Spoonriver

Since my friend E.P. and I have our birthdays within one week of each other, our mutual friend TJ.H. suggested the three of us get together to celebrate. I had told E.P. about Spoonriver a few months back, and since she doesn’t often get to restaurants where meat and potatoes aren’t the stars of the menu (due to her husband’s taste buds), we decided Spoonriver was the perfect place for our dinner.

When we arrived, the restaurant was buzzing with the theater crowd, so I was really glad we had made reservations. Spoonriver is a very sheik, modern space. The floor to ceiling windows on one side and the brightly painted orange walls on the other give a sense of roominess to the long, narrow dining area.

The waitress came shortly after we were seated and ran through the specials for the night. She also asked if we were headed to the Guthrie and wanted to make sure we were served as quickly as possible if that was the case. It’s really nice that Spoonriver caters to the theater goers, but I noticed that once they found out we weren’t headed to a show, we were put on the back burner. So much so that our waitress forgot to bring the promised bread basket and pretty much disappeared after we had placed our orders. I finally had to ask the busboy if he could track down some bread for us. Which, graciously he did.

For dinner, I decided to forgo the specials and settled on the House Made Indian Spiced Potato & Sweet Pea Ravioli with Thai Green Curry and Vegetables. The ravioli was served in a light green curry sauce and topped with a variety of steamed vegetables. I loved the ravioli. They were hearty, chewy and filled with a thick potato filling. What threw me off though was the “Indian” and “Thai” description of the dish on the menu. I was expecting a thicker sauce with a little heat, and raviolis laced with garam masala-like spices. Instead, the curry sauce seemed to have water rather than milk or cream as the base, and there was absolutely no “zing” to the meal. It was a very light, clean dish that reminded me of spring. So, although I did enjoy it, I felt like it was missing that punch of middle-eastern flavor promised by the menu description.

As the theater crowd cleared out, the service to our table definitely picked up. At that point, we had finished our meals, and the waitress brought by the dessert tray. It was taking us so long to make a decision that she finally left the tray at our table for us to discuss our options. After much deliberation, we settled on the chocolate mousse topped with toasted coconut and a piece of the carrot cake. My friends were also eyeing the flourless chocolate cake, and our waitress was kind enough to bring us a sample of it along with the other two desserts. The mousse was light and chocolately with the toasted coconut giving it a hint of nuttiness. The carrot cake was fantastic. It had a thick cream cheese frosting and was served with a side of both cranberry and apricot preserves. I loved the flavor combination of the tart cranberries with the sweet, rich cake. Yum! I’m not a huge flourless chocolate cake lover (I just feel like I’m eating a brick of frosting), but this cake was lighter that most flourless varieties and was served with a delicate orange sauce.

By the time we had finished dessert, the restaurant was barely half full. This is definitely a pre-theater place. Despite the spotty service, we all agreed we’d be back to Spoonriver. If we’re not headed to a show, we’ll just have to make our reservations for after the rush.

Additional Details:
1. Website:www.spoonriverrestaurant.com
2. Reservations are definitely recommended if you are dining before 6:30pm.
3. There is a new 3-course menu for under $20 available after 7pm. Now I know why the special is for after 7pm!
4. Parking is great. Right across the street, there is a lot for $5 and a parking ramp for $6. These are event parking prices!