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