Salem's cool, and getting moreso by the day.

Last night I shared a lovely back deck buffet of local Salem restaurant favorites with fellow writers and foodies from EatSalem.com. I'd met Salem Man and Vegan's Nightmare briefly at Ignite! Salem, but spending some real time with them, both K and N of KandN, Liseanne27 and her partner was a nice, relaxing treat. Kids and dogs, too!

We each brought take-out from a local Salem venue. Represented were Christo's, Venti's, Word of Mouth, Thai Fusion, topped off with a Blackout cake from Konditorei. We talked about how this simple pitch in was like our own little Bite of Salem... better than the real thing.

My favorites from the evening were the red curry from Thai Fusion and the spinach artichoke dip from Word of Mouth (sooooo creamy). It was all good, though, and while a very particular chef would have a conniption at the mish-mash of flavors being lumped together, it was a joy.

The company was even better, though.