Recently I have been away on business, so the website had to take a back seat for a couple of weeks. I’m back now, so on with the show. First things first, the weekly round-up, which is a bumper crop this post due to a couple of weeks passing since the last.
Omar’s Living Cuisine in the Sugarhouse area serves up completely raw food, and Vanessa Chang is a big fan. The sound of a fully uncooked menu really doesn’t grab me at all, although it is certainly unique in the valley as far as I know. A further interesting point, is that the restaurant shares one of Mazza’s chef’s, so if raw food is your thing, Omar’s could be the place for you.
Omar’s Living Cuisine: 2148 Highland Dr, Salt Lake City, UT 84106
It has been a long time since we last visited Pho Green Papaya, which is the next review from Vanessa. On our last and only visit we really loved the place, and Vanessa does too. It is really great to see them getting more local press coverage, and apparently doing good business. If we lived closer we’d be there all the time. If you haven’t been yet, I recommend you correct that.
Worthy of note, Vanessa mentions the “Self Roll”, which I don’t recall from my last visit. Essentially you are brought your own table top griddle and a bunch of proteins/veggies. From there you cook up your own meal as you see fit.
Pho Green Papaya: 2000 W 3500 S, Salt Lake City, UT 84119
The last Tribune review is from Lesli J Nielsen who investigates Creekside (Solitude Resort). Lesli is less than enthused with the food, lamenting that the views are much better.
Creekside: Solitude Mountain Resort, 12000 Big Cottonwood Cyn, Brighton, UT
Kicking off the City Weekly round-up, Ted Scheffler looks at two Japanese eateries : Suehiro and Tona Sushi Bar & Grill. Ted lauds Suehiro for their non-sushi selections. In particular Ted singles out Suehiros Tonkatsu for praise. Tona’s is mentioned only briefly and Ted isn’t overly impressed, branding it fairly average.
Suehiro: 6933 South 1300 East, Salt Lake City
Tona Sushi Bar & Grill: 210 25th St, Ogden, UT 84401
Next up, Ted looks at two new fast food joints in Midvale: Five Guys Burger and Fries and Jonniebeef’s Chicago Style Hot Dogs.
The national chain Five Guys has arrived in Utah to a good deal of heated debate. Some love the place, others are quite negative. As their name suggests, they primarily provide burgers and fries. Ted’s considered opinion is positive, great burgers and top notch fries. Just as soon as I am in the Midvale area, I will surely have to give the place a whirl. Heck, I can feel a Salt Lake City burger round-up coming on. Suggestions welcome!
On the opposite end of the scale, Johnniebeefs is a local business, serving up authentic Chicago style dogs. Never frozen hot dogs are available with a myriad of toppings. Aside from the slow service Johnniebeefs gets another thumbs up from Ted, provided you stick to the simpler options, gaining the full benefit of the great hot dog flavour.
Five Guys Burger and Fries: 1146 Fort Union Blvd, Midvale, UT 84047
Johnniebeef’s Chicago Style Hot Dogs: 7194 Union Park Ave, Midvale, UT 84047
Finally this week Ted writes about the local institution that is Caputo’s deli. The article concentrates on Caputo’s recent move to larger premises and some of their newer features. These include a 200 selection “cheese cave”, on site “curing cell” for speciality meats and a larger dining space. I believe Ted also alluded to Adam Kreisel maybe popping up here soon as a chef in the dining room.
For gourmet meats, cheese, olives, chocolates, pastas and much more, Caputo’s is the place to go. Don’t forget the ever great Aquarius fish market next door either!
Tony Caputo’s Market & Deli: 311 W 300 S, Salt Lake City, UT 84101
The first review from In Utah This Week is from Amanda Chamberlain, who falls in love with Siegfrieds Delicatessen. All the German classics are served in a relaxing atmosphere In addition to the authentic food Siegfrieds features a German market and a selection of European beers that you can sip while you take in the city going about its business.
Siegfried’s Delicatessen: 20 W 200 S, Salt Lake City, UT 84101
Amanda next checks out the eternally popular Ichiban Sushi. Ever the self confessed sushi snob, I was a bit dismayed to see Amanda mention cream cheese on more than one occasion in the review. Amanda’s review is glowing to say the least, which would match up with the continually bustling crowds. It’s been years since I have visited, but what a dining space!
Ichiban Sushi: 336 S 400 E, Salt Lake City, UT 84111
Amanda’s next review is of Big Ed’s, up at the U. Amanda details how the staff are super-friendly, almost like one big happy family. Details of the menu are very brief, it’s priced low and squarely aimed at the local student population: “The food’s cheap, which suits a struggling scholar’s budget. The most expensive item I recall was an eight- or nine-dollar dish. But the average entrée-and-side-dish meal is around six dollars”. I’d imagine if your a student up at the U you already know of Ed’s and probably frequent it. If your not a student, then you probably don’t.
Big Ed’s: 210 University St, Salt Lake City, UT 84102
Stacey Kratz of the Deseret morning news, also joins in on the Five Guys debate. Not only is Stacey in complete agreement with Ted’s positive review, so are all the commentators on the article as well. Now if only we had an In and Out burger here in SLC to compare!
Five Guys Burger and Fries: 1146 Fort Union Blvd, Midvale, UT 84047
Stacey’s next review is Bonsai Japanese Steakhouse over in Sandy. Bonsai is a fairly typical Japanese steakhouse operation, though Stacey notes the gimmicks are kept to a minimum. As a final comment however she does mention: “We shared our steaming, flavorful shrimp around the table, though of course the crowning shrimp moment of the night was our chef flipping bits into our open mouths.”. I guess I am too stuck in my ways, hot pieces of prawn being flung at my face doesn’t sound too fun to me.
Bonsai Japanese Steakhouse: 875 E 9400 S, Sandy, UT 84094 (other location in Holladay)
Two reviews from local blogger Sense and Memory. Best Chicken and Ribs and El Jaripeo are both covered.
Such was the great review of Best Chicken (especially the vibrant photos), I was compelled to eat there recently myself. I can fully concur with the review, they really do serve some great chicken. Our own review should be coming along shortly. The review of El Jaripeo is certainly intriguing, if a little brief. El Jaripeo would appear to serve up more than your average tex-mex fare.
Best Chicken and Ribs: 2700 S State St, Salt Lake City, UT 84115
El Jaripeo: 1600 W 3500 S, Salt Lake City, UT 84119
Another local blogger, Your Heart Out, reports on the Lone Star Taqueria. Lone Star’s fish tacos are routinely voted in various best-of polls. Whilst that usually doesn’t hold much weight for me, Lone Star is always recommended to me. Your Heart Out are also big fans, but do bring up a curious oddity: “Our only complaint is the $20-and-under cash-only policy. So bring some bills, or order enough tacos to utilize your debit/credit card.”
Lone Star Taqueria: 2265 Fort Union Blvd, Salt Lake City, UT 84121
Finally, this weeks mega round-up is completed by About.com’s review of Elizabeth’s Bakery & Tea Shop. Lyndsey Kocher experiments with the English fare of Elizabeth’s Bakery ranging from the savoury pies to the sweeter pastries. Despite not being a fan of English meat pies, Lyndsey is generally enthused with the other selections.
Elizabeth’s is getting an increasing amount of press lately. Let me just put the record straight regarding one of the items that always gets mis-handled, a pastry and a pasty are two separate items people! That missing r makes a world of difference. A pastry is the sweet dessert everyone knows. Take off that r though and you get the savoury pasty (pronounced PAH-STEE, not PAY-STEE). The most popular pasty is the ‘cornish pasty’, a thick savoury pie crust stuffed with potatoes, onions and ground beef. More details over at wikipedia.
O.k. rambling rant over, anyone who makes the mistake again, shall incur my wrath!
Elizabeth’s Bakery and Tea Shop: 575 S 700 E, Salt Lake City, UT 84102
Hi, I’m Stuart, nice to meet you! I’m the founder, writer and wrangler at Gastronomic SLC. I’m a multiple-award winning journalist and have written in myopic detail about the Salt Lake City dining scene for the better part of seventeen years.
I’ve worked extensively with multiple local publications from Visit Salt Lake to Salt Lake Magazine, not least helped to consult on national TV. Pause those credits, yep, that’s me! I’m also a former restaurant critic of more than five years, working for the Salt Lake Tribune. I’m largely fueled by a critical obsession with rice, alliteration and the use of big words I don’t understand. What they’re saying about me: “Not inaccurate”, “I thought he was older”, “I don’t share his feelings”.
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I love the mention of Siegfrieds Deli! I have been eating there for 25 years and it is always on the top of my list for downtown eateries. Two west side suggestions for a Burger round up would be the Fat Boy at Ab’s in WVC, and the Grub Burger at the Grub Box in Magna. Two great burgers everyone should try out.
I’m looking forward to trying both Siegfrieds and Vienna Bistro once the weather gets a little cooler.