Pork Belly Tacos
Opus

Opus

87 Washington St (at Essex St), Salem, Massachusetts, USA, 01970, United States

Sushi • Asiatic • European • American


"Some great Japanese fusion and Japanese inspired food! One of the best meals my entire group had during our long weekend in the Boston area. Breakdown below: Service, 3.5/5 The hostess was very helpful and even though we were told there was going to be a 30+ minute wait, we were called in after just 10 minutes and promptly seated. Our server was really nice and let us know the water cups were being washed so that would be delayed, which was no problem, but she never ended up bringing us water the entire meal and only got glasses as we were paying. After the first few minutes, we also weren't able to find her to flag her down about the water, but I understand it must be particularly busy during Halloween season in Salem. Decor and cleanliness, 5/5 Although the restaurant seemed crowded, we were able to stay socially distanced from other patrons in a booth and the interior was decorated in a really rustic and fun way. The bar lights up so all the drinks look like they glow in the dark, and there's a lower level with a bar area as well. The patio was really cute under string lights too when we passed by on our way out. Presentation of the food, 5/5 All very well put together, especially the salmon bowl I got. It just looked fantastic! Price and portion, 4.5/5 The price is just a taaaad high, but the portions are perfectly sized so overall reasonable for the area. Taste of the food, 5/5 Everything we ordered was delicious!! Such a satisfying meal after all the window shopping and touring we did. Here's a detailed breakdown: Cold noodles, 5/5: Made with avocado and chilled noodles, the dish was somehow both creamy but still refreshing. A great vegetarian option that my friend ordered as an entree! Salmon bowl, 4.5/5: The beautiful presentation, generous portion of fresh fish (perfect fish to rice ratio), and perfect size made this one of my favorite meals in the Boston area. I only wish I got water during the meal to help cut the spice from the chili mayo on the rice. Also! Be aware that they season the rice already at the bottom of the bowl which you can't see at first, so there's probably no need to add soy sauce to your fish. It ended up being a little too salty but that's my own fault because I should have mixed up the bowl first. A bit more cucumber and orange would've also made it a perfect 5/5 to cut the spice and saltiness, but again I think it was a byproduct of not having water and adding soy sauce when the rice was actually already seasoned. Coconut curry, 5/5: My friend ordered this and really enjoyed it! I also tried some and the sauce is savory and sweet, a really nice combo and also a great vegan option. Overall, lovely experience!"

Congregation Ale House

Congregation Ale House

300 S Raymond Ave, Pasadena I-91105-2620, United States

Pub • Pubs • Burgers • American


"There seems to be a trend in Pasadena of restaurants with these weird menus of pizza and tacos and sushi, etc. all under the same roof. This place doesn 't have sushi but it certainly is keeping up with the Joneses. It 's a chain or something, right? So the Philly cheese stake comes in the bread equivalent of a taco sized sandwich. The chef wasn 't from Philly, best I could tell. So I wasn 't expecting much, and boy was I still disappointed. There was cold cheese that was roughly broken up over the top of my sandwich. The bread was soggy and untoasted, the beef taste of freezer, and the veggies were mush, like twice thawed peppers. The stand out champ was the fries. I sent the sandwich back and said charge me for the fries, lol. They were good. The kiddo had a pretzel and, I mean, how do you mess up a pretzel? You bring it out with a flavorless cheese sauce that had been over whipped resulting in a broken cheese sauce. No problem, people won 't notice the texture. I did but the kid didn 't mind. Service was normal, we didn 't ask for much attention so our drinks were full and he was totally fine. No fuss no muss. Would I go back? Not on purpose, but we 're frequently trapped in that area for an hour here or an hour there. So, Maybe. The fries were actually that good and they have a diablo fries that I 'd be down to try. I dunno, maybe. I included the picture of the sandwich lol. It really had like, ZERO meat flavor Oh, also they had the house lights at full freakin ' brightness when we walked in, then halfway through the meal they turned them down. It was like 6:30 so it 's not like it was early. The sun was already down. I audibly laughed when we walked in. Thank you for coming to my presentation about my experience at the congregation house."