Salmon Dave's

It has been a long time since our last visit to Salmon Dave’s. Almost since they opened, we would make the trek to Rocky River for a late lunch or to celebrate Mardi Gras during their annual menu change to all things New Orleans. For some reason, we just had not gone there recently. That changed this week when we found ourselves at a meeting on the far-Westside. We had intended to again visit the excellent Wine Bar Rocky River, but at the last minute switched course to revisit an old friend. The food was OK, but we really wish we would have stayed focused on our original destination.

It is not that the food was bad, it wasn’t. It just was not as good as we remember and our last abbreviated visit to Wine Bar had us so stoked to try a larger assortment of their offerings.

Michele, the real fish-lover was most dissatisfied. Her grilled salmon was a touch too heavily fired and the jasmine rice was bland and flavorless. Jeff fared better. He did enjoy his pan seared grouper, although the olive polenta cake was a bit too heavily crusted and dryer than he hoped. Because of the late hour, we forewent appetizers and dessert.

Memory is a tricky thing. A palate is an ever-growing and maturing entity. Perhaps Salmon Dave’s is preparing the same food in the same way they did fifteen plus years ago and our palates have simply outgrown their offerings. Perhaps it was an off-day and things simply did not get prepared correctly. Perhaps, our past, early dinner/empty restaurant visits afforded the kitchen staff time to concentrate on our food, but a crowded Monday inevitably allowed things to slip by the chef. We can never know the reason unless we frequented the place far more than our once-yearly visit. Suffice to say, the food is OK. If you are looking for something of a higher quality level, you may need to look elsewhere.

http://hrcleveland.com/sdave.php
19015 Old Lake Road Rocky River, OH 44116 440-331-2739

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