Thursday, August 4, 2011

Love Love Teriyaki (S Liberty)

Love Love Teriyaki has several locations throughout Salem, Oregon. For this review, I went to their South Liberty St. location, officially named "Love Love Teriyaki I."




Their lunch menu is quite small, but you could probably get anything off their main menu item if you wanted to; you'd just pay a bit more. I ordered off the lunch menu and got their hot chicken bowl for $5.50. Again, I requested extra spicy.

Hot teriyaki chicken bowl,but spicy? Not by a long shot.
Beautiful grill marks on that teriyaki
The sauce helps with that glistening effect against the lights....
The chicken was good for what it was. I appreciated the teriyaki flavors and the lovely grill marks on the moist chicken. However, the sweetness of the teriyaki sauce again virtually negated any chance that my "extra spicy" request would come to fruition. There was NO spice in this chicken bowl at all. Even people who are deathly afraid of spice would have eaten this bowl. Where's the fun in that for a spicehead like myself?

I thought the Oriental salad was not too impressive. Just serving it with soy sauce on the side...really, now? It's one of those chicken bowls that is constructed to be eaten right away, as the greens were also basically underneath all the chicken as well. It did start out as nice, crisp vegetables and wonton-like little noodles to add texture. However, over time, the greens will wilt and the noodles will soften, making it more of an unappetizing mess. For that reason, I would have preferred the salad in a smaller, separate container, away from the warmer chicken and rice. Keep the hot side hot and the cool side cool. Damn, I sound like that 80s McDLT commercial. Am I really showing my age with that one?

I may not be a professional restaurant decor expert or designer, but the interior seemed a bit dated and too dim for my liking. I want more lights, more warmth, more happiness! The place was already small to begin with, so I would have hoped for lighter walls and brighter lights to really make the place bigger and jump out more.

Anyway, this place was slightly below average in my book. I appreciated the Oriental salad with my chicken, but putting it in the same container with the chicken will affect the greens and soften up the noodle bits over time. Furthermore, I definitely could get tastier, spicier chicken teriyaki at other places. 4/10

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