3.30.2008

Wasabi Sushi Bar


675 E 2100 S State
Salt Lake City, UT 84106
(801) 467-1875

Food is supposed to be fun right? And what is more fun than watching your food spin round and round on a moving conveyor belt? hmmm....hmmm? We were out to answer this question ourselves as we made our way into Wasabi, Salt Lake's first revolving sushi bar.



What We Loved:

The Concept: This is nothing new. The revolving sushi bar is a staple in Japan and it was only a matter of time before the idea made its way into SLC.

The Atmosphere: Wasabi is casual dining at its best. You can dine alone and still keep yourself occupied with the big screen TV's going full blast. The joint is small yet spacey and there is plenty of room to situate your self at the bar.

The Squid and Seaweed Salads: Some of the best we've had. Yum yum gimme sum.

The Simplicity: This is simple sushi. Don't go into this establishment thinking that you are getting any of the Americanized favorites of deep fried goodies that we've come to love at those other sushi joints. This is true sushi, that's all. Simple rolls, basic nigiri, and few unusual favorites. You can order specials off the menu, but the bar is reserved for the simple.

The Fancy Japanese Soda: If you can figure out how to open the damn bottle, it a refreshing treat.

The Giant Container of Pickled Ginger: Ok....only one of us was SUPER stoked about that, but it is awesome.

The Potstickers: Order them from the kitchen and you won't be let down.

The Price: With the plates ranging from $1.99 to $5.99, we were beginning to worry when we saw the stack pile up in front of us, but when we got the check, it was a measly 25 bones per person. Be careful though, you can rack up a pretty hefty pile of plates pretty quickly.

What We Didn't Love As Much:

The Unavailability: We tried to order a few other things off the menu and each time were told that they didn't have those things. We're hoping this is a new opening SNAFU and they will figure it out in the end.

The Variety: Like we said, its simple sushi, but after a few plates, you begin to get a little bored with the menu


So should you go? Absolutely. It's a fun, quirky place and the concept is unbeatable. Don't expect the upscale feel as some of the Salt Lake sushi big wigs, but go and have a good time with your friends. Sit around a revolving turn belt of food and help yourself to whatever your little heart desires and come peeps...SUPPORT THE LOCALS!

Wasabi at a glance:
Food: Good, not mind blowing but better than most.
Service: Good, its mostly self serve, but the staff is all smiles.
Price: Reasonable, just don't go overboard on plate pulling.
Bathrooms: Lets say this....better than Shogun, but mot as nice as Takashi.....make up your own mind.

(Who Dined? Kara, Melanie, Andrew and Michelle.)

3.26.2008

COMING NEXT: WASABI Sushi Bar

3.18.2008

House of Kabob

268 S. Main Street
801-521-4442
Hours: Monday-Thursday:11 a.m.-10 p.m.
Friday:11 a.m.-11 p.m.
Saturday: noon-11 p.m.

Well, well, well.....It seems as though all is not lost for ye ole downtown SLC, there is one happy little eatery that is with standing the demolition and holding strong in the city that God built. House of Kabob is one of those places that none of us knew what to expect and because of that, we weren't expecting much. However, this joint made us some happy campers.

What We Loved:

Our Server: James, oh James. If you want an experience, go when this gentleman is working, Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday nights. He has a quirky yet professional style that makes you comfortable right of the bat. He shows a great passion for his job and is super enthusiastic about the menu and the food. We loved him so much, we went back two days later.

The Location: DOWNTOWN! Don't die downtown! We love you downtown!

The Appetizers: Well....we tried almost every one and they were all great. Hummus, Dolmeh, Spanikopita, Pita, and Baba Ganooj. All were delicious and the perfect way to start the meal.

The Food: Holy Mediterranean/Persian food storm batman. Scoping other reviews made me wonder if we were all talking about the same place, but we loved the food. GYRO PLATE, wonderful. It give Aristo's a run for their money. LAMB KABOB, tender and flavorful. Two tough deals when it comes to lamb. FALAFEL, we were craving us some falafel after the recent Mazza debacle and we weren't let down. SHRIMP KABOB, yum-tastic. Throw into the mix some delicious lemon rice, chicken curry soup and veggie soup and you've got yourself a party.

The Beverage Selection: Now we don't recommend the Kabob as the 'drink fancy wine' type restaurant, but if you've got the hankering for some spirits or beverages of the brewed kind then you are at the right place. With the Hookah Lounge right upstairs, you have access to the whole kit n' kaboodle.

The Price: After gorging ourselves on plate after plate, we expected a bit of shell shock after the bill came, but we were pleasantly surprised. The most expensive thing we could find on the menu was a hollarin' 16 bones. Not too shabby HOK. (thats House of Kabob for the non-abbreviators in the room.)

What We Didn't Love So Much:

The Parking: You know...You know...Downtown and cars...like oil and vinegar....oh wait that's salad dressing. Like oil and water, they just don't mix.

The Hookah Bar Upstairs: Now, this didn't really bother us until about 9:30. This was when open mic night got the roll on and we have all experienced open mic night before...... That's all I'm sayin. Also, if you're sensitive to hookah smoke at all, you may sense a whiff of the stuff when you first walk in.

The House of Kabob was on. Its a great place to pick up a meal on you way to the downtown outing of your choice. And if the all the other pros aren't enough for you, just remember it's a place where you can get meat on a stick. Yum.

House of Kabob at a glance:
Food: Uh-huh, so good.
Service: Excellent, ask for James
Price: Fair and friendly to the wallet
Bathrooms: Well...they're not our favorite, but they'll do.

(Who dined? Melanie, Kara, Andrew and Michelle.)

3.14.2008

Coming Next! HOUSE OF KABOB

Going back to the heart of downtown with meat on a stick.

Tiburon

8256 S 700 E
Sandy, UT 84070-0508
Phone: (801) 255-1200
Hours: Sun-Thu 5am-9pm
Fri-Sat 5am-10pm


If you thought nothing good could come out of Sandy except for a grossly large soccer arena...well... you're probably right, but there is one thing that is giving "the 34th safest city" in America something to jive about. Ladies and gents.....enjoy yourself some Tiburon.

What We Loved:

The Service: Thanks boys. We're giving them first billing on this one. They worked their little butts off to give an extra special evening. They had the perfect mix of casual comfort and high end service.They were attentive enough to make you feel loved, but not so "up-scale" that you felt like you needed your tux and gown to get their attention. "Apollo" and Jake...we're waiting for that calender.

The Atmosphere: You gentlemen thinking of a good place to pop the question.. Tiburon would work. We also scoped a great patio that we hear is amazing during the summer. Food by candlelight....how suave.

The Wine: Turning the time over to the one and only Andrew
Vino review...Three cheers for the wine list at this fancy little ristorante... and I don’t mean “hip-hip-hooray” cheers. I mean, toasting to the fact that they have a great list filled with the usual suspects and rarities alike. Even the “by the glass” selection was diverse and extensive. Pricing was surprisingly humble in relation to the food prices which taunts you to have “just one more bottle”! Our Server (we’ll call him Apollo), seemed pretty solid with his knowledge of the wine list and only disappointed me when he went for a pretty obvious white to start out dinner... Merryvale Starmont Chardonnay (2006). Now, don’t get me wrong, I like to stick my head in a big oak barrel as much as the next guy and if I’m going to do it, there better be Chardonnay in there! I just thought, if you get an interesting table... suggest some interesting wine. BUT, Apollo skated his way back into stardom with the red... A Catena 2005 Malbec. Malbec is a cool grape because it was originally used as a blending grape in Bordeaux. Not till it was brought to Argentina (which the Catena family had a hand in) did it become a significant stand alone varietal. Mendoza is a killer region to buy from because prices are low and quality is high. All in all, solid performance for Tiburon in the wine department. Not quite a standing ovation, but definitely in high standing on my list.

The Food: We were in food coma for three days..... JAKE'S MUSSELS : Divine, AHI TUNA: Perfect, HALIBUT: Well done, but perfect with the sauce it was covered with, LAMB LOIN: Better than the best steak you've ever had, ELK: Yes....it was soooo good. Not at all gamey. We sampled just about every entree they had on the menu, minus the chicken and everything we had was delicious. Well Done. P.S. Need a to-go? No problem. The food holds up even with the 20 minute commute.


The Deserts: For crying out loud, they made cinnamon and sugar ice cream. Is that better than anything you've ever heard or what? They know how to do creme brulee right and the for sure have that whole cheesecake thing down. Finish off the whole sweets bundle with some chocolate mousse. If your counting your calories, now is when you should turn off the ticker....

The Bathrooms: Feel like home. HTA.

What We Didn't Love So Much:

The Location: I know we're border snobs. If this was West Side Story, we would have already pulled our knives and started our Broadway review.

The Crab Cakes: This was the one thing on the menu we found lack lustre, but they still weren't bad. Average compared to great just looks dull.

The Price: OUCH! The meal and experience was well worth it, but folks, if you're watching your budget this might not be the place to be. Again though...it's worth it.

The Lighting: I know we pumped up the atmosphere earlier, but at times it was a little dark.

So if you're in the mood to be wined and dined, do the the conservative majority and discount store extravaganza in our neighborhood to the south keep you away. Tiburon is definitely worth the trek down into the "happier valley".

Tiburon at a glance:
Food: Yum
Service: Even more yum:
Price: Pretty Penny...
Bathrooms: Perfecto!
(Who Dined? Andrew, Kara, Melanie, Laura and guest Brenden with some take home action for Michelle)

3.09.2008

COMING NEXT: TIBURON

Watch out Sandy...Here we come.

Mazza : The Take Out


1515 South 1500 East
Salt Lake City, UT 84105
Ph: 801.484.9259
Fx: 801.484.4277
Mon - Sat, 11:00am - 10:00pm

912 East 900 South
Salt Lake City, UT 84105
Ph: 801.521.4572
Fx: 801.532.4122
Mon - Sat, 11:00am - 3:00pm
Mon - Sat, 5:00pm - 10:00pm


Let's be honest folks, there are nights that the comfort of our own home is MUCH, MUCH better than the on-goings of a busy restaurant so we decided to take home from one of the SLC good eats, Mazza.

Lets have a bit of history leading up to this evening before we get into the meat, shall we? We've all seen the ads for Salt Lake City Waiter. We wanted to give this service a try, it sounds like such a great idea. Well, this plan fell to the wayside when our original choice for eats, Himalayan Kitchen was suffering from a recent fire and the wait for food from SLC waiter was a whopping 2 hours! There must be that many people wanting to stay home on a Monday night.

After the discouraging situation we were faced with, an old stand-by was needed....hence Mazza.

*DISCLAIMER : Usually we love Mazza.... We hope this was just an off night for them.

What we loved:

The Take Out Waiting Area: Yes it's a little bit of a maze to get yourself to the comfy space, but once you're there, you feel like a king.

The Service: Fast and friendly. Good job Mazza.

The Appetizers: MUJADDARA-Brown lentils and long grain rice, super yummy. When lentil are done right, they're amazing. VEGETARIAN GRAPE LEAVES - Rice filled leaves of goodness. SPINACH FATAYER - Spinach filled dough rubbed with olive oil and baked up fluffy style. It'll make you kinda weak....in a good way.

What we didn't love so much:

The Food: Sorry Mazza....We usually love you but you missed the target this time. The falafel sandwich was dry, the beef was over-cooked and everything was just kinda.....lame. On top of all that, The requested sauce was wrong. It just wasn't their night.

So here's the deal. We're going to assume that maybe Mazza isn't the best take out joint, but dine in and enjoy. We know they have it in them.

And a little side note to Michelle, she makes the best deserts.

(Who dined? Andrew, Michelle, Laura, and Melanie.)

3.02.2008

Believe It Or Not

We recently received a comment from a blog reader challenging our statement the Settebello was the best pizza join in Utah. This reader claimed that in fact, Pizzeria 712 in Orem was actually the best pizza in Utah. So, being the hounds that we are, we decided to do a little research on the subject and sent out an honorary member to snoop around for us. Thanks Sarah. Here are her thoughts:

I'm experiencing a great deal of PTSD about the shock I experienced last night, and what I'm about to write on a site devoted to one of my favorite restaurants, Settebello. Okay, here goes. Pizzeria 712 is as good as, if not better than, Settebello.

I live in Orem, so the Chow Hounds challenged me last night to look into this horrendously offensive claim that a restaurant in Orem could possibly be better than Settebello. I've lived in Orem for 2 years, and have become extremely disenchanted by the food choices here. Any time I want to eat out and actually appreciate my food in my own city, I'm forced to travel to the furthest reaches of the city to Sundance Foundry Grill or Tree Room. So, when I heard about a pizzeria in Orem, I expected something along the lines of Brick Oven or the Pizza Factory. Pizzeria 712 in fact has spectacular pizza. However, because I also love Settebello, I will reconcile the two by stating that the focus on flavors is very different. Settebello focuses on truly authentic Italian flavors and pizza. Pizzeria 712 is similar in terms of soft, thin-crust pizzas, however the Sundance influence is very apparent, it is decidedly more American than Italian. (In a way, that obvious influence for me was somewhat disappointing.)

Although I love the Sundance restaurants, I'm Jonesing for a little variety in Orem. But, I'll forgive them because now they're closer to my house and focus on pizza. We had a delicious salad, and a spectacular pepperoni-style pizza with a sweet soppressetta sausage. I'll leave the appetizers and desserts to the chow hounds. I simply couldn't stuff myself with more delicious food. Now, here's the real shocker - hold onto your pants - they have wine! The list is short, and limit themselves to one of each of the 5 main varieties (i.e., a pinot noir, a chianti, a merlot, etc.). For us wine drinkers in Happy Valley, we've pretty much accepted that to get a glass you either have to stock up at home or go to a chain (ugh!). It's refreshing to find it at a less expensive restaurant that isn't a chain. The atmosphere is fabulous and very a-typical of Utah County, and (something I don't mean to offend families with children, but I at least appreciate after eating at Chili's after Texas Roadhouse after Chili's) isn't specifically designed to accommodate children and large families.Okay, I'm going to stop here.

I realize I might be overly gracious to this restaurant due to the fact that I ventured there with very very very low expectations. But, I will say that for those of you that find yourself beyond the End of the Earth (i.e., the Point of the Mountain), this is the best restaurant I've been to aside from the Sundance restaurants on this side of the prison. Certainly worthy of a Chow Hounds review.

Well there you have it. It sounds like we might have to make a pilgrimage to Happy Valley and see what all the fuss is about..... Stay Tuned.