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Gino's has been a Bay Ridge institution since I was a kid. The pizza is the best. Perfect crust, rich tomato sauce and always generous with the cheese.
Gino's always had a restaurant in the...
Gino's has been a Bay Ridge institution since I was a kid. The pizza is the best. Perfect crust, rich tomato sauce and always generous with the cheese.
Gino's always had a restaurant in the back, offering sit down for groups, for the traditional Wednesday night "pizza and beer" gatherings. Also, pasta dishes, fresh bread and hot hero's.
They have expanded, given the place a few face lifts over the years, but it is the same quality food, the same homey place, and still a great place for pizza and beer on Wednesday nights.
Pizza offerings now are topped with your favorite toppings "by the slice", a new feature that seems to be popular over the past few years. But it's still a great staff, and the best pizza as far as I am concerned.
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Merle Norman has been doing free makeovers using their excellent line of facial cleansers, creams and makeup. These are high end products, and are priced accordingly. But the quality of the products...
Merle Norman has been doing free makeovers using their excellent line of facial cleansers, creams and makeup. These are high end products, and are priced accordingly. But the quality of the products and the end results more than justifies the costs. The franchise in Mansfield is no exception. Located in the West Park Mall, it is easy to get to and there is always plenty of parking. The store is lovely, brightly lit, clean and always well stocked. If you are going for a free makeover, I suggest you call in advance, especially at those busy times of year. Prom time and major holidays always assure the salon is crowded. The products range from skin cleansers and toners to foundations, shadows, liners, mascara, blushes and lip color. There are creams and lotions for every part of your body. They also have nail care products, brushes, bath and body products and more. Merle Norman has so much to offer, you just have to go there and sit down with one of their Consultants and work with their many products. Go get a makeover, at Merle Norman, and see if you agree that this IS the โbetterโ line of skin products. Pamper yourself, you deserve it.
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Indio Products offers the largest selection of "Spiritual Supplies" of any supplier I've run across.
Indio provides many of the products you will find in Botanicas. "Lucky Candles" and other...
Indio Products offers the largest selection of "Spiritual Supplies" of any supplier I've run across.
Indio provides many of the products you will find in Botanicas. "Lucky Candles" and other such jar candles, many varieties bringing luck or love, or to change your luck, or as offerings to various Saints. There are novena candles, 7 day candles and three day candles.
They have several lines of "oils" and "colognes" used for the same thing - to change your luck, to bring you love, to remove hexes and more.
They offer regular candles in a variety of colors, statues, talisman, books, amulets - the variety of materials is huge. And they cover a variety of Spiritual Paths, so anyone will be able to find something to augment their spirituality.
You can shop from their catalog, which can be ordered directly from them. Or you can shop on line here - http://www.indioproducts.com/webstore/
My experience has been that they ship quickly and the goods are well wrapped. The pricing is very good and there are some good bargains to be had. A nice friendly business.
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Cigna
Category:
Health Care Companies
900 Cottage Grove Rd Bloomfield, Connecticut 06002 (860) 226-3525
Because of where my husband works, we have CIGNA.
We have had no "major" issues with them. They pay, we have low co-pays and we have low payments as well. That is probably due to the company we...
Because of where my husband works, we have CIGNA.
We have had no "major" issues with them. They pay, we have low co-pays and we have low payments as well. That is probably due to the company we have it through.
We opted for the "choose your own doctor with no referrals" option having had the "need referrals" plan. We ran into some issues with the co-pays, the company not paying because either the doctor was not referred or he is "out of network".
It seems that because we are not in a "major" city, the "out of network" issue comes up a lot. We have had to go to Columbus to use "network" doctors. And it appears to be increasing. We do have a good assortment of doctors here, but CIGNA seems not to be granting doctors in this area the ability to accept CIGNA. We need to go to either Cleveland or Columbus.
Have to say their Customer Service isn't bad either. We have called them on a couple of questions regarding bills and payments, and the promptness of answering the phones, being on top of our account and the processes involved have been very satisfactory.
Overall, it is not a bad plan. They do provide some excellent doctors, even though we do need to travel to Columbus for a couple of specialists. So, over all the care providers are good. Our experiences have also been good as well, so I think in the big picture, this is not a bad company to deal with.
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Formerly known as Lebanon State Park, it was renamed for the former Governor Brendan Byrne. But the place hasn't changed. It is still the Pine Barrens, with a sandy composition, lots of pine trees...
Formerly known as Lebanon State Park, it was renamed for the former Governor Brendan Byrne. But the place hasn't changed. It is still the Pine Barrens, with a sandy composition, lots of pine trees and camping areas that go on and on.
I've attended an annual event here, and have camped a number of time here. The facilities include flush toilets, hot and cold showers, heated bathrooms and firepits. Some of the camp grounds have "common areas". We stay at the area that has an old "saw mill" building, which serves as a community kitchen and meeting area. There are also play areas for the kids.
There are also cabins for those who do not have a camper van or who do not want to try out tent camping. They are comfortable and dry.
The staff has always been pleasant, the area is always neat and clean. The bathrooms are well cared for, and the common areas are large, well lit and comfortable and dry.
My only complaint over the years it the increase in ticks in the area, which is not the parks dept. fault. I've had Lyme's disease and I am not comfortable with the large amount of ticks at many of the East Coast parks. But that has not stopped me from going to the parks, I am just much more careful than I used to be.
This is a lovely park, with great facilities and in a nice location. Well worth stopping at if you are in the area.
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I've bought everything from Camera Lens to bags for my equipment here. They have the largest selection of specialty items, some of the deepest discounts of any photographic supply house, and some...
I've bought everything from Camera Lens to bags for my equipment here. They have the largest selection of specialty items, some of the deepest discounts of any photographic supply house, and some excellent right on customer service.
My experience with them has always been pleasant. They know their stuff, and you can call them with questions which they will be happy to answer.
Shipping is always fast, and the goods that I have received have always gotten here in the best of condition, which is important when considering optical equipment can be delicate. I also bought a Dimage Scan from them which is one of the most important pieces I've ever bought, considering it has scanned and repaired some of my more precious photographic memories that can not be replaced.
B&H has great prices and great products and I would not hesitate to recommend them for hard to find optical equipment or great prices on everyday camera supplies.
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When we bought our 4 acres in the country, we needed a machine to help us clean the place up. It had been abandoned for a number of years, and had become overgrown. We literally had to hack our...
When we bought our 4 acres in the country, we needed a machine to help us clean the place up. It had been abandoned for a number of years, and had become overgrown. We literally had to hack our way across the property to get to the river the first few weeks we were in our new home.
We purchased the DR Trimmer/Mower from them. It has become a workhorse around our place. It gets into places where our tractor mower can't get, and it gets up around trees and structures that we can't get to with our tractor mower or the small lawn mower can't handle.
We have had issues with it over the years. A couple of parts have had to be replaced, which I did mostly on my own. It is a simple machine, not too hard to work. But I also am working these days, so I have had to take it to an authorized repair shop for it's annual tune ups.
I usually just call customer service with a part number and they ship it right away. Parts have not been too expensive, and as I said, I can do most of the replacing. Only once, for the belts, have I had to take it to the repair shop.
Recently I had a problem with a replacement spring breaking. I had ordered a replacement, they shipped it, I put it on and a couple of days later, it broke. I called, and they are sending me two new replacements free of charge and the customer service agent apologized for the inconvenience.
I know I paid a bit more for this machine, but it has been very helpful in keeping our 4 acres looking like a park. It is a work horse, doing more than it's share of cleanup and finishing every year, and it is easy to use. It takes down weeds, brush and all sorts of nasty things growing where we don't want them.
If you have a large wild space you want to tame, this product is a great time saver that is easy on the back and worth the price. And with the kind of consistent excellent customer service I've received over the past 5 years, it is a product I feel was worth every penny.
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We discovered this winery on a trip to Geneva last year. The restaurant we ate at served lots of local wines, but of all the wines we had, there were two outstanding wines from this winery that we...
We discovered this winery on a trip to Geneva last year. The restaurant we ate at served lots of local wines, but of all the wines we had, there were two outstanding wines from this winery that we have ordered many times since then.
The two wines were the "Pink Catawba", a nice, slightly sweet blush wine and their "Jester's Blush" another slightly sweet Zinf that is probably the best of their sweet wines.
We have also ordered other wines from them, including their "Ice Wine" and while not our favorites, the wines we have had are not disappointing. There are wines here for everyone's taste.
We are planning to actually visit the winery this summer, but we order all the wines from their on-line store. http://www.ferrantewinery.com/wine.htm Do take a look at their offerings and if you get a chance, sample some of them locally.
A few notes. First of all, if you are ordering on line, they do not ship out of state. Ohio laws, and it is a shame because there are some great Ohio wines that unless you come to Ohio, you will never enjoy. You also have to have someone of "legal age" at home to accept delivery. Again, Ohio law.
But the service is excellent. We order the wines on line, and they are shipped almost immediately, in some well constructed boxes. We usually receive them in a day or two and they are none the worse for wear.
I am "getting into" the wines of Ohio. If you live here, this is a great state for wine.
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Wal-Mart opened this new superstore out on the "other end" of Mansfield, and to be honest, it is actually much closer to me than the one in Ontario.
But, ya know, it is exactly like the new one...
Wal-Mart opened this new superstore out on the "other end" of Mansfield, and to be honest, it is actually much closer to me than the one in Ontario.
But, ya know, it is exactly like the new one in Ontario. Exactly. Right down to the checkouts. Well, ok, the Eye Doctor is different. And the people who shop here, they seem to be a bit different as well. This store attracts some of the more "rural" folks, probably because of the location. This new store is not "in town". And this creates a slightly different flavor in shopping.
This place is never as crowded as the Ontario store. Even on "big weekends" this place does not pack out like the Ontario store does. And the parking lot seems to flow better than the one in Ontario.
The store, however, is exactly the same. The layout, the prices, the stock are all the same. So, if you were looking for someplace a bit "calmer" than the "in town store" this could be the place for you to shop.
What I have noticed as a major different is the staff. Or the lack there of. When the store opened, there was ample staff. Now, it is short handed in my opinion. Not enough staff. There are longer than usual waits on line, and for a store that is not that busy, this is unusual. I also notice not much in the way of staff in the aisles. Again, if you need help with things off the top shelves, or checking stock, this is a problem.
Less crowded store but less staff. Oh, well, sometimes you win, sometimes you wait. Again, it's Wal-Mart, same super store, same quality items, same discount prices, slightly less staff.
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Wal-Mart
Category:
Department Stores
359 Lexington Springmill Ontario, Ohio 44862 (419) 529-2950
This is the "new" Wal-Mart that replaces the Wal-Mart that was originally at this location. It is listed as a "super store" and yup, that's a good description.
It is big. They built this store...
This is the "new" Wal-Mart that replaces the Wal-Mart that was originally at this location. It is listed as a "super store" and yup, that's a good description.
It is big. They built this store behind the old store, and tore down the old store to make a larger parking lot. The traffic flow in the lot is a bit better now, but come weekends, even holiday weekends, this place can pack out.
The store is clean, large, well lit. The bathrooms are also pretty clean, even months after the store opened. While there appeared to be more staff when the store opened, I have not had to wait all that long on line. But then again, I was here only once on a holiday weekend, and they did seem to have more staff and cashiers on that weekend. But I will not shop there on a holiday weekend again. Way too packed.
They seem to carry just about everything you might need. The prices are very inexpensive to just inexpensive, and the quality is reflected in that. But I have started using some products that I didn't use before, like my hot tub chemicals, because they are cheap and they always seem to be available, and they work rather well.
The food store does not have a deep selection. The other local stores carry more of the brands that I like. But again, those things that I do shop there for, they are cheaper. I noticed that the Orville Redenbacher Pour Over Cheddar Popcorn comes in a "4 pack" for less than the price that you pay at the other major supermarkets in the area.
Yes there are discounts to be had. Yes there are products that you can only buy at Wal-Mart. But again, quality should be checked. Clothing seems to "shrink" when washed in some instances, like in some of the cheaper t-shirts. But there are some products that are well worth the trip.
I "plan" trips here, making the most of off hours, compiling a list so that I don't have to go here more than I need to. It is just too crowded for my taste and I hate shopping in a mad house, which can result on a holiday weekend.
Wal-Mart - what can I say - big.
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