was quite friendly.

For starters, I had their 'Duck Lady' salad which is a basic green salad with lightly blackened seared slices of duck breast. The duck was absolutely delicious. My wife had their standard Boston salad, which was quite good.

My entree was the cedar-plank roasted salmon and the fish was just perfect. It was topped with thinly sliced rutabagas in a wonderfully sweet and tangy sauce. Overall, it was outstanding.

Young had their shrimp etouffee and was very happy with it. The sauce was incredibly flavorful, served with white rice.

The wines were OK. Young tried a German reisling that was a bit plain, but my Argentinean Pinot Noir was quite good. Overall, we were happy that we went.

NOTE: This Noah's location is no longer in operation.

Although my wife has an unexplained fondness for the medium crust pizza, I'm also puzzled by the apparent loyalty of the customers. Gumbas is one of the busier restaurants in downtown Sunnyvale, and has been for many years now. The decor is very low-end and downright ugly in spots. The food is mediocre in general, one highlight being their basic tomato sauce. The house/table wine is mostly awful too.

The service is generally OK, but definitely slow during the busy dinner hours. The prices are also reasonable, but you could probably do just as well by making it yourself at home.

Both my wife and I have been loyal customers of Sarah, one of the Salon Jolie stylists, for the better part of 7 years now. She takes feedback well (both the good and the bad) and has an excellent sense of  style. She always makes good recommendations on what would work and what to avoid, and I have been very happy in general with the outcomes.

My wife has used Sarah for both styling and coloring, and has always been pleased with the results. Sarah is also wonderful to chat with during your appointment, making the time go by quickly.

Although her schedule is typically near full, if you make your appointment a week in advance or more you probably won't have any problems.  Her prices are also reasonable.

The unfortunate slow death of real butcher shops in the US over the years serves only to increase the value of Dittmer's. Any time that I am planning a special meal that includes meat, this is the one and only source I will consider. Although higher-end grocery stores such as Whole Foods do offer quality products, there is something almost romantic about buying your bratwurst from the person who actually made it.

I have purchased beef (various cuts as well as ground), pork chops, chicken and turkey over the years and have never been disappointed. Although Dittmers can get quite busy at times, the service they do provide is always friendly and well informed.

They even offer basted beef femur bones for your dog!

I do agree with many of the previous reviews for the Palace Cafe - they service can be very slow at times. I have lived in the area for 7 years now and although I continue to visit this cafe (reasons below), they definitely need to improve their customer service.

That being said, I prefer the Palace Cafe to the more popular Bean Scene (also located along Murphy St.) when meeting people for business discussions for two reasons.

- The Palace is generally much less crowded than the Bean Scene, making it easier to find seating. The atmosphere is more laid back and less hustle-bustle.

- The seating is more spacious, making it easier to hold semi-private or confidential conversations.

As for the coffee, I have only ordered their plain brewed coffees and they are generally quite good as long as they are fresh. They do not overbrew quite a badly as many other coffee shops (Starbucks). The selection of foods is also quite good, and they offer a very eclectic menu of breakfast, lunch and dinner items. Most of what I have ordered has been quite good.

Just got back a DVD packed with 700 family photos and the quality is excellent. The DVD contains JPG images of the original scans as well as the final corrected/optimized images. The files were organized into folders exactly as I had asked.

You can see the results here:
http://www.buberel.org...

Overall, I am very happy with the quality of the scans and the service they provided. I would definitely recommend them to anyone hoping to create large archives of historical family photo albums.