Women and Children First

Salute’s New Menu: From Excellent to Run-of-the-Mill

Before they changed the menu, I considered Salute was one of the great new Roslindale restaurants. The prices were less than Delfino’s and the pizza was better than Sophia’s Grotto. A number of months ago, we enjoyed the Mozzarella e Pomodoro pizza, a crisp traditional crust with big chunks of fresh mozzerella and a sauce that took me back to my four-month sojourn in Italy over 10 years ago. The lasagne special I enjoyed that night was made with handmade noodles served in a bowl with just the right amount of cheese and sauce — delicious! I commented then how great it was and said they should put it on the regular menu. They told me they were changing their menu and that the lasagne would be on it.

Tonight we couldn’t have been more disappointed. The bread was cold, the pizza crust was now a soft, perfectly round, plate size pizza with American style sauce and cheese. (We could have done better at Romano’s down the street). And the lasagne, despite our previous server’s promise, was not the same one. It was an American style lasagne that anyone could have made at home. (I would have made sure it was cooked all the way through as well.)
To their credit, the salad was excellent, and our server took the lasagne off the bill since I wasn’t happy with it.

Rumor has it that they may be moving to a third chef (and menu?). If so, I’d say, bring back the old pizzas and that fabulous lasagne. And while you’re at it, add some more vegetarian pastas. There are many more vegetarians in Roslindale than most restauranteers would like to believe. Meat may sell, but a good vegetarian restaurant will garner a tremendously loyal following.

Posted under: Restaurants, Roslindale Issues