Q: Again, not impressed, although my dinner experience was a thousand times better than my solo lunch experience. I am not willing though to rate to a higher level as this dinner on many levels fell flat. I should have known, but kept my hopes up none the less. My husband and I were invited to a date night dinner here, so we went along for the ride. First off, service was a tad better this time around. Our waiter was a bit of an odd-ball though. I have to give him props for getting me a cocktail in just in time for the Happy Hour price. He was also incredibly knowledgeable about the restaurant's extensive menu. Happily telling us all kinds of things, including his opinion of the Marsala sauce that is very unlike his Italian grandmothers. Appetizers: Calamari Fritte, served with marinara. It was fried Calamari. Luckily though it was not soggy or gross. It was fried up nicely and with a spritz of lemon and a bit of the sauce was a decent app. Spinach & Artichoke Al Forno - I am a fan of artichokes in apps. My favorite though it basically just grilling the artichoke and serving it to me as is. However, I was not impressed with this dip. It is baked in an Asiago and Alfedo-like cheese sauce and it just did not have any zing to make it any better than any other spinach dip I have had. Crab & Shrimp Cannelloni ($18.50) - Ugh! What a waste of money. This dish came out in a POOL of cheese sauce. Literally, the entire plate was cheese sauce. The menu description says this, "Asiago cheese sauce and breadcrumbs". No. There were no breadcrumbs. My plate was a goopy pile of cheese sauce, with three lone Cannellonis that had, perhaps, 4-5 pieces of shrimp. The peppers included did not enhance the meal one bit. The cannelloni was soggy and unappetizing and the crab meat inside was like a wet mop, just smooshy and gross. I was incredibly disappointed in this dish. I wish I had gotten the Spaghetti and Meat Sauce, which is what my husband got, and he cleaned his plate! Creme Brulee ($7.95) - A huge portion of creme brulee served in a trough. Okay, I'm just kidding it wasn't served in a trough, but it might as well have been. The dessert portions are large, so ya know, share. My husband had one spoonful of the creme brulee and I was left to eat the rest of it. Again, as an overall opinion - it's over-priced, over-salted, overly-hyped Italian food on The Strip. It's a chain Italian restaurant I will continue to avoid.

A: negative

Q: Arrived at 5:45, but the place was already packed. Since I was dining solo I decided to forego a wait and eat at the bar. Arrival: It took a little longer than I would have expected with 3 people behind the bar to get someone's attention, but finall I I asked the bartender for a drink list and he handed me a beer list. No biggie. Asked a different bartender if there was a drink/whiskey list and got the right menu this time. Drinks: There are a number of interesting cocktails using locally distilled liquors. Theres also a fantastic selection of Scotch whiskeys arranged by region of origin, including Oban 14, one of my favorites. At $9.50 it's just a smidge more than I would expect to pay at a place like this. Unfortunately the price wasn't the only issue. First, they served me a fine single malt scotch in a highball glass. Second, for $9.50 I would expect at least a 2 finger pour, this was barely more than 1 finger in a narrow highball glass. I'm thinking it was probably a 1 shot pour at best. I don't think I'll be ordering another straight whiskey here anytime soon. Stick with the cocktails. Food: Food took about 15 minutes from order to service. Pretty impressive considering how busy they were. I ordered the Big Texan Burger which is local beef on a local bun with bbq sauce, fried onions, and cream cheese. The patty was tasty and well seasoned but I ordered medium and this was cooked past that closer to the well side of medium well. The patty itself was a little small and got lost under the rest of the toppings. Speaking of the toppings, the BBQ sauce is spicy..like. quite a bit hotter than I would have expected, that must be why they put the cream cheese on it. Still, everything together didn't quite work. The patty which clearly was tasty was overpowered by everything else, and by the time I was done I was still craving a BURGER. I ordered the Garlic Parmesan fries and unfortunately we ran into another problem with the bartender not listening to what I said. When my order came it had sweet potato fries. Had another bartender check the order, sure enough, he put in sweet potato fries. Considering I had a conversation with my fellow barmates on which fries I should order, we were certain it was not a mistake on my part. I kept the sweet potato fries since I want to eventually try both. The fries themselves were crispy on the outside, fluffy on the inside, and had just the right amount of sweet. Serving size was again a little small considering I paid a dollar extra for them. All in all, the food was high quality, but not quite what I asked for and may not have quite been to my taste, but I can't hold my preferences against them. The thing that really turned the visit around for me was some time talking with Tim , the owner. He asked how everything was, and when I said there were a couple of issues he was totally responsive. Right down to coming by with the bottle of Oban later in my visit and pouring me another serving in apology for the previous short pour. I confirmed with the owner that they are doing a 1.5oz pour. So $9.50 gets you 1 shot. Tim also talked with me about some future plans for the place including a possible expansion out front that will be a whiskey and wine patio. According to him, he wants to be the preeminent whiskey/scotch bar in the Madison area. Considering the place is only 6 blocks from my house, I highly approve. All in all I can't complain. They're busy, they just opened, and the food is clearly of a high quality. I'm excited to come back again a few times over the coming months and see if they're able to smooth out the bumps.

A: positive

Q: The service at Pita Jungle was quick and very helpful. This was my first time at a Pita Jungle and I was thrilled to see that it was so healthy. This was also the closest that I have gotten to the authentic Arabic food that I knew and loved when I leaved in Dearborn, Michigan. I had the chicken shawarma and gobbled it down. Yummy! The best part about Pita Jungle?? The kids' menu! WOW! This is the healthiest menu that I have seen since I have started nannying. Everywhere else seems to only have pizza, corn dogs, and macaroni. Thank you Pita Jungle for teaching great habits with using the MyPlate model and having very healthy choices for each portion.

A: positive

Q: $33 (double meat) for a lobster roll with fries and coleslaw and a drink. The fries and slaw were fine but the lobster seemed a bit whack. Not a lot of flavor happening. If I would have paid $6 for the meal then we'd be talking maybe 4 stars. Even without the ridiculous price, I was thoroughly underwhelmed with this meal.

A:
negative