19470 Wed Apr 17 11:09:05 -0700 2002 3 1 San Francisco Bay Area 0 65010 well, holly and i finally made it to the Hotel Utah to try their famous burger for lunch. We also got a plate of biscuits and smoked tomato/blackeyed pea stew with hamhocks. The burger was tasty and well-crafted as promised, and the biscuits n' stew were a standout. Hot, flaky, perfect little biscuits, and the stew was as smoky and chewy-tasty and succulent as we could hope for. The biscuits n' stew are a great deal at 3.50. We liked the atmosphere too. thanks for the guidance, chowhounds! see you in two weeks -- i'm off to the culinary desert of my hometown, Colorado Springs. Wed Apr 17 11:09:05 -0700 2002 0 patrick 1 65120 We may hve been there at the same time! I went in for lunch yesterday, mostly to reaffirm my position on their burger when sober (me, not the burger) -- I was not disappointed. But I did look at the rest of the menu. Didn't see the biscuits, etc... Does anyone know if the bar menu is different from that in the tabled area? Fri Apr 19 01:50:59 -0700 2002 65010 0 Zach Georgopoulos 2 65141 I'm pretty sure they only have one food menu. You can order (and eat) at the bar or they will bring it out to wherever you decide to sit. We went went for dinner the other night -- had to try that burger -- and were NOT disappointed. In fact, we can't wait to go back on the weekend. I had the burger with bacon and cheddar. Loved the *special* sauce (chipotle mayonnaise... not unlike Bigmouth's, but Bigmouth's definitely has more kick.) The burger was a pleasant pink, but it was too dark to see if it was rare as I had requested. I liked how they broke the bacon into small pieces so that each bite of burger had a nice crisp bacon on it. The bun was nicely grilled as well. The fries were really good, too. Hot and crisp, belgian frite style. Not to skinny, not to fat. JUST right. **One pet peeve overall... they charge extra for everything (i.e. cheese $1.00, bacon $1.50, avocado $1.00...clearly they can't give this stuff away, but for some reason when a good portion of the menu lists add ons, it just rubs me the wrong way. they do this at the Meetinghouse, as well, ($1.50 apple butter, $2.50 gravy) so I guess that's just their style. I'm over it, though. But I digress... James had a grilled cheese sandwich. This is 2 thick slices of homemade sourdough with cheddar (but you have a choice of many cheeses) and he got bacon ($1.50) and avocado ($2.00?) In actuality, it wasn't my type of grilled cheese sandwich (gasp, as I thought ALL grilled cheese were my friends) -- the bread to cheese ratio was a little high and with all the add ons it wasn't as gooey as I like. Plus, they didn't really use any butter/oil to grill the sandwich so it was kind of dry. HOWEVER, despite this, I thought it was a tasty sandwich. We also had a side of the asparagus with lemon aioli. It was divine. Tender, skinny stalks cooked just till done. We also took a grilled chicken sandwich to go. Actually, the bar guy heard James incorrectly and brought this out first. This sandwich looked so divine we had to take it home. We needed the grilled cheese, though, since we were in the mood. He graciously offered not to charge us for the chicken, but we figured we wouldn't have to buy lunch the next day, so no worries. The rest of the menu looks fabulous. Quesadilla with rock shrimp and avocado, beer-battered tempura onion rings, niman ranch reuben sandwich, chicken pot pie, flash fried tortilla chips and salsa. That's all I can remember. Can't wait until the next visit! Fri Apr 19 15:12:26 -0700 2002 65120 0 Jane 2 65178 zack, actually i was remiss and wrote this about a week after we visited :) The biscuits and stew were listed as "Meetinghouse Biscuits." I don't think it was a special -- i HOPE not, since i've been craving that stew ever since we tasted it, and i'm going back as soon as possible to repeat the experience (and try some other things!). i'm in colorado presently and missing the bay area food immensely. Gonna eat some green chile in New Mexico on the way home though. See y'all soon --p Mon Apr 22 11:56:49 -0700 2002 65120 0 patrick