Pago

WHAT I HAD: Chef's special bruschetta, Gnocci with sundried tomatoes, cauliflower, and corn, Chocolate souffle

Address: 878 S. 900 E. SLC

I'm just going to say it, Pago was hands down, the best restaurant experience I've ever had.

There's no lead in necessary, no opening statement or introductory paragraph here. All you need to know is these guys do it right. We had a great waiter, WONDERFUL food, and the atmosphere was superb. Yes, superb.

I really liked the rustic look they had going on in this vintage building (is there such thing as a vintage building?). They had exposed brick, tables that appeared to be made of reclaimed wood, modern abstract art, and all the waiters wore black. But not "we're goth black" more like "we're not here, but let me take care of all your needs" black.

We started out with the bruschetta. But the bruschetta you will order won't be the same as what I ordered because this chef experiments and uses what ever is fresh at the time and what ever he feels is inspiring him at the time. I'm sure yours will be just as flavorful and satisfying as ours was. Only the appetizers on this menu are single serving so don't think "Oh they always say that we can just get one". That is what we did and we were fighting over the last few bites.

ES ordered the Kobe steak with some kind of fois gras on it. Which I thought was butter, and being a psychologically picky eater I never would have tried it. Thankfully I was ignorant to the fact and ate one of the best things I've ever tasted. Who would have thought this fish and meat feared girl would be devouring duck liver paste?

I ordered the safer meal of course and it was delicious. Gnocchi, sun dried tomatoes, corn, and fried cauliflower. Unusual, but so very good.

Then we had a chocolate souffle with cardamum cream that was of course delicious. It was a little cakier than I expected, but the cream seriously made it. I decided that I'm going to add that to cream whenever I do a chocolate dish. It really added a sophisticated touch to the souffle. Yum.

So Cupcake

WHAT I HAD: So CK "Carrot Kake",So Coco Delight, So Hanky Panky Red Velvet, So Key Lime Pie, So Cozy Cinnamon & Sugar, So Dazzle Me Raspberry

Address: 3939 Highland Drive, Salt Lake

I don't care if people are saying cupcakes are "so two years ago", I don't believe good food should ever be out of style. I will always be willing to eat an unfashionable cupcake. One of the places I might get this cupcake is So Cupcake. They are beautiful delicious and expensive. I bought a dozen of their mini-cupcakes ($14) the other day to a lunch I was invited to. We sampled key lime, raspberry, carrot cake, chocolate, red velvet, and cinnamon. Oh and yes, I ate a half dozen cupcakes in one day and I don't feel bad about it.

The Tin Angel Café

WHAT I HAD:
Tapa- Espresso Crusted Beef Tenderloin
Appetizer- Spiced Almonds with Bleu Cheese
Entree- Pimenton Pork Loin
Dessert- Bread Pudding with Cranberry and Orange


Address: 365 West 400 South, Salt Lake City

I'm sure most of you have driven past the The Tin Angel Café, and it is easy to miss. It is right across from Pioneer Park on 400 South on your way to pretty much anything, but if you never make the stop you are heading the wrong way. Tin Angel Café is TINY, or should I say Cozy? and it has a slight tattoo parlor vibe going. Maybe there is an association there. It would seem they treat their food like a tattoo artist treats an arm– like art. The food was so un-complex and natural. They just let the flavors of the food do the talking. They are big on buying local ingredients when they can or anything organic and they will sacrifice low prices for it– and that is meant as a compliment. Even big namers like Coke or Pepsi are nowhere to be found, they use an all natural cola which I think tasted way better.

I couldn't shut up about the decor while we were there. I swear they must raid D.I. regularly to build their very eclectic serving-ware collection. They had vintage table runners, local artists adorning the walls (mostly of skeletons and devils), and their tattooed, chain wearing waiter even joins in and wears a vintage frilly apron.



The menu has sections you don't find on every restaurant menu– tapas, small plates, a wine list (just kidding). So there is the fun element of trying lots of different dishes and not being overly full. Unless you do what ES and I did and order lots of plates, an entree, and a dessert, then you may be rolling yourself out of the restaurant.
A note: when they say "one bite-" or "two bite-" tapa, it really is.

The food was wonderful, the atmosphere was dark and cozy but this isn't a restaurant you would take home to your mother.

The Robin's Nest

WHAT I HAD: The Natural- Portabello Mushrooms, Sweet Roasted Red Peppers, Artichoke Hearts, Red Onion, Spinach, Provolone, a Roasted Garlic Spread all on Ciabatta

Address: Heart of downtown Salt Lake. 311 South Main.

Many times at lunch I am starving (well that is everytime) but I can't put my finger on something I want to eat. Cafe Rio? Just had that. 5 guys? Too fattening. McDonalds? I'm not that starving. Once I visited the Robin's Nest I found my muse for lunch. Something intelligent, not too greasy, and not too ordinary.

You walk in and there is a wall of people. I would like to describe the decor/atmosphere. But being 5'3" all I saw was hair and coats. I think that had something to do with it being noon. Robin's Nest is deli style where you order, pay, they call out your name and you pick it up. For having so many people inside, I thought we'd be waiting forever, but they were surprisingly fast. We even found a seat. Their menu is mostly sandwiches, but I think they had a few salads and maybe a soup of the day. I ordered the Natural (they all have cheeky names) and that came with a side and a cookie. And that is not potato chips and some thawed out chocolate chip cookie. I had a delicious orzo pasta salad with a Mexican wedding cookie. My sandwich was vegetarian, but it had tons of flavor and great texture. I just ordered a half sandwich and ate every bit of it. A perfect amount of food for relatively cheap ($8).

I can finally end this quest for a cheap, fast, and most importantly, delicious, lunch.

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.