Tag: dining

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This is the Sloppy Joe sandwich from Feldman’s Deli in Millcreek. When you think “sloppy joe,” get the hamburger concoction on a bun out of your head. This sandwich is the real deal and unlike anything else you’ll find in Utah.

At $14, it ain’t cheap, but this sandwich could easily feed two moderately hungry human beings. Or, take half home for dinner. Either way, if you polish this whole thing off in one sitting, I’ll be impressed. It’s $14, but it is worth every penny.

Slices of rye struggle to contain the mounds of pastrami, corned beef, cole slaw, and thousand island dressing. They mostly fail at their task (please refer to name of sandwich–you knew full well and good what you were getting yourself into), but they put forth a valiant effort to contain the heaping hordes of flavor.

Everything at Feldman’s is excellent. They make their own bagels, import their meat from one of the top delis in NYC (think Katz or Carnegie deli), and make everything fresh in house. I particularly love their fries, which are cut and prepped in-house. Try the matzo soup, make sure you get some potato pancakes along with a knish, and if you’re on the braver side of things go ahead and try the gefilte fish. Certainly not my cup of tea, but they say it sells well.

You won’t have room, but get a cheesecake to go. This is the richest cheesecake I’ve had–much denser that what you will find elsewhere. So rich that, again, you’ll want to split it or save some for later.

I have a running “last meal” list, and I’m confident saying that the sloppy joe would certainly be on it. I’m not kidding. Go try it.

Feldmans Deli
2005 E 2700 S
Salt Lake City

(801) 906-0369

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The Holy Cow banh mi from Mai Bun Mee, located at 850 South State Street.

Mai Bun Mee is owned by the same people behind the very successful Oh Mai in South Salt Lake and Cottonwood Heights. I was expecting to walk in and see the familiar array of menu items offered at Oh Mai, like the ever-popular S8 (garlic ribeye) or my personal favorite, the S12 (pho brisket), but between the different name and varied menu, it’s obvious that the owners are trying out a different concept at this location.

Rather than being a centerpiece of the menu, Pho is relegated to being listed as a “special,” and is not even printed on their regular menu. But not to worry–the pho is just as tasty as it is at Oh Mai, however at a slightly smaller portion size (no small size option, either, just the regular large size).

The banh mi also have a bit of a twist. Similar prices to Oh Mai, higher quality meat, but don’t expect to walk in and order the S12, for example, because they don’t have it here. The sandwiches here don’t translate directly from the other locations. Anna, the owner of Bun Mee and Oh Mai, explained that their sandwiches are a bit more substantial than those found at Oh Mai, with the sandwiches at Bun Mee featuring heavier sauces and ingredients, and higher quality meat. The S8 at Oh Mai roughly translates to the “Holy Cow,” and features different ingredients (seared tenderloin, romaine lettuce, chili aioli, sautéed mushrooms, cilantro, jalapeño, and house dressing). The next time I swing by, I have my sights set on The Sinner, which features pork belly, pickled carrots, and a garlic fish lime vinaigrette. Or perhaps the the Fisherman, featuring seared tilapia, mango slaw, and garlic aioli.

I guess what I’m getting at is don’t go into Mai Bun Mee and expect it to be an Oh Mai clone. But that’s certainly not a bad thing. For some reason, prior to stopping by, I had wrongly assumed it was the same stuff, different name. While not earth-shatteringly different, it is different. Anna, the owner, said they could change the name to Oh Mai and there would immediately be a crowd, but they want to try something a bit different and see how it works. Hopefully they don’t flip the switch on a concept change, though, because I’d like to see these creative sandwiches continue to have a home.

Mai Bun Mee Sandwich Shop
850 S. State Street, Salt Lake City
(801) 575-8888

maibunmee.com
Monday – Saturday 11am – 8:30pm

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Chicago dog, Johnniebeefs in Fort Union. Johnnie ships in his buns every day from his hometown. It’s a perfect blend of ingredients. Start talking with Johnnie about the Bears or Bulls and you’ll have a friend for life. Just don’t tell him that Jordan pushed off.

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Bistro 222 has changed things up, hiring a new chef and redoing the entire menu. Chef Brady Gray, formerly of Ruth’s Chris and Baci Trattoria prior to that, has taken the helm and rewrote the entire lunch and dinner menus. “Casual but elegant” is a proper description of both the bistro’s décor as well as its food. The restaurant is surrounded by towering windows looking out to downtown.

We tried various courses at a recent press tasting. Some of the dishes were an elk tenderloin carpaccio with Peri Peri sauce, a rich lobster bisque with sherry and cream, beef short ribs with a cauliflower potato mash, Chilean seabass and oxtail, King salmon, and a ribeye filet.

Bistro 222 is open for lunch and dinner on the weekdays, dinner on Saturday, and brunch on Sunday. Parking is validated at the 222 parking garage (enter near the Hotel Monaco).

www.bistro-222.com

Disclosure: I was an invited guest of the restaurant to meet the chef and try the new menu

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For some reason, RYE has been on my “must try” list for a while now, but it seems like every time we tried to swing by and grab a bite, we hit the few hours of the day they are actually closed: between 2 and 6 pm. But the stars aligned a few weeks ago, and we checked out RYE for the first time. 

RYE is in a unique setting: it shares a building with the Urban Lounge, and in fact the restaurant is owned by the same owners as UL. The owners had always wanted a place where they could grab early morning bites and late night food, so when the space next to UL opened up, they snatched it up and opened their own restaurant. Another unique feature is that when you’re enjoying a concert at Urban Lounge and go next door for a drink or some grub, they have TV’s streaming the concert next door so you don’t miss a beat. Pretty great idea.

As you might expect based on the current dining trends in SLC, upon entering RYE you will be greeted by Edison bulbs and plentiful beards–during our visit, I counted 11 dudes and 10 beards. I’ll let you guess which diner can’t grow one didn’t have one. So, while the atmosphere is plentiful in hipsterness, the restaurant is also plentiful in delicious food.

A friend recommended the pickled quail eggs to start, and they were indeed unique. At $3, it’s definitely worth giving them a shot. I love pickled anything, and these were right up my alley, although my wife was not interested in them at all.

For our entrees I went with the shoyu fried chicken with fresh corn grits and pickled peaches. My wife had the RYE burger with roasted jalapeños, caramelized onions, and avocado creme, all sandwiched between a lovely Eva Bakery bun.

Flying in the face of most new restaurants, the serving sizes at RYE are plentiful. The ½ chicken meal was easily enough for two meals. And while I was a bit disappointed in the toughness of the chicken, the breading was deliciously crisp, and the fresh corn grits were perfect. And let’s not talk about the pickled peaches, because they were so good, so in-season, so perfectly balanced between sweet and tart, that I am salivating right now and may need to run down there and get an order if I keep writing about them. So let’s just move on.

The burger was also fantastic. Well cooked, with buns that are hearty enough to withstand the juicy drippings of this fabulous burger. And I loved the fries. Get the burger and you won’t be disappointed. 

Service was really good. Attentive, responsive, but not too intrusive. Exactly how it should be.

So there you have it. The kitchen is currently being run by Erik Daniels (formerly of Avenues Bistro and Copper Onion. Erik has gradually added some more American flare to the menu to complement former chef Tommy Nguyen’s emphasis on Asian flavors.

I’d also be remiss to not mention that RYE offers a very solid breakfast/brunch menu as well. I have not had the chance to try it, but look forward to being able to in the near future.

That’s it. I’d give RYE 8 pickled quail eggs out of 10, with a half egg deduction for chicken that was a bit too chewy. Definitely go check it out, and stick around for a show next door as well.

RYE Diner and Drinks
239 S 500 E, Salt Lake City
(801) 364-4655

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Culinary Crafts October Pop-Up

One of Utah’s premier caterers, Culinary Crafts, will be holding a pop-up dinner on Friday, October 23rd, from 7-10pm at The Tasting Room, 357 W 200 S, suite 100.

The dinner will feature ten (yes, ten) courses, ranging from Rocky Mountain trout and Snake River beef tenderloin to a Pot de Creme featuring Amano chocolate.

The dinner will feature fruit and vegetables from the Green Urban Lunch Boxes program, a non-profit which supports urban agriculture and hunger relief. A portion of each ticket will go towards supporting the Green Urban Lunch Box program. 

Tickets aren’t cheap–$150, plus another $50 if you would like the wine pairing supplement. But this is exactly what home equity loans are for, right?

To order tickets, call (801) 225-6567 or click here.

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El Chubasco

I won’t lie, my taste buds may have been influenced a bit by my ravenous post mountain bike situation, however, I am here to declare the following important factual information: the carne asada burrito at El Chubasco is hands down the best rendition in all of our fair state. And I don’t say that lightly, with strong competition such as Hector’s giving chase in a close 2nd.

But up here the meat still looks like meat, is crispy in all of the right places, and has a healthy dosage of melty cheese, black beans, and pico to make this food baby the top food baby around.

If you haven’t been to El Chubasco, get there. I think they have other stuff on the menu, but I haven’t really ever checked.

1890 Bonanza Drive, Park City

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Magleby’s Springville

Look, I’ll just cut to the chase: this place was not great. Passable? Yes. More than passable? Nope.

I had no idea there was even a Magleby’s in Springville until a coworker brought me here. I knew they were up in Provo/Orem, but didn’t know they had ventured this far south. The restaurant is located in a fantastically-renovated historic building on the main drag. If I had to guess, it was an old bank building that has been freshly redone. Unfortunately, that was the most exciting part of my visit.

The interior is what I like to call Utah County Cliché. I don’t know what it is, but there seems to be a higher than normal ratio of Roman columns, stark white interiors, and painted mural ceilings in Utah County than anywhere else (except, maybe, you know, Rome). Except that in Rome, they are done well. The restaurant space is huge, and doesn’t exactly feel warm or welcoming. It just seem…..vast and strangely empty.

Our service was, again, less than great. I counted a grand total of two overworked servers working a dining room filled with over 30 people. With a ratio like that, you’re bound to have some disappointments. Drinks went unfilled and desserts (which, I believe, is one thing Magleby’s is known for) weren’t even offered for our consideration.

The food was mediocre. I had the prime rib sandwich. I’m not sure how many days the prime rib had been hanging out in the walk-in, but it was tough and flavorless. The sandwich lacked any sort of imagination or flavor, and was as boring as you get.

And then there was the pickle.

The sandwich was accompanied by the saddest, most down trodden pickle I have ever seen. It looked like it was taken straight from the jar, dropped, stepped on, then lived a life of sadness camped out begging under the highway overpass, only to then find his way home to my lunch plate.

The only redeeming part of the meal were the fries. They serve my favorite kind of fries: the ones that are straight out of the freezer, with that extra little layer of breading around them, which make for a crunchy, flavorful bite. I really liked them, despite the runny “fry sauce” they were served with.

I didn’t take any pictures. You wouldn’t have wanted to see them anyway.

So, that’s about it. I won’t be going back, and wouldn’t suggest you stop there, either.

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From Scratch Sweet Shop

We Utahns love our sweets (I type as I eat a bowl of Moose Tracks ice cream). And David Brodsky thinks he has just the think to satiate our sweet tooth. Brodsky is the owner of From Scratch, a restaurant tucked into Gallivan Avenue, that specializes in scratch-made products (all the way down to their ketchup and jams). He has been working on a small little space tucked into the side of the dining area that he has prepped to be a quick-serve counter serving various baked goods, and eventually, ice cream.

Having done the sit-down atmosphere at From Scratch, David wanted to try out the concept of more of a grab-and-go bakery. Bakery customers will be able to choose whether to eat their goods in the dining room (no waiter service in the morning) or take and go on their way to work or school. Publik coffee will be served, but for now, no espresso.

Brodsky plans on offering a rotating selection of pastries, including brioche cinnamon rolls with brown butter frosting, coffee cake, scones, cookies (four chocolate chip, peanut butter, cookie sandwiches), deep dish quiche, muffins with house made jams and butter, and, various breads.

Oh, and donuts of course. David has been experimenting to find the perfect cake donut recipe over the past several months, and has failed more times than he cares to admit. But he feels they have finally nailed it, and will be offering various flavors such as lemon, blueberry cake, traditional glazed, as well as chocolate with caramel.

For the lunch crowd, The Sweet Shop will sell various grab-and-go sandwiches to satisfy the demands of the ever-growing downtown lunch crowd.

Eventually, Brodsky intends to add an ice cream machine into the mix, turning out pints of various flavors. Think Bi-Rite in San Francisco or Salt & Straw in Portland. I’ve always thought it odd that there isn’t a high-end, small-batch ice cream maker in SLC, so this would fill that niche. 

Sweet Shop opens next Tuesday, August 25th. Hours will be 7:30-2pm and is located right next to From Scratch at 62 East Gallivan Avenue.