Marissa M.'s Profile

I got a chance to try some of Maverick's food at a Best of the Bay party this summer and made a mental note to go here to try their BBQ pulled pork sandwich some time.  Then, I saw it on a top 10 list for brunch, so my friend and I went here for Sunday brunch to try it out.

I had the blackberry mimosa (which was really delicious and light), the pulled pork sandwich, and we split an order of donut holes.  My friend had the baked eggs (which the waiter let us know was really more of a frittata and, thus, is served warm not hot).

The mimosa and the donut holes were tremendous.  The pulled pork sandwich was good (much better than the one at Citizen Cake, not as good as the one that Home used to have on its menu as the Saturday night special), but not great.   The meat could have been more moist.  The chips that they serve on the side are really good - not too salty or greasy.  On the minus side, they serve just a tiny cup of coleslaw, where you really do want more coleslaw with a sandwich that big.  

I'd go back - I really like pulled pork sandwiches, and this is a solid preparation that is available all the days of the week=, but I have had better.

In terms of service, the waiter was fast and informative (note the frittata warning above).  My only complaint was that we ordered the donut holes as a starter and our meals were ready first so he brought the meals out and then brought the donut holes about 5 minutes after that (we ended up eating them for dessert), so in terms of eating the donut holes warm, it could have been timed better.

The decor and feel is pretty typical of the mission -- slightly strange orange and brown color scheme (probably southwestern?) and it's a little run down.  Reading  the other reviews, I think the comment of good for brunch/lunch, bad for dinner is pretty dead on.  I wouldn't be psyched to have dinner here (not that nice, and the menu seems more lunchy).

I'm a big fan Sonya Dakar skin products and her facials (in LA).  But when I can't get to LA, Bliss Beauty is trained to give her facials using her products.  Plus, they do facials in a way that feel more luxurious and less like "treatment" than Sonya herself.

The facials start with a yummy rose petal foot soak and continue with the normal facial regimen (cleansing, steaming, extraction, acid peel, mask) punctuated with shoulder, hand, foot, and scalp massages.  This is a particularly nice touch.  Though, you need to remember that the scalp massage (oily) is going to leave you needing to wash your hair (or you'll be late to dinner like I am now)

You'll leave relaxed with glowing skin.  The two facials I've had have been with Kristen and I highly recommend her.

They also have a great selection of high end beauty products - they carry Sonya Dakar, Epicuren, and Kerastase hair products.  You'll see almost every high end line there.  Plus, they have fun hair accessories - if you are looking for a special headband, barrette or hair clip, their HUGE selection makes them a good bet.

So, I've done a lot of different services both at this La Belle and the one in San Francisco (waxing, manicure, pedicure, lash tint, facial).  My experience is with La Belle that it is all about who your aesthetician is.  And, La Belle Stanford has two fabulous ones - Stella and Alisa.  They both work a few days in the city too.

Like that line from Legally Blonde - the best aestheticians are eastern European.  Stella and Alisa are both eastern European and they are fantastic.  Fast, meticulous - I've had waxing and facials from both for the past 3 years.  For waxing - they are super fast -- which in my view is the most important attribute in a waxer.  Make it fast and painless.  They usually have me done in half the alloted appointment time.  For facials, they both have good judgment and select really good products that my skin responds well too, and they do a very good deep set of extractions.

I'd recommend them for waxing and facials to anyone.  My only hesitation in writing this review is that I don't want more competition for their appointment times!

For manicures and pedicures, La Belle is a solid but expensive choice.  Manicures last 7-9 days.  Pedicures about 3 weeks.  They do a quality job, are very sanitary, and use a good long lasting polish for two coats (plus a base and top coat).  If you aren't fussy about mans/pedis, La Belle isn't worth the money.  But, if you are picky or it's a special occasion, they are worth it.

So, I've done a lot of different services both at this La Belle and the one at Stanford Shopping Center (waxing, manicure, pedicure, lash tint, facial).  My experience is with La Belle that it is all about who your aesthetician is.  And, La Belle SF has two fabulous ones - Stella and Alisa.  They both work a few days down at Stanford too.

It's like that line from Legally Blonde - the best aestheticians are always eastern European.  Stella and Alisa are both Eastern European and they are fantastic.  Fast, meticulous - I've had waxing and facials from both for the past 3 years.  For waxing - they are super fast -- which in my view is the most important attribute in a waxer.  Make it fast and painless.  They usually have me done in half the alloted appointment time.  For facials, they both have good judgment and select really good products that my skin responds well too, and they do a very good deep set of extractions.

My friend Jeff and I are both spa enthusiasts and are always trying out new spas in San Francisco, but we always end back at La Belle fighting over the Saturday afternoon appointments with Alisa and Stella.

I'd recommend them for waxing and facials to anyone.  My only hesitation in writing this review is that I don't want more competition for their appointment times!

For manicures and pedicures, La Belle is a solid but expensive choice.  Manicures last 7-9 days.  Pedicures about 3 weeks.  They do a quality job, are very sanitary, and use a good long lasting polish for two coats (plus a base and top coat).  If you aren't fussy about mans/pedis, La Belle isn't worth the money.  But, if you are picky or it's a special occasion, they are worth it.

I went to Circa on a Saturday in September, having just picked it since there was a table available on Open Table and I was going to a party afterward in the Marina.  I didn't really know what to expect - I was blown away!

Granted, I'm a sucker for high-end comfort food, so the lobster and truffle mac-and-cheese, Angus sliders, and tomato soup with grilled cheese bits couldn't have made me happier.  Circa serves what I would call American Tapas.  It's American food - a lot of comfort food in "small plate" portions.  It's a great place to order a lot of small things to share.  Sometimes, you read a menu that gets your mouth watering and then the food doesn't deliver.  Not the case with Circa - everything they brought to the table was better than I imagined it would be.

The decor and atmosphere was also great.  Trendy, but not overly so.  It has an easy casual sensability that makes it feel hip without trying too hard.

If you want good ceviche, this is a great place to go!  They have at least 8 different types of ceviche.  You can have a sampler plate and try 4 different kinds.  All 4 I tried were great, and honestly I'm not sure you can go wrong with any of the choices.

The cooked fish entrees are also good - I had the Mahi Mahi, which had a tropical sweet vanilla sauce, and it was delicious!

The whole menu seemed strong, but the reason to go here is for the ceviche so if you need to get your Peruvian fix, Fresca won't disappoint.

I went here in August with a group of 10 girlfriends.  We're all foodies and make a point about once a month to try a restaurant no one has been to, so Incanto was August.  

The menu is ridiculously pretentious and obscure.  There were at least 4 items that no one at the table recognized.  Cockscombs?  It turns out they are the "comb" on the top of a rooster's head.  In a salad?  Yuck.  Sometimes exotic is fun -- this stuff is weird just for the sake of being weird.  In the case of all of these weird ingredients, there were just trace amounts used so it was clear the ingredients were just there so the restaurant could say they used these "exotic" ingredients.

Then, the food wasn't even good.  We ordered almost everything on the menu - appetizers and entrees - about 20 different things and shared.  Some of it was OK, but no one was happy.  Maybe the good cooking staff was on vacation (it was a friday in August), but it was just inexcusably bad.

This restaurant was a terrible disappointment - we had heard such good things!  And, worse yet,  it was also pricey for the quality and portion size.

I will not go back and would discourage others from even trying it.

I haven't bought art here, but I have had them frame a few pieces.  They do some of the nicest framing work in Palo Alto.  I just got a painting framed here.  They had a lot of nice options and were really flexible in showing me a wide variety of possible frames that could work with the painting.  When it was finished because it was a large piece (48"x48") they delivered it and even hung it up!  Then, since I just moved, they realized I had other artwork that wasn't hung and they asked if I wanted help with that.  They were nice enough to help me hang up all of the art in my house!

The only reason this isn't 5 stars is because they aren't terribly fast  (framing took 4-5 weeks) and they are a little flaky (they take a long summer vacation and close up shop for a month or so in the summer).

If you're not impatient and you want a quality framing job, I'd highly recommend them.

Zvart does really nice work.  They do quality alterations at reasonable prices and can turn them around as quickly or slowly as you need them to.

I found Zvart when I was in college.  I had bought a really expensive dress I couldn't wait to wear to a formal. I tried it on the night before and the zipper broke.  I was sure there was nothing I could do -- it was a hidden zipper which can be hard to replace, plus I needed it for 4 p.m. the next day.  I showed up at Zvart as soon as they opened (10 a.m.) the next morning.  The place was a buzz with people trying on dresses and picking things up, and I thought there was no chance of getting it done that day.  They took it, committed to it, had it done by 4 p.m., and only charged me $20!!  They completely saved me and I've been a loyal customer ever since.  I've probably brought about 100 items to have altered or repaired over the past few years and they've always done a great job.

They even do complicated work like reweaving.  I tore the knee of my favorite pants in a way I was sure there was no saving them.  They took two weeks to do it, but they rewove them and they are perfect -- you'd never know anything happened.

The other nice thing about this location is that they are just two doors down from Town & Country Cleaners, so you can bring things over to be drycleaned easily before or after alteration.

Zibibbo is a solid choice in Palo Alto.  They have a good atmosphere, decent food made from good seasonal ingredients, and the restaurant is large enough that they almost always have availability.  It's not a standout by any means, but it also won't disappoint.

I've eaten a lot of different things here, but I'd particular recommend the Albondigas (meatballs) on the Antipasti menu, the Israeli Cigars appetizer (potato and chives wrapped in phyllo dough and fried), the pastas and the Salmon.  They also have few red meat specials (Prime RIb, Ribeye) on different nights that are also really good.

The pizzas aren't anything special.

The bar here is a good place to chill out after work - they make a good cosmo.