Originally Posted By jonvn Actually, I'd rather eat at IHOP myself. I think it's pretty good for what it is.
Originally Posted By PetesDraggin Most of the offerings at AGW don't sound that appealing, but the Brian Wilson restaurant does sound interesting. Like jonvn, I don't go on vacation to get food that I can get around the corner from my house. I have walked past Bubba Gump's in so many places and never had the desire to eat there. I'm glad that AGW is opening and think the area needs it, but it's probably not a place I will visit every trip. DtD, the hotels, and the parks have plenty of dining options that I probably won't feel the need to go to AGW.
Originally Posted By Hans Reinhardt "This is going to be a huge shot in the arm of some much needed quality restaurants for the Resort District." I agree with that. The dining and shopping options in the immediate area around DL have improved drastically since the turn of the century. It's like Anaheim had been stuck in a time warp and now the city is playing catch up. "But then, I'm not cool enough to sniff my nose at "mall food" like PF Changs or Cheesecake Factory or McCormick & Schmicks." I think what some people are saying is that the project would have been better if the developers had tried to include more unique alternatives in the mix. There isn't much there, both in terms of value and content, that is worth leaving the DLR for in my opinion.
Originally Posted By dshyates I think they are counting on the names of Cheesecake factory and M&S Grill to draw in the average tourist staying in the resrt area. Coming from a MAJOR matropolitan area and saying "We already got one." makes since. But these are for the GW hotels and the immediate area. If you come from S. F. then it probably won't appeal to you. You would probably rather have something more unique. Sure I get that. But Bob from Idaho who will be staying at GW/Harbour Blvd hotels will mob The Cheesecake Factory where they won't know or care about a fine dining establishment unless it has a celebrity chef/ plain celebrity(Brian Wilson) name attached. See how a restaurant called M6 by Chef Idon'tknowhim goes over with Joe Tourist.
Originally Posted By dlkozy >>>"I just hope AGW draws enough people the DtD is a little less congested on busy nights. I jate it when I can't find a seat at the Cantina."<<< Maybe DTD will get smart and bump up both their food offerings and their service.
Originally Posted By Schmitty Good Vibes jonvn, I just tried to e-mail you, but the connections on your profile are out of date. I lived in San Mateo for about twenty years and I wanted to turn you on to La Fonda on El Camino around 23rd St. It used to be a five star place to go (but it wasn't recognized since it was a hole in the wall), with me waiting an hour in line with people from all over the globe - South Africa, etc. They have really fallen off in their quality, but falling from incredible to very good means that they are still very good, and, although I live in Sacramento, I still go there when I can. Update your profile and I can tell you a lot of secrets from my decades in San Mateo. Wish you the best!
Originally Posted By jonvn It is? I will check that right now. I ate at La Fonda not two weeks ago. I think that Fernandos on 37th is a lot better. Did you ever eat at the Lanai?
Originally Posted By jonvn Oh, my website is wrong. It's pretty seriously neglected. I'll have to fix that when I get home.
Originally Posted By Schmitty Good Vibes Jonvn, O.K. I'll definitely skip La Fonda and try Fernando's next time I'm in town. I can get a fairly good taco or enchilada almost anywhere, but La Fonda's menu was so much more than that. It’s too bad, they used to have an incredible menu of exotic South American dishes. They dropped a lot of dishes to go main stream. They still have the Enchiladas de Mole, which, every time I had them, were made with chocolate – they weren’t sweet, but they were terrific. The Sopes were good the last time I was there. Let's see, the Lanai. I’m thinking of the Polynesian restaurant that was right off El Camino ‘round about the 40th block. I think there is a Long's Drug Store there now, and I curse myself, because I worked with the developer to transform that property. At the time, that was my favorite hang out in San Mateo. I’m suffering from a serious brain fart right now because of what I have on my desk, but if that’s the joint you’re thinking about, then you might remember Greg’s Special or the Test Pilot. It could be that I’m wrong, because if you had a number of those, you’d probably be dead by now. Anyway, I hate to hijack a topic, and my e-mail is valid until Sunday (at the worst), so if you get up to date, send me yours. For the rest of you LP'ers, Sorry to hijack the topic, but living in the center of the San Francisco Peninsula through the 60’s (and 70’s and 80’s) was just plain incredible. I can say “Magic Theater†and jonvn will probably know exactly what I’m talking about (used to be in Laurelwood, then moved to El Camino), and those words would probably send him on a small trip – hopefully only nostalgic, and not a drug flashback. I know 3/2 lives on the same mound of dirt I grew up on, and I wonder if she was there back in the day. I guess I’ll start up a Bay Area topic when I have a little more time. Thanks for putting up with me.
Originally Posted By Schmitty Good Vibes O.K. Please go to Community - give me a few minutes, and I'll try to have a topic up. On Topic: P.J. Chang’s is very good in Roseville. I agree with O.C Dean that the loss of the aquarium is a very sad thing. They should have strived for more. Right now I think I’ll stay in the theme parks or Down Town Disney. I probably would have crossed Harbor for the aquarium. What an opportunity they had. Maybe they’ll be able to do better once they are underway, but it has to be very difficult to guess what there customer group will be from theme park overflow, conventioneers, locals, etc. I think it’s going to be a very nice strip mall, and that’s about all. But, I insist, and if you can get your hands on a first printing of “The Art of Walt Disney†you would know where I’m coming from, Main Street U.S.A. in Disneyland is also a strip mall. Not a very nice strip mall, but an incredible, fantastic, fabulous, wonderful, magical strip mall. But, it’s still a strip mall. When I talk or write to people about Disneyland, I usually refer to it as the Park. I’ve flown over Disneyland enough times to see that it really is a large green patch in a bunch of concrete and asphalt all around. I think of it first and foremost as a park – The Park -full of amusements that people and artists I regard as geniuses designed to various themes. But – burn me at the stake if you wish – Disneyland is a shopping mall with rides. Wait, before you burn me at the stake, I believe that there is true magic there. By that I mean that it is a piece of art, or many of pieces of art combined together, and the sense of being in, traveling through a piece of art is fantastic, magical, full of pixie dust! But - it is still a shopping mall with rides. Please find a first edition of “The Art of Walt Disney†and then I’ll discuss this with you.
Originally Posted By jonvn I pretty much agree with that. If you look at mid 1950s mall construction around the valley, and what was built in Disneyland at the time, it's the same stuff, only with a nicer facade. How could it not be? It was basic construction of shops and such. The place is rides and stores. Mostly, stores. There are more retail locations (including restaurants) than rides, whether people want to believe it or not. Oh, Magic Theater is still there. I couldn't place the name until I did a lookup of it, and realized I have been in there a few times. To buy incense, of course.
Originally Posted By jonvn Oh, and the Lanai was this giant polynesian place. The Longs is on 42nd, next to where Petrini's was. I think Lanai was where you said, over on 40th. There is now a strip mall there, but the parking lot is filled with palm trees.
Originally Posted By Hans Reinhardt "But Bob from Idaho who will be staying at GW/Harbour Blvd hotels will mob The Cheesecake Factory where they won't know or care about a fine dining establishment unless it has a celebrity chef/ plain celebrity(Brian Wilson) name attached." I don't think the issue here is whether these places are good or not. The question, for me at least, is why so many chains? If I were Bob from Idaho I might be a bit curious about what the local offerings are in addition to the chain establishments, and yet this new mall basically overlooks that. The trouble with this kind of development is that it presents consumers with same cookie cutter establishments everywhere - the same hotel chains, the same stores, and the same places to eat. American tourist destinations are all started to look, sound and taste the same.
Originally Posted By Spirit of 74 <<My wife and I saw a wonderful mall with an aquarium built in- Val 'd Europe, the wonderful district next to DL Paris. There is even an attched outlet mall filled with European based retailers. If you ever go there, stay at the Hotel Elysee and enjoy the atmosphere of this new town.>> I LOVE that mall. A classy outlet mall. All kinds of great places to dine. Even a semi-outlet DLP store. And Val'D Europe also has a great pharmacy, which (unfortunately) came in handy bigtime on my first visit!
Originally Posted By Spirit of 74 <<I live like 4 blocks from Bay Meadows.>> Wow! Can I stalk you, Jon? Since you put out where you live and all? I'll bring you a Johnny Rocket's burger and an Orange Julius! I promise! (We can even sit around and talk about all those nice things at DCA back in '01 ... hell, I'll even listen to you rant about Lutz for 2 minutes and 54 seconds!) C'mon ... lemme be your stalker. You're way more interesting than most mid-level Disney managers and execs!
Originally Posted By Spirit of 74 <<Same thing with Claim Jumper.>> As someone who's bi-coastal (no middle school jokes here, please), I miss Claim Jumper when I'm in Florida. Yeah, the portions are huge. But the food is very good. I usually go with someone who's willing to split a big steak dinner, add the salad bar and I'm one happy fat dude.
Originally Posted By Spirit of 74 I think this complex is going to do HUGE business with a mix of tourists, business folks and locals. Still, places like Cheescake Factory (style over substance), P.F. Changs and Bubba Gump's do nothing for me personally. But they do provide variety for many people ... some who may enjoy the places from home, others from Hicktown, Idaho who have never seen any of the above and a meal there will become a highlight of a DLR vacation. But the bottom line is I can't believe Disney didn't think long term and buy this land themselves. They could have done many things with it ... because at the end of the day, this is just going to be a more touristy version of The Block at Orange. (not that there is anything wrong with that)
Originally Posted By Sport Goofy << I think this complex is going to do HUGE business with a mix of tourists, business folks and locals. >> Based on national shopping trends these days, it will probably underperform. Traffic is declining at malls everywhere, and the chain restaurants similar to the ones going in at AGW haven't been doing well lately either.
