We have changed the format a little so that each entry will have it's own page and deal specifically with the new restaurant or area being highlighted and/or reviewed.
Please refer to the bottom of the Blog on this section for restaurants that were previously reviewed under the old format.
Ken and Len: Salt Lake City, UT., and Beyond
Ken and I just returned from a fantastic vacation where we visited Salt Lake City and used it as our staging area for several day-trips in Utah and for our visit to Yellowstone Park. We will tell you more on all of our destinations and share pictures of the beautiful and unique things we saw during our visit from June 30th through to July 7th, 2007. (07-07-07)*
Please see all of the pictures of our summer vacation 2007 on our Odds and Ends page.In this section we will highlight the eating and drinking establishments that were a part of our wonderful vacation.
Orlando, Fl. - Saturday Morning
The morning started with bagels and English muffins with ham, bacon or sausage and cheese at the Airport Deli Stand Air side Delta Terminal across from the Nathan's. 2 FORKS
Budweiser Brewhouse, Atlanta Airport: Ham sandwich with Cheese, lettuce and tomato and a Pastrami with Mustard. There was about one quarter inch of meat on these sandwiches. Even the waiter told us we should send it back. Regular and Bar-B-Q chips and cocktails. 1 FORKS
Delta Airline in Flight meal: Boneless/skinless chicken breast with a mannicotti filled shell and zucchini with a light white wine sauce, and a piece of cheese cake for dessert. 3 FORKS (we must have been hungry or thrilled to be on VACATION!)
Salt Lake City, UT - Saturday
We arrived in Salt Lake City, UT, Saturday afternoon, 6/30/07 and we checked into our hotel, The Marriott City Center, (downtown on State Street. Officially a Three-Star Hotel although we enjoyed it better than that).
We asked the desk clerk for advice and directions to some of the local eateries. He promptly reached for a sheet of paper behind his desk that showed a list of Restaurants by specialty and a map of the downtown area with all of their locations. Upon seeing this rather large list, we inquired if he could help us narrow the list down by asking which in his mind would be the very best one, and he quickly responded, The Metropolitan.
The Metropolitan Restaurant - This place is beautiful, yet simply appointed in blonde woods and "high-tech" accents that give the place an open, clean feeling. The service was good although it could have been better with seasoned "veteran" servers of fine dining. Some of the comments heard from the wait staff, indicated that they were local college students making ends meet and not really following careers as Professional Waiters. That makes a world of difference in the service you get at a restaurant.
Ken and I started with one appetizer each (Ken had the charcuterie, which was a country pate with duck slices and I had the seafood ceviche) and we shared an order of one of our favorite, Foie Gras(duck liver). The initial appetizers were good followed by the very good Foie Gras which would have been excellent if it had not been served with a chocolate brownie.
For our entrees we ordered the lamb chops and the diver scallops. Both were good until the scallops were discovered to have been contaminated with shards of broken shell not properly cleaned prior to cooking and the lamb chops had more fat than the average lamb chop. When asked by our server how everything had been, we mentioned the small problem we had with some of the scallops, but our concern fell upon deaf ears, although he did mention that he hates when that happens to him too. He went on to say that is was "off putting". I almost fell off my chair laughing if it wasn't for the fact that it was us getting boned.
The desserts were excellent without exception; we both had the Gran Marnier Souffle. The wine Ken selected with dinner was a South African Boekenhoutskloof Shiraz which was very, very good.
Overall the restaurant is very nice and is deserving of its standout reputation. However, if the service and the attention to detail were improved it could be a Great Restaurant. Ken and Len's overall rating for The Metropolitan is 4 Forks.
However, our experience at The Metropolitan goes beyond the food and the wine. We discovered that a bar or restaurant that wants to serve liquor in and around Salt Lake City (Utah?), has to be a Members-Only Private Club. So in an effort to comply, all persons who are not current members are sold a membership right on the spot for anywhere between 4 to 8 dollars per person. Local folks can drink all year long on a $12/year membership while out of town guests have to pay on average $5/week, to belong to each of the bars/restaurants he may visit while in this city. We think the time has come to review this rule and see if it has any valuable practical purpose in the 21st century.
On the other hand however, we also met a very nice local couple, Chris and Allison, seated at the table next to ours. They were very helpful in recommending to us to other local eateries that they thought we would enjoy as well as pointing out Canyon Drives that we should not miss. Looking back on that evening, they were very helpful indeed. We have offered them our hospitality should they ever visit the Central Florida area. We hope they take us up on it.
After dinner drinks were back at the hotel bar called Piastra's.
There we were re-acquainted with the rule of becoming a member before you can order a drink, although here all we had to do was fill out the membership application since we were hotel guests.
Salt Lake City, UT - Sunday
Coffee was not a problem; luckily, our hotel hosted a Starbucks on the premises so it made it really easy to get a latte on the run (real nice).
This morning we visited Temple Square and the State Capitol which was under renovation and completely shut down.
For Brunch, we investigated the recommendations on Cafe Trio.
We went to the down town location and found it to be a beautiful, clean and artsy, atmosphere.
We both chose the Poached eggs over the Pollenta medallions with Hollandaise sauce. We asked for toast, which apparently was not included with the eggs. They brought us each one piece of toast cut in half. I found that to be a little "bread-stingy" of them. The bread, however ,was delicious.
We were not able to enjoy neither one of our delicious champagne cocktails, The Daffodil nor the Amaryllis (For Daffodil follow the link to March 5th, 2007 - Link for Amaryllis coming soon) They did not serve champagne before noon. Some very archaic laws people.
The experience here was very nice. The restaurant was mostly empty and we had the place to ourselves. Service here too was a young college group. 3.5 FORKS
After Brunch, we went for a drive through American Fork , the city and Canyon, at the foot of Mount Timpanogos and into the Wasatch Mountain Range home of the Timpanogos Caves.
The Alpine Loop Road includes the Sundance Ski Resort, over a pass, from the American Fork Canyon, traversing the backside of Mount Timpanogos through to the Provo Canyon. The views were breathtaking (and so were the cliffs on the side of the road - Ken claims they were scary!).
While we were on this side of town we chose to go through and see Park City. We traveled through the Big Cottonwood Canyon and stopped by Brighton to see Brighton lake at 10,000 feet above sea level and Solitude Mountain.
Sunday Night - Dinner
It was listed in our on board Sky magazine as one of the ten best steaks houses in America so we thought we should take a look at Spencer's.
Located inside the Hilton, Spencer's looks like s Steakhouse. A lot of Dark woods and custom built upholstered seating areas that bring back the 1940's.
The service was prompt and polite. (In fact he may have been too attentive...) We enjoyed a couple of cocktails before dinner and some of them were delicious (wink).
Ken ordered the Crusty Onion Soup and I had the Oysters Rockefeller. I tasted the soup and I agree with Ken it was very good. And the oysters were one of the best Rockefeller interpretations I have had.
We ordered the Steak of the House, the Spencer Steak. ( a 14 oz rib eye)
We inquired about the sides and were told that each order was ample food for two people. So we ordered the Baked Potato and the Sauteed Spinach and Roasted Cherry Tomatoes.
The steaks were very good and tasty.
The spinach dish was very good.
However, the Baked Potato with the works was horrible. It included fried onion rings and other things that have no right being on a potato. Perhaps it was our fault by not specifying that we didn't want onion rings? Who would have thought.
The wine was an Australian Pike's Shiraz . We give Spencer's 4 FORKS.
Salt Lake City, UT - Monday
On this day we were on a mission. We went to visit Arches National Park 4 hours away from Salt Lake City. We snacked on Peppered Beef Jerky throughout the day until it was dinner time. The Arches National Park was an incredibly beautiful place.
On this day we treated ourselves to what turned out to be our favorite place to eat in Salt Lake City: TAKASHI
Takashi is Restaurant of the year for 2007 in SLC. It is a sushi restaurant and it has a very good following. Both times we were there we had to wait for a table and it was full until well after closing.
While we waited for our table we stepped next door for a "before-sushi "drink at Kristauf's Martini bar. This was a very nice bar. It was empty Monday night before the Holiday, albeit, yet another Membership fee !!
For dinner at Takashi we had the sushimi Iwana, the Tuna, spiced crab, sliced avocado and Tobiko wrapped in Cucumber Sheet, drizzled with Tataki Sauce and Fresh Chili Pepper, the Sour and Spicy Seafood soup with lemon grass and cilantro, and the Toro or the fatty Blue fin Tuna delicacy strips. For desert we had the custard crepe. The meal was delicious. The best sushimi I had ever had and the best sauces too.
Takishi is a popular place and it is loud with the sound of satisfied diners. The place is a small storefront on a side street downtown. It is simply and casually appointed in green hues. We give Takashi 5 HUGE FORKS
Gardiner, Montana - Tuesday
Today we drove north from SLC and through Idaho and Montana to enter Yellowstone at the West entry.
Snacks today again were Peppered Beef Jerky and a couple on Hostess Twinkies for good measure.
We toured north west upper section and stayed at the Mammoth Hot Springs, Best Western. There we encountered a peculiar hot tub/spa that was flush with the ground in our room. Sort of an in-ground tub without the steps.
Dinner was at the Yellowstone Mine Restaurant
We had the Rib Eye, and the Beef Oscar with crab meat and asparagus. The meal brought a salad and a potato; we skipped desert. The meal was very good and our server was very nice and attentive. The place needs to upgrade their air conditioning system, though. Otherwise it is a nice big rustic inn. 3.5 FORKS
After dinner we used a complimentary $5 voucher at the Casino in our Hotel, which lasted longer than I expected (15 minutes). That was all the money we lost, $5.
We then retired to our room and used the in-room jacuzzi while sharing a bottle of Sterling Vineyards Cabernet. That wine was wonderful.
West Yellowstone, Montana - Wednesday
Breakfast was an all you can eat Buffet at the Yellowstone Mine Restaurant. It was empty at 7:30 in the morning. So we had great service and the place to ourselves. The Breakfast Buffet gets 3 FORKS
On this day we toured the north east areas and the upper and lower east sides of Yellowstone National Park and then west and north to West Yellowstone. Yellowstone Park was an awesome place. I hope to go back one day.
Dinner tonight was at Bullwinkle's Restaurant in West Yellowstone, MT.
We had the steak and potatoes dishes (one NY Strip with fries and One Fillet Mignon with Blue cheese and cheese mashed potatoes). We added a glass of Lindeman Cabernet to accompany the steak.
Dinner came with a salad. The meal was very good for a Saloon. 3 FORKS
After dinner we walked down the street to another Bullwinkle's location. This one was a souvenir shop and the adjoining one was a bar and Casino. We didn't gamble but we did have a couple of after dinner cocktails.
Salt Lake City, UT - Thursday
The return trip to SLC from Yellowstone National Park was through Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming. Tehn we traveled through Jackson Hole and into Jackson, WY. Further south we entered Idaho and traveled the shore of BEAR LAKE which extends into Utah.
Dinner Thursday night was at Lamb's Grill Cafe.
Lamb's Grill was established in 1919 and it is the longest continuously running restaurant in the state of Utah.
We had the Blackened Alaskan Halibut and the Beef Tenderloin a la Stroganoff for our main entree, after having the Shrimp Cocktail and the Fried Artichoke Hearts as appetizers. The food was good overall and the service was prompt and courteous. The place was almost deserted because it was closing time at 9:00 PM. Downtown venues are not open as late as one would expect in major cities. Lamb's Grill gets 3 FORKS (but most importantly, there did not seem to be a Membership fee!)
BUT ..... that is not the last of Membership fees for the day. We decided on Lamb's because around the corner there is a local bar called Monk's House of Jazz. On entering we were allowed to barter for the cost of the membership fee and after being told it would cost us $8, we were eventually allowed in after paying $5. As for the "House of Jazz", well no jazz was played and the place left a lot to be desired. Definitely not a place that we would want to go back to. After 1 cocktail, we decided to leave. So even though we did not eat here, we could not pass up on the oppurtunity to give Monk's House of Jazz a solid 0.5 BOTTLES
Salt Lake City, UT - Friday
On this day we went to west central Utah to visit the Great Salt Lake and the Bonneville Salt Flats and the Bonneville International Speedway.
We then crossed the state line into Nevada and visited a couple of Casinos looking for souvenirs. We lost a total of about $80 combined after gambling for an hour or so. We then had some pastries and a latte to hold us off till we went back to dinner that night at TAKASHI.
We had returned a little early for dinner, so we decided to first give another local bar a try. We went directly to Port O'Call and were we surprised? The bar is comprised of three stories, the main pub and tables on the ground level, a basement with a couple of additional bars and plenty of gaming tables, and the second floor of ..... well, we never got that far. Yes, we had to pay a temporary membership fee, but this time we paid happily. As their web site says, "Because everywhere else just sucks". Great place to gather for some cocktails, games and music (even wireless internet access). This local bar deserves our rating of 4 BOTTLES. We had to leave early as Takashi's is only open until 9:30 PM.
Friday Night Dinner - Takashi
On this night, the chef sees us arrive, and offers to make us delicacies which are not on the menu because he remembered how well we liked the food there just three nights prior, when we sat at the sushi bar and spoke to him during our delicious meal.
This time we had a table and he just kept the great food coming. This time we tried the Saki and decided against it and settled for a very nice Fontanelles Sauvignon Blanc.
The food this evening was made up of:
1) The Fillet Mignon Strips with Shitake mushrooms in a shiso-butter sauce.
2)Ceviche Sushimi (Sea Bream, Octopus and Salmon)
3) Torched Sablefish Sushimi
4)Live Scallops Sushimi in a yozy-ponzu sauce
5) Mango Mousse with Coconut Tapioca Pudding
The meal was spectacular. We loved this place. Another BIG 5 FORKS
Please read the review written by Jarrod S. Gann on The Sushi World Guide, we could not agree more with what he says.
Salt Lake City, UT - Saturday - 07-07-07
One last latte to go (for this trip..);
Breakfast at the Deli Counter at the SLC Airport, Air Side Delta Terminal (next to the Chinese Stir Fried Counter): Eggs, with terrible Hash Browns and cold bacon 1.5 FORKS
Delta Flight Home - The same as on the flight to SLC: Boneless/skinless chciken breast with maniccotti filled shell, with zucchini in a white wine sauce, with a piece of cheesecake for dessert. 1.75 FORKS (same meal as previous, but not so tasty this time)
(* 07-07-07) - Ken and Len's first annual anniversary of shared friendship.
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