Pappas Park Lanes is one of those places we all grew up with and now is an icon - never to be repeated again. It's not just an old bowling alley, it's an institution. We all grew up with places like this as a kid and when we return as adults, it feel comfortable...like returning home briefly until your parents start meddling in your life and tell you to get a real job or join the merchant marines. Compared to many other places in town, the prices really aren't that bad. There's ample parking, room for groups, and the inside is 40+ years old. Strike City is definitely more modern but you must pass a credit check in order to play a frame or two. No thanks! A surprise at Pappas Park Lanes is that the food is pretty good...no, it's really good. People from work would tell me that some would go there just for the food - which I didn't believe until this week when I enjoyed the barbecue pork sandwich. I couldn't find any sauce so with just coleslaw, I tackled the large sandwich. It isn't The Rock Store but I would rank it among the better in that part of town. The burgers are made fresh too...like with hand-formed ground beef instead of a frozen puck that so many restaurants serve. We recently spent an afternoon bowling and really enjoyed the staff, food, and the fun.

positive

This place wont be here long. I came in two nights ago because the Yard House had a wait. It looked okay from the outside beside the 30-something girls dirty dancing on eachother. I should have taken this as a warning sign. I was eventually greeted by a bartender who was hard of hearing. For the most part he was nice/friendly and frankly I felt bad for him. There was no one at the bar but me unless you count the waitress who laid down ON THE BARTOP where i was eating to get a shot done off of her. I ordered a salad and a soup. Both were good, although there wasnt much meat in my soup. Together they were 11.00, which isnt bad. This place caters to the 20-something college guy. Who in their right mind creates a place like this in a high-rent area?? The hostesses were 4's at best and were basically nude. The girls were all in bikini tops and shorts. But whats the point of shaking you booty for no money??? I felt like they had no respect for themselves. Its one thing to be a go-go dancer, but I doubt any of those employees walks with more than 100 bucks. WTF PART: Me eating my meal at the bar. Midway through, a waitress lays down ON THE BARTOP maybe 3 inches away from me and a group of guys do body shots off of her. There has to be a heathcode against some chicks body/hair being that close to my food while I am eating. There were a bunch of college guys taking pics of it of course so I am sure I am on some random dudes facebook page looking at my meal grossed out.

negative

Zen Buffet in Glendale Arizona: Run away. Fast. Am usually the kind of guy that can find the silver lining in almost any situation i.e; "our server was a most *excellent* mouth-breather..." - but as I write this review I still remain unable to find any redeeming quality whatsoever. It should be known: #1: I'm a guy; #2: I'm single parent w/ kids; #3: I can be Stalin-esque when it comes to buffets i.e; "quantity has a quality all its own' - which should be a godsend to ownership when rating a buffet. My expectations are low to start. As such, I am also very forgiving regarding buffets. Food doesn't have to be awesome for a passing grade from my boys and I - it just can't suck. Same thing with service: If we're missing a place setting or salt - I'm the kind of guy who will just snag one off a neighboring table - and still tip. Place has to reeeally go below and beside the call of duty to rate a negative (and yet I'll still tip...but that's how I roll :-) Zen Buffet - how much do I love thee? I'd planned on making list thanks to the generous 15% off Zen was offering if you mentioned "Yelp" - but alas, we've yet to find a thing. What we *did* notice however is as follows: 1. My boys and I have renamed the restaurant "The Dancing Queen", as this was the *only* song that played repeatedly for the 1st 44 minutes we were there. We were having fun watching and listening to the folks around us as they would come to the same sudden realization :-p 2. Much of the food was empty i.e; crab legs (Hey: at $12 for dinner, I'd like to have the crab legs as advertised!). I asked the attendant refilling the food *twice* if she would pleease refill it. It took asking the gentleman who was seating up front to get anything crab legs - and then the other patrons were busy waiting in the wings gobbled them all up in about 90 seconds. Never refilled again either. Oh HEY: I actually *can* say something good about this place: They refill the rice and noodles quite well! But now back to it: 3. One of my favorite dishes - salt & pepper shrimp - was misidentified and not available despite signage indicating otherwise. The salt & pepper frogs legs were as advertised - just ultra weak in the spice and ultra old. The shrimp in the bin that had the 'salt & pepper shrimp' sign was red. And breaded. And cold. Health department?!? 4. The lo mein noodles were bland and devoid of any flavour whatsoever, as were the rice noodles. And the creepy looking fried rice (bright yellow) was so hard, bland and cold that we spat it out. 1st time. Ever. 5. The wonton soup had not wontons (picked out); no baked scallops in the 'baked scallop" (it was chopped 'krab' that was baked in a scallop shell). It took us that long (and $40 bucks) to realize it was time to leave. I decided to take one quick walk back around the sushi spot. Like before, most of it was out. The sashimi on the far left side of the line looked like it had been cut and set out the day before yesterday. Quite unappealing and I was actually afraid to touch it. Felt I owed yelp a review due to the 15%, and I really feel bad for the ownership who will in all likelihood be out of business soon. And the summer hasn't even started. Looking forward to my first *real* review when I can report on a place that I actually want to go to (vs. hungry boys who spotted this place again as we were driving by today). Off the cuff review here, forgive the spelling/tense/general spaciness. We're still hungry - but for something edible :-o

negative

I like this place. I like it a lot. I'm a sucker for run down places with good food and a kid friendly atmosphere. I've never eaten anything here that I wasn't happy with.
positive