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Reviews!.......


Best New Book =  "It Was All Just Rock and Roll"      by Pat O'Day        Pat O day book

  • T his is a FANTASTIC new book.  If you liked the stories told in Cameron Crowe's "Almost Famous" you will LOVE Pat O'Day's recollections of rock n' roll, radio, and  recitals (the really big concerts) of the 60's and 70's.  My review cannot accurately do justice to this wonderful  piece of work.  THE BEST!

     



Buying a new car:

  • The Good:   Glen Grant Chevrolet  :  Gave a quote over the the internet.  It was a good quote.  Stuck to it. (No switcharoo like many other places).  Honest and hard working  to please. No hassles. This is the way it should work.  Way to go.
  • The Bad:  Issaquah Chevrolet: internet quote leading to bait and switch.  Arrogant. Game players.  Stay away. Representative of many car dealers tactics.
  • The Ugly: Huling  Brothers Chev in West  Seattle .   Salesmen standing around with nothing to do.  Creepy.  Will say anything to get you to come in.  Use MANY trite sayings to con you like " We're in serious need of trade-ins".  Another complete waste of time.  Would not recognize the truth if it came up and buffed their hood ornaments.

Best  Pizza in the World:

  • The Good: Vince's   (best in the world - compared to pizza's from Maui to the Bahamas to Mazatlan ).
  • The Bad:  Papa John's  &    Domino's.  
  • The Ugly: Renton Highlands Pizza Hut delivery  -  can take up to two hours, if you call they make it clear they don't care and when it shows up cold and soggy they want to guilt you into taking it (yes, it worked).

Recommended  Restaurants

  • The Good:  Tommy's in Renton (excellent greasy food - like a 50's diner)   Black Angus in Bellevue .  Outback , anywhere.   Cowboy's in Totem Lake .  Gulliver's in Southgate .   Dick's Drive-In - any location.  Best Fries in the world. Great food at a fair price.  I hold Dick's Drive- In's in high esteem.......near perfection.  (When 60 Minutes interviewed Bill Gates he took them to his favorite restaurant....Dick's  at the foot of Queen Anne Hill)
  • The Bad:   Jack's in the Renton Highlands - overpriced and mediocre food. Doesn't taste very good for the price.  They brag about hamburgers that are dull.
  • The Ugly: Fatburger -  I guess it's a matter of opinion, but I don’t like their burgers.

 


Misc:

  • The Good:  Yahoo - simple, fast, accurate data.  I love this unassuming website.
  • The Bad : Alaska Airlines, my favority airlines, when they are running late........they can REALLY be late....2-4 hours
  • The Ugly:  Netscape -   just keep getting worse and worse.

 


Retail Stores

  • The Good:  Walmart - they know their market niche and they serve their target clientele.
  • The Bad :  KMart or Big K  or whatever they call it nowadays - employees look like the walking dead, the inventory is pitiful, an they are on their way out of business .   Bon Marche - miserable service most of the time.......ok service if you catch them when they feel like it.  
  • The Ugly:  Abercrombie& Finch - Bellevue Square - the kiddies who work there haven't got a clue how to help their customers - you can wait until heck freezes over.

Las Vegas
  • The Good:  Suprisingly, The New Frontier Hotel.  It's old, but nice rooms, nice people, and not many kids running around.  Good location.     The Paradise Cafe at the Stardust Casino. Good Prime Rib (and everything else). Rita Rudner show at New York New York.
  •  The Bad:  Most all of the drivers.  Beware.  All going too fast, too hard, too drunk.
  • The Ugly:  Circus Circus ....especially on weekends........it's like 500 trailer parks exploded and their habitants landed in Circus, Circus.   A short time ago I stopped by,  just to use their bathroom.  It was packed with little kids (must be their unofficial daycare facilities) including four who were sitting in the sinks taking the faucets apart.