| In the somewhat renovated
Holiday Inn in Wilsonville...in the
location of the former
"Waterwheel"
restaurant...dwells the "Garlic
Onion Ristorante". I've only
tried it a couple of times for lunch, but
my experiences then simply won't let me
return for dinner. On the first trip,
my dining companion and I arrived a bit
after their buffet lunch was "put
away", so we ordered from the
menu. The "signature
dish"...a deep-fried onion
"flower", wasn't too bad, but
the onion itself was quite acidic and
harsh...no attempt had been made to
smooth some of the onion flavor by
perhaps soaking it in beer or milk...Not
really to my liking, and I'm a huge fan
of fried onions.
We
selected the prime rib and it was
fine...except for the pricing for the
portions. I ordered the larger cut
for $10.95...my companion the smaller cut
(4 oz less) for $7.95. I seriously
doubt if there was ANY difference in size
or weight. If there was, it was so
minuscule as to not be visible to the
naked eye.
On our
second trip, we made it a point to arrive
before the buffet was closed. Big
mistake! This was perhaps one of
the most abysmal lunch buffets I've ever
encountered. Essentially, soup and
salad...and some sort of pasta with
somewhat ill defined red marinara
sauce. And, of course, the
ubiquitous lunch meat available from
which one is supposed to make
sandwiches. For $7.95, it wasn't
bad, I guess...but there are other
buffets in the area that feature pork
loin and/or roast beef with free
beverages and desserts for a dollar or so
more.
On the
positive side, the two soups offered were
good, tasty, but quite heavy.
Food:
C
Ambiance: B
Attitude: A
Parking: A...plenty in a large lot
Service: D...VERY slow to seat us;
VERY slow to receive anything from the
waitstaff.
Value: B
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