I got to work a bit after 6 am this morning after dropping the Bananas off at the sac airport to play the shows at that fest in Chicago. Hope they have fun and that their hoagie levels don't shoot dangerously high like happened to Mike R. Mike last time. I am happy to report that MRM seemed in surprisingly high spirits despite his apprehension about flying. I reallyreally hope he gets better about that after this safe trip so that the Bananas can tour Italy!
I am also happy to report that Vientiane is still the bomb. Don't listen to what this dumb yelper
(2nd review) says. This is exactly the kind of shit that bugs me,
"The friendly service of yore has been replaced with unfriendly young guys, who don't even smile or say hi and toss the menus on the table."
No, the friendly family "of yore" has been replaced by a new friendly family, including some nice young guys, a teenage girl, and their equally nice dad.
We got the stuffed chicken legs (maybe even better than normal, which would be amazing), the green curry with tofu (it was very spicy and delicious, and I was stoked to get such a good veggie dish at a place that works wonder with meats), the squid salad (so insanely heavily flavored of lemon grass and other good stuff and the same as it always is) and the Asian sausage. Of all these, the Asian sausage was the only dish that suffered slightly. It was smaller than normal, a bit oversalted, and most dissapointingly, not as lemon-grassy as normal. However, even at a slightly lower quality it was still so tasty that it disappeared off the table quickly and I will continue to order it. I'm hoping that it might be back to normal next time. If not, it's still fucking good.
Today is the first day of the state fair. Kenny Loggins plays tonight. Yacht rock! On fm102 they were saying the new treat this year is the krispy kreme chicken sandwich. No burger?
I'm going camping at Lake Janky after work and I'm stoked to ride the crock all weekend.
what a lame.oh. that would be cool if someone could counter-post on yelp and put that guy out of him misery and set the record straight. I wonder who that person should be…
ReplyDeleteI was excited to go camping too, but now I'm just concerned. What does ride the croc mean? Will there be a demonstration, or am I just expected to jump right in like I know what I'm doing? Oh, I get it, this is some kind of reference to peeing in the lake, right?
ReplyDelete-jana.
Ah I don't really think that's fair. He had a bad experience and he posted about it. Seems like he was a fan of Vientiene in the past so any negative comments would be legitimate.
ReplyDeleteEveryone is entitled to their own opinion. They only defense is to write your own review which people will read as well.
ReplyDeleteI shouldn't have called him a dumbass. That was wrong and I apologize. However, in this case he is way off base. While it would be next to impossible to duplicate the high level of cuisine of the former chef, calling it a "disaster" is ridiculous hyperbole. And he destroyed any claims he has to legitimacy by posting such a glowing review of zocalo. And by saying that birria is beef. And he slammed Zeldas. But truthfully he and I agree on a lot.
ReplyDeleteJana you will see what riding the croc is when I ride the croc. All night long. And no, it has nothing to do with crocs the shoe. Or peeing.
Ya I don't understand why you are still hung up on yelp reviews that disagree with your own opinions. A majority of your yelp reviewers are avid readers of heckasac. Why keep on putting down our chance to be reviewers too. But I guess this is your own personal web blog realm world... I don't get what the Vientiene hype is personally but that's my opinion that I apparently should just keep on Yelp.crap.
ReplyDeleteYou don't understand what I have clearly stated already? My big yelp about yelp is the overemphasis on service and petty complaints about bad service. You yourself posted something on this topic so I'm surprised you disagree so strongly.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.yelp.com/topic/QoMFx3iqDuavUehiflgVTA
I like perusing yelp sometimes and I don't think it should be destroyed or anything, I just think the level of criticism could be better.
Re: Asian Sausage
ReplyDelete> It was smaller than normal, a bit
> oversalted, and most dissapointingly,
> not as lemon-grassy as normal.
For a moment there, I thought you were libeling about me. Bwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!
Ok, here's a food related question for all the foodies. Where in town can I find: http://www.taquitos.net/dbimages13/Andycapp-HF-clean.jpg
President,
Sacramento Appreciation Society of San Francisco
Dane is a pretty nice guy, I have met him a couple of times around town. I agree with him on a lot of the reviews he's done, but he loses points with me on the Zelda's thing! Also, I don't think one should go on a rant based on one experience with poor service especially if they previously liked the establishment. I really just try to shout about what I like/love and not what I don't. That being said: Long live Zelda's!
ReplyDeleteGrammar correction: I meant "libeling me" not "libeling about me."
ReplyDeletePres,
SASofSF
Two things:
ReplyDelete1. All, even dumbasses, are entitled to their own, possibly dumbass, opinions.
And everbody else is entitled to criticize dumbass opinions. Don't go around confusing criticism with a violation of the right to an opinion.
----
2. I sure am glad to hear that Vientianne is still good. My favorite restaurant here in Lowell is a little family Laotian place with amazing sausage.
I'll be in Sacramento the weekend of the 19th/20th and I want to have Laotian sausages from two different coasts in one week.
Is Vientianne open on Sundays?
JB
Hi Jake! That's cool you'll be in town. Maybe we can ride the croc together. I can't remember if it's open sunday. I think maybe not. I am so tired. Stupid Bananas. Speaking of those stupids (who are entitled to their own opinions of course) they are playing the Distillery with (I think) the Four Eyes on friday but I don't suppose you can get into town that day?
ReplyDeleteI didn't realize that the service dings on Vientiene and the Waterboy were what really pissed you off. I was just trying to defend people's tastes. I would never go into a place like Vientiene and even begin to rate their service because there is none. Some people really tried to set me straight on that thread, telling me I should be a humble grateful server that should just shut up because I make more than people that went to college. Geez. I just try to let people who review in on the sides of dining that clearly don't have any experience with (ie cooking, serving, restaurant management). Besides, this is the internet and all these blogs shouldn't be taken so seriously. Fuck watching the levels!
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ReplyDeleteDonkey Shit--man,oh man..I forget to use that in class today.I used apeshit cause that one is bad ass,and bullshit,bullshitter and bullshitting.We used Dogshit and Horseshit..Even Catshit but it sounded uncool..We made positive use of shootin` the shit and that`s the shit.Time ran out before we could get to the fuckin` shit..But the student and the me ran aground on gobblydegook and thingamachiger.Yes-- folks wanna know idioms and gibberish..and ya get hecka paid..Thanks smitty-- donekyshit next week.As soon as i get paid i`m goin` apeshit in okinawa but before i`m trying to surf in miyazaki in which afterwards---i probably feel like shit.Also i never hear or read about the rubicon in this blog.Is that the place the same old,same old..Please give some ups as i tottally miss their beer..jay san-
ReplyDeleteDumb Yelper here:
ReplyDeleteDo you really have to call people names? What I wrote about my experience at Vientiane was what I experienced. The service was bad, the guys might have been having a bad day, but come on--say something when you put the menus on the table or at least fake a smile--the previous servers were a couple of the most friendly waiters in town, a tough act to follow, I'll admit) the dishes we ordered were just as I described. I wanted to be able to report that all was well( FWIW, I have updated my review a few times to keep folks updated on what's been going on there--all very optimistic, which made my last experience all the more disappointing), but according to my experience, and the experience of a good friend who happened to be eating there at the same time, and is also a BIG fan of the place, all was not good. I will check it out again, but I want to hear some positive things about it before going back--you should post a review on yelp instead of dissing it and it's reviewers on your blog. Your blog comments disappear into ether after a while, or into an archive at best--yelp.com stays up until the reviewers decide to change or delete their reviews. I will update my review to say that "until I hear good news that things have gotten better, I'll have to choose to stay away."
If you read my other reviews, you may not agree with me all of the time, but you'll see that I know what I'm talking about when it comes to food. Why don't you put up your own review? and you too, Leon... BTW, Birria can be made with Beef, goat or lamb... I was told Zocalo uses beef in theirs, or at least they did when I had it there. Do your research, dude.
BTW, thanks Kristy...
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ReplyDeleteYeah birria is the name of the dish - kind of like a stew/pot roast- most commonly goat but can also be beef, pork, etc.
ReplyDeleteDude WTF... Some anonymous poster beats a Syrian to the punch of explaining the finer pionts of stew to Shane. I might as well scoop up some camel shit and follow the Birria recipe and serve myself Birria de camel shit. but that wouldn't be as funny as making camel shit mole you know because of the chocolate hershey squirtsy involved...BTW i'm gettin so dumb waitin for the Buck Owens trib. show to start!!! (front loading)
ReplyDeletesorry Shane but maybe you should switch up your capping style on Heckasac. Everyone has at least a few yo' mama disses right?
~buck homzee Ns (dumb)
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ReplyDeleteHappy monday morning everybody! I was gone all weekend so I didn't see the additional comments. I deleted ones that were either too personal or were dumbly anonymous.
ReplyDeleteAs for the birria debacle, you know a personal principle that I try to live by is to never be the type to correct anyone be it pronunciation or meaning or whatever because it's just not nice and I felt a nagging feeling in the back of my brain (cerebellum area) when I did it to Dane. And look, I tried to be a snot and it came back and bit me in the ass and made me look dumb. So, like I said, sorry I made a personal slam and sorry I tried to correct you and was totally wrong (or even if I had been right I was already sorry for doing it). However, I stand by thinking that your review was overblown and also that although the servers at Vientiane were nice when I was there I wouldn't have given a shit if they just put the menu on the table sans smile. I don't go to a cheap restaurant to have my ego stoked by the server (I save that for the fancy restaurants). And I still think Zocalo sucks. I think that one reason people who read Heckasac do so (besides the most obvious reason, which is just that many of us have tons of time to waste on the internet and will read ANYTHING, like last week when I was reading the amazon.com reviews of the jay-z/linkin park mashup album) is because I am passionate about stuff. It would be boring if not. And sometimes I go overboard and I feel stupid or I exaggerate to try to be funny. I admit I posted about yelp mostly because I thought it was true but partially because I knew it would jumpstart an interesting debate. I'm trying to entertain myself here, too. That's the point of a blog. Yes, it's trivial to the max, so I hate when a thread of comments like this starts up and some anonymous commenters start pointing that out like it's a dis. I'm hesitating to post this because it feels weird to meta-post about what Heckasac is because even that gives it too much importance, but I guess I'll just do it.
To me, Yelp seems like it's often more about the reviewers than it is about the supposed function of the site. People seem to get way in to reviewing every place they set foot in almost to the point of obsession - and there's a certain glee to be found in a lot of the bad reviews ("I'm sorry, but I just don't see the big deal about...") that can sometimes sink Yelp to the level of Craigs List Rants & Raves. I get the sense that many of the reviewers have never worked in any sort of restaurant environment & therefore have trouble recognizing the difference between a restaurant just having an off day - and a genuinely bad place.
ReplyDeleteI've been lucky enough to have friends over the years who have reviewed restaurants for papers who have let me come along - and the one near-constant is that I seem to be enjoying the meal WAY more than they are because they have to have something to say about every little aspect of the courses. It detracts from the enjoyment of the experience - which for me is equally about the food, the company, the conversation, the occasion etc. - so I personally don't get the appeal of Yelping everything. For the most part, your dining experience is occasionally awful & occasionally mind-blowing, but usually just varies between mediocre & pretty good. 100 mediocre reviews of say, Jade Garden, just seems kinda humorous to me more than anything. It's pretty clear that people go to those types of places mainly out of convenience. And the there's the reviews about "controversial" places like Zelda's where you really would have no way of telling if it's the best thing on earth or the worst thing you'll ever put in your mouth.
I'm not down on Yelp or anything - there are good writers/reviewers on there & people seem to have fun with it - I just don't feel that the quality control is there enough for it to be the reliable resource I'm guessing it would like to be.
-miller
P.S. I thought the salad at Upper Crust Pizza was pretty good (but no garlic croutons? Come on Upper Crust!) but the all you can eat pizza was disappointing. I went at 2:30 right before the buffet ended but come on Upper Crust, I paid my $6 and I wanted a hot Hawaiian pizza, not the pepperoni that they brought out. I also thought the soda selection could've been better. No RC? Come on Upper Crust! I also suggest you bring you own towel to wipe down the table - mine had crumbs on it. It wasn't the worst meal of my life but I won't be going back. My recommendation: save your $6 for a margarita at Ernesto's.
They have an upper crust In sacramento?
ReplyDeleteP.S.S.
ReplyDeleteCan you really get a 6 dollar margarita at ernestos?
The ernestos family has mastered the art of making every single mexican dish taste like water.
Upper Crust is some janky but convenient all you can eat pizza buffet - so if that sounds similar to the Santa Cruz one, then maybe so. Then again, I bet most towns have a pizza place called Upper Crust!
ReplyDeletemiller