Monday, July 20, 2009
Noodles
On a hot sunday the idea of sitting in cool airconditioned comfort sounded attractive. So off to the theater we went, Food Inc. was pretty good but the food that preceded it was somewhat less so. I had been meaning to try the Willamette Noodle Company for some time and yesterday was the day. Having heard that it gets busy I was surprised to see a cl;ose to empty restaurant on a sunday night. Service was attentive and bread that was brought to the table was fresh, tasty and promptly topped up. A quick perusal of the menu show a good selection of pasta which could be combined and altered into many permutations. I chose a macaroni and cheese with sausage, others at my table chose plain mac and cheese and one adventurous diner ordered a Mushroom ravioli in browned butter with sage. Apps were quickly delivered. Garlic cheese bread was good and baked goat cheese (if you like it) was generous and quickly devoured. Salads were somewhat interesting. Choices were a Caesar of a house salad with a Balsamic dressing. While that is fine with me I'd expect in a family type restaurant a bit more choices when it comes to dressing. This isn't fine dining. Main courses soon appeared...the ravioli was swimming in grease, with a couple of burnt sage leaves. Flavor wise, there was none. The pasta was chewy and bland, the stuffing tasted of something foraged off the forest floor and I'm not talking mushrooms. More like leaves and dirt. Tha two macaroni dishes were passable. Underseasoned and not very rich but OK, for somewhat less that we were charged. Portions were generous. Desserts were pretty decent. A lemon pannacotta, chocolate cake, and a Smores brownie..all highlights. When we mentioned that we weren't impressed with the ravioli the waiter informed us that he wasn't surprised since half of people had been comp[laining about this dish.......So take it off the menu! They did thankfully take it off our bill. So was it worth a return trip? Probably not. Bland food, no ambience, not cheap......Would the Olive Garden have been better? I shudder to think possibly yes! Go see Food, Inc
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Dinner at Christo's
Having heard rumors that Christo's was home to the best pizza in Salem if figured I'd give them a try. Pizza is of course the topic of serious debate and having lived in New York City I'd like to think that a few great slices have passed across my lips!
Five of us walked into the restaurant that had a pretty good buzz..clearly Salem is excited that new dining options are arising. The first thing we noticed was the heat, the whole room felt like an oven, much hotter inside than out. Hmmm....come august this would be unbearable
Sat down, water appeared promptly..thankfully. Quick perusal of the menu, the usual pizza, selection of salads, appetizers a few entrees, pasta. I thought this looks great, simple, something for everyone, so far so good.
As our waiter came over we'd already made some decisions and some involved pizza. "Welcome to Christo's, just want to tell you we have no small pizza's left" Hmmm..pizza place, running out of pizza, are the doughs premade? Brought in from outside? Strange!
Another waiter comes over, "problem solved, small pizzas are now available"..
First waiter returns, we try and order a small pizza, "Sorry we are out!" "Are you sure?" He was sure. We are now a bit annoyed but he tries to make things right, "I'll bring a larges for the same price as smalls"....Ok we think, but he senses our irritation and in a bewildered tone he echos our thoughts, "I don't understand why we can make a large but not a small" Neither could we as we watched the cook spin dough in the air.
Appetizers were fine. House salads were exactly that. Caesar salad had a strong garlic taste, a hint of anchovy, creamy texture to the dressing, a hint of lemon and the right amount of cheese. Sadly, the flavor was marred by the fact that the romaine was soggy. If I had to guess I would say that the salad had been scooped out of a premade batch that had been sitting for a while in the heat. No excuse for this.
Bread with a white bean salad was the best of all but needed just a bit more acid. A touch of lemon or vinegar would have brought this to life.
Food arrives, pasta with mushrooms, cured ham, onions in a cream sauce. The verdict..OK, somewhat bland, ham very dry and mushrooms tasted like they had been dried and reconstituted. Portion size enormous!
Veal Marsala is tender and accompanied by a well seasoned sauce. Side was risotto which was barely palatable. It had a strange metallic taste and unpleasant texture. Appeared to have been scooped out of a bucket and reheated. Bad, bad, bad
Pizzas were OK, some thought they were quite good, others thought the sauce was lacking in salt.
Crust was chewy with a crisp underside. Toppings were a bit stingy. Certainly not anything I would rave about but not disappointing.
Desserts were clearly brought in from outside. Creme brulee that was fine, a flourless chocolate cake that was very rich and not overly sweet and a limoncello raspberry dessert that also was acceptable but would have benefitted from being completely defrosted before serving
Was this meal on the whole good? No, not really. Was it a victim of opening week jitters? Perhaps it was. The pizza confusion was a farce. I'm still waiting to understand the logic. Soggy salad, no excuse. Risotto is a dish that needs to be made a la minute so I can't imagine a worse side dish. Simply a bad idea.
To their credit they did try to make things right, desserts were comped and the prices were adjusted. Did this want to make us return? Not sure, certainly given the lack of alternatives we probably will give them another try but we hope to see improvements
Five of us walked into the restaurant that had a pretty good buzz..clearly Salem is excited that new dining options are arising. The first thing we noticed was the heat, the whole room felt like an oven, much hotter inside than out. Hmmm....come august this would be unbearable
Sat down, water appeared promptly..thankfully. Quick perusal of the menu, the usual pizza, selection of salads, appetizers a few entrees, pasta. I thought this looks great, simple, something for everyone, so far so good.
As our waiter came over we'd already made some decisions and some involved pizza. "Welcome to Christo's, just want to tell you we have no small pizza's left" Hmmm..pizza place, running out of pizza, are the doughs premade? Brought in from outside? Strange!
Another waiter comes over, "problem solved, small pizzas are now available"..
First waiter returns, we try and order a small pizza, "Sorry we are out!" "Are you sure?" He was sure. We are now a bit annoyed but he tries to make things right, "I'll bring a larges for the same price as smalls"....Ok we think, but he senses our irritation and in a bewildered tone he echos our thoughts, "I don't understand why we can make a large but not a small" Neither could we as we watched the cook spin dough in the air.
Appetizers were fine. House salads were exactly that. Caesar salad had a strong garlic taste, a hint of anchovy, creamy texture to the dressing, a hint of lemon and the right amount of cheese. Sadly, the flavor was marred by the fact that the romaine was soggy. If I had to guess I would say that the salad had been scooped out of a premade batch that had been sitting for a while in the heat. No excuse for this.
Bread with a white bean salad was the best of all but needed just a bit more acid. A touch of lemon or vinegar would have brought this to life.
Food arrives, pasta with mushrooms, cured ham, onions in a cream sauce. The verdict..OK, somewhat bland, ham very dry and mushrooms tasted like they had been dried and reconstituted. Portion size enormous!
Veal Marsala is tender and accompanied by a well seasoned sauce. Side was risotto which was barely palatable. It had a strange metallic taste and unpleasant texture. Appeared to have been scooped out of a bucket and reheated. Bad, bad, bad
Pizzas were OK, some thought they were quite good, others thought the sauce was lacking in salt.
Crust was chewy with a crisp underside. Toppings were a bit stingy. Certainly not anything I would rave about but not disappointing.
Desserts were clearly brought in from outside. Creme brulee that was fine, a flourless chocolate cake that was very rich and not overly sweet and a limoncello raspberry dessert that also was acceptable but would have benefitted from being completely defrosted before serving
Was this meal on the whole good? No, not really. Was it a victim of opening week jitters? Perhaps it was. The pizza confusion was a farce. I'm still waiting to understand the logic. Soggy salad, no excuse. Risotto is a dish that needs to be made a la minute so I can't imagine a worse side dish. Simply a bad idea.
To their credit they did try to make things right, desserts were comped and the prices were adjusted. Did this want to make us return? Not sure, certainly given the lack of alternatives we probably will give them another try but we hope to see improvements
Sunday, June 7, 2009
The first of many.....
Some might describe me as a foodie, chowhound, collector of cookbooks, serious amateur gourmet but certainly not a critic. Here lies the first of my views on various dining options around Salem.....let me know if you agree or not.... In the short time I've been here, what I considered a culinary wasteland has shown some promise, hopefully this will continue.
One local spot that has generated some buzz not only online but by word of mouth is of course the aptly named Word of Mouth Bistro. Having been there a few times I have appreciated their good service, solid if somewhat uninspired food and reasonable prices. Last night however I was reminded why in the restaurant business you are only as good as your last meal.
Previous dining choices have included their
Bistro Burger- tasty and full flavored, decent portion accompanied by some steak fries which were no better than average.
Veggie Burger- a large homemade burger which was not eager to stay together and was clearly cooked with quite a bit of oil. Seems to me a bit counterproductive to eat what many might plan on being a healthy alternative to meat only to have it arrive drenched in grease.
Spinach Artichoke Dip- warm, gooey, fresh veggies, chips, perfect
Chowder- A bowl of good chowder is one of my favorites but it so often misses the mark (like french onion soup, but that's another story). The menu says amazing, I'd say I've had better and I've had many that are worse.
Turkey Burger- Conjures up thoughts of dust storms and tumble weeds as these tend to be dry. Theirs was moist, the chutney on the bun wasn't to my palate but those with me were approving. Oprah says it's the "best in the world", perhaps.....certainly beats most hands down.
In all good value for money and a place that was becoming the go to spot for a quick bite.
Yesterday, we were thinking of where to go for a casual dinner and while I felt like a Cobb Salad at Bentley's (a rare highlight in an otherwise pretty dismal place) we ended up at Word of Mouth. Business is clearly good as we snagged the last free table on the front porch. The sun was blinding through the windows but once we put down the shades things looked promising. Service friendly, if somewhat amateur. I chose a pork skewer special and my date chose the burger that she had enjoyed in the past. The wait was somewhat long but a salad that came with my meal and some bread passed the time. I should note that the side salads here are worthy of praise, crisp lettuce, a nice selection of fresh veggies, so much better than the usual iceberg lettuce, slice of cucumber, wedge of tomato and stale croutons one most often is given.
When our food does finally arrive, the burger is dry and quite charred....acceptable but barely. To their credit we did not specify how we wanted it, though we weren't asked. The thought of sending it back was tempered by the time it took to get it. My pork skewers were tender and the Asian inspired marinade was well balanced. Portion size was barely adequate for a meal that was 15$. Sides were some plain white (Basmati) rice and mixed veggies which were perfectly cooked and seasoned. Did we have room for dessert? No one asked and our check was promptly delivered to our table. Perhaps they were looking to quickly turn over tables? Simply an oversight?
Word of Mouth, I really wanted to like you. Our first "few dates" gave me hope that we could have a relationship, now I'm not so sure. Will I give you a second chance? Probably.
One local spot that has generated some buzz not only online but by word of mouth is of course the aptly named Word of Mouth Bistro. Having been there a few times I have appreciated their good service, solid if somewhat uninspired food and reasonable prices. Last night however I was reminded why in the restaurant business you are only as good as your last meal.
Previous dining choices have included their
Bistro Burger- tasty and full flavored, decent portion accompanied by some steak fries which were no better than average.
Veggie Burger- a large homemade burger which was not eager to stay together and was clearly cooked with quite a bit of oil. Seems to me a bit counterproductive to eat what many might plan on being a healthy alternative to meat only to have it arrive drenched in grease.
Spinach Artichoke Dip- warm, gooey, fresh veggies, chips, perfect
Chowder- A bowl of good chowder is one of my favorites but it so often misses the mark (like french onion soup, but that's another story). The menu says amazing, I'd say I've had better and I've had many that are worse.
Turkey Burger- Conjures up thoughts of dust storms and tumble weeds as these tend to be dry. Theirs was moist, the chutney on the bun wasn't to my palate but those with me were approving. Oprah says it's the "best in the world", perhaps.....certainly beats most hands down.
In all good value for money and a place that was becoming the go to spot for a quick bite.
Yesterday, we were thinking of where to go for a casual dinner and while I felt like a Cobb Salad at Bentley's (a rare highlight in an otherwise pretty dismal place) we ended up at Word of Mouth. Business is clearly good as we snagged the last free table on the front porch. The sun was blinding through the windows but once we put down the shades things looked promising. Service friendly, if somewhat amateur. I chose a pork skewer special and my date chose the burger that she had enjoyed in the past. The wait was somewhat long but a salad that came with my meal and some bread passed the time. I should note that the side salads here are worthy of praise, crisp lettuce, a nice selection of fresh veggies, so much better than the usual iceberg lettuce, slice of cucumber, wedge of tomato and stale croutons one most often is given.
When our food does finally arrive, the burger is dry and quite charred....acceptable but barely. To their credit we did not specify how we wanted it, though we weren't asked. The thought of sending it back was tempered by the time it took to get it. My pork skewers were tender and the Asian inspired marinade was well balanced. Portion size was barely adequate for a meal that was 15$. Sides were some plain white (Basmati) rice and mixed veggies which were perfectly cooked and seasoned. Did we have room for dessert? No one asked and our check was promptly delivered to our table. Perhaps they were looking to quickly turn over tables? Simply an oversight?
Word of Mouth, I really wanted to like you. Our first "few dates" gave me hope that we could have a relationship, now I'm not so sure. Will I give you a second chance? Probably.
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