Quick SLC report from a couple of old faves...
one in a new space. We went to the new Mazza location at 9 and 9, and luckily Ali was there eating dinner so we could congratulate him on the new space.
WOW! What a fabulous room! Ali has done an incredible job creating a big, upscale environment where more 'hounds can enjoy the killer Middle Eastern cuisine. Ultra modern decor combined with antique, with an open kitchen and an impressive prep/server station setup. Plenty of warmth from the copper columns and other decorative touches. Food was excellent as always, service was excellent as well. Cannot recommend this new location highly enough....it should be at or near the top of any visiting 'hounds' lists. The old location is still around at 15 and 15, but I think seeing as we recognized the head line cook from there at the new location, we'll be heading to 9 and 9 for our hummus fixes from now.
We also realized that we had not been to Thai Garden in about a year. We must have a fever or something. Remedied that abominable situation with a visit the other night. Excellent as usual, though both of us were gasping a bit...apparently our chile heat resistance is down after not visiting for so long. Ordered a bunch of top faves, all medium heat: Yum Woon Sen (glass noodles with chiles, peanuts, minced chicken and cukes), Larb Salmon (unbelievably good!) and the world's best Tom Kha...we like to get ours with fried tofu. Yummy!
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Just had a friend in town from Manhattan who grew up in an Armenian household eating many of the middle eastern dishes offered at Mazza - she was blown away! Couldn't believe there wasn't a restaurant of equal comparison in New York. We took her to the 15 and 15 location because we hadn't tried the 9th and 9th yet, but now I wish I had! Thanks for the review!
›1 Reply-
re: grkboy
GroovinGourmet
Apr 20, 2007 01:46 PM
My pleasure! The missus traveled to the Middle East on business and she likes Mazza the best of any place she has eaten. I was a relative neophyte to the cuisine when we moved to Salt Lake. Went to Cedars Of Lebanon because it had the name. I loved the food, but she knew it could be much better. Then we discovered Mazza. Game, set, match.
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