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Overall Ratings: ***
Overall Review:
The dishes ordered tonight were just OK.
Review Date:
January 25, 2008
Previous visits:
August 17, 2007 and
August 29, 2007
Cuisine: Italian restaurant
Corkage: $15 per
bottle
Attire: Casual
Location: Willamette
Valley Wine Area - Southwest suburb of Portland in Carlton.
Open Hours:
Monday - Friday: 11:00 a.m. - 9:00 p.m.
Saturday: 11:00 a.m. - 10:00 p.m.
Sunday: 11:00 a.m. - 9:00 p.m.
Winter: Closed Mondays
Parking: Street parking and city parking lot
behind building.
Reservations:
Reservations not usually needed.
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Rating Key
Explanations:
* Bad
(will never go back)
** Fair (below average - will not go back)
*** Good (would consider dining there again)
**** Very Good (will definitely go back)
***** Extraordinary (will be back as soon as
possible)
I make every
attempt to remain anonymous while reviewing each
restaurant. All meals are paid for by
myself.
This way, I can report the most honest and
trustworthy restaurant reviews possible. Other
recognizable critics frequently get special food
and service. I forgo any perks so that my
restaurant experience will be similar to yours.
If you would like
to add a review of this restaurant, email
Linda Stradley.
Also feel
free to send me suggestions of restaurants for
review.
Disclaimer: None of the restaurants reviewed on
this site have given any sort of financial
incentive to Linda Stradley or her website,
What's Cooking America. The restaurants had no
foreknowledge that a review was going to be
written.
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Cielo Blu
An Italian restaurant located on Main Street in the fast growing
town of Carlton. The town is presently under going a renewal as the
wineries and vineyards increase in the area. Several wine
tasting rooms are located in the downtown area.
This was
my third visit to this restaurant in the hopes that it had improved.
The reason I returned again was because the restaurant owners had
other people sending me emails saying how wrong I was with my other
reviews. They also claimed that the owners of the other restaurant
in town had written the review. How wrong they are! I always visit
each restaurant myself and try the foods. This third visit,
unfortunately, did not change my overall ratings at all!
They
forgot to serve us our salads. They went directly from the appetizer
to the entrees.
Stuffed Mushrooms with Onions and Blu Cheese - $8.00
On my previous visits, they had one dish that really stood out - The
Stuffed Mushrooms with Onions and Blu Cheese! On this
visit, they had
changed the sauce from a white sauce to a brown gravy sauce. It was
not as good as I remembered it on my previous visits. It was a
pepper gravy sauce. Disappointing!
Photo
of the mushroom dish with it's original sauce. Photo from a previous
visit.
 Cognac
Pepper Crust Filet - $28.00
8-ounce choice filet sautéed with cognac
cream demi-glaze sauce over baby red garlic potatoes topped with
fried onions served with fresh vegetables - $28.00
This
photo was taken on a previous visit.
My husband, the steak and potato guy, ordered this meal. He had
ordered medium rare, but it was over cooked to medium.
 Gamberetti
e Pinoli - $20.00
Shrimp, tossed with spinach, mushrooms, pine nuts, garlic lemon
butter served with Capellini pasta.
This
photo was taken on a previous visit.
The plate I was served on
this night looked just the opposite of the dish shown. The capellini
pasta covered over half the dish, and the remainder was the shrimp
saute. I was disappointed with this dish as it consisted of just
a few shrimp mixed in with the spinach. There was more dry Capellini
pasta than anything else on the dish. Since the pasta was not tossed
with any sauce, it was very dry.
Photos: The photos on this page were taken on our previous
visits to the restaurant.
Service:
Service was excellent, as the owner was
serving this night.
Dishes ordered on previous visits:
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Margherita
Pizza - 10-inch pizza with tomato sauce, mozzarella
cheese, fresh Roma tomatoes, and fresh basil - $10.00
Pizza was just OK. I'm not sure why, but it tasted
very salty.
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Grilled
Lamb Chops - topped with port wine, roasted garlic
herb sauce, served with sun-dried tomato risotto - $18.00
Presentation left a lot to be desired. The lamb chops
were cooked perfectly, but the risotto was gummy tasting
and not palatable.
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Calamari Fritti with Aioli Sauce - $7.00
Very good. The aioli sauce was very unusual with capers in it. It
reminded me of my homemade tartar sauce.
Veal
Saltimbocca - Veal saute with prosciutto, spinach, and lemon
butter served with capellini pasta - $18.00
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Pollo
Scallopini - Chicken cutlets, prosciutto, mushooms, artichoke
hearts, capers and lemon butter served with capellini pasta - $16.00
Veal
Parmesan - Veal cutlet breaded and pan fried topped with
marinara and mozzarella served with capellini pasta - $18.00
Cannelloni di Pollo
- stuffed with chicken, sundried tomatoes, spinach &
ricotta cheese topped with creamy tomato sauce - $18.00
This dish was too, too salty! |
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