Wednesday, May 30, 2007

Kyllos: Deception and Overpriced awful food.

(Note: Spelling errors were corrected 7/9/2009 - "Kyllos was spelled with one l, "Kylos" - which is incorrect. Amazingly, quite a few people found this article via Google as a result of the misspelling)

Never in my life have I been so insulted by a restaurant. My expectation when spending $25/plate on the beach is for the food to be decent.

Note to Kyllos management: Fire your food buyer, fire your host staff, fire your obnoxious kitchen staff, start taking reservations, feature only fresh local bought ingredients, and bring up the level of service.

Let's go down the list:

1. Fire your food buyer: We had the salmon. It tasted fishy. and was dry. We also had the Top Sirloin steak. It tasted like cut rate meat, probably freezer burned at some point in it's journey. The deep fried prawns that came with the steak had a distinct chemical taste to them that I can't even describe. In all, I was not impressed with the quality of the food. What gives? Does your Cisco rep do your ordering for you?

2. Fire your host staff: There were no guests waiting in the lobby. We walked in and the hostess had to look up from text messaging someone on her cell phone, was bugged that we walked in the door and proceeded to tell us to wait a minute. For what? The second coming of Christ? She resumed texting on her cell phone and grabbed someone else to seat us.

3. Fire your obnoxious kitchen staff: The food was not cooked well. Our steak was ordered Medium rare and came out Medium. The kitchen folks were so loud in their banter, that it ruined the atmosphere for the patrons within distant earshot of the kitchen. We could hear them hooting and hollering every few minutes. Sure, be proud of a job well done, but remember about having a little decency - you are working in a $25/plate restaurant.

4. Start taking reservations: We called a week ago to get a reservation prior to coming down to Lincoln City from Portland. Let me just say that never in my life have I been told "We don't take reservations" from a restaurant of the supposed caliber of Kyllos. Some of us don't like to play Russian Roulette with waiting for a seat to eat.

5. Feature only fresh local ingredients: You're not a special chain that ships everything in Frozen from Florida (i.e. Olive Garden). From what we saw, it appears that you're buying the cheapest crap the big-box food distributor is shoving down your penny pinching craw. Grow a backbone and hire a food buyer who does more than leave it up to the Cisco rep.

6. Bring up the level of service: Your wait staff looks like they're headed to a soccer game after work. Shorts, Jeans and uncoordinated shirts were the attire I observed. The staff at fast food joints are better dressed. Put your wait staff in some decent uniforms (or AT LEAST establish a dress code) and give them a professional server look. I'm spending $75 on dinner (2 meals, bottle of wine), shouldn't you at least look like you care?

We're not going back to Kyllos and we are working hard to spread the word. We have nothing against the owners (we don't even know who they are), but we feel that the restaurant is deceiving with it's grandeur Architecture and constant wait. There was a time that this place was top notch and the food was excellent. I'm not sure if they took reservations back then, but I have a feeling that they did. Until the ship has been turned, we will spread the word and actively boycott the place.
Pissingly,
Gregsta'

Tuesday, May 29, 2007

Those Wacky Costal People!

Bets' and I went to the coast this weekend. It was a blast - we had some great food, went clamming in the mud flats of Siletz Bay (and we caught our limit!), and visited a few stores late on Monday.

But the strangest sighting was a computer shop in Downtown Lincoln City. Normally, I don't notice these things. In fact, this was no exception. Bets' noticed that the name of this computer shop was Desperate Hard Drives.

Really?

I can respect a store named for what they do, but one that not only describes customers and enumerating their emotional state synonymous with the device in which they are delivering for repair (you weren't expecting that, huh?) - but also that it's a blatant rip-off of a very popular TV Sitcom. That's unoriginal and no-sequitor.

Are they that red-neck? Are their marketing departments THAT unoriginal?

I think I'll start a Health Clinic called One Green Pill in Newport.

Orginially,
Gregsta'

Friday, May 25, 2007

EOW - ROTFLMAO!!!

OMG! WTF! TGIF! Ths wk hs bn so cr8zy! Im soooo goin 2 th beach!!!

Nineteen Again (with text messaging),
g8gsta

Wednesday, May 23, 2007

Its a blast

I'm at Putters. Sue me.

Drinkingly,

Gregsta'

A Blog of Neglect

Lets see... What's happened since the last post...

Fishing trip last weekend was great. My job right now is absolutely nuts. Taking long walks nightly, but still absolutely beat the next day, despite a good nights sleep. I'm about as motivated as a slug stuck in the mud.

In other news: Construction downtown continues to be a source of humor and frustration. The musical-chairs-style road closures are great entertainment. I actually watched a guy plow right into the "Road Closed" sign, get out of his car, and start screaming on his cell phone about how he was so mad at the city. I'm really not sure if I'm laughing at or with this guy. A little bit of both, I suppose.

The house is starting to feel a little neglected. Remember that office remodel? I need to spend about 3 more continuous hours up there finishing it up. I can't fit it into the schedule. Time to start dropping things. This is getting crazy.

My apologies to Ann RE: her website - she's been waiting for so long for it to be done. I make a little progress every day.

Bets' and I are doing great. Her dad is in the know about her living at the house now. He's not too happy. The guy is super religous and feels that it's a sin to live together before your married. Damn. I was really hoping he would come over for some BBQ one of these days.

Pow for now. Maybe I just need a strong coffee drink. With Baileys.

Damnitly,
Gregsta

PS: Thanks for the sign-off idea, Sarah!

Thursday, May 17, 2007

If Eye Were Ewe

I dislike construction greatly. Everything about it disgusts me: The noise, fumes, blocked traffic, cut cables and pipes, buck-toothed freaks running heavy equipment, money hungry contractors - it's like Hell descends on a construction site and makes it's presence known.

When it's all said and done, sometimes there's a nicely completed project. Most of the time, it's a cheap-ass poor excuse for a building, road or bridge that would have been better off never being built.

Maybe I'm just sick of the downtown construction roulette: What road will be closed today? Who knows! Drive around and find out!!

Fuck holes. All of them. From City Planner right down to the Contractor bathing in our tax dollars.

Venting: Complete
Gregsta'

Tuesday, May 15, 2007

Dinner Concluded

On the menu at Le Gregsta' Bar and Grille' for the evening:

Grilled Bacon Wrapped Turkey Fillet topped with grilled tomatos and red onion
Seared Britney Beans
Hummus & Pita Bread (w/appropriate fixins')
French Red Wine

Dining: Al Fresca

Gregsta: Full
Desert? Not a chance.

Monday, May 14, 2007

Moms Day Concluded

It was a busy weekend. Yesterday was Dinner and Lunch with the Moms and Grandmas. Saturday was a busy home remodeling day. The office is just in need of some paint and it will be done!

Off to the DMV to finally get an updated drivers license with my motorcycle endorsement. Yay!

Gregsta'

Wednesday, May 9, 2007

Mistakes I have Made...

1. Declaring that the Internet was a fad. (1994)

2. Purchasing copious amounts of stock in eToys.com. (1999)

3. Registering as a Sex Offender with the Portland Police as a drunken-joke. (2003)

4. Eating two Grilled Cheese sandwiches w/Bacon, extra cheese and tomato. (2007)


Mistakingly,
Gregster' Das Pope-us

Tuesday, May 8, 2007

Whine: Now.

I don't get sick.

Regardless of that fact, Bets' and I managed to develop a fun little cold that wears ya down and makes your throat all scratchy. Good times?

It's funny. I always seem to chronicle my ailments on this website. I think it's a time killer for when I feel like shit and can't focus on keeping my head up, let alone approve invoices or get any real work done.

Sunday is Mum's day. Yes, it's a Hallmark Holiday. Would I be an ass for not celebrating it because of that fact? Yes again! We're going out to dinner. No cards, though. Hallmark can kiss my 92-brightness ass and put a bar-code on it.

It's going to be a long day. Can you handle it?

Gregsta'

Monday, May 7, 2007

Cyclical Hybrid Anti-Motion Reality Simulator

It's Monday. Yes, as per the movie Office Space, I have a case of The Mondays.

Dread wouldn't do justice to explain my mood today. I've got a work load that I've whittled down to the things I don't want to do (mostly "you're a fuck up" type conversations I have to hoist onto others). There are 3 things I'm thankful for today: 1. Betsy, 2. Matt (my Helpdesk Engineer) and 3. 5:30pm (quitting time).

I think I've got things to do this week. I'm not sure as I was talking on the phone with people and dates we're thrown out and I did my usual "I'll get back to you on that." Wouldn't you know it, I've forgotten every last conversation like that. It's my own damn fault. I have a PDA phone. One of the fatal design flaws of the modern PDA/Phone is that you can't multitask writing down something in the calendar and talk on the phone at the same time without a headset of some sort or the awful speaker phone. I think it's time that I get a bluetooth headset and carry it with me in my man-bag. Going shopping today... I wonder what those new Bang and Olufsen bluetooth headsets cost? It would probably require a second mortgage. Drat.

The garage is a little more clean. The Christmas lights are down*. The cats are happy as, well, cats.

Until next time...
Gregsta'

Friday, May 4, 2007

Video!

Here's some video I shot a few years ago. I'm trying out Youtube embedding on the site:

Thursday, May 3, 2007

Consistently Subjective

Fact: I took a sip of coffee just now and I swear it tasted like the grilled Ahi-Tuna salad from the sushi place.

Fact: No, my coffee isn't THAT old.

Empty as a Pocket,
Gregsta'