Sunday, May 22, 2011

Spoons NW Bistro

Spoons NW Bistro, located in Salem, Oregon (south Salem on Commercial St. SE) is a gourmet deli/bistro specializing in soups, salads, and sandwiches. For a look at the menu and more pictures of their food, go here.

(Source: eatsalem.com)
Two of my friends and I went here last summer to celebrate our graduation from law school. I thought the decor was warm, inviting, and appropriately simple. I ordered the Chipotle Chicken Sandwich, which had caramelized onions, provolone cheese, lettuce, tomato, and chipotle-honey-lime aioli on a Ciabatta roll.

I thought the sandwich was very good. The aioli had nice flavor and complemented the chicken, onions, and provolone. The lettuce and tomato gave the sandwich a nice freshness to the dish. No one component overpowered the other, as I could taste all the ingredients in my sandwich.

The sandwich came with a side of chips. I ate a couple of chips, but otherwise gave them to my friends. I'm not much of a chips/fries/onion rings person (as I've probably stated in several of my reviews already), but I do eat them if it's part of a spicy food challenge or if it is just to try "in the interest of science."

Looking at the menu, I'm pleased Spoons offers half-orders of their various salads (ranging from a house green salad to a Cranberry Chicken Salad). The prices are quite reasonable there, with half orders around $5 and full portions around $7. Their Hass Avocado salad (misspelt as "Haas" on the menu) also looks real nice, which is $10, also looks great.

Spoons even sells a signature Spoons burger for $9.99 and two types of pizza with their house-made dough. Very cool.

In the end, I'm all but certain to hit up Spoons again for another sandwich. They have several different sandwiches I'd like to try, such as the Cranberry Chicken sandwich, the Grilled Salmon BLT, and the Pulled Pork sandwich. While I'm a little concerned that the prices to have soup or salad (instead of kettle chips) with my sandwich are a bit high, I'll probably just do what I did last time: order the sandwich and ignore all or most of the chips.

I also wish Spoons was open a bit more frequently. They're only open Monday through Saturday for about a four-hour lunch window (11 a.m. to 3 p.m.). I think if they also opened on Sundays and opened from about 10 to 4, that would be a little better. The weekend can be a great time to make money from the people who want to eat out for Sunday brunch. They are definitely a lunch menu, so I wouldn't want to throw them too far out of that time frame.

It is very clear here: Spoons has succeeded in having me as a return customer in the future. 8/10

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