The drinks: 5 stars. Everything on the cocktail menu looked interesting and very little of it (if anything outside of the "standards" section) looked like something I could get anywhere else. I settled on the Nirvana, which was light and tasty, if a bit strange with the dried jasmine flowers floating in it. I would have ordered more but... well, we'll get to that.

The food: 3.5 stars. Again. Everything we had was well done. We settled on the pork belly (yum!), the muscles (a fair amount for the price and the smoked paprika made it interesting - but i'd still rather enjoy 3x as much for a few dollars more at Schlafly's Tap Room), and the fries. The fries were the best part. Beyond those those things, there wasn't much else on the food menu that intrigued us. While Taste is a bar first, if there aren't enough munchies for a second round of drinks, what's the point?

The service: 2 stars. It just got worse and worse as the night went on. We arrived a few minutes early for our 9:15 reservation and were seated right on time (which is not a complaint). Both my plate and my water glass needed replacing because they hadn't been cleaned well enough. Our server was swell to begin with, but after serving us the first round of drinks, he pretty much abandoned us. Even though we'd made it clear that we were interested in a few rounds of food and drinks, he just never came back. We really wanted to try the ab-Duck-tion drink (because how do you not try a drink made with duck-fat infused vodka?), but by the time he came back to take an order, all the plates were empty and the first round of drinks were dry. Yes, yes, Saturday night and all, but they didn't look overly busy and we were clearly customers who were going to spend enough to warrant attention. And i swear i wasn't bitchy about the plate.

I hate giving things 3 stars because it feels like the kiss of death for a "pretty fine" restaurant. The service, though, was unavoidably disappointing. We'll be back, though. There's that duck-fat drink to try and the pork burger that we were planning to order to go with it. We'll probably sit at the bar, though, and shoot for a weeknight where they might be better able to pay attention to us.

So very tasty.

On my first visit i sampled both a beef and chicken shawarma and a lamb gyro. We then picked up a tub of the garlic baba ganoush and the spicy hummus for later eatage. Said eatage is occurring right now.

Everything (save the gyro), was more than worth the price. lots of great flavors for very little money. (Bring cash though) Yes, the pita bread could have been a bit heartier to help hold our sandwiches together, but i'd rather a too-thin bit of bread than not have as much of the great marinade and sauce to go with it.

The gyro was fine, but it was made with the pre-sliced gyro meat you find most places. That doesn't really matter, with gyro house down the street and so many other great things on the menu. i've heard lots of glowing reviews for the falafel, but it's going to be hard to tear myself way from the shawarma on my next visit.

It's not the greatest quality sushi in town, but it's worthy, considering the price. two of us came hungry and ate what would have been $60+ at most other places for less than $40.

Service was attentive and the food came out fast, although some of the veteran diners in our party commented that it was slower at other times.

The nigiri is pretty small (about the width of my index finger), which was disappointing at first, but by round 3, seemed like a good idea. There were a few things missing from both menus (not everything that can be ordered ala carte is on the all-you-can-eat menu) like quail egg and spicy scallop.

The rolls are pretty standard and approachable, but as someone who doesn't like tuna, I would have enjoyed a few more options. with the addition of traditional appetizers (shumai, gyoza, tempura etc) even the sushi-squeamish can get their money's worth from the all-you-can-eat option. they have plenty of non-sushi options on the menu, too.

The smaller portions and lack of creative rolls means that it won't replace my regular sushi joint (Wasabi Downtown), but when I'm in the mood for a decent sushi feast, I'll be back.

ZOMG Yum!

I woke up Saturday with the need for some serious breakfast food. We decided to try BPC because we were in the mood for something new. On our way, i thought "I really hope they have a decent eggs Benedict and some tasty hashbrowns."

Do they ever.

The eggs benny was absolutely perfect and the "loaded potatoes" that accompanied it were incredible. they were a bit too peppery for my personal taste and so rich i could barely make a dent in them. between the great breakfast, the super tasty caramel latte and the (cucumber!) water, I was a happy camper. we'll be back soon to sample more of the great looking breakfast menu.