Problem: While waiting for my room at Mandalay Bay to be ready (a three hour rate, but that's another review...), I was starved for breakfast and found this place. The menu board out front looked pretty good...and the clincher was "house-made corned beef hash". I am a freak for corned beef when it's done well. When it's on the menu as "house made", I get myself in line. Eating on my own, I was jammed into a 2-top in between a couple of 4-tops against a wall. At first not so bad, as the other tables were unoccupied, but within minutes I had 8 breakfast companions, all large and boisterous. The waitress came by to take my drink order and was clearly miffed that I already knew what I wanted for breakfast and wanted to order it all at once. Coffee appeared shortly, and then a plate with a pancake-high bit of hash...mushy potatoes, a little bit of corned beef, a side of one thin, thin slice of melon and a sprig of parsley (the menu says "served with melon and greens"). Do they think you won't notice??? When the waitress reappeared (after I had finished my measly meal), she poured me a half-cup of coffee...I guess it was time for me to go. Not a fan of Vegas, and really not a fan of $20 breakfast that wouldn't satisfy Oliver Twist. I won't be back...
How would this review be described?
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A: negative

Problem: The irony is that I spent more on this meal than any other in my life and enjoyed it the least. I would never order a single thing that I ate here ever again. Some of the most bland, non-descript, unimpressive food that I have eaten anywhere. And before you assume that I simply "do not appreciate good food", let it be known that I just returned from Sonoma where I dined at Thomas Keller's French Laundry and eat regularly at Gary Danko in San Francisco. Let me start with the four best parts of Joel Robuchon at the Mansion. The bartender in the lounge was cool, knowledgable and professional. The drinks were ridiculous, but the bartender was great. Second, the atmosphere is impressive, albeit a bit outlandish. It's amazing how quiet it is in here, you would never know that you were in loud Las Vegas. Third, the bread cart is outstanding. There are many different types of amazing breads, and you had best load up on them if you dont plan to grab a burger somewhere else before you go to bed. Last was the included sorbets. My favorite part of the meal. As for the 6 course crustacean menu itself, it was not good. One seafood gel in an egg cup with sea urchin roe (tasty, probably the best item), two tiny lobster "raviolis" (not very exciting), one shrimp wrapped in a spider-web like pastry with asparagus and caviar (very basic and unimpressive), a half-ping pong ball sized lump of king crab (blah), another ball of lobster served in a bowl with broth (very blah), and then a raspberry gel desert which was tasty. My friend had the cheaper menu and it looked far better. The Kobe beef dish was amazing, far and away the best thing on the table. In short, this meal was boring, with common -place ingredients, small and very, very expensive ($350). The servers rarely described the food, and were only around to refill the very, very expensive water. Service here should be ridiculously good, and it was just the opposite. The sommelier was annoying and not as knowledgable as you would expect. Gary Danko and French Laundry are far , far better and, although also expensive, much more worthy of your money.
How would this review be described?
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A: negative

Problem: Having recently dined at Central Bistro, we decided to give this North Scottsdale favorite a try. Unfortunately that night, the restaurant fell short of its reviews. When we first got there, we anticipated a wait and were going to sit at the bar but the hostess suggested the patio. It was a warm-ish night and the hostess sat us at a two top next to the parking lot. The mister dripped all over us and cars pulling in and out blinded us with their headlights. When we asked to be moved, the hosted could only think of moving us to another two top with the same conditions. Frustrated, we walked by her back into the main room and told her we would wait. Papardelle Bolognese when I heard the pasta was fresh made in house. While we waited for our entrees, we attempted to break bread, then tried to cut it with a knife. The bread was so , it was not a chewy crust but a hard shell. We never did eat the bread and were never asked what was wrong. Soon thereafter, our entrees appeared and my wife relished her choice. The salmon was cooked perfectly and seasoned just right without some citrus-y sweet goo that many restaurants use to cover the fish. her fingerling potatoes and vegetables were cooked to a firm perfection. Next, I dug into my long anticipated pasta only to be disappointed in a thick, super wide tasteless pasta that wan not chewable. The sauce was a tasty melange of meat and tomatoes but was not enough to overcome the pasta's shortcomings. I set that aside and our waitress came by and said, "Is there anything wrong?" It was obvious and she said she would get the manager. He came over and I explained my disappointment and offered to replace it. I have a policy not to order again because when you return food, the staff is upset. They care less about the customer than their work. Due to the late hour and my hunger pangs I ordered a cheeseburger and fries to make it quick and easy. Again, within a few minutes, the manager appeared with my replacement order. I cut the burger in half and noticed it was cooked a perfect medium rare. I took a bite and savored the charcoal grilled flavor. In my second bite, the flavor changed to a heavy salt flavor so i opened the burger and found clumps of salt and clumps of seasoning. Rather than return a second meal, I scraped the salt and seasoning off the top and finished it. I could not eat the fries because of the heavy dose of salt. When the waitress and manager came back, I told them, it was cooked perfectly to temperature and asked for our check. We paid and left right away. No offer for a comp desert or anything but no loss. We were glad to get out of there. There may not be another visit in our future.
How would this review be described?
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A: negative

Problem: Tried it out for lunch. Walked in during the lunch hour and only 3 other tables were filled. Always nervous to try a place when they are not busy during lunch, especially on a Friday. Everything on the menu looks great. I ordered the crab salad sandwich, I asked what type of crab was used, and told blue crab, which is my favorite. I ordered sweet potato fries which were an additional charge instead of regular fries which came with it. After a bit of a wait, I was served. The sandwich had a lot of crab that was in light sauce, fortnately not mayo. served on top of a romaine lettuce leaf and roll. Which was not toasted and a bit stale. So I just made it like a lettuce wrap. The sweet potato fries were great! Crispy on the outside, soft on the inside. They serve you plenty. The bill was a bit steep, but that's expected when eating seafood in LV. Looking foward to going back and trying something different. Oh, i read on the reviews listed here that if you showed them a Yelp review you save money on your bill. Fortunately I was not asked that... and shame on them if they did and if they do it.
How would this review be described?
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A:
positive