La Bella Cafe & Games

Information

PROS:
* La Bella is a cool place - nice people, good management, comfort food, TV's, etc.
* There's a 7-11 next door, and ample free parking at night (or a block away during the day)
* USB's are functional - absolutely crucial for Fiesta
* The arcade works on a card system, so you can pay with a credit or debit card
* Pads are very good, probably 8/10 - along with the Redondo Fiesta and the Huntington Pro the only playable pads in Southern California right now (though I haven't tried the new Pro in SD yet)
* Screen is a reasonable distance from the pads (WHAT A CONCEPT)
* It's a Fiesta!

CONS:
* Stage fail is on - no Vacuum NM for you
* You can't move the pads or the screen back - no 4x Hello William for you
* There aren't any fans by the machine - no dry pads for you
* Monitor burnout comes and goes - sometimes the screen will be crystal clear, other times you'll struggle to read the arrows
* The pads are set a little deep in the stage. I'm not sure this is a con per se - you can still hit notes without feeling like you're breaking your ankles (like you would at any D&B's), but these pads will punish you for attempting to doublestep. I don't really mind, but if you're used to more flush pads where you can scrape and doublestep you'll have to adjust.

UPDATE (August):
The pads are starting to get iffy, especially the inner panels, and the monitor burnout is a major issue: half the pixels glow like they're nuclear, and there are so many layers of burn that you can still read a burn layer that says "0/3 credits" (from when the machine cost 75 cents to play) behind a burn layer that says "0/4 credits" behind the ACTUAL "0/4 credits". I asked the management to fix the pad sensors -- and even offered to supply the sensors themselves -- and got a blase response. Trouble ahead for this machine, I think, so enjoy it now before it craps out and joins the rest of the unplayable zombie Pump machines here in Southern Cali.

http://www.ph-online.net/locations/index.php?state=CA#piu216