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Friday, March 13, 1998 Page:
View Windows as place for lunch, dinner
Windows, the downtown Wilkes-Barre eating place in the Ramada Plaza Hotel,
was known as Wanda’s On The Park before being relocated and renamed under
present ownership. These days it is utilized as much for lunch as for dinnerSo
we sampled both, and lunch came out the clear winner.
The salads, anchored by Window’s signature Cobb, are fresh and bountiful.
Served in a crisp shell, this bulging blend combines mixed greens with bacon,
turkey, cheddar cheese, diced egg, black olives, tomato, crumbled blue cheese
and guacamole.
Even the simple tossed salad which accompanies some dishes is appealing,
with crisp iceberg lettuce mixed with a cherry tomato, sliced green pepper,
cucumber, black olive and croutons.
The Windows Pride is aptly titled. This tasty pastrami and Swiss sandwich
is served with Russian dressing and cole slaw on grilled pumpernickel bread,
nicely complemented with a quartered dill pickle and chips.
The soup du jour on our day was split pea. It was thick and zesty, but the
pepper seasoning overpowered the otherwise interesting combination of tiny
bits of ham, peas and carrots.
The French onion soup was less exciting.
A pasta dish is offered during lunch daily, and we were unimpressed by the
shrimp scampi. While the large, shrimp were firm, they were not particularly
flavorful. And the pasta served with a creamy garlic and parsley sauce was
overcooked.
The crab imperial is a generous portion of back fin and lump crab meat
mixed with red peppers and seasonings and served with toasted points. The
coating sauce of mayonnaise and cayenne pepper helped enliven this dish, which
also is offered as a dinner appetizer.
However, the carrots which came with the crab were perfectly cooked,
whereas the rice appeared dry and underdone. Dinner began with plain warm
rolls and whipped butter, but the rolls had the flavor of having been frozen.
A savory New England clam chowder was thick and creamy, with lots of
chopped clams, potatoes, carrots and spices.
Mushrooms serve as the basis for a pair of appetizers. The mushrooms
oreganato are filled with smoked bacon bits, roasted red and green peppers and
chopped onions.
The lobster crowns feature a juicy combination of broiled mushroom caps
with a palatable lobster meat and sherry stuffing.
The Romaine lettuce in the Caesar salad was snappy. The dressing was a
heavy blend of grated Parmesan cheese, egg yolk and anchovy, but more lemon
juice was needed for balance.
The seafood fra diavolo was a disappointment. The sea scallops were either
terribly overcooked or just not fresh. A fork with tines held at the
horizontal could easily be pressed straight through even the thickest scallop,
which should be bouncy and firm. And the shrimp in this dish were only medium
in size and the clams were chopped. The lobster pieces in the dish were
welcome.
The veal St. David was a surprisingly delectable combination of sauteed
veal medallions, mushrooms, spinach, garlic and Romano cheese, enhanced by a
bourbon cream sauce. Of all the dishes sampled, this gets top billing.
However, a side dish of California vegetables was a soggy, uninviting blend
of broccoli, cauliflower and carrots.
Several desserts are offered each lunch and dinner. While none would be
considered exceptional, the best of the bunch is the brownie delight. It’s a
large brownie served with chocolate ice cream and fudge sauce.
And the coffee is delicious, hearty and robust in either regular or
decaffeinated varieties.
The relocation of the dining area has a major drawback: During our dinner,
we were treated to the sound of heavy percussion and guitars playing in an
adjoining banquet room as the servers went back and forth to the kitchen. This
was very distracting.
More thoughtful consistency in food preparation and a rethinking of the
restaurant’s location would help move Windows restaurant beyond the mediocre.
Fond are the memories of the large booths overlooking Public Square from
Wanda’s On The Park.
The restaurant review is published in the Weekend section every Friday. The
reviewer is unidentified to avoid the possibility of preferential treatment.
A peek through these panes may offer insight on this downtown eatery.
Wind