There's really so much to love about Salem. It's our state capital, of course, and however you may feel about what goes on there, it's interesting for that alone. But there's more: museums, art galleries, vistas that include the Willamette River, minor league baseball, Silver Falls State Park to the East and Willamette Mission State Park to the North and, of course, shopping. All in all, it's a charming city of about 154,000 citizens that's easily accessible from our home in Port Orford (and most every place else in western Oregon), and we often seem to find ourselves gravitating to it for a weekend getaway as we did earlier this month.
Annette's Westgate restaurant was an Internet find. After viewing the menu and spotting razor clams (one of Steven's perennial favorites!) featured, we knew we had to head for the historic Kingwood Building where Annette's is located and give this place a try.
The clams were large, tender and flavorful, and so was everything else. My chicken fried steak (one of their most popular items, according to the waitress) with garlic mashed potatoes filled the very large plate. The salad bar was astonishing, with an abundance of selections including chopped turkey and ham, pumpkin seeds, dried cranberries, seaweed salad and marinated mushrooms. I'll bet I haven't seen a salad bar that generous in 30 years. The dessert case was plump with an assortment of cream pies, cinnamon rolls, cheesecake and other yummy looking selections. Frankly, I'd like to meet the person who has room for dessert after eating dinner at Annette's!
A delightful dining spot in Salem.
The prices were very reasonable. The dining area was spotless. The wait staff was congenial and gracious, and even went downstairs to print out MapQuest instructions on how to get back to our hotel!
Annette has been in the hospitality industry since the age of 15, and our experience at her restaurant shows that she's learned a lot about how to be the gracious host and restaurateur. Needless to say, we're looking forward to our next jaunt to Salem, and visit to this new (to us!) great restaurant... and keeping in mind the portion sizes, we'll be sure to arrive hungry!
Annette's Westgate
1311 Edgewater Street NW
Salem, OR 97304
503.362.9588