This one is all about word of mouth, the most powerful advertising a place can generate, and Elsie’s has it in spades. I was at a bar in town and the barkeep asked me if I’d been to Elsie’s and when I said yes she started going on and on about the menu and ended with You just have to try the curried salmon! and said it with that little shiver that let you know she really meant it. When I used to run La Mesa on Bennington (don’t go looking, it’s been gone a while now) we used to buy Sweet Street desserts from Arrow-Sysco. They were good, obviously not as good as the real pies they do at Elsie’s, but still good. The salesman would come by to ask me which ones I wanted to try and I’d tell him to set up one of everything on a table in the wait station and then I’d call the wait staff over and watch them as they sampled the samples. I was looking for that little involuntary knee buckle that signals an honest response, and that’s how I would choose which desserts to go with that week. I digress, but it was the barkeep’s shiver that convinced me to try the “curried salmon” which was actually grilled salmon with curried tomatoes and rice and sautéed spinach.
I normally wouldn’t order salmon that isn’t raw or smoked, and I wouldn’t have necessarily picked it off Elsie’s seasonal menu if not for the barkeep’s recommendation. Word of mouth makes all the difference, and when you make a dish as good as this one it just reinforces the attention you get. It is every restauranteur’s aim to generate word of mouth, and fantastic food and service is the way you make it happen. Starting off an entrée with a beautiful house salad like this one doesn’t hurt either.
I’ve loved Elsie’s since it first opened, not just because Paul Dupre is a friend, but because he had the vision and courage to color outside the lines with his concept and his menu. You can tell pretty soon after you first sit down whether a place is all about the money or if they just need the money to keep the dream alive. Don’t forget Elsie’s when you’re thinking brunch either, And I hear the spring menu is coming out soon. Can’t wait.
