Appetizer: (The Special) Blue Chees Stuff Figs wrapped in Prociutto
Entree: Free Range Chicken Breast stuffed with Goat's Cheese & Pine Nuts
Dessert: Pecan Bread Pudding with Home-made Caramel Ice Cream
Address: 271 Center St, Salt Lake City
So ES, the babe, and I were driving around downtown running errands when we realized we needed to get some dinner. I had heard of this place called Em's from co-workers, Salt Lake Magazine, and such so it's been on my mental list of places to try. It took a GPS to find it, but it wasn't to bad. They are located up in Capitol Hill amongst a neighborhood, so if you weren't looking, you could miss it. The building was charming. I mean check out this photo from their website.
Just darling.
So we entered, babe and all, the second we stepped in, I felt like everyone was thinking "Oh please, don't let them sit next to me". So I asked if we could sit outside. Luckily we weren't the only ones requesting a high chair. But I seriously felt like we had just busted in on party we weren't invited to. Even the waiter just seemed like,"You guys think you can eat here?" He wasn't rude or anything, just seemed like he felt a little mightier than he should be when he really is just a waiter.
One weird thing is they didn't have straws. Is using a straw weird? I have sensitive teeth, so I like a straw, but I managed. Not a big deal, but a little weird.
We ordered one the special's for the appetizer. Mostly because I like to order anything with blue cheese or prosciutto, but I was sorely disappointed. It was too sweet for my taste. The house salad was disappointing as well, it was only mixed greens with some cheese and a vinaigrette. I know it is just a house salad, but Faustina throws on beet chips at least.
The chicken was good. The pine nuts and goat cheese were great together. ES' meal was much better than mine though. I mean, chicken meals are never amazing anyway. ES ordered the tenderloin off the specials menu. Which I failed to mention was what I first mistook for the actual menu it was so large. The mash potatoes were amazing and actually one of my favorite parts of my meal.
I normally never order bread pudding because it is just way to heavy, ES always wants to order it, so this time I succumbed and am grateful because the bread pudding was so delicious and the home-made caramel ice-cream was so refreshing.
So to sum it up, the food was good, but not spectacular. The thing that turned me off the most was the stuffy atmosphere. Wanting to give them the benefit of the doubt, I concluded it might just be an off night, but after talking to a few other food connoisseurs they've confirmed that they too got the same vibe we did. We enjoyed our meal enough, but probably won't be returning.
