Happy Hour Review: We had a nice time at the Culinary Dropout's HH this past Friday. We arrived around four-thirty and the inside bar was pack. The hostess said the HH was limited to the bar area inside and out. Nahhhh we thought, we'll stay inside thank you very much. It was 105 degrees and the outdoor water misters were totally ineffective I mentioned in passing that I had read about their HH on Yelp. After checking with her Manager, she came back and offered us one of the communal tables near the stage. AMBIANCE/MOOD: The crowd was a mixture of Millennium's and Gen X'er, along with an equal number of retires. So eclectic? The interior had that old tin and aluminum stamped walls, reminiscent of the NY in the 1930s, with a large stage. It also has several large B&W photos from the 1960s of Janis Joplin, The Who, Roy Orbison along with a very young Boss, creating some good Karma. MENU: All of the food is $6.00: Grilled cheese sliders; Chopped salad; yummy Korean beef on a stick (photos); Pretzels & Fondue; meatloaf sandwich; Smoked salmon bruschetta, Antipasti and much more. All beers are $3.00 served in a 12oz mug; most wines are $6.00 and the Well cocktails are $4.00. SERVICE: Tom our server was pretty cool and on top of things. He worked hard at refilling our glasses and had an intimate knowledge of the menu, both HH and regular dinner. Even though this was HH, there was a focus on the regular menu. FOOD: Everything we tried was excellent. The salad, Fondue and meatloaf sandwich, were all very large. While the Korean Beef on the Stick was very good though it could be larger. But it too was delicious, and not overly spicy. PRICES: As I mentioned the Happy Hour food prices were all $6.00. Our bill came to under $41 including taxes but not gratuities. Enjoy!

positive

Seeing as the pub next door had a line of 500 for nickel PBR's, and Beso seated their last table 20 minutes prior, tapas seemed like the most appropriate choice for a 10:30PM dinner. Besides, without any walls, who could resist looking in and admiring the millions of colorful little mosaic pieces that tiled the floors and columns? Absolutely stunning. Service was attentive. The host at the door smiled sincerely. The waiter greeted us with a courteous grin - serious, yet gentle. Sangria was sampled, and the red was chosen. The white offered friendly flavors, sweet for those who cringe at the bitters from reds. However, the red stood bold, while embracing the sweets of the fruits. It was just a beautiful mixture of character and quality. Raspberry Tuna. Amazing. Visually, you acknowledge two cubes of the deep, dark shades of red. One cube has four sides rolled in a mixture of toasted black and white sesame seeds. The other cube, skewered and stacked elegantly on top, had a gentle dash of pixie dust (otherwise known as wasabi powder). Gently lift the skewer, but careful not to let it rip through the cubes... The raspberry cube instantly melts - velvety and smooth - offering tart flavors to the subtle tuna and sesame seeds. Garlic shrimp - another winner. Chorizo and mashed potatoes - perfect for a pre-going out item. I have yet to try the paella - perhaps when I go with a party of 12. My advice: try everything on the menu.

positive

I've been missing Oysy since it closed. Journey is as good or better. Only thing I missed was peel and eat shrimp. Aside from that it has all the expected items at a Chinese buffet such as this. Overall quality is terrific, even my wife who doesn't like fried Chinese food enjoyed it. Next time I'll try the stir fry in back!

positive

My husband and I love massages and needed to find a new place once we moved to Charlotte. We tired Urbana (Pineville-Mathews) first and we were impressed but we were spoiled in Philadelphia at Ame. So we decided to try a different spa. We ended up coming back to Urbana because we didn't like the other place. Now we get all our massages at Urbana (just needed to give it another chance). I've had several massage therapist there and all have their different styles of the swedish massage. The massage rooms are nice, little small but I'm not walking around so that really doesn't matter. The atmosphere is tranquill and the employees are all very nice and friendly. The tea is good but I've never bought any loose leaf tea from them.
positive