SLC/Midvale

[Rocky Road]

Hi All,

I arrive for a business trip early on Sunday, Jan 11. That’s a Sunday. I’m staying in what appears to be a town called Midvale. I’ve never been, but it is close to my office, so I am excited. 844 E. North Union to be exact.

Anything great near me? Or do I have to travel? Sunday, I’m on my own. I’ve researched the Trax a bit (I may, or may not, have a car) not sure yet, so I’m ready for other options. I’m not afraid of mass transit; I use it all the time.

I’ll be there until the 14th, so my interests really include breakfast & lunches (near me) because that is where our office is, and I’ll need to get to work quickly. Dinners (near/far) I’m not afraid to travel! If it’s near the Trax line, which seems close to me, or I end up doing a car, either way I’ll be doing dinner somewhere, so I’ll take the recommendations if you’ve got them. Closer, is always the better, when the car is unknown.

As to the price, or cuisine, I’m completely open.

- I don’t dislike much. I’ll eat just about anything. Any ethic food, or American food (which I think covers everything), I love. I like food! I don’t know how to say it better than no types of cuisines are off limits.

- Price no object. Only because this can range from a nice taco for $1.75 to an expensive meal. It varies so much, price is not my concern when I travel and eat out. It’s all expensed anyway. Do not worry about this for breakfast, lunch, dinner, or snack.

My research turned up a few good threads. This one (by far the biggest) is a bit dated:

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/384506

This one concerns breakfast, except I have no idea of these places locations to where I’ll be.

Lambs Grill
Left Fork Grill
Over the Counter Café
The Avenues Bakery

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/510723

So, I know people get upset when people ask for recommendations but research only goes so far with the time we have. After reading these two great threads, I have no idea if these places are close or far from me?

Your help is appreciated. Plus, I hope to be back, as this is my corporate office now! I'l report back if I am able to hit any chow worthy places.

[Rocky Road]

Hi everyone,

Just to close the loop, I ended up not having a car, so I used nearby places. I didn’t realize how far a city block would be there so that really limited my area when on my own. Overall, I think I ate pretty well. All of the lunches were company sponsored so I just tagged along. Dinners, I ate alone.

The service in all these restaurants, either with a crowd, or on my own, was excellent. Way better than the service I’m used to. If this is representative of all Utah it must be a fun town to explore eating. Thanks for the tips. I used as many as I could. I’ll be back frequently, so I hope to explore more.

Lunches

Suehiro Japanese Restaurant
6933 South 1300 East
Midvale, UT 84047

This was an interesting place. It looked pretty “Japanese” so I decided to try the Sushi Plate Bento. It came with Tuna, Tai, Ebi, and something else. Maybe salmon (I think), I can’t remember. Plus, four slices of California roll, plus a little bowl of chicken teriyaki, plus some tempura, salad and soup. I was happy with it. The teriyaki chicken was my least favorite thing and it was fairly good. The fish was fresh and presented nicely. A lot of food for the price. Party of six, great service.

Price about $13 (no alcohol).

Goodwood Barbecue Company
133 E 12300 S,
Draper, UT 8402

This was the best lunch of all the lunches. I happened to be in a white shirt and tie, so although it looked like their specialty, I skipped the BBQ. I had the salmon. Nice sized portion, slightly over-cooked but good flavor. It had a lemon-butter-dill caper sauce that was good also. I substituted the mashed potatoes for coleslaw. If I was having the BBQ, I probably would have been a little disappointed in the slaw. It didn’t have that creaminess to it that I like.

I picked the honey mustard dressing for the salad and I thought it was outstanding. Either it’s been a while since I had it, or this was a really good version. Not sure, but I really enjoyed it. The jalapeno cornbread muffin was pretty good too. Party of six, great service.

Price about $17 (no alcohol).

La Cocina
6965 S 2300 E
Salt Lake City, UT 84121

Very disappointing. I got the two taco combo. The meat was ground beef with like a store bought taco seasoning mix. The taco shells were not fresh but the kind you buy in box at the store, or get at Taco Bell when you order a crunchy taco. Party of seven, great service.

Price about $6 (no alcohol).

Dinners

Ganesh
777 E Fort Union Blvd
Midvale, UT 84047

This was my first meal in town, and one of the best meals I had while there. This place was great. I got there right about 5pm, just after opening, so it was just me and another couple in there. The Indian couple running the place set the bar extremely high with their service. Happily, the rest of the restaurants in town kept up, but this place hit it out of the park.

I’m not an Indian food expert, but the sauces in this place were great. I started with the appetizer lamb samosa served with a mint and tamarind sauce. Very good.

I also ordered the Lamb Boti Kabab from the Tandoori Specials menu. The lamb came out on a sizzling plate and it was beautifully cooked. Tender and sort pinkish inside. The best part of this dish, however, was the dipping sauce. I asked the woman what it was but I could not understand her. I told her it was really good. I also got garlic naan and it came with this rice that was so fluffy and light. It was very good and unlike the heavier sticky Asian types of rice that I’m use to. Party of one, service outstanding.

Price about $25 (no alcohol).

Lone Star Steakhouse
7176 S. 900th East
Midvale UT, 84047-1751

This was a near second to Ganesh. Not so much for the side dishes, but the steak was excellent and made it worthwhile. I came in around 5pm and the place was not too busy. I sat at the bar. I had the scampi appetizer to start. Overall it was pretty good, except I didn’t like the breadcrumb topping. I had the ribeye, grilled veggies, and lettuce wedge. The streak was great. Really tender, and cooked perfectly medium rare. If anything, a little more toward the rare side which is ok by me. The veggies were so-so, but the lettuce wedge was good and I liked the blue cheese dressing. It’s been a while that I’ve had it so it was nice. I guess there’s not much to say here. The steak was the attraction and it was good. Party of one, great service.

Price $32 (one beer).

Thai Spice
854 Fort Union Blvd
Midvale, UT 84047

I had planned to go to Epic my last night, but found this little place right in front of the hotel. I decided to try it. Again, 5pm, almost on the dot. Me, and only one other couple were in the place. I started with a breaded shrimp appetizer in sweet and spicy chili sauce. These were large shrimp, and the dipping sauce was sort of like that you would use for lumpia, or egg rolls. It was pretty good.

I don’t remember the name of what I had as the main course but it was really pretty good too. It was a bunch of seafood in a spicy sauce over rice. Mussles, scallops, calamari, and shrimp with some veggie mixed in, topped with cilantro. Large portions, very nice. Party of one, great service.

Price about $22

So that was the trip. Mostly I ate great solid food, which was nice. Without a car to explore (which frankly in that weather I did not want) I think I came out great. Thanks for the tips. I’m going back early February where I’ll try some more.

[gringo_stu]

Great round up, nice to hear about some places I haven't tried out there. I'm really glad to see you enjoyed Ganesh. It's definitely my favourite in SLC for a curry, and as you say the staff are really friendly.

--
Stuart
http://www.gastronomicslc.com

[andshecookstoo]

In the Midvale area, a good locally owned Mexican place is CanCun Cafe - 1891 Fort Union Blvd, Salt Lake City, UT - [phone]. I like their carnitas.
Try Tsunami Union Heights - www.tsunamiutah.com
7628 Union Park Ave, Midvale, UT - [phone] for sushi/Japanese food. I like their boxed lunches.
I hated the food at Lambs restaurant. I wouldn't recommend it. Dirty place, awful food.
For a good fast food Greek meal, try Mad Greek - 900 E 4500 S. (or any other location) Try the souvlaki gyro. Excellent. I also hear the lamb is great.
Settebello is very good pizza.
Salt Lake Pizza and Pasta is a local fixture in Sugarhouse and has good pizza and salad.
For Chinese food, check out this thread: http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/563669
Another thread to look at: http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/548417

Hope this helps!

[GroovinGourmet]

I'll second the rec on the CanCun carnitas. And I'll warn the OP to avoid El Farol at all costs. Lackluster Mex at best. Cafe Silvestre is also in the area, but that is another Mex I have not tried. I stick with Red Iguana and the Mi Ranchito on State St in South Salt Lake, which is moving to within walking distance. Their Pico De Gallo is the standard by which all others are judged.

[Rocky Road]

Great threads. Thanks for digging those up. I'll let you guys know where I end up going and report back.

[GroovinGourmet]

Your best bet anywhere close is Epic, which is within walking distance. Very nice New American. I love their Señor Gonzales salad, and the flatbread appies are interesting. I've found the entrees to be a mixed bag, but the steak and pork tenderloin were both pretty good.

Also close by is Hopper's, a decent brewpub kinda place, and Ganesh, which I hear is pretty good Indian, but I have yet to experience myself.

While it is a chain, there is also Lone Star Steakhouse, but you could do much worse. I've always enjoyed my meals there.

Breakfast choices are a bit limited, and a bit of a walk... 7 or so blocks towards I-15. Lighthouse Diner is the better of the 2 places on Ft. Union (7200 South), despite their insistence on offering powdered creamer (milk is available if you lighten your java).

If you are walking to Lighthouse you will be passing a light rail station. If you are up for the walking, a train trip to the vicinity of Left Fork Grill would be worth it. Upscale diner food that is uniformly good to excellent. I cannot get away from Eggs In The Hole with their homemade hollandaise.

If you wind up with wheels you owe it to yourself to try one of SLC's ethnic gems. My first choice would be Red Iguana, arguably the best Mex for hundreds of miles. There's a line at peak times, but if you are free on Sunday I could think of worse place to hang out starting in the late afternoon. Stay away from the usual enchiladas, burritos and tacos and go for something you've never heard of before (Papadzules, Entomatadas) or their Pescado Veracruzana which is exemplary. If you like some spice, the Puntas De Filete is a standby dish - steak tips in an almond mole with bacon and serranos. YUM!

[Rocky Road]

Groovin, thanks for the tips. I mapped a few of your picks real close by me so thanks for that. Still not sure about the car.

[SheriffL]

While it isn't an outstanding place, Ganesh is worth a visit because its menu encompasses South Indian dishes, which rarely appear amongst the more typical Northern Indian fare.

Epic is decent and certainly above average in the Fort Union neighborhood. Sort of upscale brewpub food.

Another suggestion is the Lone Star Taqueria on Fort Union Blvd, a tiny hole-in-the-wall joint with some great tacos and burritos. Their grilled fish tacos are particularly excellent.

Without a car, it will be very difficult to get to many of SLC's nicer restaurants. If you do get your hands on some wheels, Red Iguana is certainly worth a visit, as are Takashi (marvelous sushi), Mazza (terrific Middle Eastern food), and the Paris Bistro (upscale bistro fare).