Pita! Pita!

Pita Pita is very vegetarian-frienly but also has plenty of kabobs for omnivores. I really enjoyed the green bean stew that I ate here. The ambiance is not too bad and the location is good especially if you want to walk to Vromans or the Post Office.

I must say, the Mediterranean Cafe is probably a better bet, but this place is pretty good too.

PROS: Vegetarian friendly
CONS:

Villegas Woodworking & Restoration

Jose did an amazing job fixing my wooden window.

It took much longer than he thought (two weeks instead of two days), and he didn't communicate this to me until I called him. This became only a minor irritation once I saw the quality of his work.

The window was fixed so well that you couldn't see the seam. He came over and put it on the hinges, and when it swung shut, it fit better than the original.

I didn't find it hard to get on his schedule, and the price was reasonable especially since it took him longer than he thought.

His little nephew comes to assist him and he is a great helper.

PROS: Quality is the highest
CONS: Communication could have been better

J P Paper Shredders

You might think you have a heavy-duty paper shredder, but it has nothing on the paper shredder at this place. It ate up my box of sensitive documents in seconds.

Just drop in with your sensitive documents and they are likely to shred it right in front of you.

I think they charge $35 for the first 170 lbs of paper - I only brought in 40 lbs worth, but it was worth it - it would have taken me hours to shred that many documents.

They seem to be able to turn these shredded documents into gift wrap confetti!

They also do recycling, and list their recycling rates at their store.

PROS: Incredible shredders
CONS: I wouldn't want to live next to them

Vons

There are definitely some interesting characters that hang out around this store on occcasion - I wouldn't call it unsafe, but women I know who have come here have received a few stares and hoots. If you are a guy, it is fine, but I probably wouldn't park my bicycle outside this store.

On the inside it is nice and the employees are friendly.

This is also one of the places you can buy MTA light rail monthly passes, but get there before the month begins or they will run out.

Digital Paging & Cellular Service

Despite having "Cingular" and their logo pasted all over the store, they don't seem to have much support for Cingular.

If you want to listen to hip-hop, play video games, or buy one of their millions of faceplates, this is the place to go. Need service? Definitely don't come here - they are either unwilling or unable to provide it.

PROS: Hip-hop and video games
CONS: No service

Hampton Inn & Suites Houston-Westchase

We were trying to arrange for a block of rooms for our friends and guests at this hotel. We were in Los Angeles at the time so we had to do things remotely.

They told us to fax the guest information to them. I did so, and called a week later to follow up. They did not get the fax. I faxed again with instructions to follow up with me. No follow up. I called them and they said they received the fax and would take care of it. When I mentioned specific names on the list, they had no idea what I was talking about but said they would handle it.

Finally, a few days before the event, we flew into the city and dropped by the hotel to verify everything. They had no record of getting the fax whatsoever. We had to stand there for an hour while the guy keyed everything in, which was a big waste of our time.

Once we dealt with these people in person (and requested a room confirmation fax everytime we made changes on the phone), things went well, but their incompetence in dealing with remote arrangements caused us a lot of headaches, as our guests were calling them to confirm the reservation and they had no idea who they were.

The rooms here were actually very nice.

If you deal with these folks remotely, request room confirmation faxes for all your rooms. Do not send them a fax, as apparently they don't receive them.

PROS: Nice rooms
CONS: Incompetent staff

Men's Wearhouse

We received very professional service here for our tuxedo rental. No complaints at all - much better than some of the other Men's Wearhouse locations we've visited.

Taste Of Texas

My steak-eating friends loved this place - the beef was apparently top-notch (they actually allow you to select your cut of beef if you are so inclined) and the side dishes were delicious according to them. You can order a very small cut (6 oz) if you don't have a huge appetite.

I really enjoyed the salad bar they had here - it was excellent for a steak house salad bar.

This is a fairly classy place with nice ambiance.

PROS: Great salad bar, apparently has great steaks too
CONS:

Paper Source

I came here after seeing the good reviews on Insider Pages.

They have very nice cards on heavy quality paper, and the staff is friendly and helpful. The designs have a unique style and the cards don't have prices and bar codes on the back like Hallmark cards (why do they do that?!). They also have a section that reminds me of Michael's, with all kinds of fonts and stamps.

The best part is they sell old school gum like Beeman's and Juicy Fruit.

The problem is that the prices are so high that it seems like someone is playing a joke on you - I almost laughed when I saw how much they were charging for some items. I would only come here for very special occasions!

PROS: High quality cards and paper
CONS: High prices

Wilcox Memorial Hosp-Surg

I had to go to the emergency room so my wife drove me to Wilcox Memorial hospital. (It turns out that there was a much closer emergency room in Kapaa.) The emergency room was pretty empty so I was shown to the treatment room immediately, but I waited there for about an hour before the Dr. Chris Elliot showed up.

This is the first time I've had a "surfer dude" doctor - Dr. Elliot said he moved to Kauai for the surf. He quickly prescribed me some medication which did the trick, though he did give me so many pain killers that I was knocked out for the next few days.