Q: negative

A: After seeing a picture of their lasagna in an issue of Desert Companion, I put this place on my "list" of places to try. I got a little worried though with all of the mixed reviews I had seen... We started out with the calamari and Caesar salad, both of which were above average. Similar to my experience at SW, a really tasty bread basket was brought to the table. I ordered the lasagna, but requested to hold the pine nuts, the server said that unfortunately they are inside of the lasagna and cannot be removed. I found this kind of strange, but I understand perhaps this dish is mass produced so I lived with it. The lasagna was good and better than what I have had at Chicago Joe's or The M, but I would expect that for $10+ more! It uninformatively wasn't worth the price and quality that I've had at other higher end Italian restaurants. I did pull out a few pieces of hard fat/meat which is understandable because it wasn't ground beef, but obviously isn't a highlight of the meal. Overall the setting is very nice, but I wish I could have spent that money at a higher-end experience. For a measuring stick, I had a much better meal at Bootlegger Bistro with just a slightly more casual atmosphere for a lower price.

Q: negative

A: Saddest dining experience.... I was at Fez with a large group of young professionals, all well behaved, ordering food and drinks, and I have never had to witness such discrimination and ignorance on the part of a restaurant as I did tonight. The waiter, bartender, manager, and owner all assumed that our friend, who suffered a traumatic brain injury years ago, must have been intoxicated because his speech was slurred and his gait was not quite right. Despite having the situation explained, they refused to believe it, and instead of politely denying him alcohol, they told him to leave their establishment and refused to spend even a minute talking to him to see past their perception. Our friend stayed calm, apologized to our group, paid and left without causing a scene. I don't care how the food tastes or what the atmosphere is like; I won't be able to forget the disrepectful manner in which they treated my friend. I guess ignorance is alive and well, and frequents Fez as well.

Q: positive

A: I went shopping for a new futon at several stores in the Valley. The low price leader is Wal-Mart, where they have one that is great for the $219 it costs, but it wouldn't have matched my existing furniture. IKEA has some, but I didn't care for any of the ones they have right now. The stores that specialize (at least somewhat) in futons are all charging about the same price, but Futon Factory Outlet here had a frame, futon, & cover that I liked, all in stock in one place, so I bought here. I paid $419 for a nice oak frame & 10" foam/cotton mattress, plus $99 for a stylish cover, for a total of $518 plus tax. (They also carry a couple of innerspring futons, for about the same price.) The frame came in two boxes, oddly from different countries. The flat parts came from Indonesia & the ends from China. It all assembled together fine though, in just a few minutes. It was convenient to have the frame knocked down in boxes to take home, because my sales person, Randy, was able to squeeze everything including the double futon into my subcompact hatchback car for the trip home! (The futon comes folded in half in a plastic bag, in a choice of several colors.) I'm happy with my purchase here, & if you come hungry, drop in to China Garden, the nice little buffet restaurant next door before you load your car! :-)

Q: positive

A:
I was here Saturday and I had the Best Fish tacos, I must say I was impressed, very light and healthy, the fish was cooked just right and was not over the top on toppings.