Every once in awhile a co-worker will ask for a restaurant suggestion. (Which I'm happy to expound upon) And I remember reading a request in the comment area to add a post/tab for restaurant recommendations (good idea). One of the many things I enjoy about this blog is discovering that if you ask 10 different people for their favorites, you're likely to get 10 different ideas on where to eat. I believe that listening to the suggestions of others is a great way to get out of a dining rut. How else would we get up the nerve to try that little hole in the wall?
Amadeus (dinner Wed.-Sat.)
Andaluz Tapas Bar
Bentley's
Broken Bread
Caruso's
Crooked House Bistro (used to be Café K. I. S.)
DaVinci's
Jonathan's
La Capitale
Morton's (sadly, Morton's is closed as of Aug. 27, 2011)
Orupa
Roberts Crossing
Breakfast
Busick Court
Cafe 22
Court St. Dairy Lunch (Mon-Fri)
French Press
Mommy and Maddi's
Off Center Cafe (cash or check)
Sassy Onion (Open 7 days a wk 7AM-3PM)
White's
Word of Mouth
Favorite Anytime Eats
Alcyone Cafe (M-F til 5PM)
Al-Aqsa Fine Mediterranean Cuisine
Broken Bread
Christo's
Downtown Market and Deli
Gamberetti's
La Margarita Restaurant
Marco Polo
Red Ginger
Rice Time
Rock-n-Rogers
Straight from New York Pizza
Venti's (2 locations)
Vietnam Restaurant
Wild Pear (Open Mon.- Sat. until 5:30)
Willamette Burger Company
Willamette Noodle Company
Word of Mouth (Open 7 days a wk 7AM-3PM)
Faster Food
Al-Aqsa Fine Mediterranean Cuisine
Break Point
Cascade Baking Co. (cash or check, closed on Sunday)
Love Love Teriyaki
Love Love Teriyaki II
Pub & Grub
Boon's Treasury
Gilgamesh
Thompson's
Venti's (both locations)
Dessert
Amadeus
Cascade Baking Co. (cash or check)
Konditorei
La Capitale
Little Cannoli
Thompson's Brew Pub
Wild Pear
Lunch
Adam's Ribs
Alcyone Cafe
Amadeus (Lunch Tues.-Fri.)
Best Little Roadhouse
Broken Bread
Court St. Dairy Lunch (Mon-Fri)
Gov Cup
La Capitale
Wild Pear
Willamette Noodle Co.
Willamette Burger Co.
Appetizers/Happy Hour
Andaluz (Tues.-Sat. Opens at 4:30PM)
DaVinci's
Gamberetti's
Jonathan's
La Capitale
Willamette Noodle Co.
Willamette Burger Co.
Coffee Shops & Pastries
The Beanery
Broadway Coffeehouse
Clockworks Cafe
Cascade Baking Co.
Gov Cup
Breakpoint Coffee Co.
Late Night Grub
Best Little Roadhouse Sun-Thur 11 PM, Fri & Sat 12 AM
Boon's Treasury
Brown's Towne
Pete's Place
Thompson's Brew Pub
Venti's (Court St & S Commercial St.)
Best Take-out Chinese
China Faith (Judging by our stats, but I've heard many folks also get to-go at...)
Tong King
Color me confused. Wild Pear made the best of 2009 list, and it didn't make this one? Or perhaps this is _your_ favorite list, and it wasn't stated clearly enough...
ReplyDeleteYup, these are my suggestions. Sorry if I didn't make that clear. N and I don't go out for lunch often enough to add that category to our own list.
ReplyDeleteWhat fun. I would vote to add Morton's & Old Europe Inn to the "Special Occasion" category.
ReplyDeleteWhat about Court St. Dairy Lunch? They are so good for breakfast or lunch, you should really try them
ReplyDeleteHaven't you tried The Busic for breakfast?
ReplyDeleteI suggest everyone check the restaurant scores under the Marion County Health Dept.website and look at Restaurant Scores before running to any of restaurant, you will be surprised by the scores.
ReplyDeleteThe Great Wall Chinese restaurant is very close to failing their inspection and has had problems since they opened.
I would add Cafe 22 to best breakfast!
ReplyDeletePretty good list. I wouldn't necessarily limit La Capitale or even DaVinci's to "Special Occasion" dining. I and some friends can make a meal out of delicious starters/appetizers. Better meal than most of the chains for about the same $. La Capitale has lunch also. I like taking out-of-town family to Rock-n-Rogers, and they always enjoy the decor and nostalgic food. It's not fancy but fun and filling.
ReplyDeletePS. Need to add Konditorei to desserts. :-)
ReplyDeleteWe love Divinci's for happy hour. Cheap good food. Good drinks.
ReplyDeleteRice Time is the best chicken teriyaki in town.
WNC has great tomato soup and cheezy bread.
New york pizza by the slice is a need every time we are downtown.
Christo's is excellent (esp when the owner is making pies).
Off Center is best coffee in town and good bfst.
Thats about it for us. We eat out a lot, but those are our favs.
Prudence Uncorked, is excessively overpriced as they are now paying for their remodel, Bentleys should surely be on the list and Marco Polo never disappoints.
ReplyDeleteJust now got home from a lunch at Prudence Uncorked---my first visit.
ReplyDeleteMenu resembled j.james in a lot of ways, so I decided to order the rockfish to compare their preparation with a dish I had several times at j.james.
Prices seemed comparable, but the fish was no where near as good. Service was very attentive, and I liked the new look.
Will wait and see how things shake out over the next couple of months.
Bentley's is pretty much low end, dull hotel restaurant fare.
ReplyDeleteWe had smoked halibut that was covered in liquid smoke. Smelled so strong we had to put it two tables away. My wife ate one bite for close to a $20 dish and couldn't stomach it. The waiter was not sympathetic (I had forgive bad food, but not bad service).
Bentley's is overpriced low end hotel food in my opinion.
I so agree
DeleteBreakfast I would add French Press and I think you need a coffee category. For Coffee (& pastries) I'd add The Beanery, Coffee House Cafe, Gov Cup, Blue Pepper and Cascade Baking Co. New section also, late night grub... Venti's & Browns Towne, Please also add Break Point to Faster Food. :) Thanks! Great idea for a list!
ReplyDeleteThe Roadhouse on South Commercial @ Owens has a wonderful lunch menu. I went there and had the Steak Sandwich and thought it was cooked to perfection (ask for Mayo on the sandwich, it is slightly dry without it.)
ReplyDeleteAnnette's in West Salem has been very disappointing lately (I had to send my lunch back due to the extreme amount of Salt added to it).
Have really enjoyed Wild Pear, and Cafe 22. Both times I have had a delicious meal.
for breakfast the off center cafe is great especialy for vegan and vegetarian food you must try
ReplyDeleteSeriously everyone, give Goodfellas a try in South Salem. It is right by Jack In The Box on S. Commercial. MapQuest the address. Everything is fresh, no Food Service of America, no Sysco food. It is really good, at super cheap prices!!! AND....the BEST drinks in Salem.....long islands are only $3.50 all hours, every day. Just go there, and try the place. (I don't work there, or any affiliation. I only spread the word.) GO THERE!
ReplyDeleteGoodfellas @ 1130 Royvonne Avenue Southeast, Salem, OR 97302
Paddingtons has hands down the beat pizza in town and are consistantly voted best in salem . And the sub shop in keizer should definately be on any best of list
ReplyDeleteFor a great breakfast, White's always delivers. We drive from 1/2 hour out of Salem to share the big mess. It's been around forever for good reason.
ReplyDeleteNEW BISTRO OPENING TUESDAY!!!!
ReplyDeleteI wasn't sure where to put this, but I wanted to get the word out, so here it is.
Below is an e-mail I received from the owner of the new Crooked House Bistro (In the old Café K.I.S. location at 1142 Edgewater NW):
Name: Bernard Malherbe
Phone: 503-385-8851
Email Address: Crookedhousebistro@gmail.com
--------------------------------------------------------------
Hello chuck I got your email and tried to email you back without success so we will see if this will work. We wanted to let you know that we are taking reservations for tuesday between 5-6 on the quarter hour and 7-8 also on the quarter hour. If you are interested please let us know. If not tuesday, then perhaps another evening soon. Thank you for your interest and we do look forward to seeing you soon.
Bernard Malherbe
I ate there last night and it was amazing. I am so glad Bernard is back cooking in Salem. We started off with the fresh green salad with goat bleu cheese and hazelnuts while my partner had the fresh tomato and carrot soup with ginger and lemongrass. My entree was the "little bunny" (so VERY yummy) and my dinner companion had the venison stew. An order of crusty bread on the side and a bottle of wine rounded out the meal. Get there fast before all the tables are full and there's no reservations to be had!
ReplyDeleteI love the best little road house or word of mouth for lunch .Busick court is by far the best for breakfast a little claustrophobic when full but worth being able to hear the next table overs conversations . Also since you mentioned it the the best hole in the wall is definitly the old spaghetti warehouse . It is the epitome of a hole in the wall but is really an amazing hidden treasure with great food and terrific prices . you even get a free dessert(get their homade creme brulee) with every entre!!!! Also since i have such a sweet tooth another bonus is its located right next door to the konditorei where if i still need my fix i get a peice of jerry's chicolate cake yummy .
ReplyDeleteTacks del sur. Ne salem...best chicken tacks in town.
ReplyDeleteI very highly recommend Sybil's Omelets, it's pretty much right down the street from Word of Mouth, very good atmosphere and large, yummy portions of food.
ReplyDelete-Pearce
I believe Gloria B. used to take comments good or bad so that we knew what to expect.I thought you ought to know that a special Fish Restaurant starting with an N. We ordered the Halibut Steaks and we were served little scraps of Fish and I couldn;t eat mine as they were stringy and tough.I later found out that they were Halibut Cheeks. It was a $21.50 dinner. I guess it caters to the Visitors in the Motels so they don't care what anyone thinks.Well, I am certainly spreading the word.
ReplyDeleteI have lived in Salem for close to 10 years now and me and my friends do like The Roadhouse for dinner. For breakfast Off Center Cafe.
ReplyDeleteBusick's and Whites is hands down, BEST breakfast restaurants! Love the roadhouse for steak, Sushi Topia for my fast sushi, The Beanery for my coffee (although...every time I go there the customer service is terrible, the bigger women always seem angry), Venti's for beer, and Super Pho for my vietnamese food!
ReplyDeleteWe like Carusos for fine dining. Orupa is also good but a little inconsistent. The space is really nice. At Jonathans we love the happy hour menu. We've been back to Andaluz many times and always fine some really good dishes. The bar at La Capitale is a fun place to get a cocktail in an upscale environment. Our favorite sandwiches are at Cascade Baking, but they aren't cheap. SFNY is by far our favorite pizza in town. The staff are always exceptionally friendly. Busick Court is our favorite breakfast place, but they really need some ventilation in there - my clothes are always infused with smell from cooking grease leaving. There is an exceptional asian restaurant on Silverton road but I do not know the name. So delicious. The Burger Basket makes a very good handmade burger. Thats all I can think of for now.
ReplyDeleteYeah I won't be making any suggestions as to changes of your list because I feel that that isn't my place but I really do think you should try The Crooked House Bistro on Edgewater (the little purple bistro). The food, atmosphere, and service are all excellent and as you say "I believe that listening to the suggestions of others is a great way to get out of a dining rut.". All I am saying is that I definitely think it would be worth your while.
ReplyDelete