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Penny Ann’s Opens Second Location in Draper

Penny Ann’s is now open in Draper! This family-owned and operated shop has been cranking out the best breakfast on Main Street in Salt Lake for a few years now, and have now expanded to a second location at the south end of the valley.

Their food is incredible (make sure you get their “heavenly hotcakes” and try the Reuben for lunch). But what really makes this place special is that everyone there makes you feel like you’re home when you’re there. They are always so welcoming and happy to see you. Oh, and don’t forget to grab a slice of their famous pie while you’re there.

This location is much bigger and spacious than their original location, but it still has the homey feel to it.

If you want the best breakfast in the valley, stop by Penny Ann’s. Open from 7-3 during the week, serving breakfast and lunch, and 7-2 on weekends, serving breakfast only.

The new pie kitchen! (still getting set up)

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The Habit Opens 6th Utah Location

The Habit Burger Grill, one of my favorite quick-service restaurants, has opened its 6th location in Utah. This new location opened in November, and is located at 508 West Antelope Drive, in Layton.

If you haven’t stopped by to check out a Habit yet, you should definitely stop by and try it out. Everything they make is outstanding, and their prices are very reasonable, with burgers starting at around $3. On a recent tour of the kitchen, franchise owner Tom Hartman made sure to point out the lack of freezers in the restaurant. Nothing is brought in frozen. Everything from their tri-tip steak to their sushi-grade albacore tuna is brought in fresh.

For a location near you, check out Habit’s website.

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The Annex by Epic Brewing

Truth be told, I never managed to make my way into The Annex, Epic Brewing’s take on a gastropub, when they initially opened a year or so ago. I never heard reviews compelling enough to sway my meal choice in their direction.

However, Annex shifted gears this Fall, bringing in chef Craig Gerome, who cut his teeth cooking at Le Bec Fin in Philadelphia and Spruce in San Francisco. Chef Gerome completely revamped the menu, basically stripping everything from the old menu and starting fresh with his take. 

I was invited as a guest of Annex to try out the new menu and to meet Craig, and all I can say is that he is doing amazing things. You can tell this guy cares about his food, crowing about the fact that his mussels are FedEx’d daily from a lady named Jan in Maine, and she only sends him her very best, biggest mussels.

We tried the grilled octopus with salsa verde, lime bean and kale brodo, Bouchot mussels with Berliner weiss, poutine with braised cheek, and deviled eggs as starters. You can’t go wrong with any of them, but I’d especially steer you to the mussels. 

For the mains, we tried the herb fried chicken with fried green tomatoes and buttermilk risotto, and the stout braised pork shank. Of the two, I would definitely recommend getting the fried chicken, which was perfectly crispy, moist, and seasoned well. But other items on the menu such as the buffalo short rib pie and steak frites certainly caught my eye.

Dessert was a nice take on the traditional s’more, using house-made marshmallows and Amano chocolate, giving it extra depth and richness.

Sugarhouse continues to evolve, and the recent development occurring on and near the sugarhole continues to impress with new fantastic eateries popping up. There is a fun, electric vibe happening in this area that has been missing for quite some time.

I’m glad that Annex chose to locate here, and can’t wait to come back.

Disclaimer: I was an invited guest for dinner at The Annex by Epic Brewing.

Kale Brodo. Yes, I ate kale. And it was amazing.

Grilled octopus with salsa verde

Steamed Bouchot mussels

Poutine with braised cheek

Herb fried chicken, fried green tomatoes, buttermilk risotto

Stout braised pork shank

S’mores with Amano

Chef Craig Gerome

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Park City Eating on a Kendrick Budget

Hello?

Hello?

Is this thing on? The long national tragedy is over. I remembered my login to this blog and actually went out somewhere to eat so I have something to write about for the first time since October of last year. If I’m being truthful, it’s because interests have shifted to things other than food, and I’m still trying to figure out where food blogging even fits in any more. 

But when I find something truly exciting and remarkable, I’ll be sure to post it here. 

Onwards. We spent a really nice weekend up at Deer Valley, and while my spouse and I didn’t spend more than $50 for any given meal (because we’re cheap and I believe in the law of diminishing returns when it comes to food), I wanted to share with you some great food spots that we really enjoyed.

First stop: Sammy’s Bistro. I will admit that I never heard of this place before Guy Douchieri stopped by to feature them on his show. We stopped by on a Friday night on our way up from Salt Lake, and the place was busy, but not packed. Service was great and very friendly. I went with the cumin lime Mahi Mahi tacos, which were topped with a nice slaw as well as a chilled mango salsa. I guess from the description I was hoping for a little bit more bang, but while the tacos were cooked perfectly, I found myself reaching for the Cholula to kick the flavor up a bit. But overall, a very good dish. 

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We finished the meal off with a really nice pecan caramel bread pudding, topped with vanilla ice cream, which was just as rich and moist as you would expect. Why do people hate the word moist so much? Moist. moist.

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Sammy’s is a great little place for a meal, and the menu is full of delicious sounding items at very reasonable prices. My tacos were $14 and the bread pudding with ice cream was probably around $8.50 or so. I’ll be back to check out the NY Strip Sandwich, and the Savory Chicken Bowl With Rice, which I believe was featured on Guy’s show.

Next stop: lunch at Vinto. Vinto is one of my favorites in SLC, and it’s no surprise it’s one of my favorites in PC. The PC shop is located at the very bottom of Main Street, which makes parking a little bit tricky. I had the daily special of fettuccine with roasted corn, mozzarella, basil, and sea salt. And while the pasta was cooked to perfection, the dish as a whole was a bit bland.

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My wife’s choice of fettuccine with mushrooms and artichokes was spectacular, and will be my dish of choice the next time we go. Service was ok, but we seemed to be forgotten a bit by our server who had his hands full with larger tables in addition to ours. Our starter dish of asparagus arrived at the same time as our entrees, so we had the privilege of choosing whether we let our main go cold, or the app. A diet coke that was ordered never materialized, and by the time the server checked in halfway through the meal, we just skipped it. But Vinto is like Tom Hanks. Even though he has his flops from time to time, you just love the guy and keep coming back to him because when it’s right, it’s just right.

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And finally, we stopped at the brand spanking new Bird & Barley. While we were at Sammy’s Bistro, our server asked if we had heard about Sammy’s new restaurant five doors down, Bird & Barley. We had not, and she encouraged us to check it out, as they only opened a couple days before.

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Bird & Barley focuses on fried chicken and beer (I’ll leave it to you super sleuths to figure out which refers to which). And while they have their liquor license, they’re waiting to get their taps and lines installed, which they think will happen soon. B & B will offer some private-label beers, which Sammy the owner developed in conjunction with Wasatch, such as jalapeño cream and other beer that I can’t remember because I don’t really pay attention to beer. But jalapeño cream sounded intriguing.

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You can order a “plate” meal for $10, which comes with either rotisserie chicken, fried chicken, or baby back ribs. You then get to choose two sides among the selection of mac and cheese, green beans, broccoli slaw, mashed potatoes, fries, roasted beets (why would you pay to eat these?), corn on the cob, or sweet potato fries. I went with the fried chicken, which was as perfect as you can get fried chicken. Nicely crisp, with their own special mix of rosemary and just the right amount of spice in the breading. Just what you would expect from a restaurant specializing in fried chicken.

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Other selections are a variety of salads (pear and beet, chopped Caesar, or quinoa. The also offer a crab cake Po’ Boy and a Hawaiian Grilled Chicken sandwich, which was really tasty. 

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Sadly, our sides of mac and cheese and mashed potatoes arrived maybe not even at room temperature, but once we made it known to the manager, he was quick to get two new sides fired and brought them out piping hot. So kudos for resolving this issue so quickly.

Park City is always in desperate need for quality food in the $10-$20 range, and B&B is a very welcome addition to the PC dining scene.

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moist.

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Spitz, a new restaurant specializing in the Döner Kebab, opened this week in the former Lenny’s Sub Shop space at 35 East Broadway.

The interior is everything you’d expect from their interior designer, CityHome Collective. Clean, welcoming, warm, and funky.

Döner meat is roasted on a spit similar to tacos al pastor, or the pastrami at Crown Burger. Surprisingly, Spitz doesn’t have their centerpiece attraction on display, instead relegated to hiding behind closed doors in the back.

Admittedly, I am a neophyte in all things Döner, so I naturally associate the Döner Kebab to something of a mishmash between a wrap and a Greek gyro. I tried the Street Cart Döner, which is a traditional sandwich or wrap with a zesty garlic aioli and fried lavash chips added. It had the right amount of meat, sauce, and lettuce, and is a generous portion. I quite liked it.

Sweet potato fries are good, but are like every other sweet potato fry you’ve had elsewhere. Don’t expect anything groundbreaking, although the aioli the fries were served with was especially delicious. The fried pita strips served with hummus are great, and I’m curious to try the crispy garbanzo beans with olives on my next visit.

Service is a bit unusual for the downtown lunch crowd. You order up front, they bring out your food and bus tables, but drink refills are also handled by the staff, which seems to be a bit clunky when they get overwhelmed with the lunch rush. But I’m sure they’ll work these glitches out over time.

Spitz adds some lunchtime diversity to a city brimming with traditional sandwich shops. And judging by the big crowd they had on day one, I think a lot of people are excited to see this new place open up.

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Alamexo has recently opened in the space previously occupied by one of my favorites, ZY. In fact, Alamexo has the same owners, staff, and even the same chef: Matt Lake.

Matt moved to Utah a few years ago from New York, where he worked as chef for one of New York’s premier Mexican restaurants. After a few years operating the contemporary American restaurant, ZY, Chef Lake decided to go back to his culinary roots and switch to Mexican.

After an incredibly quick menu and restaurant decor switch (Lake didn’t want to close down for three months and have to lay off staff) which took only a few days, ZY has now transformed to Alamexo. And while I’m sad to see ZY go (Lake was adamant that we will see ZY once again in Salt Lake), Alamexo is a very welcome addition to SLC.

You won’t find any other Mexican food in Salt Lake in such a contemporary, modern environment. But don’t equate “contemporary” and “modern” to “expensive.” Entrées range from $13-$25 with sides and appetizers filling in the $3-$12 range.

Go with the guacamole, made tableside by your server in a molcajete. For $10, it’s a little on the pricey side for one avocado’s worth of guacamole, but worth the show.

My favorite side dish was the Mexican corn. Sweet, fresh corn accompanied by hints of chile, lime, and cotija. My mole poblano enchiladas were rich, complex, and the pork was cooked perfectly. Lake has always said the he doesn’t choose his signature dishes; his customers do. And I have a feeling that these will be on the menu for a while.

A dining companion’s steak dish was equally tasty and cooked spot-on.

As we went during their soft opening week, desserts were not on the menu, however, the kitchen brought out the best churros I’ve had. Don’t leave Alamexo without ordering some.

I’ve always viewed Matt Lake and ZY as a bit of a sleeper in the SLC dining community. I attribute part of this to Lake’s low-key demeanor. He is a guy that cooks because he loves to cook. He’s not in it for the fame. But if he keeps doing what he’s doing, he won’t remain a sleeper for long. Salt Lake’s lucky to have him.

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A new restaurant will be opening soon on Gallivan Avenue across from Bangkok Terrace.

From Scratch will focus on just that: fresh breads, pizzas, and baked goods made from scratch. So much so, that the owner has imported his own wooden flour mill from Austria to mill his own flour. Tables are made from old butcher blocks, art was commissioned from a NY artist, and lights are custom creations.

I really like the look of this place. It has a certain “San Francisco” styling that you don’t see much in SLC. As a downtown worker, I’m especially excited about the bar where single diners can plop down for a quick lunch.

From Scratch will be open for breakfast and lunch only to begin with. A special section of the restaurant will serve take-out items like espresso, in-house pastries, and house-made ice cream.

The owner hopes to open for dinner later in the year, and plans to pursue a liquor license.

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Heber Valley Cheese Wins Big

Heber Valley Cheese brought home three awards from this year’s American Cheese Society competition in Madison, Wisconsin.

One thing I really like about Heber Valley’s system is that they have control over the entire cheesemaking process as they raise their own milk cows, maintaining a herd of about 200 head. I had a chance to stop by their shop in Heber about a month ago and try their “Chile Verde” cheese, and was very impressed (as a sidenote, they carry Aggie ice cream as well, and if they have the lemon custard in stock, get a double scoop for me).

Heber Valley Cheese is located in Midway on Canyon View Farm. 

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Cronuts/Doussantz Coming to SLC

Update #2: After trying them, I can’t recommend you spend your money on them. Too dense, too chewy, they taste like they were made the day before, and too pricey.

Update: as you can see in the comments, someone had a hard time finding them. The truck is parked in the back of the Cityhomecollective office, so the truck’s not visible from S. Temple. Hope that helps.

First it was cupcakes, then gourmet donuts, and now, the latest sugary craze to hit the streets are known as Cronuts/Kronuts/Doussantz. These delicious morsels are basically croissant dough that is then shaped into a doughnut and fried, hence the donut/croissant name mashup. There are a bunch of different names since the “inventor" of the cronut, Chef Dominique Ansel in New York, has trademarked the name “cronut,“ leaving others to get creative with their naming.

Well, the craze is slowly making its way to Salt Lake City, via a food truck named the Little Blue Bistro. The truck will be doing a trial run on 7/30, 7/31, and 8/1, to see if demand merits being on the menu full-time. Darlene Madison, the creator of the Doussantz, claims that their product is superior to those offered in NYC as hers includes both donut dough as well as croissant dough in her recipe. The two inaugural flavors offered will be Chocolate Hazelnut and Raspberry Lemon Cheesecake.

I had a chance to try a cronut at the Angel Food Bakery in Minneapolis, and I can vouch for their deliciousness. I’m excited to try Little Blue’s version to see how it stacks up.

If you want to try them out, they’ll be stationed at 645 E South Temple at 9am on the dates listed above. The price will be $5 each.