Bevinco is the world's leading beverage profit and loss control service for the hospitality industry. That's why over 260 franchisees, operating in over 20 countries, are reducing losses and saving bar owners thousands and thousands of dollars. In return they are earning an executive income.
by Kim W. on I'm surprised I haven't heard about this place soon especially since so many financial heads usually end up here. This place is certainly far from public transportation! I took the 1 train to 28th street and walked to the west side highway. It felt like forever but once you get there, you instantly forget the walk and look forward to the beautiful views & drinks! The place is literally on a boat. I had to text my husband to tell him I was on a boat just b/c I was on a boat! hahahaha The vibe is very laid back. I guess since they have so much business, they connected more boats to the main boat via a plank so that there would be more seating areas. It's definitely crowded after work but it's really nice on a warm weather day. We ordered a pitcher of white sangria (serves about 8 cups), put in an order for food and then went to find a seat/table. Finding a table wasn't easy. They had roped off part of the boat for either a private party or the dancing that would ensue later on. They do try to put tables where ever possible such as the side of the boat and on the top deck. The staircase to the top deck is quite scary especially if you're drunk. If wearing flip flops while walking up and down, try not to lose them! :) We finally found a spot on the little tug boat attached with a view of the sunset. By that time our food was ready. We ordered veggie burgers with fries. The total with our drinks was $67. The sangria felt like it was watered down but I was enjoying my view too much to care. The spot we picked was great. It was away from the large crowd with an awesome view. A group near by even brought their doggie with them. When we left, the main boat had the sectioned off area full of people and a band playing. It was definitely packed by the time we left and we had to weave our way through to leave. Walking back to the train was a lot faster b/c of company. :) I would probably go again and bring some more friends to enjoy my new found discovery. Why it's called the frying pan tho, I'm not sure.
by Carol A. on Last night was my first time to the Atlanta Sambuca Jazz Cafe. The original destination was supposed to be Havana Club to see a band, but turns out the club was closed last night...whatever. So we popped into Sambuca to have a couple drinks. We had already eaten just prior to arriving at Sambuca but wanted to get a table to see the band that was playing. However, we were told there is a $17 minimum for food to sit at a table, so we propped ourselves up at he back of the bar where the service by Rory was friendly and the drink suggestions were on the mark. I had the cucumber and pineapple vodka drink and another citrus vodka drink that had basil in it. Both were outstanding. The cucumber/pineapple drink was sweet and maybe more than one would have been too sweet so I switched to the citrus/basil drink which was definitely tart. It was a fabulous drink, though. My boyfriend had some sort of margarita in which Rory didn't skimp on the tequila and then switched to a cosmo which was also good but a bit sweet. It's a good thing we paid our bar tab when we did because I was traumatized in the ladies room shortly before our departure. I head into the ladies room and proceed into the back (large) stall. The door was halfway open, as were all the stall doors, so I figured I was in there alone. I'm a couple steps into the stall when I look up at the toilet to find a woman hovering over the toilet seat squeezing out a turd! OMG. She looks up, sees me standing there in horror, and proceeds to say very nonchalantly, "Oh sorry...I didn't even think to lock the door." Didn't think to lock the door??? It's a public bathroom and you are taking a dump and don't lock the door? The woman, probably in her 60's, had been sitting down the way from me and Alain at the bar. There was no way I could go back and sit at the bar after having walked in on that! Needless to say, we had to leave immediately after that. Despite the bathroom drama, the jazz was fantastic and the drinks were great. It's a really romantic place and was a nice spot to hit right before heading home for the evening.
by Nga Foot on Prana was a roller coaster full of ups and downs. My first impression was that the waiting area was quite large and nicely decorated with some Asian touches (Buddha statue and the like) and off to the right was the bar area. There was no one at the host stand. I waited....and waited. It took forever for someone to finally check me in. I stepped outside to meet my friend who showed up 5 minutes later and we went back to an empty host stand. Finally, a gentleman came up, fiddled with the computer, told us the hostess was on her way, and then left. She finally returned and showed us to our seats. The dining room is cavernous and cold. The tables were only about 25% occupied. Post dinner it turns into the club Temple and you could tell they didn't really put a big effort into making it into a cushy dining space. The tables are placed very far apart from each other and the furnishings are very basic. It doesn't look posh at all; it was just enough to serve as a dining room that would be easy to break down after dinner. My friend and I were shown to a table in a dark corner. The tabletop was a bit small and we had trouble fitting all the dishes on it as dinner progressed. As for the bathrooms (which were clean and roomy), the hallway leading to them looked like a typical sticky club bathroom hallway. So far I'm just getting an ok feeling about this place. Our waitress came by and I could tell she was new and somewhat inexperienced. She had a hard time answering a couple questions about the menu. But overall, she was sweet and nice. When the food arrived, that's when our experience at Prana really started to spike. I was pleasantly surprised how great the food was and how large the portions were. My friend and I ordered off the Dine About Town menu and it had a lot of choices unlike some restaurants where you only offered the cheapest items on the menu. $31.95 includes a choice of one appetizer, one entree, and one dessert. Props to Prana for letting you have the option of doing two appetizers and an entree. The bread basket (naan and fried wonton skins) was great! I liked the three dipping sauces, which probably contributed to me being belly-busting full by the end of the meal. I ordered the fried Chinese long beans as my starter. The large portion was ample enough for 3 people. The beans were tender and lightly coated with batter. I wasn't too crazy about the dipping sauce; it had sort of a mustardy taste to it. For my entree, I debated between the short ribs or the ahi tuna. Without hesitation, the waitress recommended the tuna. The tuna was very tender with moist, soft pink centers served on a bed of noodles with a coconut curry-like sauce. The noodles were tossed with shitake mushrooms and yellow peppers and the sauce was terrific. For dessert, I surprised myself by ordering the chocolate option. I usually go with fruity or caramely desserts, but the ginger chocolate truffle cake torte looked so good. It was served with raspberries, strawberries, and cinnamon ice cream. The presentation of the dessert was beautiful. The torte was super rich with chunks of ginger that made it very unique. My friend ordered the empanadas appetizer; the meat was moist and juicy. The sauce it came with didn't really match, but the empanadas themselves were excellent. For her main dish, she decided on the rice crusted portobello mushroom scaloppini. The mushroom was super salty and had some spice to it that sort of overwhelmed the dish, but it was still good. It was served with a side of spinach and a large square of polenta. My friend chose the coconut cake for dessert and while it wasn't sweet, it was quite yummy. Now about the service - it started with the choppy experience at the hostess stand and carried on throughout our meal. I'm not sure if it was the kitchen or the waitress, but the food came too slowly. Also, the bread basket came AFTER the appetizers. The water glasses were filled promptly, so I will give them that. However, at the end of the meal when the waitress was busing the dishes, I clearly had one large gulp of my cocktail left. But she whisked it away without a word! Here comes the real kicker - after the waitress dropped the check (not literally) and we put our credit cards down, she comes back with a tray with dessert forks and spoons which she places on the table? The waitress then says "Your desserts are the way". We were like WTF!? Not only did we have our entire meal already, the check was ready to be paid! Don't get me wrong, if I wasn't so stuffed already, I would have been all over a second dessert. After we (politely) pointed out the mistake, she did apologize. I'm not really nit-picky, but that was a pretty big faux pas. I wasn't upset, just amused. But some people can be real sticklers for service, so just a heads up. Since I would rather have good food/bad service than vice versa, I was satisfied.
