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Overall Ratings: ***1/2
Overall Review:
Overall the food was good, and we had excellent service. In the
past, I have also had an excellent brunch at this
restaurant. The restaurant and bar have a nice atmosphere,
but the tables are very close together and doesn't lend to
any private conversations. Even the waiters and waitresses
had a hard time moving from table to table.
Review Date:
August 23, 2007
Cuisine: They
specialize in comfort food, the type of dishes most mothers
make (like meatloaf, pot roast, chicken with dumplings, and
macaroni and cheese). Each month, the restaurant features a
selection of recipes from a mother of the month (M.O.M).
Alcohol: Full service bar; beer & wine.
Corkage: ?
Attire: Casual
Location: Downtown
Portland
Open Hours:
Breakfast:
Tuesday-Friday: 7:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
Saturday-Sunday: 9:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
Lunch:
Tuesday-Sunday: 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
Dinner:
Tuesday-Thursday: 5:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
Friday-Saturday: 5:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.
Parking: Street parking and parking lots
nearby.
Reservations:
Reservations recommended
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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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Mother's Bistro and Bar
Web
page:
http://www.mothersbistro.com/
My
daughters and I have season tickets for the Broadway Across America
Theatre Productions, and decided to have dinner at Mother's Bistro and Bar
before the theatre. Two of our lady friends joined us for the
evening. We made early reservations at 6:00 p.m. to
ensure we had time for dinner and the theatre show called Spamalot.
Five of us, all ladies, arrived with big appetites and excited by
our ladies night out. We actually ordered too much food, as our eyes
were bigger than our tummies! The waiter was very personable
and helpful. He didn't seem to be intimated by our group of ladies
and seem to enjoy his job.
Following
is what we ordered:
I
definitely would give the chef 5 stars for their homemade rolls.
They were excellent! You could make a meal of these wonderful rolls.
Appetizers:
We shared all the appetizers.
Fried
Green Tomatoes - drizzled with sour cream, served with a side of
salsa - $6.95
Very good! My daughters had not tried fried green tomatoes
before, and were anxious to taste them. Everyone enjoyed them.
Hummus
Plate - A dip of garbanzo beans, garlic, & sesame, served with
sliced tomatoes, spicy chili paste, kalamata olives & pita bread -
$7.50
I'm a big hummus fan and always enjoy eating it. This was very good.
The spicy chili pasta was very spicy hot!
$15,000 Dungeness Crab Cake - with Creole mustard sauce & house
made cole slaw - $5.95
The crab cakes were good, but not great! I definitely have had
better. Not sure why they call them the $15,000 Crab Cakes.
Mother's Macaroni & Cheese Du Jour - varies daily - tonight's
Mac & Cheese was ham, mushrooms & Swiss cheese - $12.95
I ordered this dish. It was good, but still a little
disappointing! After all the appetizers, I didn't have much of an
appetite left to fully enjoy this dish. What I noticed particularly
was that the ham and cheese mixture was not mixed into the pasta. It
was place on top and a little to the side only. I prefer my
cheese mixture baked together. It was a large portion served on
bow-tie pasta.
Chicken & Dumplings - Slow-stew chicken (mostly white meat) with
herbed dumplings - $12.95
This is supposedly one of their signature dishes, but they only
serve a small portion in a small soup bowl. Someone in the kitchen
went a little overboard with the salt, as it was very salty.
Fish of the Day - Fresh Red snapper puttanesca - $16.95
It was cooked perfectly and was
very tasty!
Herb-Crusted Prim Rib of Beef au Jus - served with a side of
Rick's mother's savory & cheese onion pudding, horseradish cream &
sautéed seasonal vegetables - $19.95
My daughter said the prime rib didn't have much flavor. She
said it was just ok.
Grilled Pork Chops with Peach Chutney - marinated & grilled
"Carlton Farms" pork chops topped with a fresh local peach chutney,
served with smashed sweet potatoes & seasonal vegetables - $16.95
By the
time we had finished out dinners, we had no extra time for dessert.
We had to hurry off to the theatre. The did bring us a small dish of
wonderful cookies.
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