Friday, July 8, 2011

Word of Mouth Bistro (Part 2)

(Original Review -- May 2011)

(Third Review -- December 2011)
(Fourth Review -- January 2012)
(Fifth Review -- March 2012)


Last week, I also went back to Word of Mouth to meet two friends for lunch. They had just arrived from California, and I wanted to be sure they got a good dining experience at one of Salem's finest bistros.

Unfortunately, the experience at Word of Mouth got off to a bit of a shaky start. The three of us arrived at around 11 in the morning, and for whatever reason that day, any party of more than two people seemed to be SOL with regard to quick seating. The place was indeed packed. There was a woman employee that repeatedly apologized to us for the long wait. I like the apologies, but repeated apologies are not needed, in my book, especially if the person says "You'll be seated right away, I promise" -- only to wait a bit longer to get seated.

We were led to a new seating area upstairs, which I had never seen before. The service was a bit slower overall due to the full house of patrons, not to mention the server needing to walk up a flight of stairs to get to our table.

Anyway, on to the food!

Housemade Veggie Burger
Maralago Turkey Burger
Reuben-Lover's Reuben
My two friends each enjoyed their meal: the Maralago Turkey Burger w/fresh fruit ($10.95) and the Reuben-Lover's Reuben w/fresh fruit ($10.95).

I went with the Veggie Burger w/stone ground mustard on the side ($8.95). A huge burger, to say the least, and well worth the price. I liked the breading on the veggie patty itself because it keeps the patty together, instead of disintegrating to a Sloppy Joe-like mess. The textures of the patty were nice; I appreciated the mix of vegetables (broccoli, zucchini, carrots, artichoke, etc.) with quinoa, sunflower seeds, and black beans. The fruit was fresh and nicely cut.

Now having experienced more of the "more-than-party-of-two" problems at Word of Mouth at peak meal hours, I will have to slightly deduct points from my initial rating. However, it should be noted that a busy restaurant is a happy restaurant. Word of Mouth remains a viable hot spot for Oregonians and tourists seeking a delicious bargain breakfast or lunch.

Word of Mouth should consider a larger place, now that the word of their great food and staff has gotten out to the masses. It just may cut down on the wait times and give more customers that great dine-in experience.

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