Friday, Oct. 10 was the first late night at Venti’s Cafe. We had two DJs: DJ Zach, a local guy spinning vinyl; and Gustav from 94.7fm doin the digital thing. It was so great to have the DJs, giving us all a taste of more nightlife to come at Venti’s.
Attached are some photos of the evening.
Cool! We made Eat Salem!
When I hear the two words “eat” and “Salem” together, well, specifically “Eat Salem,” my brain clicks to an enormous atomic-age monster tearing at bi-planes, stomping through buildings and shoving hapless citizens into its mouth. Salemites are always wanting action, aren’t they?
Well, for those not in the know, eatsalem.blogspot.com is a very active blog dedicated to the foodie in all of us, targeting restaurants new and old in the Salem area. It is always an entertaining read, and has moved me to try a joint or two.
Mr. Eat got in touch with me months ago, inviting Venti’s Cafe to post a free online coupon. After some back and forth with Mr. Eat (who is famously anonymous), we settled on an advertisement promoting our move that coincided with the feverish work of getting the restaurant open. This was free, no-strings advertising on a traffic-laden site. Who would say no?
With much professionalism, Mr. Eat has been in regular contact w/ me suggesting other coupons and updating our offers.
Like an advancing, fearsome atomic-age monster, any restaurateur never knows when he/she’ll come under foot of a reviewer like eatsalem. Heck, any customer is a reviewer, really. So after months of our passive presence on the eatsalem blog, Mr. Eat made an undercover appearance and blogged about his experience. One thing he notes in the blog is that he always tries the signature item on a restaurant’s menu, which struck me as a good suggestion that I will follow myself when I eat out (and I’m known as ravenous eater… bi-planes, hapless citizens…).
Mr. Eat had a good experience. His eating partner did not. Hope they both give us another chance. If I could suggest the yellow curry to Mrs. Eat. 
Please enjoy the review at the link below.
http://eatsalem.blogspot.com/2008/09/ventis.html
Check out the festivities downtown this weekend. We are hosting DJ Zach at Venti’s, setting up a bar and offering some great new appetizers
egyptian chicken skewers $6.5
tender chicken breast skewed n grilled. exotic spices.
it’ll make u see pyramids
tandoori onion rings $5.5
these are like no other
served w/ our special sweet chili dippin’ sauce.
sweet potato fries $4.75
a generous helping of our deliciously crispy sweet potato fries
served w/ our special sweet chili dippin’ sauce.
hummus plate $4.5
homemade hummus served w/ flatbread
chips and salsa $3.5
fresh chips. fresh salsa. need we say more?
Visit the Mix-n-Mash web site at www.mix-n-mash.com
http://www.secretalien.com/angryjew/?p=983
We at Venti’s were pleased to welcome a surprise foodie, Salem visitor and blogging storm, the Angry Jew, on Saturday. We devoured his enthusiastic review and were pleased that Venti’s location, atmosphere and food (of course) may contribute to a love connection.
Write on!
Moroccan-spiced chicken, grilled & diced w/apple, onion, cucumber, rolled up with lettuce greens in our flavorful tortilla. You’ll love it with sweet chili sauce. Seriously!
See you on First Wednesday!
My brother, Jason Box, professor of atmospheric science at Ohio State University, is featured as one of the scientists on an upcoming Discovery Channel series — the series debuts Friday, Aug. 22 on Discovery channel. Check out the fwd message below.
NOTE: Hood to Coast is Friday, so I will unfortunately be unable to
watch the debut — my dad has TiVo, so no biggie.
As I’m sure you can imagine, I am very proud of my lil bro!
http://dsc.discovery.com/tv/project-earth/lab-books/greenland/greenland-jasonbox.html
http://dsc.discovery.com/tv/project-earth/project-earth.html
I have long been an advocate for Venti’s food — of course. I mean, really, it goes without saying. But we have entered a new realm at Venti’s Cafe, a world of spices, textures, rubs and color not yet experienced. I feel like Anthony Bourdain as he searches for words to describe a meal that can only really be experienced. And there it is… Venti’s new Moroccan spiced chicken (or beef).
As I mentioned before, now that we have a full kitchen, the guys back there are cranking out some new flavors. It is exciting to get away from the Flashbake ovens, which served their humble purpose over at the Reed Opera House location where we didn’t have a ventilation system. Now when you walk into Venti’s and peer over the gorgeous front counter, it isn’t uncommon to see FIRE bursting forth from sauté pan, lighting up the faces of the cooks, sous chefs and anyone lucky enough to be standing anywhere near the grill. Oh, and the aroma. Thank god for a full kitchen, the hood and vent. Hooray.
It is my understanding that Jim and Tito are the experimental chefs. I could be wrong — i.e. there might be other guys back there offering up suggestions and turning out these killer new meals. Suffice it to say, it’s all good. Jim is the creator of the Moroccan rub and it totally rocks. I have been suggesting it to anyone who will listen. It is served with hummus and this amazingly cool tzaziki sauce (which reminds me, I have to go buy some dill), perfect for a summer meal. I like to add veggies to mine. It’s a huge serving too.
So, give it a try the next time you are at Venti’s. You will love the presentation as well as the flavor. Mmmmm!
Go! Downtown Salem is hosting a street fair-type event this weekend called “Summer in the City”, featuring activities, music, art and a wine festival — 30 bands, 16 vineyards, 40 restaurants.
Check out the schedule! http://www.gosummerinthecity.info/
We are offering a dinner buffet from 5-8 tonight for a mere $9.50 in honor of our Grand Opening!
We’d love to see you there! It’s gonna totally rock.
Life is good at the new Venti’s location. Moving into the space at 325 Court Street has been such a godsend. We love the sunny side of the street and our neighbors are amazing. We’ve gone from nine to 19 employees, we’ve added some menu choices and continue to welcome comments and critiques from our customers.
Two recent creations from the kitchen are a vegan yellow Thai curry that has a bit of a lemony zest to it and a Moroccan spiced chicken or beef entree. The Thai curry is colorful in presentation and rich in flavor. Jim opted to serve it over basmati rice and it is just delectable. The Moroccan chicken or beef (or organic beef for $2 more) is freakin’ awesome. His spice rub is a well guarded secret, but I can tell you it is addictive. I order mine with extra vegetables. The Moroccan chicken is served with hummus and tzaziki. It is so good on a summer day.
So besides the new menu options, we are beginning work on our basement lounge. Because of the final push to open in July, we focused strictly on the upstairs main dining area and left the basement until after the dust had settled and we got into somewhat of a routine. It’s all good and we are so thrilled to dive in to the basement project. We have big plans and lots of customers are inquiring about it, as well as entertainers of all ilks. It is a much needed addition to our business, and will hopefully make Salem that much cooler of a place to live and work. Hooray, Salem! haha