Java is the 944 for the hipsters and wannabe hipsters of Central Phoenix. Dig it? Maybe, maybe not. Depends on the issue, the coverage and how many times I have to see the same DJs, artists, advertisers and the same lanky disheveled stoic Downtowners profiled. Other times I have found a perfect new gallery to fall in love with or read about the newest wine bar opening up the street. Love it or not it this free monthly rag does a better job of covering Central Phoenix, Tempe and other hipster pockets than -- oh wait, zero, zilch, zippo. Yes, no one else is covering it.
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positive

The Beginning: A friend and I have ate at this location before and it wasn't memorable - besides the fact that the catfish was too overcooked the first time around. Today, I decided to give it another shot for dinner. When my friend and I got there initially, there were four tables - three already eating and one couple waiting for their order. We sat down next to two other couples and ordered the larb gai lettuce cups. After ordering, the other table was waiting for their food and becoming impatient as he kept sighing and exhaling deeply. The Middle: I understood his frustration shortly after - it took 30-35 minutes just to get our appetizer - the larb gai. The larb gai itself was underwhelming - the chicken was overcooked and all the seasoning in the center of the dish where the broth was. My friend tasted a small spoonful and didn't bother eating it though she was hungry. By this time, the restaurant starting to get their dinner crowd and there was a total of eight tables, along with to-go orders. We were trying to get a busser or another server's attention since our server was nonexistent for most of the meal. I had to raise my voice to get the busser to finally come over. When I did get his attention, I had inquired what was taking so long, he walked to the back to check. I watched him walk back to where the kitchen drape was, but he didn't bother going through. By this time, 50 minutes have passed and I had to again, raise my voice to get attention of the busser as he was going by the other tables but ours. I asked him if he checked on our meal, he said it's coming (he still didn't physically walk in the kitchen area to check since the last time I spoke to him). Finally, an hour into walking in the restaurant, I had to wave my arm to our waitress and ask what was taking so long. By this time, my friend and I were becoming uneasy and irritated. She said that it'd take another 10 minutes for the food to come and we were trying to explain that we were already waiting for an hour. We had a schedule to keep and had to tell her that if we didn't get our food before the 10 minutes, we have to leave to keep our appointment. The first dish came out five minutes later, followed by the two other soon after. The dinner was composed of: Basil Chicken Fried Rice: It was lacking taste - there wasn't enough salt or pepper and it was bland. We asked for it to be medium spice and it just wasn't there. The only Basil taste I got was when you bit into the basil leaf itself - the flavors were not throughout the dish. Garlic Eggplant - We get this dish at every Thai restaurant we go and it was not physically appealing to look it. The sauce looked like it was watered down and the eggplant itself had a unflattering color to it. We don't ever judge a dish by its presentation so we decided to taste. There was no taste to the dish - the sauce was bland and the eggplant was overcooked. We also asked for the dish to be medium spice and there was NONE. Two dishes in a Thai restaurant that lack spice is certainly a new one for me. Pad Thai Chicken - The sauce itself was there - it had just the right amount of sweet, along with the medium spice. However, the noodles were undercooked - the noodles raw or too chewy. The noodles themselves were actually the incorrect noodles - the noodles were glass noodles (transparent rice noodles I believe). I don't recall having anything else other than flat rice noodles for this dish and it wasn't a pleasant experience. The End: We finished our "meal" within several minutes of receiving it and we just wanted to leave. By this time, it seems like the entire staff was avoiding us. Finally, a different, more cheerful busser came by our table to check up on us. We were in the middle of telling him why we didn't enjoy our meal and the waitress came over to check on us. When we told her about the entrees, she took them away and presented our check - removing only the two entrees we didn't touch. Really?! After making us wait for over a hour, not having the decency to apologize for the wait, or for the meal for that matter, and dropping off the check not saying anything? We were beyond annoyed at this point and just paid and left. If you are going to try this restaurant, I would suggest going during their lunch time. The dinner crowd seems it is overwhelming for the kitchen and the staff. We were grateful for the attentive young busser at the end, but we cannot overlook the rest of the experience. I don't think I have been in a situation like this before. I have been in the restaurant business for almost ten years and there was no way it would've gotten this far for any of my guests.
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negative

We popped in fast because we were not allowed in the main dining room....they would not say why just that we could not go in. The next day Prince Harry is seen naked all over the place and I'm pretty sure we were not allowed into the main place because he was renting the whole place out. So we came here. It's excellent Vegas food and that's all you can say about Vegas food. You're probably never going to be disappointed until you see your credit card bill.
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positive

The Flamingo is home to some of the best shows in all of Las Vegas. I love their intimate show room, and they are in a GREAT location on the strip. However, the hotel itself was disappointing. The room was in serious need of repairs, I had a giant hole in the ceilings of the shower and absolutely no hot water or water pressure. I told management about the issues but they were dismissive. Internet is also not included in the resort fees, it's a additional $24 per day per device. To me that wouldn't be a big deal as my phone has it's own hot spot but somehow I think the hotel has a way to block the connection as it didn't work at all. Lastly, I reported a case of theft to management. Management said they would have security come to my room to file a report, nobody ever came.
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negative