Review #12 - Sals on the Square

Friday December 12, 2008
Sals on the Square
Salamanca Square, Hobart

It's been a very long time between reviews, so for that reason, I knew I couldn't go past the Caesar Salad once I saw it on the menu.

We were taken out for lunch as a Christmas "thank you" by a project manager at work. He picked the venue and I knew it would be good as I've been there before and loved it.

A drum roll please.... this is quite a momentous occasion. I seem to have found the "perfect 10" Caesar Salad!!

I took a photo of the menu, but it was too blurry to include, so I'll transcribe it:

Caesar      $14.40
Roast bacon, croutons, shaved parmesan, anchovy, cos lettuce & a warm poached egg

The chicken was an optional extra for $2.

There was nothing to complain about. The service was excellent - the staff seemed to be truly concerned that we enjoy our meals which was a lovely experience. It was worth every cent - true value for money. It was beautifully presented as you can see...


The ingredients were all very high quality and tasted amazing. They didn't have gluten-free croutons, so there is no bonus point, but they didn't need the bonus point as I can't find anything to mark down. A full 10 points here!

Score Summary

Taste:
Ingredients:
Presentation:
Service:
Value for Money:
Total:		10/10

Who would have thought?

Thursday April 10, 2008
Leo's Coffee Lounge Restaurant
Rosny Park, Tasmania

I'm still in a state of shock. Who would have thought it could happen so soon??


See those croutons??? They are GLUTEN-FREE croutons!! They DO exist!

Unfortunately, that's not my salad, so I can't provide a review. But Mum said it was very tasty, and I'm definitely going back there to give it a try. It was such a lovely surprise for her, because she'd asked for no croutons, but did mention that she was gluten intolerant. There was that moment of "Excuse me, that wasn't supposed to have croutons" followed by the delight of discovering that this place ROCKS!

Mum did say that the croutons could be improved by being oven-baked instead of toasted, but who cares? They are gluten-free!!

So, in anticipation of the review that is to come, I'm awarding Leo's Coffee Lounge Restaurant the bonus crouton point.



To quote Arnie...."I'll be back"

Review #11 - The Pancake Parlour Restaurant

Monday March 17, 2008
The Pancake Parlour Restaurant
Bourke St Mall, Melbourne, Victoria

On another stupidly hot shopping day in Melbourne (we weren't trying to punish ourselves - we just visited in the middle of a heat wave) we were looking for a cool place to have a drink and some lunch and I remembered that we had both liked this place on a previous trip, and suggested it. We decided to give it a go. Obviously I couldn't get any pancakes, so I decided to have...surprise, surprise, the caesar salad!

This time I remembered to get a photo of the menu, but I think there was a fingerprint on the lens of the mobile phone's camera, because it came out very blurry.


Just in case you can't read that it actually says

Crumbed chicken pieces, a hard boiled free-range egg, crisp bacon bits served on a bed of cos lettuce with anchovy dressing and shaved parmesan cheese
Entree...$15.90 Main...$23.90

Obviously, the crumbed chicken pieces were going to be a bit of a problem. I asked if the chicken could be done without the crumbs due to my gluten intolerance, and was told that no, the chicken was pre-prepared with crumbs. The waitress said that she would go check, and when she came back she said it was possible to have the chicken sans crumbs.

Here is a photo of the salad:


As you can see, it is nicely presented, so I gave it full marks on presentation. I also scored it full marks for taste, as it was delicious.

Now we get to the tricky bits. I have given this one zero for value for money. Priced at $23.90 it was too expensive. While it was very tasty, I didn't feel that it deserved its price tag. I would consider paying that price for a salad the quality of Elaia's, but this one wasn't that good, and as far as quantity goes, it wasn't any bigger than any of the $15 salads I've had.

For ingredients, most were very good. The egg was boiled, but as it was advertised that way, I'm not deducting anything for that. What I am deducting half a mark for is the chicken. I suspect that the pre-prepared crumbed chicken had its crumbs washed off before cooking. There were some chicken pieces that looked like they had crumbs on them, which I cut off before eating them. For that reason, I'm also deducting half a mark for service. I would have preferred being told that the chicken was not an option for me rather than being left with the uneasy feeling that maybe I shouldn't be eating it.

In total, this salad scores 8 out of 10. Well done.

Score Summary

Taste:
Ingredients:
Presentation:
Service:
Value for Money:
Total:		8/10

Review #10 - elfresco

Thursday March 13, 2008
Caesar Salad
Bentleigh, Victoria

It was the second day of our trip to Melbourne and we had ventured out (some would say kind of stupidly) on a shopping trip on a day with a forecast maximum of 39°C. To say it was hot is a little bit of an understatement. The trip involved a bus trip to the train station and two train trips, followed by a short walk from the station through Bentleigh.

After Jeremy had made his purchases, we ventured across the street to find a cold drink and a place to hide from the sun for a while. We found a little cafe that looked quiet-ish and friendly and found a nice breezy table by the window.

Being a Thursday, it was of course Caesar Salad Thursday! Plus, I am finding that sometimes I now purposely seek out caesar salads just so that I can blog about them. It's fun.

Since we were a little heat affected, we forgot about taking a photo of the menu, and we also didn't think to write down what it said, but there were two options available. A regular caesar salad, or a marinated chicken caesar salad. Since the marinated chicken didn't really sound like a good option for me, I chose the regular salad.


When Jeremy ordered for me, he asked for the standard "hold the croutons" and the owner very kindly offered to throw in some extra anchovies. Who am I to say no to that?!?

Overall, it was a very tasty salad. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

As far as scoring this one, we'll start with ingredients. Full marks here. All the important components were present and accounted for, and all were good quality. The poached egg in particular was fantastic.

I'm deducting a half mark for taste, because although nice, the dressing was too tangy and it had a tendency to overpower the other tastes.

I'm giving full marks for presentation, because as you can see from the photo, it was beautifully arranged.

For value for money, I deducted half a mark, because it was very small. I neglected to write down the price, but I seem to remember that it was over $15, which for such a small quantity is on the expensive side.

Last but not least, we get to service. Unfortunately there is another loss of half a mark here due to an unfortunate incident with my iced chocolate. Jeremy ordered a soy iced chocolate for me, and asked them to leave out the cream, but the lady that made it up missed the "soy" part of the order. It was a regular cow's milk drink. Lucky for me I realised on the first mouthful, and they very apologetically made up a soy drink for me instead.

So this one scores a very respectable and well deserved 8½ out of 10. Just a pity the service score let it down, because the salad really was delicious.

Score Summary

Taste:
Ingredients:
Presentation:
Service:
Value for Money:
Total:		8½/10

Review #9 - Beaujangles

Thursday February 28, 2008
Caesar Salad at Beaujangles
Hobart, Tasmania

Being a Thursday, it was the day for our regular lunch date at Liveat in the Elizabeth St Mall. However Hobart, being its usual unpredictable self, turned on a typical winter's day complete with mountain snow and heavy rain, somewhat uncharacteristically in February. Liveat being a takeaway-style establishment with mostly outdoor seating didn't seem as attractive as normal.

Not to be outdone, Jeremy and I regrouped and booked a table at Beaujangles, a little further down the mall, with lots of indoor seating and an electric fireplace. Since it was Caesar Salad Thursday, I seized the opportunity before me and ordered the caesar salad.

For the benefit of qey (see comments on Review #4) the menu description simply said:

Caesar Salad (no egg)

Sorry it's not more interesting!

To make up for the lack of textual description, I have this photo for posterity. Note the lovely little school of anchovies gathered on the side of the bowl. If you look closely at the bottom of the bowl at the front, you might catch sight of the bonus piece of bacon that I discovered lurking under the edge after I took the photo.


I'll start by saying that overall it was a very nice salad. Not the best I've had, but better than most. I scored it a full point for presentation, as it looked very appetising. The service was good, so that gets a full point as well.

The ingredients scored quite well. There was no egg, but as it was advertised this way, it did not lose any score for that. In general the ingredients were good, except for the cheese, which while correct in being Parmesan, was the cheap supermarket variety that you don't expect on a $14.90 salad. Also, the dressing was quite sparse. These two factors resulted in the loss of half a point for ingredients.

The taste scored a healthy 3 out of 4 points. The bacon was very tasty as were the anchovies. I think the anchovies rescued it slightly, since the dressing let it down a little. Can I go on a bit more about the anchovies? They were divine!

Lastly we get to value for money. This only scored half a point, as at $14.90 for a basic salad without egg and chicken, it's a bit pricey. The quality of the Parmesan was an influence here as well.

So, getting down to business, this one scored 8 out of 10. Overall, it was an enjoyable lunch.

Score Summary

Taste:
Ingredients:
Presentation:
Service:
Value for Money:
Total:		8/10

Review Score List

Sorted by Total Score

						Total
Sals on the Square	4	3	1	1	1	10
Elaia	4	2½	1	1	1	9½
Segreto	3	3	1	1	1	9
The Stables	3½	2½	1	1	1	9
elfresco	3½	3	1	½	½	8½
Beaujangles	3	2½	1	1	½	8
Pancake Parlour	4	2½	1	½	0	8
Shoreline	3½	2½	½	½	½	7½
Berwick Inn	3	1½	½	1	1	7
Blue Skies	2½	1½	1	1	1	7
Liveat	3	2	½	1	½	7
The Boulevard	3	2½	0	1	0	6½
C Bar	2½	2½	½	½	0	6
New Sydney	2½	½	1	1	1	6
Zeps Cafe	2	1½	½	1	1	6

Sorted Alphabetically

						Total
Beaujangles	3	2½	1	1	½	8
Berwick Inn	3	1½	½	1	1	7
Blue Skies	2½	1½	1	1	1	7
The Boulevard	3	2½	0	1	0	6½
C Bar	2½	2½	½	½	0	6
Elaia	4	2½	1	1	1	9½
elfresco	3½	3	1	½	½	8½
Liveat	3	2	½	1	½	7
New Sydney	2½	½	1	1	1	6
Pancake Parlour	4	2½	1	½	0	8
Sals on the Square	4	3	1	1	1	10
Segreto	3	3	1	1	1	9
Shoreline	3½	2½	½	½	½	7½
The Stables	3½	2½	1	1	1	9
Zeps Cafe	2	1½	½	1	1	6

Review #8 - Shoreline Hotel

Monday February 11, 2008
Chicken Caesar Salad at the Shoreline Hotel
Howrah, Tasmania

It was a large family gathering that called us to the Shoreline Hotel on Monday, February 11, 2008. The coming Thursday (14th) would mark the 60th wedding anniversary of Julianne's maternal grandparents. Other festivities were planned for Thursday, so Julianne's grandparents' extended family outing was held on the Monday.

After the meal, we recorded a very brief review. Here's the edited transcript:

JEREMY: Shoreline Hotel, 11th of February 2008...Chicken caesar salad – no croutons. What’s your score for taste?

JULIANNE: 3½

JEREMY: 3½ out of 4. Ingredients out of 3?

JULIANNE: Egg was boiled not poached...So I’d deduct ½ a mark for that. Everything else about the ingredients was good.

JEREMY: ...Presentation?

JULIANNE: Presentation – didn’t like the skewers. ½ a mark.

JEREMY: ½ for presentation. Um, value for money?

JULIANNE: [Indistinct]

JEREMY: ½ for that...And that gives us just service.

JULIANNE: [Indistinct]

JEREMY: Meh…½ for that as well. 7½. Is that 7½ then?

JULIANNE: Yep.

JEREMY: 7½ out of 10.

On a somewhat amusing side note, when we were discussing the service after the recording I said a little too loudly that I thought the service sucked. And yes, the waitress was right behind me when I said it. Oops.

Score Summary

Taste:
Ingredients:
Presentation:
Service:
Value for Money:
Total:		7½/10

Review #7 - Segreto

Friday December 21, 2007
Tasmanian Char-Grilled Bacon Salad at Segreto
North Hobart, Tasmania

Segreto is one of our favourite restaurants. found in North Hobart, it's owned by Marty Zucco whose daughter is also gluten intolerant. They provide a number of gluten-free options, including pizzas.

One of the menu options is the Tasmanain Char-Grilled Bacon Salad, which is effectively a caesar salad with a spiffy name.

On the taste front, Julianne was heading towards a score of 4 out of 4 to begin with, but when she got into it, it slipped a little. Some of the lettuce left a bitter after taste, and she found the dressing a bit too creamy which meant she couldn't actually finish the salad. Apart from those two minor quibbles, it tasted very nice.

She couldn't fault the ingredients. All the core ingredents of a caesar salad were present. it came with anchovy dressing instead of actual anchovies, but we can't mark it down for that.

Everything else scored 1 out of 1. The service, as always, was excellent. Marty Zucco is an attentive and amicable host.

Score Summary

Taste:
Ingredients:
Presentation:
Service:
Value for Money:
Total:		9/10

Review #6 - Elaia

Saturday December 15, 2007
Cos Salad at Elaia
Launceston, Tasmania

On the way to visit my step-sister Michelle in George Town, we met up with her in Launceston for lunch.

Unfortunately we didn't take any notes, but then we really didn't need to. We'd previously been noting things that were wrong with caesar salads, and with this one there just wasn't anything bad to say.

The salad was so good and so nice that it lost only half a point, and that was because of the pepper on it. Julianne was quite willing to give this one a perfect score if it came without pepper.

While there were no optional anchovies - only anchovy dressing - we can't mark it down for that.

Elaia's Cos Salad is easily the best caesar salad yet. Very highly recommended.

Score Summary

Taste:
Ingredients:
Presentation:
Service:
Value for Money:
Total:		9½/10