Tomatina-Sunday pm-Berkeley, ca

Mike and I had the opportunity last weekend to visit with friends and family in San Francisco. After a wonderful day sight-seeing in the city, we came back to Mike's brother's apartment in Berkeley, California to rest and get warm.
I thought this would be a great opportunity to dine in a college town and so I asked his brother for a great restaurant withing walking distance.
He took us to Tomatina, a delicious italian restaurant with a cozy interior, affable service, and a wonderful selection of food, wine, and desserts.
Mike and his brother shared a veggie pizza, while Celeste and I had a perfect lasagna! yum!

I couldn't resist ordering dessert since I felt it would be a great end to a wonderful day. Lemon Cheesecake! delicious!

Tomatina definitely delivered. Tasty food, fun college atmosphere, excellent presentation and service--an overall satisfying experience.

Red Robin-West Covina

Ah! saved by the "newer server" section.
Seated just near the opening of the kitchen, we were never ignored, or left hanging.
Multiple refills, (on drinks and fries)and hot, tasty food, definitely made up for the last two awful experiences.

Chevy's-New Year's Day-Ontario

Visiting Chevy's is always a special occasion for us now. The Chevy's in our town was closed, so when we make the trip to the Ontario Chevy's, we make SURE to make it count.
Our favorite server (who must have transferred from the Covina location) greeted us with a friendly smile and comfortable demeanor.

Our chips and salsa came out quickly and there were plenty of refills to follow. Mikey and I really indulged by ordering two drinks each, dessert, and chips an salsa to go. We were so pleased with the attentive service and ambiance that we just didn't want to leave!

Our bill between the two of us was something like $75.00. But totally worth it. A perfect meal to start off 2009.

Chili's -New Year's EVE-West Covina

Happy New Years!!
I have to admit I was a bit nervous about going out to eat this evening. On a holiday, you're competing with so many other guests, and I empathize with the server who would probably more likely be out celebrating than working in a restaurant on New Years Eve.
Our server's name was Hanna and she definitely reaffirmed my faith in customer service--even on a holiday.

This was a special day for us, for everyone, the start of a brand new year. I was ecstatic to see Mike after a week vacation with our families, and our dinner at Chili's really sealed the deal.

Timely service, delicious taste and variety, and an overall comfortable vibe is how I would describe our experience.
We left minutes before 12 am, with full bellies and positive outlooks on future dining experiences :)

Red Robin-Sat. 8:30-West Covina

We sat in what I have come to understand as the #1 server's section (I can only know this because I was a server in the past.) You would expect the best, most timely service, etc in this section, but we were once again disappointed by Red Robin.
The food is always good, but the organization of the server is poor. It takes far too long for him to greet us/get drinks/take order, and while we are waiting, we notice him get sat with a new table, there's another table waiting to close out, he drops a burger as he is passing food to his table...it just turns into a mess. We start to actually feel bad for the server as he stumbles around and tries to make up for mistakes that are piling up.

I have come to the conclusion that the reason the servers here struggle so much is because they have little help. I notice they take turns greeting and seating guests, which should be the job of a host. If they get behind with their drinks, or an incorrect order, they have little to no help to get them caught up. Perhaps they were short staffed, but at 8:30 on a saturday night, most restaurants should be prepared for a busy night...

Applebees-Wednesday 11pm-West Covina

Date: 12-10-2008 We were so hungry this night! Anything sounded workable as we sped home from work to get some food in our bellies.
We decided on Applebees again, close to home and decent price. Plus, I wanted to sink into a comfy bench.
It was much quieter than the last time we came, but once seated, we weren't greeted(for drinks) until well after we had decided on everything we wanted to eat (and I was pretty indecisive).
Then, my favorite host, Cristina came to the rescue; she took our order for our server who clearly had her hands full.
She read back our order to us as well, which never happens.

Luckily, the food came out in time, and although our server was present during our meal, she disappeared again at the end when it was time for our check.

By that time, all we could think about was a nice, warm bed.
Cristina opened the door for us as we walked out and I wish I had given her a few bucks tip.

T Phillips-Sunday Night-La Verne-9pm

My only criteria for the night (besides good food) was a beer and good location (somewhere with good "sightseeing" in walking distance).

T Phillips in La Verne is on the campus where I went to college (University of La Verne), it has beers from all over the world, and there are peanut shells all over the floor.
I've always experienced a tasty meal here, and tonight was no exception, presentation and timeliness was also great.
And despite the fact that this restaurant is generally "seat yourself", our waitress was pleasant and stayed relatively close by.
The entrees are a little bit on the pricey side, but worth it if you have the cash, and you are given many choices to replace your fries (I got a bowl of fruit!).
Mikey enjoys the extra large mug that the beverages come in, no need for a refill!
Only thing that I was kinda disappointed about was the dessert choices, I could've tried the chocolate cake, peach cobbler, or cheesecake but all I really wanted was an ice cream fudge sundae.