Questions about Salem Restaurants - Pete's Place and Napolean's

lavachickie asked...
What's Pete's like? I was there a few years ago with someone and it was awful! Then I read about how they were redecorating and changing to a sit down eatery and I thought, "What!?"

Well, Pete's is Pete's and it's probably about the same as it's always been except for one BIG change. It is now non-smoking, of course, as is everything in Oregon. Pete's Place is the kind of spot where you know you will always run into the same people. You used to only be able to see them through a cloud of smoke, but nowadays you can clearly see the eclectic mix of people that populate Pete's. It's not a classy place, but it's the kind of place where you could easily make a new best friend, or just a five-minute friend to chat with while you were there. Pete's is the kind of place where drinks come cheap and the jukebox is full of good songs you can sing along to.

Now, here's the secret about Pete's. The food is a LOT better than you would expect from the atmosphere. Apparently, that's why the kitchen is called The Pioneer Grill, to differentiate it from the bar scene. The restaurant section is in the front of the building and has sort of a down home diner look. Now that the place doesn't reek of smoke leftover from the nightime crowd, it is actually not a bad spot to pick up some good cookin' during the daylight hours. If you haven't eaten at Pete's, you should give it a try for some plain ol' good food. I haven't eaten a meal there in awhile, so let me know what you think.


Gerri asked...
I see it says crepes at Napolean's? Wonder what they're like? Been to French Press and the crepes not so good but the coffee is pretty good.

Yes, Napolean's is part of the French takeover of Salem! They do serve crepes there and although I haven't been to French Press to compare the two, I will tell you that I wasn't too impressed with the first crepe I tried at Napolean's, but the other two I had were quite delicious. The Chicken Brie Crepe just didn't have much flavor at all. A friend ordered the Salmon Crepe, which I tried, and I would definitely recommend that one! It is full of flavor and delicious fillings. I also tried the Bananas Foster Crepe for a dessert and that was quite tasty, too. So, in my opinion you have to figure out which ones the place has mastered and stick with that. I would definitely say the Salmon Crepe is the one Napolean's has mastered. I would like to add that Napolean's panini sandwiches have gotten rave reviews from friends who have tried them. The Tuna Melt Panini is on my list of foods to try next time I'm there.

And, of course, the gelato is what I go for! And their coffee is quite good, too.

Let me know if you have any other particular questions about an establishment and I will probably have some opinion on it! I usually do. :)