Q: positive

A: I am a fan of Indian food, have dined in countless Indian restaurants over more than 20 years, taken Indian cooking class and traveled in India. Most Indian restaurants in the U.S. offer the same exact dishes: Saag Paneer, Chicken Tikka Masala, Biryani, etc. Udipi Pure Vegetarian Cuisine offers some less seen dishes from Southern India. I was visiting and at lunch here. The all-veg (woo hoo!) buffet had two soups (Rasam and Sambar), two types of rice (coconut and plain), a deep fried lentil donut called Madu Wada, idli (plump fluffy steamed lentil and rice flour pancakes) a legume dish made with urad dal (a type of lentil more typical in Southern India that I rarely see served in U.S. restaurants) a cabbage dish, and some familiar standbys such as Aloo Gobi, Navratam Korma, raita, assorted chutneys and naan bread. The spices have been toned down a bit from food in India but still have kick. One top of that they made me a mini Masala Dosa fresh to order. The filling was delicious but the dosa (lentil flour crepe) was pale and soft not cooked until it was golden and crispy as I like. The flavors were good here. Not outstanding but very good. I enjoyed my meal in a comfortable booth surrounded by murals of Krishna and Radha while Indian music videos played softly in the background on two flat screen TVs. The decor is simple with some hanging cloth lanterns and a tile floor. Not a fancy place. Could be good for a first date because it's not overly romantic, just casual feeling. You could also bring children here if they have adventurous palates.

Q: negative

A: If you're looking for a dining experience at Fry's deli area you're better off going to an actual sit down restaurant. Fry's "dining style" food in the deli area is very substandard at the best. The seating area has comfortable couches, flatscreen TV's and DSL quality wi-fi. The annoying part is having to hear the loud fan blower going off and on everytime the outside sliding door opens and closes.

Q: positive

A: La Playa is a quaint dive bar that recently got a makeover. Its glass walls were painted black which made for interesting summer visits. But now it attempts to have a beach motif, complete with a faux great white shark head biting an Arizona license plate and puffer fish. It offers two pool tables, an electronic dart board and a pinball machine or two. Nothing remarkable there. It is well lit which coincides with its new attitude. There is also a digital jukebox and few pay-to-play digital game consoles at the end of the bar. I have yet to eat the food. Honestly I will not likely try it. There are a few pool/lawn plastic seats to sit on outside. They have some small plastic bins for garbage and cigarette refuse. But the drinks are great and the prices cannot be beat. There is a very gorgeous bartender there sometimes. She is actually worth the trip. She makes a great root beer shot. None of the other customers seemed dismayed that there is no (none that I saw anyway) wine. Overall a pleasant drinking experience.

Q: negative

A:
I wish I could say something good, but the food was lousy, overpriced and the service wasn't much better