Q: positive

A: Awesome little deli. I eat here all the time, and am never let down. Some of the best fresh italian bread I've had. They use it on their sandwiches but you can also buy it separate if you want to use it with your own sandwiches. Also, they sell boards head lunch meat at a great price.

Q: negative

A: The two stars as defined by Yelp as "Meh. I've experienced better" is a great definer. In fact, I would amend it to say "I've experienced A LOT A LOT A LOT A LOT better." To establish my credibility, I must first say that I had been in the food service industry for almost 10 years (highschool and college) and so I've worked low end and high end and I think after experiencing different levels of the food industry, I know what I'm talking about. Additionally, as a food service worker, I would have appreciated a guest like me letting the restaurant know if there was something amiss. However, there was so much wrong with last nights dinner that I could have had an hour long talk with the manager about the millions of things that needed to be done to fix the quality of the restaurant and in particular, Manuel's service. So, I'm sure you're wanting to hear about the restaurant. I came in with a larger group around 8:15. I called ahead to let them know we were coming. We had a range of people that I thought were coming - between 10 and 13. They were busy and part of their restaurant (the bar portion) was closed due to renovations, so this already busy restaurant had limited capacity. No problem. My group was relaxed and flexible. We had nowhere to be and the bartender made us a couple of drinks while we waited. (He was probably the best part of the night.) As we waited in the front room, a hostess in a very rude voice asked if we had any idea of the real total of our party yet. She claimed that it would change our waiting time (which was of little importance to us) and said, "you only have 7 people here right now, how many more are going to show up?" I calmly told her at least 10 and we'll squeeze together if we need to add more, no problem. I don't know if she was having a rough night, but it was just her attitude, tone, and the fact that she did not approach us to have the conversation but rather stood by and hung on the seating podium that really irritated me. Once we were seated (around 8:45 or so), we grubbed on some chips and salsa. I must give a kudos to Manuels for this, the chips and salsa are tasty. Its a shame that the same quality did not extend to the rest of our meal. Around 9:20 or so, we hear this terrible clanging of silverware behind us. All of the servers had decided to roll their silver right behind us. So, for a half an hour, we got to listen to people rustling, quite loudly, silverware as they did their side work. Ugh, annoying. When our food came out, our orders were wrong. If it had been one or two, then we would have changed it .... but... if we had all complained, pretty much every dish would have been taken back to the kitchen. At least on my side of the table, my tacos came out on the wrong tortillas, they were greasy, and the quality of the beef is very very fatty, oily, and tough to chew through. My friend also ordered two fish tacos, also presented on the wrong tortillas, and the fish were in large fillets that did not span the length of the tortilla, so you were eating at some portions just pico and tortilla... kinda weird. The server also got my husbands order wrong (he ordered the chicken fajitas) and she brought out a second shrimp fajitas. Trying to be accommodating, he took the shrimp instead of asking for his original order. She knew that she had made a mistake in this but still charged him for the more expensive shrimp fajitas. Additionally, the chefs do not know how to portion equally as my husband had 5 shrimp in his fajitas and my friend that had ordered them on the other side of the table had close to 10. Thats a lot of extra shrimp. And the server did not even check in to make sure everything was ok. Finally, when were only half way through our meal, around 9:45, they started rolling down the metal window coverings. If we were there after closing time, which is I believe 11, I could understand, but there was still an hour and 15 minutes still left to service. We just felt so unwelcome and with every passing moment, we were becoming more and more irritated with the restaurant. I'm a Tucson native where Mexican food is not only delicious but there are plentiful options. I just moved to phoenix about 6 months ago and I have been not only disappointed with Manuel's but with every Mexican restaurant that I have found in Phoenix. Is there not even one that has decent food? My take on Manuel's is that if you're wanting expensive prices (12.95 for two tacos and a side of beans with a sour cream, kind of what might be considered a guac, and a tomatillo sauce condiments) with mediocre quality of food and irritating service, then this is the place for you. If not, well... you get the picture. Happy eating!

Q: positive

A: Hands down best cornbread I've ever had. It's everything you want cornbread to be: warm, caky, sweet, and last but not least de-freakin-licous! Ok, now on to the food. I've been here twice and each time I couldn't force myself to order anything but the fried chicken. When I go to a Southern restaurant serving soul food I have a really hard time ordering anything else. The chicken is moist, macaroni is rich, and the collards are full of flavor. Both times we've been, the place has been packed. They do a nice job getting you seated in a reasonable amount of time. There isn't much of a waiting area though so it gets rather cramped when you do have to wait.

Q: negative

A:
In a word - Dump. From the second you walk in this place you are greeted by the nauseating oder of cigarette smoke, assuming your able to see through the smoke the next thing you will notice is this casinos horrid decor. The Fort McDowell instantly makes you feel like your walked right into 1982. From the wood trim everywhere to the harsh bright colors this place is decorated with, everything about it exemplifies ugly and outdated. Just spending an hour in this place made me feel like I needed to re evaluate my life. The thing that secured the 1 star they earned from me, THEY DONT HAVE WIFI. Wireless service (Att, Verizon) does not work here. Probably because it's in the middle of nowhere and the signals can't penetrate the building. It's 2014, what business doesn't have wifi? If you expect me to be in your establishment for hours, why must I be cut off from the modern world in order to do so? Anyway, with casinos like Talking Stick among others that offer a modern, sexy experience, I'd never come back to the Fort McDowell.