Food Establishment # 21 and 22 Pilgrim Diner and Cafe Pompei

Foodie Place #21 was the Pilgrim Diner in Salem, MA. An eclectic looking diner car on one of Salem's busier roads route 107, has counter service and maybe four or five booths. There are usually two people working the restaurant at a time, both of which were very friendly. The Pilgrim Diner car is an actual Worcester car from 1936. I love the nostalgia. I went in with Al and sat at a booth. I got a decaf tea and a veggie omelet (which I added cheese and bacon too :)) and Al got 2 eggs, sausage, home fries and toast. My omelet was enormous!! It had to be a foot by three inches. It was practically laying off the plate, there was also a generous portion of home fries and two pieces of wheat toast. Al's plate was also huge and the sausage looked really good! It was actually Italian sausage, no links or patties here just actual sausage caramelized to perfection on the flat top! Everything was delicious. I love diners. Behind the counter there was a special's board it boasted things like omelets, tomato soup and caramel apple french toast! I can't wait to go back and try more! And a definitely bonus, Pilgrim Diner is open all night starting a 10 pm Friday and Saturday! Awesome! Pilgrim Diner is fun, eclectic and delicious, I will definitely be going back.

Service: ****

Food: ****

Ambiance:*****

Noise: ***

Foodie Place # 22 is Cafe Pompei, North End, Boston, MA

So, I am sitting in Faneuil Hall with my friend Colin and we are both having the bitchiest conversation ever about where we want to eat. We both just wanted each other to pick and neither of us could decide. So finally I said I felt like Italian so we headed to the North End, both of us strapped for cash we decided to walk a bit and compare menus (they are posted outside at most restaurants in the North End) and finally decided to stop at Cafe Pompei. Our dinners would come to less than $20 each so we figured it was a safe bet. I ordered a dish (which I can not remember the name for the life of me) that consisted of linguini, a pinky sauce made of wine, parmesan cheese, artichokes, roasted red peppers, mushrooms and pan seared chicken cutlets. Colin got, what else, but the chicken parm! :) I enjoyed the sauce and veggies of my dish, I felt like there was maybe a little to much parmesan but other than that the pasta and sauce were good. The chicken in my dish however was definitely not seared well, it was mushy and soggy with no color which I hate. Even if no color was there intention soggyness I am sure was not. Colin also did not enjoy his chicken parm which is so disappointing. The service was great. Our server checked on us an adequate number of times and was very friendly each time. I may go back to Cafe Pompei to try their pastry but definitely not for dinner. 

Service: ****

Food: ** 1/2

Ambiance: ***

Noise: **