Rating Local Corvallis Businesses

the following represents my experience, so take my opinion as just that.

1) the asian market on 9th street. my hub and i love this place. the prices are cheap. the service is very good. they have a big bottle of aloe vera juice for around $3. you pay a lot more for that at the co-op (and that's in bulk!). their won ton wrappers are inexpensive and can be frozen. they also have some really interesting looking vegetables.

2) q'doba. i think that's the name of the place. it's on monroe, right across from campus. mexican restaurant. LOVE THE FOOD. it's always fresh. and you can SEE the ingredients, unlike some of the other fast food mexi places here in town that look as though the food had been pureed. and the price? cheap! good service, too.

3) harry's fish market downtown. ok, so the prices are more expensive than what you would get at the local grocery stores, but the fish is always fresh, most i believe is caught that very day. the first time we visited, we were waited on by harry himself, who is very jovial and sure knows his fish. when he overheard mr. nina and i discussing our plans to freeze some of the fish, he immediately piped in saying "no no no! you don't want to ever freeze fish. it loses so much of its flavor." so we bought enough for two nights and opted to refrigerate instead. and guess what? harry is right. fresh is so much more flavorful. if we could afford it, we'd buy all of our fish here.

4) northern star. i love this place. i love the beads. the temporary tatoos. the jewelry. the clothing. the glassware. all of it.

5) richey's market. excellent customer service. good selection of the hormone-free meats. their produce section isn't always the freshest though.

6) co-op. i live on the north end, so i shop at the north store. they have a 5% reduction for those who are low income, which is wonderful. overall the staff is very friendly and some will go out of their way to help you find what it is you're looking for. like many, i wish the organic products were cheaper. the prices have come down though, overall, and i hope they continue to do so. if i could afford it, i'd buy most of my food at this place. good produce section, although i've discovered fred meyer's organic produce section is just as good and overall, cheaper. however, i have found the BEST valencia oranges at the co-op. amazingly juicy. my biggest gripe about the co-op (again, the north store) is that some of the younger clerks act as though they are at a party, often talking with one another when they should be waiting on you the customer. and given some of the things i've read in the thymes, there's a complete lack of understanding for those who live in poverty and simply cannot afford to abide by the values of the co-op: buy local, buy organic, buy environmentally friendly items....... when i read these articles i want to scream "IF WE COULD AFFORD IT WE WOULD".

7) schmidt's garden center. ok, i admit to a bias here given a couple of people in my life who have worked for him--and given my own experiences. good selection of garden supplies, although if you shop around, many of these products can be purchased for less money. that being said, the owner is a real SOB. he's racist and he's abusive to his employees. as a result, i refuse to step one foot into his store.

8) the sleep center. i do not have the space on this blog to go into detail about my very ugly experiences with this place. i'll do my best to be brief. the product they sold us was defective. and even worse, their customer service is terrible. the owners both hung up on us and refused to deal with us. some time passed, i made another attempt. (at this point we had gotten rid of the mattress set and were sleeping on an old donated foam mattress on the floor.) the male owner agreed to give us something in return--a used bedding set, which he said contained a top of the line mattress that was, at most, 4-6 years old and was in excellent condition--no stains or rips. (the mattress had been one of their family member's mattresses) and a newer box spring set, which he said was in EXCELLENT condition, which in and of itself had been priced at $500. "top of the line," he raved. i thought wow, maybe they do have a conscious afterall. so it was delivered (only after i called and REMINDED him of their promise). the result? AWFUL. terrible night sleep. i called the manufacturer of the mattress and found out it was at minimum, 10-12 years old. i also noticed a big tear. and the box spring? it had a price tag on it allright--$299. certainly not the $500 as he said. and to top it off, the box springs were NOT in perfect shape. far from it. they were uneven and collapsing. i also found a couple of other folks who had terrible experiences with this place in terms of customer service. so let me say it loud and clear: I WILL NEVER SHOP AT THE SLEEP CENTER. and i would encourage all of you to do so with caution. actually, my opinion is go elsewhere. if we had had the mental/emotional energy at the time of our original purchase, we would have taken them to small claims court.

9) Darrell's Restaurant. the food is average at best. the prices modest. but it is a fun place to go play pool.

10) new morning bakery. way overpriced. food is ok. but their desserts and coffee are excellent. a nice place to go and listen to live music and stuff yourself with one of their many pastries, cakes, pies, cookies, etc. etc. etc. the main drawback--you have to bus your own table. really strange considering their prices.

11) malcolm's. really nice guys who work there, but they've gotten way too expensive. and they overbook (kind of like doctor's offices), which means you don't always get your car worked on the day you bring it in. if you have a honda, go to university honda. their labor rates are actually cheaper than malcolm's (as of this writing). go see duke. he's a life long honda owner, very trustworthy. a good guy and an excellent mechanic.

12) the gables. while i love the atmosphere, the quality of the food doesn't match the prices. at all. over-rated, over-priced place.

13) michael's landing. again, a bit over-priced. but their desserts are really good. and their raspberry dressing and raspberry iced tea are excellent. a nice place to hang outside on their patio on a warm summer evening.

14) martinazi's. i think that's the name of the place. italian restaurant on kings. i ate there once, wasn't impressed and decided to try it again. same experience. very bland food. the price was decent, but not worth it given the quality of the food. and inside it's always messy. i wish corvallis had a good italian restaurant. that and a good quality newspaper.

15) el sol de mexico. great food. great service. very recommended.

16) the beauty bar--desiree castro. she does my hair and my spouses. i have a head full of long, wavy, impossible hair and she only charges me $25 for a cut and style ($15 for the guys). and not just your basic cut--but the works. she layered my hair and thinned it out--took about an hour--for just $25. the best hairstylist i've found in this town. (tell her i sent you and she will give me a discount.) he he seriously--she will.

17) stoker's vita world. if you have a question on ANY supplement known to man kind, this is the place to go. wes is a walking encyclopedia when it comes to health and nutrition. and if you can stand the 20 minute presentation he will likely give you (per question), your time will be well spent. (although i have to say i've been buying my supplements from swanson's--an online/catalog company. i've found their products to be of very high quality and very reasonably priced. and the BEST customer service i have run across for a mail-order company. i ALWAYS get a live operator and the phone rings only once. unbelievable in today's world. just shows you it is possible!)

anyone else care to rant or rave about any of the above or offer your own experiences with other local businesses? fire away!