| The "mother"
restaurant, Castagna, opened over a year
ago and received the "Restaurant of
the Year" award from the Oregonian
in 2000. Castagna Cafe opened
earlier this year and follows the same
excellent traditions. FINALLY...a real
Caesar Salad...not a hint of "white
gloppy stuff", anchovies, no
"boat sized pieces of Romaine
lettuce", and quite a good
dressing...the REAL THING! I'd give
it maybe an 8 on a scale of 1-10.
Maybe a bit pricey at $7 for a pretty
small salad, but I'm desperate for a REAL
Caesar Salad and tend to overlook the
cost.
The cheese
tray with a tiny, tiny piece of Petite
Bichon, 3 pieces of fig and 6 cherries
was a bit of a disappointment for
$6. I mean, really...this poor
thing was just slightly larger than the
tiny foil wrapped pieces served on
transcontinental airliners.
The pizza
with pesto is excellent, as is the water
cress salad with fruit and
feta cheese.
But...serving
Burgundy in a Bordeaux glass made me
cringe just a bit. An excellent
selection (not huge, but good choices) of
French wines at $6 makes one want to try
more than a glass.
All in
all, a restaurant with solid foundation
and excellent credentials...I'll
definitely go back.
Food:
A
Ambiance: Excellent, shady, not too
noisy outside dining (or inside if you
prefer)...A
Attitude: A
Parking: On the street. I
would imagine it could get a bit crowed,
but it wasn't when we were there.
Service: A
Value: A-
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