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| - How I write Yelp reviews, by Andrew K. Fromaz. (this IS my real name. my real nom de plume)
I start out by identifying an establishment I vaguely want to try, and finding an occasion or reason to go there. In this case, a fellow Yelper Christina P set up a special Happy Hour event on a Friday at Half Moon Sports Grill on Highland. I'd been to Half Moon before, and it was not exactly on my list of places to hurry back to and try again, for reasons which will gradually become evident...
I get to the restaurant, and go in, briefly (if at all) taking note of the decor, the attitude of the staff I encounter along the way, the crowd, the music playing, occasionally the lighting... anything that jars or that i happen to notice that i like. This is how I (and anyone else fortunate enough to have full use of their five senses) determine the "vibe" of a place.
Half Moon seems like a typical upper-tier sports bar, pleasant hostess, apparently clean, lots of big TVs, small booths... Nothing not to like, honestly. The "vibe" is that this is a pretty nice place.
I sit down and look over the menu, searching for anything that particularly catches my interest. I'm not a picky eater, so usually I have a hard time narrowing it down to one thing. The first time I was here, I was pretty hungry, so the blue cheese burger caught my eye. On a more recent visit, appetizers were on Happy Hour so I tried a few of those. Here's the bottom line. None of it was very good. Like, I would actively avoid eating any of the food again. The pretzel, which was recommended, was dry inside and oily outside - like it had been coated with some form of fake butter. The burger was only ok. The boneless wings were the only thing that I would order again (I think we got medium?)
Anyway, over the course of the visit I put together all of these impressions and write a review, usually deciding whether or not I'll return. Sorry, Half Moon, I want to love you, but I don't think I'll be back anytime soon.
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