Is the following review positive or negative?

DH and I stayed at Carefree Resort and Conference multiple times during our house-hunting expeditions, but think we ate at The Lariat only once, early on, before we discovered Carefree Station and it became our "go-to" restaurant. Well, with CS a sad memory, we are conducting try-outs for another local place---somewhere we can get a delicious meal in nice surroundings at reasonable prices minutes from our home. Arrived about 7 pm Saturday night and the large dining room was bustling, but a pleasant hostess seated us within minutes at by the french doors. We were immediately supplied with a wine list and menus, but the hostess asked if we knew about the Saturday night prime rib special. Prime rib---yum! For $16.95, we got a 6 oz piece of meat, our choice of baked or mashed potatoes, and a veggie choice---asparagus, broccolini, or seasonal veggies. Checking out the menu, funnily enough with it's cowboy name and western ambiance---The Lariat menu is heavy on fish! Most of the appetizers and a large number of entrees features our finned friends. Our server, when he promptly arrived, told us that they have a seafood buffet the first Friday of every month that is huge and fabulous! I wish I could tell you all the dishes on the menu, but I didn't think to grab a photo and the menus on any website are way out of date and no page on the Carefree Resort site. But they looked delish. I was torn between the flounder or the halibut and DH was really thinking about a pasta dish that made him salivate. In the end, we chose to go with the prime rib special. Started with a field greens salad---not included in the special---choosing to share. Happily, it arrived on separate plates---very generous and served with a white balsamic vinaigrette that was WAY too tangy for me, though DH loved it. I requested something more mellow and our server brought me some ranch. Obviously, all the dressings are house-made---the ranch also had more tang than say---Hidden Valley and was thinner, but it was very tasty and more appealing to me. Greens and veggies were all very fresh. We received a basket of bread---seeded rolls and wheat rolls. DH liked the seeded rolls so much he requested another and they gladly brought a basketful. I thought the bread was good but a tad chewy---I suspect maybe it got a zap in a microwave to warm it up. DH ordered a glass of Millbrandt cab and I had a glass of Coppola Pinot Noir---we enjoyed both. Our meals arrived. DH had went medium rare with seasonal veggies and a loaded baked potato and I went rare and mashed with broccolini. Both pieces of meat were served perfectly to our request. Veggie servings were generous---we aren't talking about six daintily arranged pieces---we are talking about a mound, sauteed perfectly so they were tender and crisp and still green color. DH's seasonal veggies was a half-bushel of zucchini and yellow squash chunks, again sauteed to the point of tender-crisp. Mashed potatoes good but ordinary. DH's potato was piled with cheese and bacon and green onions and butter and sour cream and he was happy, but I thought it could have been warmer. He was happy though. Of course, we got little cups of au jus, which was tasty, but not over-salty, as it can be. I requested and was immediately brought a portion of creamy horseradish sauce. Yum! Well, the meat was excellent. A touch of fat for flavor, seasoned with a lovely salty-peppery rub, cooked to order, as I mentioned earlier, and DH, who is more filet mignon than prime rib, commented it didn't have the "game-y" taste he often associates with prime rib. (I refrained from telling him that's called "flavor", unlike those over-priced blobs of tasteless meat he usually orders!) DH cleaned his plate---except for a couple of morsels he put aside for the four-legged Queen. I just could not eat it all despite my best efforts. I ended up bringing a whole 'nother meal home with me. Disappointing---not having another delicious lunch planned for Sunday---but because I would like to have tried their desserts, which I understand are very good. Instead, I settled for a cup of coffee to finish my meal. And I have to say---whoo-doggie! I don't know if they have a proprietary blend or what, but that was some cup of coffee. I definitely had to cream it up. DH said it reminded him of the coffee in Italy. It was really good! If they sold it in the resort lobby, I'd buy some! Ambiance was very nice---casually elegant. You can tell restaurant was constructed in the 60's---it has that sense---but nicely updated. Service was excellent. Thank you, Sean! We'll absolutely be back to try the seafood buffet and the rest of the menu. The Lariat is definitely a contender to be our Cave Creek-Carefree "go-to".
positive