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If you'd like your trailer hitch lights blown, your dashboardfuses blown,and the manager to insult you, this is the location for you!
My husband and I tried to rent a trailer from them this past...
If you'd like your trailer hitch lights blown, your dashboardfuses blown,and the manager to insult you, this is the location for you!
My husband and I tried to rent a trailer from them this past weekend (5/20/06)--the kid they sent out to hook us up was nice, but had never hooked up a trailer before!
Unfortunately, his inexperience caused him to hook things up incorrectly, not only blowing out one of the wires in our trailer hitch hook up, but blowing the fuse to our dashboard panel as well. When we tried to talk to the location manager about the problems (they of course wouldn't let us rent at this point, since we "came in without working lights"), she disavowed all responsibility, and insulted us.
So, we went to Costco and bought a $659 trailer instead, thereby guaranteeing we will never rent from U-Haul again.
Surly attitude, untrained employees and overall antagonistic staff.
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We've enjoyed relatively dependable takeout from Thai Kitchen Bellevue in the past five years--like many places, if you frequent them often, you can occasionally find the cuisine to be hit or miss....
We've enjoyed relatively dependable takeout from Thai Kitchen Bellevue in the past five years--like many places, if you frequent them often, you can occasionally find the cuisine to be hit or miss. We find their food is much more dependable than O'Char (Crossroads Mall).
Thai Kitchen doesn't have their own website, but you can look them up on the Dinner Delivery Plus site (www.ddplus.com) and order from it. We're partial to their spring rolls, their chicken satay, and their yellow curry.
The restaurant offers dine-in as well as take-out, and though on the smallish side, they manage to make their dining room pleasant with large, scattered fish tanks and simple table settings. There's a larger banquet type area off to the right of the main entrance.
Look for Thai Kitchen Bellevue tucked in the same massive strip mall as the Ross and Computer Stop, at the west end.
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My husband and I were lucky enough to be taken to Cafe Pirouette by one of our friends as a welcome home treat. We had never heard of this tiny restaurant, tucked in a back street in Old Bellevue,...
My husband and I were lucky enough to be taken to Cafe Pirouette by one of our friends as a welcome home treat. We had never heard of this tiny restaurant, tucked in a back street in Old Bellevue, but we'll be sure to extol its virtues to anyone who listens going forward.
Cafe Pirouette mainly specializes in crepes--they offer lunch during the week, but serve dinner on Fridays and Saturdays. The restaurant itself could probably only seat fifteen couples or so--it is very small, but there is candlelight, and if you're lucky, you can secure a table allowing you a view outside one of the two front windows (though there's not a lot to see, it's still fun).
Warm, fresh bread starts things off--there is also a lovely wine list, and a very reasonable corkage charge if you want to bring your own wine. We began with Caesar salads (though our friend had the chicken vegetable soup and thoroughly enjoyed it)--they were light, and tangy, without being overwhelming, and included fresh homemade croûtons.
We continued with the filet mignon, which elicited a great deal of discussion: golden raisins, which included a faint taste of maple, then augmented by additionally complex tastes. None of us were sure, initially, about the maple and the raisins, but were were more than pleasantly surprised at how they complemented the flavor of the exceptionally tender beef. Garlic mashed potatoes, light, fluffy, but not overwhelming, complemented the beef.
My husband finished his meal with a slice of chocolate Grand Marnier cake, which he enthusiastically enjoyed. He's not much of a chocolate fan, but he knows good quality chocolate as well as desserts, and his eyes half-close the past few days when he thinks about it. I tried the Chocolate Hazelnut Banana crepes--these were absolutely fantastic. If the savory crepes Cafe Pirouette serves at lunch meet this level of deliciousness, you're in for a treat.
Prices are extremely reasonable--perhaps even a little "cheap" for food of the quality we enjoyed. Portions, in this day of expanding waistlines and ridiculous, oversized garnishes, are perfectly-sized. There's limited parking in front of the restaurant, but plenty within close walking distance. There is no bar, and no waiting area, so you may want to make reservations if at all possible--and Cafe Pirouette is probably best for families with older children, or couples looking for a nice night out at a local restaurant. Give Cafe Pirouette a try!
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If they've relocated, there's no forwarding information.
If they've relocated, there's no forwarding information.
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We've only been to Stamos Cafe once--while the food was decent, the cloud of cigarette smoke that permeated the entire restaurant (including the "non-smoking" section) made it almost impossible to...
We've only been to Stamos Cafe once--while the food was decent, the cloud of cigarette smoke that permeated the entire restaurant (including the "non-smoking" section) made it almost impossible to enjoy our food. The decor hasn't been updated since the 1950s (possibly when the original building was put into place) and at least at the time, some of the servers seemed just as crusty. With the new non-smoking laws in Seattle/Bellevue, in another few years you might be able to taste the food through the smoke...wouldn't recommend stopping there unless you want a genuine "diner/dive" experience.
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One of the most important things at Mandalay Bay for me is the fragrance--I get deathly ill from cigarette smoke, and Las Vegas allows smoking pretty much everywhere.
Mandalay Bay pipes in some...
One of the most important things at Mandalay Bay for me is the fragrance--I get deathly ill from cigarette smoke, and Las Vegas allows smoking pretty much everywhere.
Mandalay Bay pipes in some sort of exotic, tropical fragrance into the air. It is very refreshing and lovely. The casino itself is very brightly lit, and you can barely smell the smoke, even if you're sitting in the same row as someone smoking, you can't really smell it.
I also highly recommend at least one of the restaurants inside--House of Blues was absolutely wonderful to myself and a friend, who met there for breakfast. They do have a "Gospel Buffet Brunch" for which you need to buy tickets in advance. The line gets very very long, but you can just go in for a regular breakfast if you like--the staff is very sweet and helpful, and attentive (but not in an obsequous way). We had a great breakfast with amazing service.
Mandalay Bay also has a lovely wave pool, and a lazy river--during summer, the river can get quite popular with kids , so you might be better off tackling it early in the morning, or late int he evening.
I can't speak tot he rooms, but if the service towards the guests is anything like the service to random passerby, I don't think you can miss.
There is also a monorail from Manadaly to the Luxor and the Excalibur--it's a great way to get down the Strip towards more central Las Vegas, and it's free. Watch their website for specials on rooms.
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My husband and I happened upon Sansaco when we were looking for an alternative to a dining room set another retailer had, but that we couldn't afford. While they have a limited amount of...
My husband and I happened upon Sansaco when we were looking for an alternative to a dining room set another retailer had, but that we couldn't afford. While they have a limited amount of merchandise in stock, Sansaco has lots of catalogs of furniture you can flip through. We found a table, chairs, and china cabinet for a total price of about $3000--this is $6K less than one of the fancy showroom places wanted. Ours was in stock, so we didn't even have to wait--they carry a variety of furniture for bedroom, office, living room and dining room. The showroom itself is literally in a big warehouse, concrete floors and all, and is a little disorganized (not broken into neat sections like "bedroom", "Living room", etc. If you have a picture of the type of furniture you're looking for (or a page showing your furniture from a competitor, like we did), the staff may be able to tell you right off if they can obtain it or something similar.
Probably my only complaint was they have no delivery service of any kind. We had to go rent a truck from a nearby mini-storage, load everything and unload everything ourselves. Find some friends or think about hiring someone to move it for you--with the money you save shopping there, you should easily be able to afford it. You'll also probably want to wait for a sunny day since their warehouse setup doesn't have any covered parking or similar loading facilities.
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There's lots to do in Leavenworth, no matter the season--skiing, rafting, climbing and more. All Seasons is tucked away on one side of town, far enough that you'll want a car to get around. ...
There's lots to do in Leavenworth, no matter the season--skiing, rafting, climbing and more. All Seasons is tucked away on one side of town, far enough that you'll want a car to get around. Depending on your definition of "sappy" you might find it a little over the top...but I can't pass up a Jacuzzi tub with a view of the river.
Breakfast is nice, especially since it's included in the price; my only complaint migt be that it's forced socializing. But I can do that for one or two mornings. :-)
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My husband and I enjoy going to Kirkland and the Beach Cafe at Yarrow Bay Grill. Downstairs from the more expensive restaurant, the Beach Cafe overlooks Lake Washington and is next to the Kirkland...
My husband and I enjoy going to Kirkland and the Beach Cafe at Yarrow Bay Grill. Downstairs from the more expensive restaurant, the Beach Cafe overlooks Lake Washington and is next to the Kirkland marina. They have both indoor and outdoor seating, which is nice, because it can get quite breezy off the lake, but the restaurant is very bright and warm, with big windows. If you want a nice sampling, I recommend the Trio Plate--it's an appetizer that can serve as an entire meal, with crab cakes, miso chicken skewers, and ahi tuna.
Beach Cafe also participates in the 25 for $25, where they offer a 3 course meal for $25. Looking at the menu, seems like they may have made this a permanent option. Service is usually pretty good, and there's a parking garage close by--if you're there after 6 or 7, you don't need to pay for parking.
http://www.ybbeachcafe.com/beachcafe/index.html
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If you need to get away from it all and you can't manage somewhere tropical, Bellevue Botanical Gardens is a great option. This large park offers beautifully groomed gardens as well as large...
If you need to get away from it all and you can't manage somewhere tropical, Bellevue Botanical Gardens is a great option. This large park offers beautifully groomed gardens as well as large expanses of greenery to roam. They have a Dahlia Garden, and Alpine Rock Garden (we saw a little snake sunning himself on one of the larger rocks one day), a Fuschia Garden, a Waterwise Garden, and more.
During the holidays, the garden offers Garden D'Lights, where there are thousands of lights used to create botanical displays--this is a very well attended events, and it can be hard to find parking--the park itself also gets very crowded.
Give Bellevue Botnaical Gardens a try--they have something for all seasons.
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