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Continuing my long saga of reviewing different barbershops...
D's is a small shop in Bothell. In real terms, this means a tiny shop in a decrepit building in-between old-town Bothell and...
Continuing my long saga of reviewing different barbershops...
D's is a small shop in Bothell. In real terms, this means a tiny shop in a decrepit building in-between old-town Bothell and real-Bothell on Bothell-Everett highway. But they have a website: http://www.dsbarbershop.net/
The storefront is a small stand-alone building that probably, in five years, will be quarter-million-dollar condos. Good location, across the street from the Bothell Country Village. The building itself isn't much, but who cares.
Inside, we have two stations to the right, plus a shampoo-sink to the left as you enter. The establishment doesn't scream "classy", but it is comfortable and effective. The owner was the only stylist when I was there; I don't know if there are more.
His first question to me was, "What number?" Meaning what number to use on the clippers. My hair is a 2-3, but I don't typically answer this. I don't know what he used, but it turned out good. As is my norm, I asked at the beginning for him to thin the wings, and he remembered to.f
This was a good haircut, and he's a nice guy. The shop is older, but clean unlike some others I've reviewed. The price was fairly low too.
I wouldn't go far out of my way to be clipped here, but it was a good deal and a good cut.
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Trisha's Barbershop is a stand-alone building on the outskirts of Clearview, an extremely unassuming area of Snohomish county just north of Maltby, on Highway 9. It's not near very much - no...
Trisha's Barbershop is a stand-alone building on the outskirts of Clearview, an extremely unassuming area of Snohomish county just north of Maltby, on Highway 9. It's not near very much - no grocery stores, theatres, malls, parks... just a building on Highway 9. And from the outside, it's not quite dilapidated but the word does spring to mind.
But then you enter and are in a nice clean large well-lit shop with about five stations and very helpful friendly staff. Haircuts are less expensive than anywhere else in the area; you can get change back from a $10. The cutting implements and floor are both clean. And the location must work because there was a lot of walk-in business while I was there.
Trisha's was Wanda's up until about two years ago. Yes, there's was a real Wanda and is a real Trish; Trish was two stations over from where I was. They expect a stripmall and grocery store to go in soon, with them relocating to the strip mall.
Do be warned that Trisha's accepts cash and checks but not credit cards. Then again, you can probably pay for a haircut there with sofa-change, and mine at least was a dandy haircut.
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Bobzz Barber Shop is on the west side of Woodinville. If Woodinville could be said to have a "wrong side of the tracks", this, being just across them, would be it, right next to the worst stop-sign...
Bobzz Barber Shop is on the west side of Woodinville. If Woodinville could be said to have a "wrong side of the tracks", this, being just across them, would be it, right next to the worst stop-sign in the area.
The sign doesn't say "Bobzz"; it just says "The Barbershop". The actual business is part of a dilapidated strip building with a decent sandwich shop.
Inside, the first thing you notice is a cluttered desk, computer monitor, and slight grime. There is a coating of dust on many surfaces, and of grit and such on the floor. A vase fell between a bookshelf and desk years, perhaps decades, ago and has it's own accumulated dust. On the wall is an "import tuner" calendar from 2005, of pretty women hidden behind car parts. The window sill has some empty bottles and a desk lamp; pretty much every surface has something on it. A television atop a desk is tuned to CNN, the ancient computer is surfing MSN. Haircuts, the signs printed from a computer and taped to a window and a desk tell us, are $12. A pretty low price for this area, but perhaps you're beginning to understand why.
There is a single solitary barber chair. No sink for washing hair is obvious, but I didn't look carefully. The cutting tools are on a towel that has a coating of dietris on it already. The barber, who could use a haircut himself, stands when I come in. "A haircut please", I say. He points at the chair and gets started.
Nothing wrong with the haircut. He properly applied a protective apron and silently went about the task. Perhaps 14 minutes later, he spoke his first words, "Alright my man." I think he may have said two more sentences, for a total of three during my whole time there.
Barbershops, as opposed to hair salons, are not about ambiance, just as restaurants aren't about the music. But the feel of this place did for the haircut what a screaming toddler at the next table does for an expensive dinner out. I won't return.
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"Chop It Up" is a real barbershop, not a hair salon. If you want glossy fashion magazines, potted plants and perky female stylists, this isn't it. One wall has signatures on it, and there's a pool...
"Chop It Up" is a real barbershop, not a hair salon. If you want glossy fashion magazines, potted plants and perky female stylists, this isn't it. One wall has signatures on it, and there's a pool table in the middle. No pretty walls separate the stations, or even the cutting areas from the waiting area. We're talking straight-out old-style barbershop.
"Chop It Up" adds a specialization in "designs", meaning cropped cuts with patterns or team logos shaved in. See their (poorly-built) MySpace page at www.myspace.com/chopitupbarbershop for some images.
The shop is located in the strip mall next to Molback's, across the street from Firestone Tire, near Goodyear Tire, right in the heart of downtown Woodinville. Not precisely where you expect to find a shop for the more hip clientele, but they've been there for about two years.
The Good: Fine haircut. Unlike some places/stylists, he remembered and did perform a specific bit of thinning. The entire cut was done with electric trimmers with a variety of attachments, the first time I can remember that no scissors were used, but it worked just fine. Good job wrapping up the neck to avoid stray hairs.
The Bad: No negative points. I could have done without whatever he applied at the end. It smells like a decent cologne, but I don't wear scents generally.
Comments: The cost for a straight no-wash cut is $20, about $5 more than normal in Woodinville, but then again, the cut was better than average in Woodinville. I didn't notice any facilities for shampoo anyhow. As haircuts in Woodinville go, this was one of the better ones and one I'm more likely to return to.
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The bankruptcy must have taken, because Woodinville Athletic got sold to Gold's Gyms. There are some details at http://www.woodinvilleathleticclubsucks.com The club site doesn't mention it!
The bankruptcy must have taken, because Woodinville Athletic got sold to Gold's Gyms. There are some details at http://www.woodinvilleathleticclubsucks.com The club site doesn't mention it!
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Q Cuts
Category:
Uncategorized
18505 Alderwood Mall Pkwy Ste B
Lynnwood, Washington 98037
(425) 776-7511
Q-Cuts is in a strip mall directly across the street from the Alderwood Mall. It's one of those "do it all" mini-salons, with large writing on the window advertising Nails, Cuts, Perms, etc. I...
Q-Cuts is in a strip mall directly across the street from the Alderwood Mall. It's one of those "do it all" mini-salons, with large writing on the window advertising Nails, Cuts, Perms, etc. I dropped by only because I was already in the area in severe need of a hair cut.
I walked in about 45 minutes after opening. There was a single stylist there, who was puttering around, so the haircut began almost immediately.
The Good: The haircut looks fine and was cheap - about $10 before tip.
The Bad: Even though there were no other customers there when I was there, the floor around the work-station had previous hair. The cutting implements were laid out on a towel and also had hair on them already. While probably not a health hazard, this raises my fear of cooties.
Comments: In addition to the cleanliness issue, a huge amount of hair clippings (mine, judging from the color) went down my collars and caused my neck to itch later. This may be partially due to the clothing associated with the cold weather; the stylist did the normal things of using a disposable tissue neck liner and affixing a cape, and they seemed correct at the time.
The cut was done differently than I'm accustommed to. Typically a stylist wants to know the comb size or something like that, indicating what to attach to her electric clippers to get roughly the correct length fast. This stylist used a large styling comb and the trimmers without any attachment, and made several sweeps. Rather more like a razor cut (a cut done with exposed blades, which I've only had in London) than like the normal cuts here.
It's a good cut and great price. If not for the cooties of other people's hair, I would probably return.
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Clark's is in a strip mall with several other auto repair places, and is actually part of BelKirk Body, I believe.
I've been to Clark's three times, twice in the last year and once several...
Clark's is in a strip mall with several other auto repair places, and is actually part of BelKirk Body, I believe.
I've been to Clark's three times, twice in the last year and once several years ago. Each time I made an appointment, dropped the car off, and got it back between an hour and 90 minutes later. Each time the driving was improved quite a bit, and the price was very low for my particular car.
A word of explanation. If your car is out-of-alignment, the steering may pull a bit one way, or the feel may be a bit mushy. A lot of people, including my wife, won't notice mushy or pulling, but the tires do - they wear unevenly and early - and exuberant drivers will. Alignment can be knocked out by big pot-holes, hitting a curb or being rear-ended and having to get the car straightened out a bit.
My car is a bit pricey to align because it's a European all-wheel-drive model. The dealer charges about $129 to do an alignment. Clark, for the same car and a great job, charges barely over half that. Two-wheel-drive cars should be less. And they do it quicker than the dealer.
Another advantage, but a coincidental one, is that while waiting you can grab lunch at the nearby strip malls, which have several mediocre teriyaki places, a Pho house, Thai, Chinese and Mexican on the same block. That may sound silly, but it helps kill the time.
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The Barking Frog is located next to The Herbfarm and Red Hook, in the south-west corner of Woodinville near the wineries. The Spirit of Washington train stops just across Red Hook from it, and...
The Barking Frog is located next to The Herbfarm and Red Hook, in the south-west corner of Woodinville near the wineries. The Spirit of Washington train stops just across Red Hook from it, and there's a corporate team-building jungle gym (or used to be) behind it. It's right on the Burke Gilman (sp?) trail.
Why do you care? Because this place felt to me more about image than about experience.
What's Right? Pretty good, creative food. Some unusual luxury items, e.g. Kobe Beef burgers (which kinda miss the point of Kobe which is that it is exceptionally tender; you don't NEED to grind it!) Good wine selection.
So what's my beef? The building is large, open, cement-floored, arched, with a fire in the centre. Not much sound baffling, not much by way of dining-space division. Everybody is on-show. And a lot of the people, the food, the presentation, are for show. The prices reflect the goal too. Service is decently prompt, but doesn't feel as friendly as pretty much anywhere else in Woodinville.
This would work a lot better as a dinner before going to see a play or other cultural event, when you're gussied up anyhow and going to be around people. But for a quiet semi-private dinner, not so much.
The lunch experience is better, less pretentious, a bit less expensive, and the food is still good.
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Italianissimo was once on the main drag in Woodinville, same strip-mall as QFC and The Woodinville Cafe. Dark uninspiring location, great food, great service, great wine. It moved years ago, but...
Italianissimo was once on the main drag in Woodinville, same strip-mall as QFC and The Woodinville Cafe. Dark uninspiring location, great food, great service, great wine. It moved years ago, but out-of-sight often means out-of-mind. Still, the new location has far better ambience and the food and wine have only gotten better. They really know their wines.
This is not an Olive Garden kind-of place; it's upscale of that, maybe 10-20% more price, but miles above in the experience.
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Goldbergs is sort-of a cross between a typical New York or L.A. deli and a restaurant. The food - corned beef, pickles, etc. - are made by them or to their order, and the sandwiches are...
Goldbergs is sort-of a cross between a typical New York or L.A. deli and a restaurant. The food - corned beef, pickles, etc. - are made by them or to their order, and the sandwiches are overstuffed, etc. But there's also a nice seating area, more at home in a steakhouse than in a typical deli. And a wider variety of foods, including some interesting dishes with a seeming Mediterranean influence.
The food isn't really up to the better delies in NYC or in the south Beverly Hills area, but it's fantastic for the Puget Sound.
Goldberg's is in the Factoria mall, facing the main drag. Service has been fine every time I've been there, but I've never been there for dinner.
Their web site is http://www.goldbergsdeli.com/
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