Tag: review

New Restaurants, review

Village Baker Downtown

I was excited when I saw that the Village Baker was moving into the main floor of the new 111 Main building in downtown Salt Lake City. I’ve been a fan of Village Baker since I lived down in Draper and frequented their West Jordan location. The new downtown shop opened a couple months ago, and has had a brisk business ever since, without a doubt helped by the continued growth of the downtown workforce and the accompanying strain this growth has placed on downtown lunch spots. I rarely venture out for lunch past about 11:45 because lines at almost every downtown dining spot will be 10-15 people deep. Maybe I’ll develop a new measure of downtown economic growth and base it on the line length at 12pm at sandwich shops.

Breakfast sandwiches, coffee, soups, salads, pizza, sandwiches, a variety of sweets and pastries–you name it, and this place will likely have it. As opposed to Kneaders, Village Baker’s bread selection is less rustic and artisan and centers more squarely on traditional American bread pan breads: honey wheat, honey white, French, and sourdough, with other specialty breads such as sunflower whole wheat, raisin, multigrains, and cinnaburst loaves produced on a rotating weekly schedule.

One popular sandwich is the turkey cranberry ($3.74 for half, about $7 for whole). The turkey, which was somewhat clumsily and unevenly placed in the sandwich, mayonnaise and cranberry sauce were contained by two thick slices of honey wheat bread. This sandwich is one of their more popular menu items, and I can see why: it’s delicious. I wasn’t initially sold on cranberry on my sandwiches, but once I tried it, there was no going back. For an extra $2.50 you can make your sandwich a combo and get a beverage and your choice of either chips or a large cookie. Sorry Lays, but I’m going for the homemade peanut butter chocolate chip cookie every time.

On another visit I tried the turkey, provolone, and avocado sandwich ($4.32 for a half sandwich and I think around $7 for the whole). This one came served with thin slices of bread despite my request for the thicker slices, and was, simply put, anemic and a little bit sad. It lacked the filling robustness I’m accustomed to at Village Baker. This sandwich was a boring dud.

The pizza is delicious, and extremely well priced at about $2 per slice. At that price I have to imagine they will give some other downtown pizza places a run for their money. The slices are generous, sauce well balanced, cheese is perfectly stretchy and gooey, and the thicker crust has the perfect chew. I’m a fan.

Their cookies are good, but sadly not as good as those that I remember from the West Jordan location. At West Jordan, the cookies are thick and chewy, whereas at the downtown spot they are much thinner. This results in a crisper, drier cookie that makes me yearn for their more robust southern brethren.

For breakfast, I was impressed by their savory breakfast roll ($3.59), which features hash browns, red and green peppers, mozzarella and bacon. The rolls are packaged for a quick to-go option, but the kitchen is more than happy to warm it up for you, which I would highly recommend if you have the time.

The space itself is bright, cheery, and well decorated. During the warmer months, patio tables are placed outside on the sidewalk, greatly expanding their capacity. During the colder times, diners are restricted to limited seating on the main floor, but Village Baker anticipated this and came up with a brilliant solution: they build a mezzanine floor above the kitchen, where I imagine 30+ hungry diners can fit at any given time.

Service is of the “order at the counter and take a number to your table” variety. I’ve always been helped by cheerful people at the order counter as well as those delivering my food. I’ve had them ask me how things are as they walk by delivering orders to other tables, which is greatly appreciated and shows me they care.

Does downtown seriously need another soup and sandwich place? Yes. While I’d love to see a bit more variety hit downtown dining spots, demand for noontime noshing continues to strain eateries, so it’s nice to have another sandwich spot to help relieve some of the lunch rush pressure. Village Baker is a top-notch addition, and I’m glad they chose to come downtown. Judging by their crowds, I think they’ll do just fine.

New Restaurants, review

Johnny Slice on Broadway


Throw a rock in any direction from Main Street in Salt Lake City and you’re bound to hit a pizza shop. Actually, you’re bound to hit many pizza shops. Off the top of my head, I can think of Este, Eva Bakery, Pizza Studio, From Scratch, Settebello, Oak Wood Fire, Pier 49, Pie Hole, Sicilia, and Maxwell’s. No, Sbarro doesn’t count. And I’m sure I missed a couple.

Needless to say, downtown pizza choices abound, and while each shop offers very different styles of pizza, from thin crust at Pie Hole and Este to thick slices at Pier 49, I was a bit surprised to hear that a new pizza place, Johnny Slice, opened right across the street from Sicilia and down the street from Oak, Pier 49, and Maxwell’s. That said, Johnny Slice isn’t looking to be pigeonholed as just a pizza joint, as they seek to differentiate themselves with broad menu offerings. Breakfast sandwiches, coffee, pasta, salads, hot and cold sandwiches, and desserts are all served in this light and open space dominated by striking black and white tiles. The owner of Johnny Slice is also the owner of Michelangelo Ristorante on Highland Drive (but not the restaurant of the same name just up Main Street), so the breadth of Johnny Slice’s menu is not uncharted territory for these restauranteurs.

Their kitchen serves up breakfast sandwiches like a sausage and egg, bacon and egg, veggie, and ham & cheese. Breakfast is served all day, and you can wash it all down with a hot coffee or a freshly pulled espresso. At $5.75 for a sandwich, it seems a bit on the steep side for an early morning bite on the way in to the office, but the sandwiches aren’t tiny, either.

The French toast is made with house-baked focaccia, cinnamon, powdered sugar, and real maple syrup ($6.75). Add a side of warm berry sauce for another 75 cents. A dining companion reported that the French toast was tasty and was cooked well, and just what you would expect from French toast: soft on the inside and with a nicely griddled crust.

Pizza can be ordered by the slice, or whole pies can also be ordered. By the slice pizzas are waiting and ready to be warmed upon order. I think the pizzas are good. Not great, but good. Pizzas range from your standard cheese, pepperoni, and Hawaiian, and branch out into more creative territory with their Mediterranean (white sauce, bacon, garlic, spinach, feta, tomatoes, red onion, kalamata olives, and roasted red peppers) and PP&J (pepperoni, pineapple, and jalapeño). I tried a variety of slices and found the sauce to be a bit one-dimensional and too acidic for my tastes, while the pizza crust was decent, but a bit too reminiscent of a bagel in the chewiness department. At the end of two pieces my jaw feels like it just completed a set of bench presses. A little crunchier and a little less chewy would work wonders.


Their version of the roast beef sandwich was a real standout. Thin-sliced deli roast beef is heaped onto a fresh hoagie roll, topped with a generous portion of roasted peppers, caramelized onions, Swiss cheese, and parmesan cheese, and placed into the oven to get all melty and crispy. The sandwich ($8.50) is served alongside a pickle and a delicious cup of au jus that is a perfectly salty, beefy accompaniment to the rich and hearty sandwich. You can also jazz the sandwich up further by topping it with an assortment of peppers and giardiniera from their condiment bar. A combo option for $2.50 adds a bag of chips and a soda, but unless you just returned from a Strongman competition you’re not going to have room. This sandwich is hearty, and packs a deliciously agonizing gut-punch that will have you questioning your life decisions for a few hours after. I recommend it 100%.

Roast beef sandwich
Condiment bar

I have only visited during lunch hours, but they seem to understand the importance of quick turnarounds during the crazy downtown lunch rush. Every time I have stopped by, the kitchen has been staffed with no less than 5-7 employees, a kitchen manager expediting, and an extremely friendly and helpful restaurant manager running food and bussing tables. Pizza slices and sandwiches show up within five minutes. Prior restaurant experience shines through in their service during the lunch rush. Unfortunately, dining buddies have reported this same prompt service to not quite be the case on nights and weekends, where an order of French toast and an egg sandwich took about 30 minutes to arrive, and an order of spaghetti and meatballs on another night took about the same amount of time.

Johnny Slice is serious about being open when it counts, opening at 7:30 during the week, closing at 11pm and remaining open until 2am on the weekends. Capturing the after-bar crowd will allow them to shine long after other pizza joints have closed up shop for the night.

Some serious money seems to be invested into the remodel of the old Pepper’s sandwich shop, showcasing a brand new kitchen, a large, open, bright dining room, and beautiful hand-lettered signage on the windows. I really love the black and while tiles throughout, as it makes me feel like I’m in an old-school pizza parlor. The dining area is spacious, and could easily accommodate a band for some extra weekend fun. Additionally, you can reserve a private dining room for parties, which seats 12. It’s obvious through the quality and details in the remodel that the owners care about the space, care about downtown and intend to be here for a long time.

With pizza and dining choices abounding in downtown Salt Lake City, Johnny Slice is a delicious and worthy addition.

Johnny Slice
12 W Broadway, Salt Lake City

(385) 415-2924

johnnyslice.com

1484973108313

New Restaurants, review

Laziz Kitchen

Laziz Kitchen opened this week. The restaurant, located just off 9th South on Jefferson (next to Jade Market), is the next culinary step for Moudi Sbeity and Derek Kitchen, the brains behind the popular Laziz Foods (specializing in hummus, muhammara, and toum spreads). Moudi and Derek have always strived to be active participants in their communities. Their new Middle Eastern-focused restaurant is their next step to further their community involvement.

Over the years we’ve found ourselves in a unique position of bridging our passion for food with community engagement. Whether it’s advocating for social justice, or our involvement in local political office, or to early mornings with our neighbors at the farmers market, we’re driven by our love for the community. We’ve knocked on doors, talked to strangers, and told our story, and now we invite you into our kitchen – to gather around our table. We hope you feel at home. -Moudi and Derek

The space itself is beautiful. As a side note, I am so thrilled with all of the new restaurants popping up that understand the importance of a cohesive dining experience: atmosphere, service, and food. You need all three, and it seems like many of the newcomers get it.

Back to the space. Nice and open, but not too loud. Beautiful copper chairs provide nice contrast to the white, gold, and green found throughout the space. Servers bustle about in beautiful green aprons. Upon entering, you will be greeted by a small area dedicated to selling middle eastern products as well as some products from our very own local producers. Their small marketplace offers specialty olive oils from the West Bank, unique spice blends such as zaatar, and orange blossom water.

They were busy, but not overwhelmed. Our server was very friendly and very happy to explain different menu items to us.

After seeing some photos online, I knew we had to try the fried cauliflower florets, which arrived perfectly golden and cooked just right. The cauliflower was accompanied by a tahini dressing topped with parsley, which could have used a bit more punch. Lemon juice and maybe a hit of salt would have helped boost it up enough to stand up to the cauliflower. I ended up dipping the cauliflower in some toum (an absolutely wonderful garlic sauce), and it seemed a better match.

Laziz offers many different small plate/appetizer options, including hummus (of course), Baba Ghannouj (eggplant), grilled Halloumi cheese, fries, and an olive and pickle plate, among many other dishes.

Entrees range from hummus wraps to Man’Oushe Zaatar, a stone fired flatbread stuffed with zaatar, olive oil, cucumbers, tomatoes, olives, and mint.

My entree of Shish Tawook ($11) was a very nice portion of chicken, rice, and a basic (and forgettable) tomato, cucumber, and lettuce salad. The chicken was perhaps the best cooked chicken I have ever had–perfectly moist, which just the right amount of char and flavor. The rice was cooked well, but needed something else along with it to make it not so one dimensional. The toum, once again, saved the day. You can order the Shish Tawook as a sandwich as well ($10) if you aren’t interested in the rice and salad. I would go that route next time.

A kafta wrap (beef and parsley skewers with onions, tomatoes, pickles and hummus) also found itself lacking a bit in flavor. When mentioned, the server quickly went and consulted with the kitchen, and brought out a sauce that rounded out the dish very nicely. I’m excited to return to try their Clifford Farm Egg wrap, the Pepper Tajen, as well as some delicious desserts.

Laziz is a fantastic addition to the SLC dining scene. Derek and Moudi have always created deliciously vibrant and flavorful spreads and dips which have been so very popular, and I think with a bit of time, that same focus on bright, contrasting flavors found in their muhammara, for example, will make their way into the dishes offered at Laziz Kitchen as well.

Laziz Kitchen
Tuesday through Friday 8am-6pm
Saturday through Sunday 9am-4pm
912 South Jefferson Street, Salt Lake City
(801) 441-1228

Fried cauliflower florets, served with tarator tahini dressing and parsley
Shish Tawook plate. Grilled marinated chicken, rice, salad, and toum
Kafta. Beef and parsley skewers, with grilled onions, tomatoes, pickles, and hummus
Uncategorized

Sweet Lake Biscuits and Limeade

In another SLC Farmers Market success story, Sweet Lake Biscuits and Limeade has opened their very own shop at 54 W 1700 S. Sweet Lake began as a limeade stand at the Farmers Market a few years ago, and they have seen big demand for their deliciously tart drinks. The popularity has driven the owners to open a new restaurant on 17th South, with biscuits and limeade as the stars of the show.

The restaurant opened this week, and I want to caveat this review with the full knowledge that any new restaurant will invariably have some kinks to work out. So, feel free to grade this on a curve if you would like. As for me, a customer paying full price, I expect full service and great quality food, regardless of how long you’ve been open. The time to work out kinks is during your soft opening and test dinners, before you open to the public. Paying customers should not be your guinea pigs.

The actual space is well designed, with a hip, clean exterior. I was actually surprised upon entering to find that this is a full service sit-down restaurant; for some reason, I was expecting an “order and pay at the counter” arrangement. The interior is bright, simple, and cheery.

Kink #1: the servers are still figuring things out, and must not have assigned tables. This caused us to be welcomed multiple times, asked what we would like to drink multiple times, and attempted to take our order multiple times. Upon completion of our meal we were asked twice how things were and whether we would like our check. The second time, the check was already on the table. Not a big deal, but having your meal interrupted numerous times by varying servers was a bit of a distraction.

Kink #2: they were out of numerous menu items (such as the popular spoon cakes, as well as their pancakes). No problem. They were busy this morning and probably still trying to figure out what menu items are popular and which ones are not.

Kink #3: the food took a while to come out. We were told that they either 1) had a cook quit already or 2) had a cook call in sick (depending on who you talked to), and so the kitchen was in the weeds and trying desperately to dig out. No big deal, as we had nowhere to be this lazy Friday morning.

When the food arrived, there were some good and some bad. The good: the biscuits are really delicious. My wife ordered the Biscuit Bar ($6), which came with three biscuits (two biscuits and gravy, and the third with jam, honey, and butter). With a little added help of some salt and pepper the biscuits and gravy were delicious, with just the right amount of kick. This is an excellent value for the money.

My order of Spoon Bread Benedict were unfortunately less than great. They were out of the southern corn cakes spoon bread, which they substituted with biscuits (with my ok). A room-temperature biscuit topped with cold ham and a cold, tasteless tomato contributed to a dish that was room temperature at best (kink #4). I think their version of hollandaise was trickled on the plate, but was more decoration than anything helpful to the dish. A hollandaise-less Benedict. Hmmmm. Hollandaise should be the Roots to the egg’s Jimmy Fallon. But in this case, it ended up being the Mike Pence to Donald Trump (#topical #hottake #heyooooo). This dish has a ton of potential, and I think it will be amazing once they work the temperature issues out.

Upon paying, I was asked by the owner to give some honest feedback, which I did. I let her know about the cold Benedict and the multiple interruptions during our meal, which I think she took to heart, but didn’t make any effort to make it right with me via a credit on my bill or even an apology. But I was glad to hear she was asking customers for feedback.

Our mint limeade was tasty, and I look forward to trying out their lunch menu, in particular the San Anton, which is a biscuit, fried chicken breast, honey, hot sauce, cheddar, and slaw (what’s not to love about that combo?). And if there’s one thing they’ve nailed, it’s the biscuits. Except I think I’ll give them a few weeks to iron things out before I stop by again.

Sweet Lake Biscuits & Limeade
54 W 1700 S, Salt Lake City

7am – 3pm 7 days a week

Facebook page

Uncategorized

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

Uncategorized

I was sent a box of Allgood Provisions’ new “Oven Stoked” line of products to try. Allgood Provisions is a Park City-based company that specializes in organic, vegan, and non-GMO. And while I respect their mission and those who follow those dietary guidelines/philosophies/lifestyles/whatever, I don’t particularly care about any of that, so I was mostly interested in how their product tastes.

The Oven Stoked products are designed to be a home roasting kit for the home cook. Basically, if you’re entertaining and want to impress, you can whip up a batch of these puppies and serve them to your guests piping hot. Pretty fun premise.

Allgood sent me a box of their Mexican Chocolate Pecans to try out. Preparation couldn’t have been simpler, with the kit coming in segregated plastic pouches of nuts, oil, and the seasoning, which are mixed into a bowl, put on a cookie sheet, and roasted.

I won’t lie, I wasn’t expecting to be impressed with this, but it is actually really tasty. The pecans end up with a nice, rich coating of chocolate, well balanced with the right amount of cayenne and coffee to give it just a little bit of a kick.

Like everything organic, vegan, non-GMO, prepare to pay more for these products than the regular stuff. I’m not sure what their retail price will end up being, but they are pre-selling each box for around $20 for something that makes about one cup’s worth of nuts, which comes out to about $60/lb. I’ll let you decide if that’s a good value or not. But they are really tasty, and I’d say give them at least a shot to decide for yourself.

Right now they are raising funds for the Oven Stoked line on Kickstarter. You can find their campaign here.

Disclosure: I was sent a roasting kit to try compliments of Allgood.

Uncategorized

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

Uncategorized

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.

Uncategorized

Mountain West Burrito: A Lesson in Blandness

I’ve wanted to check out Mountain West Burrito ever since they were acquired by the Heirloom Restaurant Group, who also own Communal and Pizzeria 712. Heirloom is doing such great things in the Utah dining scene, I was excited to have a little piece of Heirloom closer to home.

I was thrilled to hear that they opened a new Mountain West location near Thanksgiving Point in Lehi, which is a short 10 minute drive from my home. Draper isn’t exactly what you call a food mecca, and choices for quality Mexican-American is limited.

So is Mountain West my new go-to for a tasty burrito? In short, no. In fact, my trip to Mountain West this week was a lesson in blandness. Everything throughout my experience was the epitome of bland.

The location is tucked in next to a Firehouse Subs. The interior space is completely unremarkable. The space is filled with long, communal tables as well as a windowside bar with stools, little to no decor, and no personality. I’m no fan of Cafe Rio’s ridiculous over-the-top decor, either, but putting a little effort into creating a more welcoming environment wouldn’t be a bad idea. 

If you’ve ever been to a Chipotle, Barbacoa, Cafe Rio, or the like you’ll be familiar with Mountain West’s menu. The restaurant offers a variety of burritos, tacos, nachos, and salads. The $14 price for a burrito shocked me, until I realized how large the “giant” size is. Stick with the $7 “regular” size and you’ll have plenty to eat. So, while it offers a solid selection, the menu is rather, well, bland.

Service was vanilla as well. While I appreciated not being constantly yelled at military-style, which is my typical experience at places like Cafe Rio, the person working the counter didn’t seem particularly happy to see us or engage us about the food. We had numerous employees walk past us as we ate, and a little check in (“How is your food?” “Can I get you anything else?”) would have gone the extra mile and would have been appreciated.

Although I certainly appreciate Mountain West’s focus on local, organic, fresh (did I miss any buzzwords?) ingredients, those things are all good as long as the food tastes good. We started with an order of chips and guacamole. The chips were fresh, crunchy, made in-house, and perfectly salted. I ate more than my fair share of these. The guacamole was a disappointment. I would have appreciated some more zip and personality. Maybe some lime juice to add some acidity and offset the creamy avocado. Or perhaps some chopped onions to add some brightness. Cilantro, cumin, cayenne…anything to add some more dimensions other than just avocado.

I tried the half and half burrito. Half steak and half carnitas. The burrito come wrapped in foil and is a bit smaller (although still plenty big) than competitors’ similarly-priced burritos. They steam their tortillas, which adds a certain gumminess to the texture. The meat was tender and perfectly cooked. I had a few crunchy bits of undercooked rice, and the unremarkable guacamole made another appearance. And that’s about it for burrito fillings. In fact, I scanned the dining room looking for a fixings bar, desperate for some onions, cilantro, lime, or even some hot sauce. Nothing was in sight. I asked a dining buddy what flavors he was picking up on with his burrito. “Salt,” was his reply. I couldn’t agree more.

So, all in all not a very good experience at Mountain West. I plan on visiting again and will update this post when I do. But at this point I don’t think I would recommend Mountain West.

What do you think? Have you been to Mountain West? Did I just catch them on a bad day? Let me know!

Uncategorized

Per Noi Trattoria

Italian dining in SLC seems to only have two gears: cheap, low-end chains, and ultra-expensive, yet tasty establishments. There aren’t too many Italian restaurants in SLC that serve high quality food at the lower price point. Then I heard about a new trattoria that opened in the old Z Pizzeria space on Stratford Avenue in Sugarhouse, and that the prices were very reasonable. It’s been on my “need to try” list for a while now.

Per Noi is located in an older building with a few other businesses next to it. Parking is limited (look in the back for some additional spaces), but this corner oozes character. More than likely, when you enter the restaurant you’ll be greeted by the ever-ebullient owner of Per Noi, Francesco Montino. Francesco is very proud of his little space, and it shows. White tablecloths top the limited number of tables in the trattoria. The space is small, but doesn’t feel cramped. Servers are decked out in all black, and are very professional, milling about as Francesco greets every guest that walks through the door. 

After being seated, we were given a basket of delicious house-made bread, which was light and had a nutty, perfect crust. The balsamic was nice and fruity, and the olive oil had a strong peppery taste. We started our meal with the Arancini – a ball of rice, peas, and mozzarella perfectly fried and served along with a lovely tomato sauce. About $6. Don’t let this picture fool you–it’s about the size of a baseball. For the entree I chose the Spaghetti Pescatore (Francesco later told me it is his favorite dish), and true to his word, it was fantastic. Spaghetti is cooked with a deliciously complex, nutty tomato sauce, mussels, scallops, calamari, and shrimp. The shrimp were a tad overcooked and a bit on the rubbery side, but it wasn’t a deal breaker due to the exceptional flavors. This is one of those dishes that will make it difficult to order any other entree during future visits, because I’m confident it will be hard to beat. The dish was around $13. Melissa went with the Pollo Marsala, which is chicken served in a marsala wine sauce and topped with mushrooms. I wouldn’t get this dish again. The chicken was a bit on the tough and dry side, and the sauce wasn’t anything that I would order again. The dish was beautifully presented, but it just didn’t get along with my taste buds.

I’m not sure what their corkage fee is, but we did see a couple bring in their own wine. It seems they’ve raised their prices about 20% since they opened, but it is still very reasonable.

I remarked to Mel during our meal that this place reminds me of a small neighborhood trattoria that you would find in NYC or Italy. Small, family-run, with an owner who is extremely proud of the food coming out of his kitchen. And he has good reason to be proud of Per Noi.  Per Noi Trattoria on Urbanspoon