review: Cliff House

Ah, for Kat and my second valentine’s day as a couple, we decided to go to Cliff House. Our first valentine’s day was spent cramming furiously and writing papers together. I remember it distinctly. It was very romantic. I think a bunch of other people were with us too.

Anyways, onto the Cliff House review. First, pictures tell a thousand words, so:

So, it looks something like that.

Our dear friends Gary&Michelle told us to go the left after the main-entrance, which leads to the less-pricey cafe/diner area. But, after hearing that the bill was on me, they changed their minds and URGED Kat to go to the right. Left, right, left, right.. so confusing. (Maybe they should put all that energy into a dance routine choreographed to Beyonce’s “To the Left.” just kidding guys. <3) So the diner is completely casual and, to Kat’s dismay, they had ESPN going on two screens. The right side leads to “The Bistro”, a candle-lit dining room with 2-story windows.

Like most people, my favorite part about this place is the view. The place is righttt above the water, hence the name, and it makes for some pretty nice sunsets. One word of caution — you won’t be able to catch the sunrise here since we’re out on the west coast and all 😉 I bet breakfast here would be nice, though. One of the reviewers from Yelp claimed that the nicest time to eat here is when it’s super stormy and that actually sounds like a good idea. Perhaps we will go back on a stormy night. Anyways, to end, some thoughts about the food. It is a restaurant, after all.

After reading almost all of the Yelp reviews, I went with their burger and Kat ordered a salmon filet. We both started with a cup of soup — french onion for me and clam chowder for her. All of the food was pretty good, but nothing really to die for. It was much more food than I expected and I (gasp) couldn’t finish.

Definitely worth coming here at least once.

4 beans.

review: I am Legend

Dum-dee-dum.. another movie review.

We’ve been watching a lot of movies lately, it seems. And of my million Blingo Fandango’s, none were used in this recent barrage of movie-watching. Sadness. Anyways, onto Will Smith’s latest blockbuster.

quick background information: The movie was based on a novel written in the 50’s. It was made into film twice — in the 60’s and 70’s. The weird thing is, this new version of the movie doesn’t follow the plot of the book at all. I don’t want to reveal any spoilers, but in the book Will Smith is more like a killer, or so says Wikipedia. Continuing on..

As I’m writing this, I feel a slight bit.. sucky and overly-critical. Why? I didn’t like the movie that much, whereas:

a. EVERYBODY told me the movie was awesome. some even said that they would watch it again in the theatres. (I probably won’t)
b. the entire row behind me was bawling about halfway through the movie. think that means they liked it.
c. EVERYBODY said it was awesome.
d. I guess I am a people-pleaser =]

For those of you who haven’t seen it, it’s about the last guy on earth. The only thing is, he’s not really the last guy on earth. For the most part — it’s him, his dog, and a bunch of bad guys that want to kill him. A cross between Castaway and Resident Evil.  The best part is, he’s actually trying to help the bad guys because they have a virus and he’s a scientist so.. between a rock and a hard place I suppose. I do admire the conviction and determination.

Hm, the action scenes were actually pretty well-done. I give it 2.5 beans!

review: Juno

one quick and painless synopsis of the movie: a teenage girl (who’s name is Juno. hence, the movie title!) gets pregnant and immediately wants to get an abortion. however, at the last minute, she decides to have the baby. in a newspaper ad, she finds a couple who is interested in adopting the baby, and she agrees to give up her baby for them as soon as she gives birth. some complications arise. Juno learns some life lessons.

ok. that’s probably the worst plot summary you can ever get from a movie, but for those who haven’t watched it yet, i reallyyy don’t want to ruin it for you because i honestly believe it’s a wonderful movie! probably one of the best movies i’ve ever seen. it maybe even tops garden state!

why is it such an awesome movie?
1) major culture clash: think of a smart-mouthed, sort of tomboyish, baggy-clothed 16-yr old who’s bedroom walls are filled with emo and punkish looking posters. she also owns this really cool looking hamburger phone. then think of her meeting this married and a bit uptight couple who lives in a large, two-story, very clean and spotless house. then imagine them sitting down and trying to discuss the terms of adoption in a sophisticated manner even though the girl keeps firing off these witty comments such as “wait. don’t i just pop the thing out and hand it over?” or “if i could just have the thing and give it to you now, i totally would. but i’m guessing it looks, probably like a sea monkey right now, and i should let it get a little cuter.” hilarious! i love awkward situations. and i love how the characters have so much personality, as you can tell.
2) lovely people: the guy who plays dwight in “the office,” the guy who plays michael bluth in “arrested development,” the guy who plays george michael in “arrested development” are all in this movie. people from two of my favorite tv shows! oh, and jennifer garner is also in this movie.
3) indie film: automatically makes it a top movie on my list. none of that fancy special effects or technical stuff that i’d never understand. i love simple indie films!
4) my favorite car: DFAJ;KDAFSJ; JUNO DRIVES A TOYOTA PREVIA!!!!! LOVE IT.

i know this isn’t the best movie review ever, but hey, i’m giving it a really positive review and rottentomatoes.com gave it a 94%. so why not go watch it yourself? trust us pros! you’ll love it as much as you love… your mother!

bean rating: cinco (5) beanos!

-kat

upcoming review: Halo 3

jeff made a terrific comment — review halo 3! What could be a more obvious choice than halo 3 aka ‘game-that-takes-up-all-our-time’ ?

furthermore, since this awesomeness has been experienced a lot more people than just me and kat, does anyone else want to review it??

rockin’ deal of the day

well, the title says it all: rockin’

5 beans, no brainer. n-j-o-y.

favorite jamba juice flavor? i bet kat’s would be something like oatmeal and soymilk 😉 (see below post). blecch.

review: kat’s breakfast.

every morning i wake up to bright sunlight, the sound of water running from my roommate showering, and the glorious anticipation of… eating my oatmeal-soymilk-special-k goodness! i am convinced that my oatmeal concoction is one of the reasons why i am a morning person.

(you know i love lists!)
1) it’s so easy to make! just add water to your instant oatmeal, pop it in the microwave, pour in some soymilk, pour in some special k red berries cereal, mix it up, and enjoy! if kat can cook this, so can you.
2) it’s fast to make (approx. prep time: 2 minutos). this is extremely important for college students like myself who are always on the go!
3) it’s good for you. oatmeal lowers your cholesterol and helps you number 2 faster. soymilk gives you protein. special k red berries helps you lose weight (it says so on the box!) and.. has fruit.
4) you can do other things while you’re eating it, such as doing your morning devos! it’s just a mixture, and so you don’t have to pay attention to cutting anything or forking anything. just keep shoveling it into your mouth until you’re all done.
5) it’s the perfect combo for your taste buds. a blend of hot mushiness, cold liquidness, and crunchiness.

try it tomorrow morning!
the bean-o-meter reads: 5 beans!

note: although this website is called “john and kat’s reviews,” it does not imply that we agree on all ratings. john would probably give my breakfast a 0.5 bean rating, as i have sadly heard him utter in the past, “it tastes like barf!” however, i will remain faithful to my morning bowl of perfecto and stick with my 5 beans. yum.

-kat
————————————————————
oh, and congrats to those who guessed our mystery guest reviewer to be none other than: g. ho ka ho! (who happened to have just finished taking his OATs. har har, yay for the oat theme of this post). good job, mateo. you win…john! he’ll be your bff for one month.

edit:

back from bora bora

just kidding.

wow it’s been quite a while since this blog has seen some work. in fact, someone (who will remain unnamed) asked kat if i actually left for my ‘i want to go to…’ destination. ha! if only!

BUT, better than pictures from the most beautiful place on earth — a guest review on our site!

BUT wait! i will leave the reviewer unnamed as well. Can YOU solve the thrilling case of the mystery reviewer??

——–

AE polo for 11.99:

Hello there! I’m ________ and I was chosen to be a guest reviewer on this fantabulous site. John and I coincidentally bought the same polo from AE, so we’re gonna co-review this thing.

So I was at AE with person uno, does and tres (those names would give it away, sorry). After perusing the full-priced items for a bit, we headed towards the back of the store: some of us for the clearance items, some of us for the couches. I found this polo shirt at the clearance rack. Let me start with the cons: The shirt material is kinda flimsy in my opinion — some may consider it “breezy”. I personally like a sturdier material for my polos so they can withstand more washes. Also, I don’t like how the shirt has turquoise-bluish thread. Wouldn’t most people use white thread for a shirt that’s predominately white?And now for the pros: One bean for the low price, one bean for the cool horizontal red stripes of uneven widths, one bean for stretchiness, and half a bean for coolness because John owns the same item =]. All in all, I think it’s a good shirt at a good price, and I rate it at 3.5 beans.

We wore it to dinner one night and everybody was so jealous of us. They must’ve been like, “wow, that’s a really cool polo shirt. I wanna go to AE to buy one right now so I can match with John and ______.”

WHO is the mystery guest reviewer?? stay tuned for next time!

‘i want to go here…’ of the day

where do you want to go??

-john

random dilemma of the day

scenario: you’re by yourself at the library with your laptop. you drank too much water for your bladder’s own good.

dilemma: do you…
1) leave your precious belongings at the table and sprint to the bathroom, hoping that you’re out of there fast enough so that no one takes your stuff?
2) ask the closest person around to look after your stuff? and trust that they will actually look after it? even if you can see very clearly that they are quite absorbed in their textbook?
3) ask the librarian to look after your stuff? (will they actually do this?)
4) pack up all your stuff and lug it with you to the stall? so mah-fan.
5) eat a lot of salty foods? in the hopes that osmosis will do the trick and absorb the liquid.
6) hold it in until you’re ready to leave when the library closes… in 4 hours.

-kat

review: yahoo music launchcast radio

ever have a hard time finding a good radio station to listen to? ever have one of those days where you keep switching stations every 5 seconds until, in your frustration, you end up resorting to listening to commercials because there’s nothing else better to listen to?

with yahoo music’s launchcast radio, never again! this is an online radio that streams music right to your computer.

the pros:
-you can customize your launchcast player to play all your favorite tunes. or if you’re super indecisive like me, you can set it so that it plays ALL kinds of songs! [or you can pick and choose genres.. i.e. you can tell it to exclude all country(barf) songs.]
-you can discover new music! (lifehouse has a new album :D)
-no installation required. it just pops up.

the cons:
-after every 5 songs or so, an ad will play =(
-it’s not supported by firefox, and so you’ll have to open up internet explorer.

the fine print:
-if you want to be able to skip songs, you’ll have to sign into your yahoo account. no biggie b/c who doesn’t have a yahoo account? come on people, what did you use for email before gmail got big?

get it (for free!) at music.yahoo.com

bean rating: 4 beans

-kat