http://www.StatesmanJournal.com Willamette Noodle Company Dinner Rating: 3.5 forks Where: 1405 Broadway Ave. NE, Salem Hours: 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sundays-Thursdays and 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Fridays and 5 to 9 p.m. Saturdays Style of Food: Pasta Entertainment: No Vegetarian Options: Lots Reservations: No, but can call ahead when you're on your way and be put on waiting list Attire: Casual Smoking: No Alcohol: Wine and beer Children: "Kid Stuff" menu for ages 10 and younger Parking: OK 1 / 3 Cozy pasta place bubbling with taste By Diane Reynolds Special to the Statesman Journal September 4, 2008 In a funky-cool environment at the corner of Broadway and Hood Street NE, Willamette Noodle Company does a thriving pasta business. Their mission is short and sweet: customers choose from more than 20 noodle presentations with numerous, delicious-sounding sauces and voilà — they have a tasty, filling, reasonably priced meal. The windowed dining area is extremely small. We lucked into a vacant table — they do not take reservations. In answer to my inquiry as to the extent of housemade items, the server smiled and responded "We make everything." When I specifically asked about the pasta, he backtracked a little saying that although the chef wanted to make pasta from scratch, the kitchen was simply too small. Instead it is delivered fresh twice a week from Classic Foods. Other outsourced products included the Caesar dressing and the chocolate layer cake. These exclusions left the housemade category happily populated by the foccacia, soups, sauces, salads and most dressings. Aside from a passing glance at sandwiches (two "grinders" featured Italian sausage or meatballs or chicken/bacon/caramelized onions, $6 each), the menu described 20 permutations of pasta (half of them vegetarian), five cheese-oriented baked items plus a somewhat complicated formula for ordering entrées. Most offerings came with full meal or à la carte options and came with basket of foccacia. The à la carte prices started at $6.50 and topped out at $11.50. For $2.50 extra you get side salad or cup of soup. Soups the evening of our visit were creamy tomato-basil and garden veggie. Regular noodle styles listed spaghetti, penne, fettuccine, tortellini and that month's specials of pappardelle and bowtie pasta. Accessibility: Very tight space; bathroom would be problematic for wheelchair users Payment: Visa, MasterCard, cash; no checks For more information: Call (503) 399-9992 or go to http://willamettenoodle.com Aside from traditional meat sauces, one might also pick such appealing possibilities as artichoke and mushroom penne with white wine in a tarragon-cream sauce ($11.50/meal); three-cheese tortellini with smoked salmon cream and sun-dried tomatoes ($14/meal); or fettuccine with chicken and rosemary-cream sauce ($11.50/meal). The baked-dish category embraced "Grown-up Mac & Cheese" with Gruyère, prosciutto and peas; ziti with meat sauce, mushrooms and mozzarella; and three-cheese ravioli in a tomato cream sauce. Prices for a full meal ranged from $9.50 to $13. The restaurant introduced a new menu in September, after our visit, which includes the introduction of new entrees. My partner tackled the entrée grid — here's the short version: pick a protein (chicken, sausage, meatballs or shrimp) and select a sauce (marinara, garlic-parmesan-cream; mushroom-marsala, pesto-cream, or gorgonzola-cream with chopped tomatoes) then add a side of fettuccine alfredo or spaghetti marinara ($12.50-15.50 per meal) He settled on the parmigiana preparation of Italian sausage (marinara sauce, mozzarella and Parmesan topped with breadcrumbs) with spaghetti marinara and the house salad. I eyed one of the month's specials, fresh pappardelle with shrimp and asparagus in a citrus-butter sauce and the creamy tomato-basil soup, $16 per meal. The foccacia appeared speedily; it was all right but surprisingly cold. The pleasantly punchy salad boasted a refreshing dressing. The combination of gourmet lettuce, carrots and cherry tomatoes lacked the advertised kalamata olives but otherwise provided a nice ingredient balance. The flavorful soup was a chunky riff on Campbell's tomato enhanced with a whisper of basil. Our pasta arrived as soon as I consumed my last spoonful of soup. The exceptionally quick service almost reached the point where we felt rushed. My highly spiced, wide noodles were tender; the lengths of fresh asparagus, al dente; and the shrimp, luscious. The herb-laced citrus-butter emulsion possessed a breathtaking amount of minced garlic. (If you prefer things sans garlic, the menu noted it could be eliminated — however, be sure to check — the description of my order never mentioned its inclusion.) My partner's heaped platter overflowed with a humongous portion of Italian sausage and enough noodles to weave a good-sized basket. Everything was well-seasoned with zesty overtones. We took home a third of our dinner because we wanted to try their desserts. We shared a piece of the soft, creamy housemade tiramisu ($4.50); there was another contender — chocolate layer cake ($4.50). Because of the diminutive seating area, patrons were asked to wait outside until a table cleared; the warm summer weather made this doable, but I wondered what happened when it rains. Given the rapid turnover — prompted perhaps by the menu's advisory that "If there are diners 2 / 3 waiting for a table, please be considerate and return tables to us as soon as you are done" — this was not a leisurely dining experience. Overall the Willamette Noodle Company does a first rate job at what it sets out to do. They focus on their strengths and execute them well in an active, intimate setting. Diane Reynolds is a freelance restaurant critic for the Statesman Journal. She is an accomplished home cook, adventurous diner, considers recipe books to be pleasure reading and savors food-related puns. Reynolds dines unannounced, and meals are paid for by the Statesman Journal. Copyright © 2008 - StatesmanJournal.com All rights reserved. 3 / 3

TIMOTHY J. GONZALEZ | STATESMAN JOURNAL Robert Henry co-owns Willamette Noodle Company with his wife and also works in the kitchen with three other chefs. The restaurant's food is "pretty basic, but it's good," he says. Willamette Noodle Company Where: 1405 Broadway Ave. NE, Salem Owners: Robert and Janet Henry; Robert is in charge of the kitchen Menu: Italian, with salads, baked dishes and 20 pasta entrees, several vegetarian, and four pasta-free dishes; sauces, soups and baked items made in house (cakes come from an outside provider) Specialties: Traditional Meat Lasagna, topped with an Alfredo sauce; Rob's Famous Cheesy Garlic Bread, with garlic butter and mozzarella cheese on focaccia bread; Fettuccini with Chicken & Rosemary Cream Sauce; Penne with Chicken & Lemon Garlic Cheese Sauce; soups always include Creamy Tomato Basil; desserts include a tiramisu made with cocoa powder. Hours: 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sundays-Thursdays; 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Fridays, 5 to 9 p.m. Saturdays; same menu all day; takeout available Seating: 26 Atmosphere: Minimal embellishments, with walls in various colors, sparse decorations, black tables and chairs Credit policy: Visa, MasterCard and cash; no checks Price range: $2.50 to $12.95; $2 to $3.25 for kids Call: (503) 399-9992; fax (503) 399-9991 Related news from the Web Latest headlines by topic: • Baked Goods  • Cake  • Life  • Dessert  • Food  • Bar-B-Q  • Chocolate  Powered by Topix.net Related news from the Web Latest headlines by topic: • Baked Goods  • Cake  • Life  • Dessert  • Food  • Bar-B-Q  • Chocolate  Powered by Topix.net     You want noodles? They've got noodles Willamette Noodle Company focuses on simple dishes with a flair for flavor RON COWAN Statesman Journal May 18, 2006 If you ask Robert Henry, chef/co-owner of the Willamette Noodle Company, what he fixed himself for dinner last night, the answer echoes the attitude of the pasta-based restaurant: Spaghetti, with a simple sauce of garlic and melted butter. Since it opened in the summer of 2003 in a former Rock-N-Rogers location at Broadway Avenue and Hood Street NE in Salem, Willamette Noodle Company has found an audience with straightforward, recognizable fare and good, simple flavors. There are 20 pasta entrees on the menu, many of them vegetarian, as well as salads, soups, home-baked breads and four pasta-free dishes. The ingredients are straightforward, with little tweaks, such as putting Alfredo sauce on the Traditional Meat Lasagna for a different twist. "We want to keep it simple," Henry said. "It's easier for everybody. "I think the majority of our diners want something that's recognizable, but have it fresh and good quality." Another rule: Be attentive to what the customers want. Success is in the right timing but also the right approach. "You've got to be flexible with your customers here," Henry said. "They can tweak it; I want you to be happy with what you're eating." Henry, who co-owns the restaurant with his wife, Janet, found success fairly quickly, expanding from five-day operation to seven days a week, dinner only on Saturdays. Much of the business is takeout, out of necessity. The restaurant basically is a tiny diner, with simple black tables seating 26 and a minimum of embellishments. That made it easy to get on a firm financial footing right away, although success has made it a tight fit. "I think in the beginning it was a plus," Henry said. "It's become a challenge now." Things are tight enough at lunchtime that employees have learned to innovate, taking people's cell-phone numbers and advising them to wait in their cars. "At lunchtime, people can't wait," he said. "At dinner, it's great when the weather is nice; people will sit outside and wait." So the couple is contemplating opening a second location, possibly in South Salem, but with no plans to close the current tiny place. "I guess I've just sort of grown attached to it," he said. "It's my baby. The place has personality. "I like where we are here. It's on the corner; we have personality." Both the Henrys, who recently celebrated their 13th anniversary with a delayed honeymoon in New York, have backgrounds working for caterers. Robert was in food distribution for 10 years, but when his company was sold, the job became less attractive, and he decided to make the leap to his own business. "It's hard work," Henry said. "I figured if we don't do it now, we're not going to be able to do it." His mother was of Maltese heritage, and Henry grew up in a family where the concepts of food and family were intertwined. "What that did was really develop my interest in food and cooking," he said. "We do make all the sauces. from scratch. "I will take my inspiration from things I see in books and magazines and tweak them. "We make our own bread from scratch; we bake every day." A customer favorite is a basket of Rob's Famous Cheesy Garlic Bread, which is focaccia bread with garlic butter and mozzarella cheese, four pieces for $2.50. Also popular is the Traditional Meat Lasagna, with a simple meat sauce and mozzarella and that topping of Alfredo, rather than a bechamel sauce, added just before cooking is finished. It goes for $10.95 with salad, $8.85 a la carte. Also popular is the Fettuccini with Chicken & Rosemary Cream Sauce and the Penne with Chicken & Lemon Garlic Cream Sauce, both $9.25 per meal or $7.25 a la carte. It's basic -- but basically good. "They've got really good sauces, and they're recognizable," Henry said. There also are Friday-Sunday specials, such as Baked Gnocchi with spinach and ricotta cheese in a Parmesan cream sauce. For soups, minestrone was the original stalwart of the lineup, but it's been replaced on the menu by Creamy Tomato Basil Soup, $2.50 a cup, $4.50 a bowl, served with a slice of focaccia bread. "It's pretty basic, but it's good," he said. Other regulars include Tuscan White Bean Soup, Vegetarian Lentil and Mushroom Barley. The cakes are provided by an outside baker and always include a chocolate cake, along with a specialty made in-house: tiramisu at $3.95. Everything on the menu is available to go, and the menu is the same all day. There is a special lower-priced menu for kids, including cold cooked noodles to munch on. Beer and wine are available, as well as bottled beverages, juice boxes, coffee and tea. Willamette Noodle Company also does catering for up to 140 people as the schedule and small kitchen permit. There is a staff of 10, four of them cooks, including Henry. When he isn't cooking for someone else, Henry's taste goes well beyond pasta and other Italian items. "I love steaks; I love barbecue," he said. "I love to eat. "If it's good, I'll eat it." rcowan@StatesmanJournal.com or (503) 399-6728

New pasta place is using its noodle Willamette Noodle Company TOM FORSTROM If you have to have that pasta right now, there’s a new place in Salem that’s just for you. The Willamette Noodle Company will get it to you hot in a jiffy. The little specialty restaurant at Hood Street and Broadway opened this month, and people are beginning to find it. It’s in the space where Rock-N-Rogers got its start. Robert and Janet Henry have teamed up to provide the pasta and there are 15 pasta choices on the menu. Also available is minestrone soup, five salads and a couple of sandwiches. The restaurant makes most of its stuff, including the pasta sauces and the soups. The beverages are bottled and there is coffee, tea and hot or iced lattes and mochas. Wine and beer also are available. So far it’s been going well at Willamette Noodle, Robert Henry said. “I’m thrilled,” he said just a week after it opened. The Henrys are not new to the business. Both were in catering before they started the restaurant. The restaurant itself is pretty plain with black tables and chairs, walls of various colors, a light floor and sparse decorations. The tables are covered with white paper to gather any wayward spaghetti sauce and to give the kids something to color on. Decor, however, isn’t the point in a restaurant that only can seat 26 and features food to go. It’s the concept — and the food. I like the concept of Willamette Noodle Co. While I’m not a fan of some types of pasta, I like most types, especially spaghetti. I ordered the spaghetti with traditional meat sauce. My wife chose the fettuccine with grilled chicken and rosemary cream. I liked the spaghetti and the sauce, and I’d order it again. I just would request a little more sauce. Henry said it’s the one dish that gets mixed reviews, and he’s tinkering with it. He said his wife tends to side with the Italians, more pasta and less sauce, but most American diners will want it a little saucier. So that dish is under review. The dish is fairly basic, like the decor, but it was hot, tasty and filling. The sauce had chunks of hamburger in a tomato sauce and was sprinkled with green onions. The fettuccine with grilled chicken and rosemary cream was excellent, with the mingling of the rosemary, the alfredolike sauce and tender pieces of chicken breast. It smelled good and had a nice texture and taste. We also ordered Rob’s Famous Cheesy Garlic Bread. It was very good. The cheese-topped focaccia (made there, by the way) was hot, creamy, garlicky and a wonderful accompaniment to the pasta. We have no quibble with him calling it “famous” even though he’s only been open for a few weeks. We split a piece of tiramisu, which was big enough to cap off the meal for both of us. It was good stuff, too, and not overly sweet. It had layers of sponge cake, cream cheese (mascarpone, I’m guessing) and was topped with grated chocolate. We were full when we left, and we even took leftovers home. The Henrys have tweaked the menu since they opened, including a meal deal for about $2 more that includes soup or salad and focaccia bread with the meal. They also added a kid’s menu with smaller portions. I’m going to bet that Willamette Noodle Company will be a hit. The lunch crowd will find them, and then they’ll tell their friends. It’s all just a good idea. And the little restaurant has a little bonus for those who want a tasty meal at home but don’t have the time or desire to fix it. You can get dinner to go. It’s the Noodle At Home Deal — a pound of fresh pasta, a quart of sauce, and a loaf of garlic bread to take home, heat and serve. It’s $12.95 and serves three to four.  (The Noodle at Home Deal is no longer available, but we do sell quarts of sauce.) Tom Forstrom, Statesman Journal reporter, has been a food writer for the Statesman Journal for more than 13 years. His reviews appear regularly in Weekend. Address your letters to Tom Forstrom, c/o Statesman Journal, P.O. Box 13009, Salem, OR 97309-3009. Forstrom also can be reached at (503) 399-6746. Forstrom dines unannounced and meals are paid for by the Statesman Journal.

Willamette Noodle Company Address: 1405 Broadway Ave. NE, Salem Phone: (503) 399-9992 Hours: 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sundays through Thursdays, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday; Parking: In back, on the side, streets Style of food: Pasta, soups, salads, desserts Menu item examples with prices: (a la carte prices shown; meal with soup or salad and bread are $2 more) Penne with Sauteed Mushrooms and Sage Cream Sauce, $6.75; Spaghetti with Roasted Garlic Pomodoro Sauce (fresh tomato, basil and garlic) $5.95; minestrone soup, $2.95; Caesar Salad with Chicken, $7.50; grilled veggie sandwich, $6.50 NOTE:  Prices have changed since this review was published.  Please see our menu for current pricing. Vegetarian options: Yes Length of meal: Dine in, a half an hour or so; take out, ready in 15 minutes or less Reservations: Not generally, but if a large party is coming in, they’ll make room What to wear: Casual Smoking: No Wine/bar information: Wine and beer are served. Bring the kids or leave them home: Bring them Kinds of payment accepted: Visa, MasterCard, cash Call: (503) 399-9992