Foodie Friday: Barolo Grille - Salina, KS
With nothing special to celebrate and dressed in our street clothes my
group of friends and I walked into the fine dining Barolo Grille in Salina, KS
for a nice friends surf and turf dinner.
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Image source: https://www.facebook.com/BaroloGrille/
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Location: 112 S Santa Fe Ave, Salina, KS 67401
Hours:
Monday-Thursday: 11am-9pm
Friday-Saturday: 11am-10pm
Sunday: Closed
Accepts cash/card
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Rhett and I walked in through the front doors of Barolo Grille and followed Brittany to the back of the
restaurant where the rest of our group (Tyler, Alexis, and Easton) were
seated. Immediately I was hit with the smells of a seafood
restaurant and was struck by how casually fancy it was. By this I mean that even though we were
all in street clothes we didn't necessarily feel out of place, but the atmosphere still suggested that
it was in fact more of a fine dining option. After we were all seated we were handed their
menus (yes plural as one was strictly for their sushi) and started trying to figure out what
we were hungry for that evening.
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Main Menu
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Sushi Menu
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Our waitress asked us if we wanted to start off with any appetizers to which I
of course replied that I wanted to try the fried calamari. (I always have to try
this if I see it on a menu. Don't ask me why, but it is like the one type of seafood I actually like.)
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Then Brittany and Rhett both decided to try out a couple of their sushi rolls as
an appetizer so they ordered the Mendocino
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and the US Roll.
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After our appetizers it was time to order our main courses. Tyler started us off by getting the Snake River Roll.
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Brittany followed him and ordered the lobster mac & cheese.
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Next was Alexis who ordered a steak with a side of mashed potatoes.
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Then we had Easton who also chose to go with a 4oz steak from the kids menu
with sides of mashed potatoes and green beans.
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Rhett followed him and ordered the pasta Florentine with the shrimp add-on.
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And finally I rounded out the table with an order of sautéed chicken.
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Now, if you thought I was going to have a Foodie Friday dinner at a fancy restaurant
without trying at least one of their desserts well then you were sorely mistaken and
lucky for y'all I wasn't the only one with a sweet tooth that night! We ended up
ordering 3 desserts that night including a chocolate cake,
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a caramel cheesecake
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and their brown sugar pie.
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The Reviews
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This place was definitely fancier than we are all used to eating at, but here are the reviews from the crew!
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Tyler: 7/10
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"It was good." Man of few words, but honestly this is kind of high praise coming from Tyler. lol
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Alexis: 7/10
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Alexis wasn't entirely sure what to rate the place, but said that she felt things could
have used some more seasonings and that her food was kinda bland.
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Brittany: 8/10
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Brittany thought the sushi was delicious and said her lobster mac & cheese was cheesy, but
a little on the dry side. She also said the lobster was, well, lobster and that she
would have preferred having crab instead.
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Easton: 1000/10
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Coming in with the most shocking and highest review of the night was Easton who
said he really liked the mashed potatoes and steak, but not the green beans.
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Rhett: 6/10
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Rhett said that as a fancy place to eat the restaurant was a 10/10, but for a general
ranking he had to go with a 6. He felt that his food could have been flavored differently
as it tasted horribly fresh and needed have more seasoning. He also said it wasn't
the worst thing he has ever ate, but to him it wasn't worth what he paid for it.
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Barolo Grille Final Stats:
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Service: 8/10
Food: 8/10
Cleanliness/Décor: 8/10
Price: $$$
Overall Rating: 8/10
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Walking into the fancy Barolo Grille with its pristine white tablecloths and peering through the
low lighting at all the couples at their tables I realized very quickly this is a top spot for a date night. While our group clearly was not there for that, our waitress still treated us very well, even though we were a little more rambunctious than some of the other patrons, and there was never a moment where I felt judged by the staff. I will admit that I was also surprised to see such a large menu and while the rest of the group wasn't overly impressed with what they got I thought my food was pretty dang good. It wasn't bland in any
way and the fried calamari was easily the best fried calamari I have ever had which also includes the calamari I have had on the coast. I also enjoyed the chocolate cake I had for dessert (aside from the sauce drizzled on top) although it was almost too rich for even me to finish. All in all I don't think this is a place I would return to for a friends group night but maaaybe one I would go back to for a first date or celebratory dinner.
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