[01troutnut]

Walleries, Paddingtons, JC, Donetellos, Christoes all good pizzerias. You need to venture off of Lancaster. Mexican food is authentic not some water down Tex-mex version unless you only go to the chain Mexican restaurants that look Mexican. Best bakery and I would put it up against Helen Benards is Glenn Creek Roths. Seriously some of you Salem guys just need to move to Portland and then complain about the same things.


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Paddingtons- pizza- soda in 2 liter bottles and 300 kids running around. dough not cook throughly.

Christos- good, best in town, but closed on Monday They can keep the artichoke hearts and spinach they throw into the calzone. NASTY.
.
Straight from New York pizza by the slice, great if you want 5 kinds of pizza.

The deal is, by the time I drive all the way downtown Salem or over to Commercial St, I can be in Tigard.

 

[Dave G]

At night they have plenty of nightlife for the young people to do in the business area west of the capital. That's about it, the rest of the area I am really uncomfortable being down there at night.

 

[keizer rapids]

Walleries, Paddingtons, JC, Donetellos, Christoes all good pizzerias. You need to venture off of Lancaster. Mexican food is authentic not some water down Tex-mex version unless you only go to the chain Mexican restaurants that look Mexican. Best bakery and I would put it up against Helen Benards is Glenn Creek Roths. Seriously some of you Salem guys just need to move to Portland and then complain about the same things.

A 200k Salem home does not cost 240k in Keizer, I know because I am shopping houses right now, heck a three bedroom is about the same price across this city. On average Keizer gets you 500 more square feet of lot for the same price.

To many people judge Salem on just Lancaster and center/state street. It would be like judging Portland on burnside between 122nd and 82nd.
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ya got to love Salem, nothing better then having to wake up the folks sleeping in your doorways at work in the morning, or the large number of mentally unstable people waking the streets, the tweeker moms that wander into your store with their babies to use the restroom and flush the diaper down the toilet a couple times a week alm:.

That said their are some nice parks, good restaurants(if you look for them), Northern Lights offers some good movies at a reasonable price and the food is ok, an over abundance of furniture stores which keeps pricing competitive if you ask for a better price. Traffics not to bad, lots of good looking women(subjective I guess) Beach, mountains, casino, within an hours drive and fishing isn't to bad if you search it out.

 

[CptnMorgan]

And what Paddingtons you go to. Thin crust pizza under cooked? 2 liter bottles? Paddingtons is on Pine or out on South Commercial. Then you have his old business partners JC Pizzeria on River road in Keizer and Walleries on Edgewater in West Salem. Same thin crust same type of toppings. I don't know how you get 300 kids unless you are confusing Paddingtons for Pietro's on Hawthorne.

As far as getting to Tigard as fast as downtown or commercial; you either don't know how to get across town or you drive way to fast. I can be at Safeway Battle Creek from Keizer station in 15 minutes. I can go from safeway on Silverton and Lancaster to Winco on Commercial in 20. I can not get to Tigard from the parkway in 20 minutes. It takes 13 minutes just to get from Chemawa exit to Woodburn and that is halfway.


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[CptnMorgan]

ya got to love Salem, nothing better then having to wake up the folks sleeping in your doorways at work in the morning, or the large number of mentally unstable people waking the streets, the tweeker moms that wander into your store with their babies to use the restroom and flush the diaper down the toilet a couple times a week alm:.

That said their are some nice parks, good restaurants(if you look for them), Northern Lights offers some good movies at a reasonable price and the food is ok, an over abundance of furniture stores which keeps pricing competitive if you ask for a better price. Traffics not to bad, lots of good looking women(subjective I guess) Beach, mountains, casino, within an hours drive and fishing isn't to bad if you search it out.

Yeah but are you negatives any different then any other city? Heck at least our cops bust up homeless camps (except for the old gravel pit along 22 heading west) on a regular basis. Did you see the landscape job they did to the freed area by Costco a few weeks ago. No more hobo village there. It's to bad we can have a "Don't Feed the Bears" law when it comes to pan handling.


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[deptrai]

Moved to OR about 3 years ago to work in Albany. Brought my wife up 3 times on house hunting trips. Almost thought I was going to have to quit the new job before starting! Thankfully, we finally found 2 communities in Salem we could afford and tolerate...Creekside Estates & West Meadows Estates.

Agree that nice restaurants are almost non-existent. Appleby's, Olive Garden and Red Lobster? I do like Aieberto's for dirt cheap authentic Mexican. Otherwise, we head north for most eating out. Albany actually has 2 fantastic restaurants. Still can't figure out why.

Kaiser Permanente offices on Skyline and Lancaster. I had surgery in the new wing of the Salem hospital and it was top notch. Recovery in the old wing a different story.

The tap water filtered through my refrigerator tastes excellent to me and I no longer buy Aquafina.

Sportsman's Warehouse if I don't want to drive to Cabelas or Fisherman's Marine.

My new favorite winery...Stangeland on the other side of the river.

One hour drive from my garage to the covered lot at PDX.

I would like to complain about the slow drivers and rain, but I guess that may be the same throughout the state. I'm sure I'll pay for that one!

 

[keizer rapids]

Yeah but are you negatives any different then any other city? Heck at least our cops bust up homeless camps (except for the old gravel pit along 22 heading west) on a regular basis. Did you see the landscape job they did to the freed area by Costco a few weeks ago. No more hobo village there. It's to bad we can have a "Don't Feed the Bears" law when it comes to pan handling.


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Seeing as I moved to Keizer from Lake Oswego most of the negative's I listed were non existent their :laugh:.

I live in Keizer, I enjoy the small town feel the area has. I work in Salem and would have no problem living their either you just have to pick the right area, I should have added their are some nice golf courses in the area too and green fees aren't to bed either

 

[CptnMorgan]

Seeing as I moved to Keizer from Lake Oswego most of the negative's I listed were non existent their :laugh:.

I live in Keizer, I enjoy the small town feel the area has. I work in Salem and would have no problem living their either you just have to pick the right area, I should have added their are some nice golf courses in the area too and green fees aren't to bed either

Lake O huh, don't the police hassle you there if your jeans are even dirty That is a city that works hard at keeping the bums out and their lack of lower income housing helps too.


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[Seafan#12]

1 hour north I'm at PDX. 1 hour south I'm at Autzen stadium. 1 hour east and I'm in the snow by Detroit lake. 1 hour west I'm dropping the boat in the nestucca or siletz. Location is prime. The city itself I won't stick up for too much but its no worse than any other city with 100,000 people or more. I've herd the OP's complaint a lot. If you aren't from the area and know much about things that aren't "mainstream" I can definitely see the repulsiveness. There are great parks and shops, there are areas in downtown that are appealing. The food and malls are questionable.

 

[slits]

Jeez- what parts of Salem do some of you guys visit? I have a different experience. I wouldn't want to be young and single but as a family guy, it's good. My biggest gripe living here is towing my boat an hour when springer fever hits me bad in a couple months. I'm a midwest transplant so didn't grow up in Oregon. Perhaps things have changed a bit? You do have to be savvy.

I hate to let these places out in a way because it's nice to not have traffic and lines but there are many good locally owned small businesses to dine and drink- Venti's downtown and on S. Commercial, the Crooked House Bistro, DaVinci's, B2 Taphouse and Santiam Brewery with good food carts, Sparky's, f/stop Fitzgerald public house, Willamette Valley Vineyards tasting room, Kitchen on Court St, Archive coffee house, the Gov Cup, Bentley's, five10, Word of Mouth, Cascade Bakery with breads from spent beer grains. The bahn mi sandwiches for $4 to $5 at the Saigon Restaurant are to die for- they make their own baguettes in house and the crust shatters when you take a bite. It's the best lunch deal in town.

Christos pizza is really good- they hand toss the crusts over their heads in the air. I went to live jazz show there last year that was like a Greenwich Village club. Sold out fast.

Gilgamesh, Salem Ale Works, Vagabond breweries, Rogue Chatoe, Thompson's, Boons Treasury. Eola Hills on the west side is loaded with high end pinot noir vineyards and wineries, not to mention a good cider works.

Mexican is the abundant ethnic food and some is crazy good and cheap- Plaza Morelia on River Rd in Keizer has amazing food- home made tamales for a buck each, and they will make tortillas from scratch while you wait if you like them really hot and fresh. Have to show up early on Sundays because the BBQ chicken always sells out. A lady in a tent at 25th and State makes cheap delicious tortas for lunch for $5. Works her butt off for her customers.

Like anyplace else, you got to know where to go.

 

[Way2Fish]

Salem Oregon.... making people feel better about living in Willamina for the past 40 years alm:alm:

 

[FishingTheWest]

I go shopping in salem a couple times a year. I call it little mexico because I swear every place I go into I hear people speaking Spanish. One time I remember saying to myself under my breath, "Where am I?"

I'm not saying that in a negative way either, just been my experience. very good Mexican food throughout, lots of good places to eat in salem.

 

[Sirfishalots]

I am surprised that of all the places to eat in Salem,, no one has mentioned The Sassy Onion. One of Salem's best places to eat. Might have to try Christos pizza...

 

[Danno]

Salem is the center of most of our beer, if it was not for the hops fields you wouldn't be enjoying your domestic to craft brew right now.

Ha! That's a huge stretch. First off, Yakima valley is the number 1 hop growing region followed by the Willamette valley. To attach Salem to anything that has to do with the hops in the surrounding farms is laughable. The two have nothing to do with each other except when a hop farmer has to pay his taxes.

Cpt, you're really working to justify your home town as something it's not. As a former resident of West Linn, I'm very familiar with LO. Believe it or not, people like to live that way and that's what keeps the housing prices up and the bums out.

 

[Wang]

There is a reason that police officers want to work in the City of Salem. It's not a big city, but has a wide array of people and calls to keep them entertained. Prisons and mental health facilities keep the streets interesting and yes we have tweekers, but show me a city that doesn't.

Uh....I grew up with and played ball with some of the family that started Paddingtons Pizza and have been going there pretty much since day 1 as they sponsored Little League. They don't serve soda from a 2 litre bottle and I doubt either of their places have capacity for 300. Not really a kid friendly place as they don't cater to the "let your kid run wild" crowd. You must be talking Walery's or Pietros.

Not a great city by any means, but if you like something central to quite a few things and interstates access, I'm sure you could do worse.

I prefer Keizer over Salem, but that's my personal choice. Thanks for the tip on Plaza Morlia. Go by it every day, but have never stopped in,

 

[CptnMorgan]

Ha! That's a huge stretch. First off, Yakima valley is the number 1 hop growing region followed by the Willamette valley. To attach Salem to anything that has to do with the hops in the surrounding farms is laughable. The two have nothing to do with each other except when a hop farmer has to pay his taxes.



Cpt, you're really working to justify your home town as something it's not. As a former resident of West Linn, I'm very familiar with LO. Believe it or not, people like to live that way and that's what keeps the housing prices up and the bums out.

You called Salem home, but yet you never learned its history. I suggest you research the key role Salem played in the hop production in the mid valley. Salem has a long history of breweries in down town.

And thank you for validating exactly what I said about LO even though you were probably trying to zing me.

Salem is a nice city, we are truly a city of two cities with each half distinctly different from each other. You may not like the other side of the tracks but I bet if you asked the main population how they like Salem they will tell you they love it. But it's the Mexican perception of the mainly Hispanic side of town. But I bet if you ask the Hispanics in Rockwood area they will say they love their area as well.

If you hate government or borderline racist you probably won't like Salem. But you probably get mad at the Internet and news on TV. If Salem sucked so bad we would not have 11.9% population growth this century.


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[lost_sailor]

Salem is a nice city,

and ... you live in Turner?

The hop fields are not in the city. The best beer is coming from Eugene.

 

[CptnMorgan]

and ... you live in Turner?

The hop fields are not in the city. The best beer is coming from Eugene.

Your right, but that doesn't mean Salem doesn't have a rich history revolving around hops. Where Keizer is today use to be hops. The Hop fields use to surround Salem, it is why Salem has always had a large population of migrant workers. It doesn't mean the city did not promote the production of hops. Ignorance is not bliss and you just can not ignore a cities past because you feel like it.

Your right Eugene is producing some of the best beer, and a lot of those hops come from with in 5 miles of Salem.

Moved from Turner a while ago, most of my adult life I have called Salem home. Soon I will be moving out of the loud city to a small town. But my business will still bring me to Salem.


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[lost_sailor]

Ignorance is not bliss and you just can not ignore a cities past because you feel like it.

I participated in 18 years of Salem's past. You can have it, and that's A-OK. Seems like quite a few people find it muy bueno.

My theory is that the state located the prison and the cuckoo's nest there, when folks get out of those, they are on the streets of Salem. Then - they reproduce.

 

[CptnMorgan]

I'm just going to take a guess where you moved in Salem. You lived in the area of State and Lancaster during the 90's. An area where you had a depressing Caucasian population that was into meth and an emerging Mexican population that was transitioning from migrant labor to permanent industrial labor.

As for the State hospital you have more clients in the metro area in group homes then you do at the state hospital. When those patients are released they just don't go back to the community they go to group homes. Which unfortunately the highest population of group homes is in the metro area. As for the prisons is Sheridan a rat hole? Wilsonville? Pendleton? Ontario? Yes we have a minimum, medium and max security prisons in Salem. When they leave those doors they go back home. Guess where a large population of those inmates are from? Yep the metro area so your theory is flawed by ignorance.

I get it you made a poor decision on where you bought your home, or you transplanted in your teen years and had a bad teen experience. Doesn't mean the town sucks. There are a lot of towns that suck in one persons opinion. And all I am reading is a bunch of negative Nancies that lived in a bad part of town judging an entire city by that.


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