Em's

WHAT I HAD:
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.

Tasty Thai

GUEST BLOGGING TODAY: One of my favorite eating partners, my one and only, ES.



WHAT WE HAD: Gang Dang (red curry), Pad Thai, Pad Phed (Red Curry), & Veggie Dumplings for appetizers.

Address: 1300 South 500 East, Salt Lake City

Tasty Thai! The name says it all. Among all of the Thai restaurants that I have eaten at, Tasty Thai is both the most authentic and delicious. It is a small family-run restaurant, that uses only the freshest of ingredients. Located near Liberty Park at 13th South and 5th East, Tasty Thai boasts delicious entrees and appetizers at an extremely reasonable price. The staff at Tasty Thai are extremely friendly and the atmosphere is low-key, with an open kitchen and several window views of the park. And whether you prefer curry options (which are fantastic), or are in the mood for soups or vegetarian dishes, Tasty Thai will not disappoint. Either way, I look forward to many more meals at Tasty Thai!

Dine O'Round

WHEN: September 11- 27

I look forward to this event every spring and fall. It is the time where I always try restaurants I might not normally try. They have two set prices $30 or $15 depending on the scale the restaurant claims to be and you get a three course meal. Sometimes they will do $10 lunches too. Check out the list of participating restaurants here.

Cafe Niche

WHAT I HAD: The 'Dame' - a sandwich on sourdough with goat cheese, grape tomatoes, and arugala.

Address: 779 E 300 S, Salt Lake City

You know those days where you just want something light and fresh and savory? Like a really good sandwich or a garden fresh salad? That seems to be the case for me almost every day during the summer. If I were to create a menu of all the meals I crave, but can't quite picture in my head, it would probably be found at Cafe Niche. Niche has the type of menu that I could not decide what to order only because I wanted every single thing available. Hummus platters, turkey and brie sandwiches, things with arugala on it. All of my favorites, so you can see my predicament. I did finally settle on a goat cheese, tomato, and arugala sandwich. It was divine.

I checked out their dinner menu online thinking I could take ES there someday, but it is pretty slim. Hopefully they have A LOT of specials.

Their patio is okay, if you like a nice view of the street, but it is all in the shade and that is a plus. The inside looks pretty hip, so eat inside if you need the atmosphere to enjoy your meal.

Moochie's

WHAT I GET: Meatball Sub or Philly Cheese, Potato Salad, Bread Pudding

Address: 232 East 800 South, Salt Lake City

Anyone from Salt Lake has probably been to Moochies. They are famous for their Philly Cheese and their Meatball sub. If you watch Diner's Drive-Ins and Dives, you may have seen them on tv. I'm telling you, famous.



I would suggest it's best to get your sub to go, the furniture consists of a card table and some old metal folding chairs. But they are definitely a diamond in the rough. Their potato salad is mysteriously divine. I would love to get my meatball-sticky-hands on that recipe. I think it could easily over-shadow their subs if potato salad could ever do such a thing. The bread pudding is a surprise with a zing of lemon zest and cinnamon. I wouldn't ever think that was a good combination, but dang. I don't even really like bread pudding. It's usually heavy and too sweet. Moochie's bread pudding is light and fluffy like Tiramisu and well, just as good.

Faustina

WHAT I HAD: House Salad, Spinach stuffed chicken with roasted red bell peppers and feta, served over soft polenta, asparagus and a chorizo broth, Crème brûlée and Strawberry Sabayon

Address: 300 South 454 East, Salt Lake City

After trekking several blocks through downtown Salt Lake trying to find a nice outdoor eatery, we finally came across Faustina. They have a lovely covered patio with a tiny waterfall and crisp landscaping. A perfect setting for the wonderful 70 degree evening we wanted to continue to enjoy.

If you have ever done Dine O'Round, you will recognize the flat rate three-course menu Faustina offers. It makes it easy to order and I also didn't mind being obligated to have my own dessert.

The meal premiered with foccacia bread and oil and vinegar. Nothing out of the ordinary for an Italian restaurant. Then I had my house salad with these beet chips and a simple dressing. It was so light and delicious with a nice salty, crunchiness added by the beet chips. It was a perfect start.

I did have a difficult time ordering. The menu isn't too large and nothing really stood out to me. I am a picky eater (one reason why I could never be an effective restaurant critic) and there were quite a few dishes that had seafood, which I don't do, there were a few pasta dishes, but they just sounded too heavy for a summer dinner at the moment, the beef medallions with gorgonzola and mushrooms sounded really good, but ES was ordering that. I finally settled on the Spinach stuffed chicken with feta, roasted red pepper and a chorizo broth with the help of the waiter. I was very surprised at how good that was. I never order chicken at a restaurant. Besides the fact that the chicken came out in the shape of a fallacy, it was moist and flavorful. The sauce was complex with multiple flavors revealing themselves one by one.

There are two desserts that come with the three-course menu, crème brûlée or strawberry sabayon. Other desserts are offered, but with a small price ($3?) to upgrade. ES and I decided to just get one each of the first mentioned. I usually don't order crème brûlée at restaurants because I can just make that at home, but it was very good and even better that I didn't have to make it. The sabayon tasted like anyone could make it. It was just a bowl of berries with a little sauce on it. The sauce was super mild, and not too much flavor. So we hurried and ate that one so we could enjoy the crème brûlée even more.

I think this place had much more to offer than the outdoor patio that brought us there. We will definitely come back, even in the winter.


Addendum:
We've gone back for several more visits and I have managed to contain myself and not eat my meal before I take a picture. Here is a picture of what we were eating the first one is the one that I said was ahm..."shape[ed] of a fallacy".


Spinach stuffed chicken with feta, roasted red pepper and a chorizo broth

Beef medallions with gorgonzola and mushrooms

Bruge's Waffles

WHAT I HAD: Cinnamon Waffle, Fresh Strawberries, Crème fraîche

Address: 336 West Broadway, Salt Lake City


Have you ever had a Belgian waffle? Oh you have a Belgium Waffle Maker you say? Well I'm sorry to say that doesn't mean you've had a Belgian Waffle.

Don't worry, you don't have to travel all the way over to Belgium to get an authentic waffle, Bruge's Waffles and Frites has some pretty authentic and definitely delicious waffles waiting for you only as far as Broadway.



We stopped by Bruge's on the way to the Farmer's market and enjoyed walking through the market almost as much as our cinnamon waffle, with fresh strawberries and crème fraîche. It was a steep $6 each, but the toppings were worth it. It was made the second I paid for it. They also have freshly made fries (or Frites) with a long list of gourmet toppings like Garlic Aioli, Beef Carbonnade, and of course Fry Sauce. I intended to post a picture of this delectable morning treat, but I ate it faster than I could say "Cheese". Guess I will have to get another one this Saturday!

Addendum: Lovely to have an excuse to get another! The third time I went back for another I finally remembered to take a picture!