The Blue Iguana

I headed down to the Blue Iguana (156 S West Temple) Saturday night with the girlfriend to fill our hungry bellies after having done the Hidden Peak Challenge up at Snowbird.  I have eaten at the Blue Iguana before on several occasions, and it is usually a decent place to eat.  The restaurant itself is nicely decorated, and has a lively atmosphere aided by the couple that wander around the restaurant playing guitar and singing.  The do both quite well I might add.  

I was rather disappointed with my experience Saturday, as several things were not as they should be.  First off, within about 60 seconds after we took our seats at an outdoor table, the waitress(?) asked if we were ready to order.  We had not picked up our menus yet.  We did place a drink order, but were definitely NOT ready to order food.  When our drinks arrived, she had a Margarita that she said was good, (good enough to order two more!) and I had a beer.  I got a can of beer, no glass.  That's not a big deal I thought.  The waitress returned to take our order, Lauren ordered the tacos, and I asked for the carne asada plate.  She asked how I wanted the meat cooked, and I ordered medium rare.  I like my meat to be red and warm in the middle, not raw, but certainly not well done.  

Our food came out after not too long, and the tacos Lauren ordered looked great.  My steak on the otherhand, was WAY WAY overcooked.   I had to send it back as I hate dry chewy meat.  Our waitress did not appear for quite some time, so I bugged the hostess to get our waitress.  When she(?) finally came around, Lauren and I had basically finished her plate of food, remember we were starving from the climb that morning.  

When my food finally returned, the steak was properly cooked, and was reasonably good, nothing to write home about, but decent, but the rest of the food had cooled and was no longer hot.  I ate it anyway, and paid our bill and left.

Overall, the prices are reasonable with the most expensive dishes fetching around $15.  However, for a restaurant that has a good reputation for a quality dining experience, I was less than overwhelmed and will argue for a different locale when this one is brought up in the future.  The service by the waitress was lacking, the food was poorly cooked, and just not a very pleasing experience.  So, keep in mind, the place has a good reputation for a reason, most people like it, but I am beginning to think it is due to already low expectations due to being in Utah.  It certainly is no Reg Iguana, of which they share some of the menu.  Save your money, or go stand in line at Red Iguana for the real thing.

B&D Burger

Allright, what does B and D stand for?  I don't know, but I usually say Big and Delicious.  It is a run of the mill burger joint up on 1300 East and around 240 South, right across from the 7 Eleven there.  This place rules.  It is and has been my favorite burger joint now for over 13 years.  Nothing has changed there in a decade and that is just fine.  The same greek guy runs the place, and the same mexican guy is flippin burgers.  For $7 I get a double cheeseburger and fries and a coke.  The fries are nice and crispy medium thickness cut, the coke tastes better than coke at other places, and the burger is outta this world.  The melted cheese slides down the sides of both beef patties, and you will find yourself dissapointed that it is gone when you are done eating it.  They also have other tasties like zuchinnini fries.  Yum.

I don't have a lot of experience with their milkshakes as I lack a sweet tooth, but my girlfriend, my mom, and everybody else who I watch eat them, love'em!!!

My only gripe with the place is the 99 cent burger Tuesdays as the lines can get outta hand.  But I suppose if I was a broke student I wouldn't mind waiting in line for a 99 cent burger.  

Highly recommended.  Go there, now.  

Edit:  Just hit up B and D again Sunday evening after fishing all day, and it did not fail to impress.  Again.  Best burger joint in town.

Cafe Velo

Some of you who work at the City Center building may remember the old Cafe Sha Sha on the corner of 4oo S and 200 E.  It was a small joint that served everything good, with great specials and killer breakfasts.  Well they closed down.  Then some chump opened up Molly's there, and the place sucked.  I lost weight because I ate less.  It was that bad.  

Well, enter Mike.  Mike has come in and opened the place back up as Cafe Velo.  It is still a work in progress, however, work is moving in the right direction.  Yesterday I had a hamburger and have to say it was a tasty burger and I see many more heading for my belly in the future.  CV has fantastic french fries that are battered in I don't know what, and I don't care, they are GOOD!  Blueberry muffins are fresh and warm every morning (right about the time I roll in anyway) and they are huge and reasonably priced.

Back to the burger and the overall value of the place, the burger while quite good, using a special bread, and good lean meat, is tad pricey, and it is representative of the price of most things there.  It is easy for a burger aficionado to head up the hill to B&D and save a couple of bucks.  But this burger is unique, and I suspect I will have another within a week or so.  

Overall, Cafe Velo deserves a visit, and people are starting to visit in greater numbers.  When chump owned the place after Sha Sha, the place was a ghost town, now the lunchtime line is coming back in greater numbers.  Mike may not have brought it back to its former glory, but he is on the right path.  If you are walking distance, it is definitely worth the stroll for a burger and fries and nice business casual atmosphere.  Keep up the good work Mike.

Welcome to Hungry Salt Lake City!

I like to eat, and by nature of living close to and working in downtown SLC, I thought I would post my thoughts on places I have eaten so that others can take advantage of my experiences and have a better dining experience themselves.

I have had the privelidge through life to have travelled many places around the USA and the world, and quite possibly my favorite thing to do while travelling, is to eat.  I generally feel that Utah stacks up poorly to the rest of the world in terms of quality of food, but there are some gems out there in Utahland that are worth noting and celebrating.  

You can expect each restaurant review to note the good, the bad, and the inbetween.  Dining out is expensive, and we all should be after the best experience we can have for the money.  Value is very important as well, and particular attention will be paid to whether a restaurant is a good deal or not.  

To start with, I will update restaurants I have eaten at recently and add more over time.  I will try as best I can to update promptly after a visit.  So keep coming back to see what new restaurant has been skewered by the hungry man of Salt Lake.