Case: I've lived in the valley for 8 years and this was my first time at a Whole Foods Market (sad, I know)!  This location recently opened which happens to be very close to my work.  I went with a co-worker for lunch and was able to eat on the outdoor patio.  The hot and cold bars had anything you could imagine.  On Wednesday's the also offer $2 off per lb.  I ate from the hot bar and my co-worker ate from the salad bar, we were both admiring each others food the whole time!  We walked around the store after lunch, it was set up very nice and we both enjoyed looking at the different/unusual products they had to offer. I will definitely be back for lunch again!
Classification: hertz


Case: Quebec residents get discount and rarely ask for proof only postal code. CAA members extra 2 dollars off.
Classification: hertz


Case: We were looking for a place to grab a few appetizers and drinks after a morning/afternoon of gambling in Vegas and from the outside La Salsa Cantina appeared to offer just that.  We were very wrong.  Six of us walked into the empty restaurant and we were quickly greeted by our server and we ordered 6 Tecates as soon as we sat down.  We then ordered an order of guacamole, queso and the steak nachos.  All of them were fairly tasteless and average at best (I would give the food 2 stars).  So our food comes out and we start eating, but our Tecates are nowhere to be found.  About 45 minutes later we are done with our meal and we ask for our check.  As he brings out our check and notices the Tecates on there he tells us he will be right back with our beers.  I politely told him that it's a little late for that and we just needed to leave to which he replied \""Oh, so you don't want the beers you ordered anymore?\"".  The whole exchange was a little mind boggling and I wish I could have the 45 minutes of my life that I spent at La Salsa Cantina back.  \n\nAs we left and were walking to our next destination I noticed a Chiptole.  I have not eaten at this Chipotle, but I am postive that going to that Chiptole and spending 15 minutes eating a burrito and then the other 30 minutes as a handbiller passing out escort service cards to tourists while wearing an orange shirt that says \""Girls Girls Girls\"" would have been more enjoyable than our 45 minutes at La Salsa Cantina.
Classification: cotyledon


Case: We saw his Christmas show.  WONDERFUL.  \n\nA great talent, he can sing and is entertaining.\n\nI would like to return for a non Christmas show.  But all his characters are wonderful.  \n\nTheater hint: Sit towards the center and closer to the stage so you don't have to view most of the show on the screens.\n\nOur entire group LOVED THE SHOW and each said they would come back again.
Classification: hertz


Case: Nosh and Swing got lots of good reviews when it first opened and I was excited to try it. A Groupon was released for it a few months after opening, so I bought it and ate there a couple months later. In short, it seems a place that doesn't know what it is while trying to be everything at once. It's a place where they try their best to be bold and playful and modern all at the same time and it all clashes in a way that is confusing to the palate. Think of all the recent culinary trends...small-plates for sharing, pork belly bao, bold cooking with bacon, clever names, etc...this place tried to do all of it.\n\nFirst, the environment. It's in a pretty run-down strip mall. Once you go in, the space feels cold and uninviting due to the metal on the walls and the metal tables. The items on the menu made no sense being together. They had pork baos (on the menu as pork bun tacos), some asian-inspired chicken wings, ceviche, albondigas (meatballs), fried elote, monte cristo, carne asada sandwich, etc. I had the waitress just bring us her favorites because I had a really difficult time trying to figure out what I wanted.\n\nWe tried two drinks. The \""chata-effup\"" (a spiced cinnamon rice drink which is essentially horchata) and the Mint & Basil Lemonade. The lemonade was decent, but the chata-effup was pretty watered down, making it very unsatisfying (imagine a half-milk-half-water blend). The drinks were served in large mason jars. Again, completely unnecessary. Why am I being served my drink in a mason jar? Nothing about Nosh and Swig indicates a reason for mason jars. It's just being done because it's \""cool\"".\n\nThe food was okay, but not great. The best thing we had that day was the Cornflake-breaded fried chicken and waffles. The chicken was well-fried and the waffles were decent. The only flaw was that it came with a blueberry sauce which was a lot more watery than I'd like (it just soaks into the waffle and makes it soggy). The other dishes all missed the mark in some form. The pork bao tacos really needed something to brighten up the taste a bit. It was a very flat and muddled in flavor. Same for the ceviche. The ceviche had soy sauce and a few other sauces that made it a very salty dish, yet it was in desperate need for some acid. The monte cristo was completely lacking in any flavor and had way too much bread for what little was inside.  For the poor quality and the small portion sizes, Nosh and Swig is vastly overpriced.\n\nWe skipped dessert because we were pretty disappointed in our meal. In the end, we paid just over $50 for two people (2 drinks, four dishes) and left trying to think up a place to go to dessert to lift our spirits. I was very annoyed at the whole concept of the place and the food did not make up for it at all.
Classification: cotyledon


Case: I really wanted to like this place, based upon a friend's recommendation and good Yelp reviews.  The chips and salsa were tasty and fresh, but that's where the goodness ended.  As an appetizer, we ordered the spinach queso dip.  The dip was runny and had the consistency of milk....not creamy at all.   For dinner, we each ordered the shrimp fajitas and they were pretty terrible.  The shrimp was cooked and served in a very sweet Asian style orange sauce (complete with real orange slices), looking and tasting more like an order of sweet and sour shrimp.  The shrimp itself was extremely rubbery and overcooked.  The beans and rice were okay, a little bland, but I shoved them in my tortilla to mask the taste and texture of the shrimp.  Drinks seemed watered down.  I felt sick the remainder of the night.  Will not be back.
Classification: cotyledon
Classify the following: Did not get to stay long.  Popped in for a quick drink before our Vegas wedding renewal and took about 10 minutes for someone to get our order.  Immediately after the drinks came they sent out a bottle of champagne!  How nice!  I wish we could have stuck around to enjoy it, but the limo showed up and off we went.  Looked like a lot of fun.