Q: This year I decided that I wanted to get more into beer. I love wine and know a lot about what I like when it comes to that, but until this year, beer was a different story. A friend of mine started introducing me to various types of beer and from then on I've made it my year's project to learn to about all the varieties of beer, and what I like, the same way I have with wine. Enter Taste of Tops. Taste of Tops is next door to Tops Liquor on University and is exactly what the name implies, it's a bar where you can taste the selection available at Tops. They only serve beer and wine to my knowledge but they have a great selection of specialty brews on tap (don't order Bud Light here.) They also have a huge variety of bottles you can grab. They have food as well, but a very small selection and I've never been very impressed with it. On the other hand, Thai Basil is right next door and they don't mind if you bring that in with you. This is a great place to start your night (they're only open till 12) and if you're into beer, or trying to learn about beer, it's a great place to try new things!

A: positive

Q: What's with the kids? No no no no no no

A: negative

Q: AMBIANCE: Eclectic, casual and fun. It starts with the stuffed moose head over the receptionist's station dubbed, "Moose-olini" and spreads to the walls filled with tiny airline-sized bottles of booze, pictures of celebrities and anything else one can think of except the kitchen sink. Who knows everything that is stuck in the ceiling. I was almost afraid to look. One thing I am sure of--it's all been there for a very long time. ENTERTAINMENT: A tiny, wizened, ancient little man who is seemingly dwarfed by his big accordion. He comes around every half hour for about two minutes, plays very badly (in a "it's so bad it's great" sort of way), panders shamelessly for tips and then disappears (probably to get oxygen and rebuild his strength for another two minute appearance a half hour later). Ref: http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/yNVcnSaMSrTmjJBMrHTy9w?select=jJQ-WqpZTRkjYGSqFF-nyQ CONCEPT: Charge double the value for run-of-the-mill Italian meals that are posted on a board and then try to compensate with free vino by the carafe. In a similar vein to Olive Garden, you can stuff yourself with unlimited garlic bread too. If you drink enough wine and chow down on the garlic bread, you'll enjoy the accordion serenades, go away full, and really not care about the quality of the meal and the price tag. If you're with good friends, it probably will be an enjoyable experience. OUR EXPERIENCE: We walked over to this little hole in the wall before a Penn and Teller show based on our concierge's recommendation. We drank the "free" wine, ate a lot of garlic bread, sang a lot of "Happy Birthday's" to various folks in the room, listened to the little old man butcher "O Sole Mio", and ate pasta dishes. I ordered linguini chopped clams in a white sauce for $26.95. The other dishes were all priced in the mid-twenties. My clams and linguini were of the $11.95 caliber. The wine was simply bad. In summary, Battista's must have a very good working concept to stay in business for over 3 decades. That concept just doesn't work for me. I'd even recommend the place for those in a Monty Pythonish mood and looking for "something completely different." If this is the case, just go in with the right expectations which shouldn't be centered around their culinary excellence. Battista's was the only recommendation by our excellent concierge that I don't heartily endorse.

A: negative

Q: i will admit i am not exactly a mongolian grill expert. i can take it or leave it. but when a certain friend of mine visits from florida, i will always take him to a mongolian grill because he is a mongolian grill addict. he has driven 2 hours (over 120 miles) just to get a decent mongolian grill in florida (shout out to BD's mongolian).. well, we tried this place. utter disappointment. everything the previous bad reviews have said is true so i won't reiterate all that, including the ridiculous trouble of having trouble reaching the back ingredients. but my biggest complaint was this: what always made an overpriced bowl of veggies, rice and meat tolerable to me in the past was the SHOW! you take your bowl up to a huge round grill, hand it over to the cook, and the cook puts on a show! flipping food, twirling food, making fire over the grill, joking with the onlookers, all the things you see at a hibachi restaurant. at genghis, you hand your bowl over to the cooks, and you go sit down and they bring it out to you. i felt like i went to a movie only to be made to sit in the lobby to eat subquality popcorn that cost much more than it was worth. and the service? what service? i waited a long, long time before a waiter showed up and i was finally able to ask for a glass of water that took a long time as well. the place was not busy around 3 pm. there's no excuse for poor service when the place is not crowded. i usually tip generously but not this time. my mongolian grill god friend says next time, he'll choose the restaurant. i was embarrassed and thought it was a huge waste of a lot of money.

A:
negative