French Onion Soup Bowl
Julienne

Julienne

2649 Mission St, San Marino, California, 91108, United States, 91030

Vegan • French • Coffee • American


"What can one say but how much this place resembles Hollywood itself metaphorically. The exterior view is very charming and inviting just as the photos imply yet just like Hollywood, behind the scenes it does nothing but disappoint in true quality. From the very poor selection of pastries that appear to have seen better days, literally, in the cabinet of the 'dine in ' side of the café to the many unbussed tables outside still littered with various food scraps and trash items apparently too meaningless to be cleaned away in any timely fashion by the staff. That same staff regularly disappeared behind their chachkie laden countertops while people waited around unsure if the store was in fact abandoned and they should just walk away. My simple $20 sandwich arrived instantly after my order much to my surprise and it 's refrigerated stale bread and limp internals soon explained why. Nearly all the food is obviously premade and displayed in the cold cases next door the night before or morning of, then sold as 'grab and go ' to both the deli and dine in sections during the day. Nothing is fresh. I 'm truly stunned by anyone that is satisfied with these pickings. Even Whole Foods, down the road, is somewhat better than this. Perhaps this is acceptable to the financially-affluent-tennis club member-small dog-accessoried-folks taking up table space outside, but surely not for anyone with any experience of what a truly good quality café is and certainly not French beyond what appear to be pale 'repackaged ' Whole Foods croissants and pekid quiches. A very disappointing and sad affair."

Hole In The Wall

Hole In The Wall

7056 Standpipe Rd, Perry, United States Of America, 14530

Steak • Coffee • Casual • American


"Absolutely awful. Unfortunately, we forgot we had visited this restaurant a year prior when we were in the area for the balloon launch at Letchworth. It was terrible the first time, too. There aren’t many dining options in the area, so this one came up in our search again. I wished I remembered the first visit, but since we arrived we decided to give it another chance. Regrettably, we ordered the same dinner as the first visit (prime rib) and it was worse this time. During our first visit, another couple returned their prime rib and chose not to have it replaced. I wish I had made the same choice both times, but didn’t want to make a fuss and have my dining partner wait. The meat was tough and unbelievably gristly. My date actually had to excuse himself to get rid of a large, unchewable piece and had to use tooth picks afterwards. The meat edge was smeared with extremely salty beef stock that was goopy and like it came out of jar, slathered on as an afterthought rather than to actually season during slow cooking. The au jus was extremely salty as well and, combined with the salty meat, completely inedible. The waitress tried three times to remove from the table the stale bread and flavorless tapenade which, by the end we were only eating to clear the salt from our mouths. The waitress was clearly annoyed by my asking her to leave the bread the third time and scowled at me when she subsequently walked past. By then her pleasant but unpolished demeanor soured, and she left us sitting for an extended period after it was clear we were finished. She then just dropped off the check without a word, no thank you, and walked away. By the end, if anyone was around to ask how it was, we were very ready to let them know. Typically we do not complain and are pretty flexible, but this was comment worthy. The hostess who was barely pleasant when we arrived, was nowhere to be found when we left. No one at the bar. Nothing. It was like an empty building. Like no one cared."

District Chophouse

District Chophouse

509 7th St., NWDC 20004, 20001, Washington, D.C., United States

Cafés • Seafood • Asiatic • Mexican


"I have written a GREAT review of the DC Chophouse back in 2013. I just couldn’t say enough kind and wonderful things about this place. I love IPA’s, I LOVE bone-in Rib-eyes with peppercorn sauce and I just love the introduction of an ice cold wedge salad and the finality of a piping hot brownie with chocolate sauce and ice cream. Since the early 2010’s I have always made it a point to grab a steak at the DC Chophouse and I ALWAYS make sure to bring a friend or co-worker. How else do you share a great meal? This summer (July, 2023) I finally brought my wife here. After a decade of bragging and talking up one of the best steakhouses I’ve enjoyed, the stars finally lined up and I was able to share this wonderful place with her. …and then the unthinkable happened… In years past you NEEDED a reservation, but my stalking of the place for the past 3-4 weeks showed that every night tables were available from 5pm till 9pm every 15 minutes….warning #1 I will start at the end back in my hotel room and talk about my recon AFTER the fact. On TripAdvisor, there are NO 5 star review of this restaurant in 2023, only 1 in 2022 and only 3 in 2021. I understand that COVID had destroyed many restaurants and bars all over, so I sympathize. But after reading all of the multiple 2 and 3 star ratings I can see it..after the fact (warning #2). It was Thursday evening and the place was empty. We had made reservations on line and the hostess was barely welcoming. Enough to do the job, but not enough to at least thank someone for making reservations to a place that was NEVER going to need them. That jibes with MANY complaints from other posters about the inattentiveness of the hostesses. In fact, when we left, she was sitting on the curb outside and kind of said goodbye as we almost walked on top of her. I always liked the Chophouse beer but I could see that the upstairs was in mothballs, I remarked that no way they were still making beer there. Something that was also confirmed in other reviews. That is sad and is just another small cut on the way to a death of a thousand cuts. (warning #3) Our server was TOP NOTCH, even with one arm in a cast (my way of recognizing her because I lost her name). She was attentive when needed, aloof when we wanted to just enjoy the place and had some great guidance when we ordered. She is a gem and I hope the Chophouse knows that!!!! I ordered the bone-in ribeye (like I’ve ordered for over a decade and is one of their signature, high end steaks) sadly our server had to come back and tell me they were out. What? A steak house…on a Thursday…out of a bone-in ribeye….COME ON MAN!!!! Now she turned me to a Kansas City bone-in Strip and it was a perfect substitution. Even $4 bucks less! I did order fries but got mashed potatoes, another complaint many have listed about wrong orders. It wasn’t a big deal to me because I eat the wedge salad and the steak….carbs just get in the way, right?!!! My steak was cooked perfectly with the Diane crusting, my wife’s was a bit overdone. Both steaks were VERY salty. We don’t use salt at home, so I adjust for that, but many reviews also complain that the steaks are just TOO salty. They are right. At the end, I ordered a nice desert, because I think after tackling a steak, you deserve a nice chocolate desert…right? Our meal with a bunch of beers, margarita’s and wine came to about $280. I fair price for a steakhouse. But this isn’t a steakhouse or a brewery anymore. Even their description says it all….a sports bar. How sad. I take my cue on reviews and how they are addressed. I am always impressed when an establishment makes a comment on a review, good or bad. That shows dedication and an earnestness to make improvements. Not the DC Chophouse, not ONE comment thanking a reviewer or committing to making changes or addressing concerns. If you look at my reviews, you will see that I do not like to post negative reviews. I LOVE highlighting the positive and pointing out the greatness in a place. I just can’t do that here, no matter how much I try. Our server was the best and she will do grea"